I finally watched that bed convo again. (Do we have a name for it yet? The pull-out convo? ...Yes. That is it.)
Since when does a suspect get under Scully’s skin about her age??? And since when does she need reassurance from Mulder about her looks??? I mean, I suppose that is kind of plausible, and she doesn’t seem TOO upset about it. But this was the most plausible part of the entire thing.
The conversation completely, randomly changes subject like 3 times. (Upon subsequent viewings, I have started to rationalize the flow. See last item on this list.)
“Aside from the fact that I don’t have anyone to have a baby with?” - said while literally lying in bed with a man? After asking him “do you think we will hang out when we are old”??? On what planet does that make sense? And how would that make ANY sense at all to the casual viewer??
“That time has past for me” — what did she mean by that??
“I would have liked to have more kids” followed by Mulder’s look of surprise — ¿¿Dafuq?? Do you mean to tell me that in the 16 years since they ran off together they NEVER bothered to have this conversation??
“Sometimes I think the world is going to hell and we are the only ones who can save it” — another piece of dialogue that, although very believable and true to the character, feels totally out of place in context. Are we to understand that the reason she never brought up the subject of more kids was because that looming 2012 date meant that she couldn’t in good conscience bring a child into a world that may depend on her to survive?
How he totally wraps both arms around her, desperate to never let her go again. You go, Mulder.
I think this is the first time we’ve ever seen them promise to each other they’d be there for each other forever. While it doesn’t necessarily mean romantically, I found it somewhat comforting. I didn’t realize I needed to hear that. But also, it’s significant. And I think we should acknowledge that.
The score. Mark, you never let us down. I was put off a little by the introduction of the show theme – given my unease with the dialogue upon first viewing, it felt out of place – I felt like Chris was trying to force me to have feels by echoing the last scene of the original run. But upon subsequent viewings, I’ve chosen to interpret it differently: This is the show. Mulder and Scully. What Mulder said in their first scene, about “getting back to our bread and butter,” it was prophetic. Maybe he meant it differently, but Chris meant it two ways. …What I really love about the score for this scene, though, is how it begins. It’s just two notes, and like The Edge it rides that simplicity into emotion. Just those two notes set the tone for a scene that is otherwise somewhat disjointed in terms of dialogue. It evokes the sense of wonder that we associate with this show’s most human moments. Wonder at this pairing, at the adventures they’ve had together, and at love itself. I hope this theme continues to be used during the rest of the season.
That beat that Mulder takes before he says “Of course, I can do that.” The look on his face is a mix of stunned disbelief, “Are you sure?” and a sense of attempting to hide a rush of exhilaration at the very idea of once again being needed physically by the one he loves. Pure perfection, David.
Say what you will about CC and the goddamned patriarchy but he has always written Mulder as keenly sensitive, attuned to her needs, and respectful of her boundaries. And it is on display in full force in this episode. When she asks to be comforted he doesn’t take it as an invitation for sex, despite the fact that the contact will have undoubtedly aroused him. When she changes her mind after previously consenting to sex — often a point of confusion for some men — he backs off. Let’s her know he is there if she needs anything. Someone else commented that the door between their rooms is a metaphor — he leaves it open and waits for her to walk through it. He never pushes her through it.
Mulder burying his nose in her hair and whispering, “…with my wheelchair.”
David and Gillian took disjointed dialogue and expertly wove it together like it’s been their goddamned job for 25 years.
