Several questions: a) when did mulder first fall for scully, b) when did he realise it, c) when did scully fall for mulder, d) when did she realise it, e) when did they first bang forreal
I will try and keep this shorter than novel length…
I think Scully had a crush on Mulder in the very beginning. She was used to always being the smartest person in the room and here comes this handsome, weirdo genius with all this passion. The intellectual battles fired her up. For arguably the first time, Scully’s brain was matched in competency and it was exciting. She left medicine for a career in excitement, no? But she also recognized that he was an obsessed workaholic with no time or thought toward anything even remotely romantic. So, she flirted some and was jealous some (Phoebe) and eventually compartmentalized the crush. Scully’s ability to pack up thoughts and feelings into boxes with neat little bows and shelf them throughout the series still amazes me.
Mulder had a different experience in the beginning. Scully was a spy, she was not to be trusted, but here was this woman who actually listened to what he was saying. No one ever just listened to him and gave his thoughts consideration before disagreeing or dismissing him as crazy. He didn’t want to like her, because she was the enemy, but he couldn’t help himself. She gave him respect when no one else bothered. So, he tried to guard himself with sarcasm, but still ended up spilling his guts about his sister on their first case. There was no crush going on for him like there was for Scully- for a long time Mulder just didn’t believe he was worth anything. And the people in his life, namely his parents, kept proving that to him. So, when they were reassigned at the end of season 1, Mulder took it as Scully leaving him, and good for her, she’ll have a better life.
At this point, Scully had shelved her little crush but cared about Mulder enough to pull him out of his funk, even though he straight up ignored her in the hallway when she tried to say hi. Little Green Men was really Mulder’s moment to realize that Scully actually gave a shit, and oh my god he had a friend, a partner, in this. His spy guard came completely down at this point and all those caring feelings he pushed back came to the front.
Then they took Scully away. Mulder went bat shit crazy. The one person, the one thing in his life that didn’t treat him like crap was gone. He didn’t know how to function anymore. I know a lot of people think he was in love with her then, but I don’t see it that way. He wasn’t capable of being in love quite yet, still too damaged and self-loathing. It was more like he’d been holding his breath for years and then finally inhaled. And right at that moment, all the oxygen was sucked out of the room. He totally panicked. His life didn’t make any sense without her anymore. Thank the lord she was returned, because I do believe that if she hadn’t been, he would’ve spiraled out of control and gotten himself killed within a year. He was so affected by her being gone, he traded his sister for her later that year. Season 1 Mulder wouldn’t have.
When Scully came back, her investment in the X-Files went up 1000%. They wanted to get those bastards together. Lots more touching and love in season 3, very deep friendship going on. If they were normal people with normal lives, they’d have fallen for each other during this time. But, this is Mulder and Scully and their focus was not on their relationship, it was on justice and the truth. They both trusted that the other would be there until their work was done, so there was no reason to question anything at this point. It was an unspoken pact between them that they’d keep going and keep fighting until all the questions were answered.
Season 4 is when things get interesting. Good ol’ Ed in Philly reminded Mulder that Scully is a person outside of their partnership and that he was taking her for granted. Right after this, cancer brings the whammy. That understanding they had going on that they’d both be in it to win it endlessly is completely shattered by Scully’s mortality. The cancer arc is where Mulder tips the scales and falls in love. He’s aware of it in his own way, but she is dying and there’s no point in exploring it at this time. The way he looks at her and touches her COMPLETELY changes and evolves in season 4. I’ll never forget his face when he sees her on the couch with Eddie Van Blundht.
Scully has a ton of emotional garbage thrown on her through season 4 and 5. Emily really messed her up and thoughts of being in love with Mulder were far from her head. I mean, she did, but she put it in a box and shelved it without even realizing it. I think Scully fell in love first but she had absolutely no clue. When she wrapped up that crush from season 1 in a box, that was the last of her exploration into anything beyond friendship with Mulder for a very long time.
They both were in love with one another in FTF, Mulder knew it, Scully didn’t. This could’ve been their moment to bang it out and enter the bliss of being in love, but cue Fowley. I swear I have never hated anything as much as I hated that woman. When Scully sees her holding Mulder’s hand in The End, she is completely devastated. That scene is so damn powerful, her walking out to the car and calling him to go to the office. Seeing that affected her so much, she couldn’t even handle it. This pushed her to explore her feelings some, which is why she was in a place to kiss him in the hallway in FTF.
Season 6 was a legit rollercoaster for MSR. When Mulder told Scully he loved her in Triangle, he absolutely meant it 100%. He was ready to deal with it, but she wasn’t. She passed it off as a drugged up moment. But, they walked closer and closer to the line and were SO CLOSE by the time Rain King and Tithonus rolled around they could taste it (and so could we). Scully’s speech about friendship and love in the bathroom is how she feels about Mulder. Of course, CC is the devil. So re-enter Fowley. She wrecked everything all over again. Mulder and Scully really had to build their partnership back up after One Son. Scully was still pissed at him in Arcadia. Mulder was so excited to touch her and play married but she was having none of it.
For me, Milagro sealed the deal. Scully almost got her heart ripped out and clung to Mulder for dear life. We got jealous!Mulder and heard someone say out loud that Scully was in love. No time for putting it off any longer, the shift has occurred. You can see it in The Unnatural. The weight has been lifted, they both know they are in love with each other and the coupling will happen, it is inevitable at this point. Even Fowley can’t stop it this time. They even exchange vows in Armor Fati…
And finally, after seven long years, they bang it out January 1, 2000.
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