#txf 1x03

[scullysbagelbites]

This format was made 4 him <3

[stilliwatch]

“Mulder look, Colton plays by the book and you don’t. They feel your methods, your theories are—”

“Spooky?”

[agentelmo]

The X-Files MSR Analysis Series: Season 1 Episode 3

“Squeeze”

Previous episode analysis - 1x02 Deep Throat.

This episode is basically How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Mulder and Scully edition.  Mulder is forced to confront the fact his FBI colleagues mistrust and mockery of him makes it difficult to work with others, whereas Scully is beginning to feel tainted by association and has to examine where her loyalties lie.  Oh and some dude can squeeze his way through tiny holes to murder people.  That happens too.

So we start with Scully having lunch with an old Academy friend - Tom “Scumbag” Colton who insinuates that Scully should be focusing on progressing her career rather than toiling away in the basement looking for aliens with Mulder.  Now I don’t say he’s a scumbag for ragging on Mulder, I say he’s a scumbag because one of the first things out of his mouth is to tear down a supposed friend for getting a promotion before him.  Hey Colton if this “Marty” guy is such a loser, what does that make you? HUH? HUH?

Also, he ragged on Mulder.  What a butt nugget.

Dude, shows what you know.  20-odd years later and she’ll still be tapping that spooky ass.

Now in a rare moment of vulnerability, Mulder uses sarcastic, mock-shock humour to act oblivious to the fact he has any kind of negative “reputation”.  But it’s a front - a defence mechanism to deflect the fact he actually is, at least a little, bothered by being labelled “Spooky Mulder” - seen as a kook; him and his work never being taken seriously.  

It was no doubt a painful fall to go from the FBI’s most lauded profiler, to being considered a madman and a laughing stock.  So he has become the master of deflection using deadpan sarcasm, when he feels vulnerable, to shield himself from the kinds of comments he anticipates Scully’s academy friends have expressed to her.  But just for a moment, he doesn’t shield himself.  He is openly vulnerable when he reveals to her that he does care by asking if she thinks of him that way too.  

He’s looking for some kind of reassurance from her, and I think she sees that - she softens as he asks the question, which we don’t get an answer to, but we all know that she doesn’t think that way about him.   As much as she hates to admit it, she clearly finds him quite endearing; hot and endearing... Mulder, for the love of God, stop pouting.  The woman has to concentrate.

Also, roll it back a second... is Mulder checking Scully out for a moment before they start talking?  His eyes are roaming... seriously, look.

Yeah, he’s deffo checking her out.  Again, I really don’t think he’s especially conscious of doing it - which makes me love it even more.

Something else that happens in this scene, which unfortunately for Mulder, plays right into Scully’s building inner conflict about her career path, is his outright embarrassing her in front of Colton by playing up to his stereotype of being an E.T. loving nut bag.  

This coming hot off the heels of Scully defending Mulder to Colton.  She gets that he’s joking, but look at the way she widens her eyes when she realises what Mulder is doing.  Poor Scully.  She get’s his deadpan delivery is a joke - Colton somehow doesn’t.  Oops.

I’m British, it’s spelt grey. FIGHT ME.

Poor Scully, look at her face at the end, apologising to Colton with her eyes.  She’s mortified and Colton has just had his opinion of Mulder set in granite.

The next scene in their basement office is quite interesting to watch because it sets the blueprint of so many of their future interactions.  They are feeling their way around each other, and learning how their polar opposite methodologies can work together effectively.  

This episode is especially important in that regard, because Scully is clearly torn between wanting to do it Colton’s way - “by the book” and Mulder’s way - following the truth no matter where it leads, even if things turn to the fantastic and unconventional.

She’s drawn to Mulder in that regard, just as he’s drawn to her.  She’s a woman of science, after all, and any scientist worth their salt has to be open to all the evidence no matter how challenging, but boy does she ever find it challenging.  

She has moments - moments of awe at how Mulder puts the pieces together, and then it’s like she catches herself, remembering that they have to answer to the FBI, and her inner sceptic emerges to keep them both on the straight and narrow.  As Mulder himself will later proclaim in Fight the Future - her strict rationalism and science repeatedly saves his ass and keeps him honest.  So while it might be a frustrating process at times, it’s a necessary one, and Mulder appreciates that.

I also love that this scene introduces the Scully classic preamble.  “Are you suggesting...”

Ok before we move on, a couple things to add.  

One.  Personal space again.  Mulder, can you please stand closer?

Her face.  Seriously, she must be able to feel his body heat from that distance

Two.  I love how when Scully mockingly comes up with a crackpot theory based on what Mulder is saying, she actually hits the nail on the head more often than not.  She gets better and better at this over the years, to the point she really does know what he’s thinking as he’s thinking it.  

The final piece of dialogue in this scene is interesting, because Scully tells Mulder he’s not wanted on the case, that his theories are the reason he’s hidden away in the basement, to which Mulder retorts that she’s in the basement with him too.  

Careful, Mulder.

That comment seems to hit a little too close to home for Scully. After Colton’s ribbing and Mulder embarrassing her in front of him, she does appear to be seriously considering if she wants to be Mrs. Spooky for the long haul.  With the possibility of reassignment lingering in her thoughts, she can’t help but wonder if doing this with Mulder down in the basement is what she really wants.  

Oi.  Mind. Gutter. Out.

Mulder suggests that they have their own investigation separate from Colton and you can see the cogs turning for Scully.  

She knows she will have to make a choice soon, and poor cute!Mulder has no idea, he’s placed his trust in this new, unexpectedly wonderful partner and the idea that she might ditch him doesn’t appear to have crossed his mind in the slightest.  

But ditch him, she does.

So little side note, isn’t it weird that Scully is asked to come up with a profile for the killer?  She has no background in profiling that I am aware of.  So the fact that she comes up with a behavioural profile for Colton’s investigative team is kind of odd, right?  I mean, I’m British so what do I know of how the FBI works, and I’m a psychotherapist not a psychologist (there’s a difference) so equally what do I know of building a forensic psychological profile - but I found that strange.  Especially since Mulder is the hot-shot profiler between the two of them.

Still, as strange as it is - what’s stranger is watching Scully present her profile to VCS team.  

This career-driven side of Scully is not something we often see.  She clearly enjoys the recognition and praise from her colleagues but the conflict shes feeling only deepens when they allude to her using her success on this case as a way to ditch Mulder and the X-Files.  She has a loyalty to Mulder now, that she cannot ignore, and hearing their comments bothers her.  They don’t know him like she does - she’s becoming protective of him; and of their partnership.  

Her change in body language says it all really.  As much as she’s questioning whether she wants to remain working with Mulder, I think she’s also now questioning if this is where she belongs too, with people as small minded and closed off as this.  Mulder has opened her eyes to something, and as frustrating as he can be, his boundless passion and willingness to challenge convention appeals to her much more than conformity does.  You only have to take one look at her rebellious decision to join the FBI to understand that about her.

Now it’s time for Mulder to act a little insecure... Scully didn’t agree to Mulder’s suggestion that they investigate separately.  She decided to ditch Mulder and work with Colton and the VCS.  You think Mulder might have been a teenie bit wounded by that?  Just a lil bit?

Watch out Scully, there’s a lost puppy following you.

Think about it, they’re at the location of previous murders.  This is the office building from the opening of the episode, right?  So why is Mulder there at all if he doesn’t believe the murderer has any reason to revisit the location of past murders?  

He is specifically there for Scully, and to make this point to her - that she’s made the wrong choice in working with them; that she’s wrong about the case, and that she’d have half a clue if she’d read the X-File.  Read between the lines here - she’d have half a clue if she’d stuck with him instead of them.  He’s half trying to win her over and half resentful of her choice to ditch him.

It’d be kind of sweet really if it wasn’t so arrogant.  Because turns out, Scully was actually right.

I like how Mulder doesn’t make a fuss over admitting he was wrong either.  He isn’t defensive or put out, he simply states it as a matter of fact.  Someone raised that boy right.  

Hmm... well, kinda.

The next scene is great - MSR gold.  In fact, it’s a breakthrough for the Mulder-Scully relationship.  It’s where she makes her choice and decides to remain loyal to Mulder and their partnership - she chooses him over them, and it’s not hard to see why.

I’ll let you take a moment.  Deep breaths...

All done?

Years after the show ended, this image of him with a dark, brooding look on his face as Colton suggests taking Scully away from him lived on, clear as a bell, in my shipper heart.

It’s not hard to see why Scully chooses Mulder over the VCS.  They’re closed minded, and unwilling to even hear let alone investigate alternative theories.  As sceptical as Scully can be, she at least hears Mulder out and applies her scientific brain to the theories he presents.  Whereas these guys dismiss Mulder out-of-hand.  That’s not the kind of scientist - nor the kind of investigator Scully wants to be.

Also, those guys were being douchbags towards this man she feels protective over now.  As previously mentioned, she knows him in a way these guys don’t and so even when maybe Colton and his cronies have a point, she and Mulder are in a bubble together where she feels she is the only one who hears him, and she feels a responsibility to him now.  This develops deeper and deeper as their relationship grows.  To the point where they outright confess to each other repeatedly that they are the only one they feel this way towards “you are the only one I trust” etc.  This scene, is the genesis of those grand declarations in later seasons of the show.  

Colton, bless him, tries to act as Scully’s protector; thinking she’s still on his side but she rejects him - he’s the one on the outside now, not Mulder.

We’ve heard people’s opinions of Mulder when he’s not been there, but to see first hand what I imagine Mulder has had to deal with for quite some time, it makes you as the viewer protective of Mulder too.  Scully is the audiences’ champion, throwing her lot in with Mulder - they’re a team, and this is the first time she makes it clear to the FBI world that she’s not just following orders - she’s on Mulder’s side.

Go girl.

Now it’s time for your shipper hearts to go a flutter... It’s Mulder vs. personal space again.  Coupled with a rare admission of attachment to Scully.

So wait, wait... back up.  Did Mulder just admit that he was winding those guys up because he felt threatened by their attempts at taking her away from him?

That’s... like... quite unlike him, isn’t it?  To outright admit he is attached to her.  I mean, he struggles to acknowledge his feelings generally, so to just admit this to her like this feels oddly out of character.  I mean, I love it - I will take what I can get, but look at Scully’s face when he reaches for her pendant and she realises what he’s saying.  

We need to see that expression in hi-res.

Again, on the page it might not have meant to sound like Mulder was admitting he has an emotional attachment to her now, and Scully on the page, might not have meant to react like she’s just been told she’s the only woman in the world, but the acting by these two conjures up an undeniable sexually tension behind the words.

Isn’t it glorious?

Then that is immediately followed by Scully telling Mulder in not so many words, “I’m team Spooky.”

I love you, Scully.  Look how happy Mulder is.  Again they are in their bubble together - she’s the only one who hears him and is willing to open her mind to his way of thinking.  At this moment, Colton and a conventional FBI career has lost.  She chooses Mulder.  It’s over.  She’s a card carrying member of team Spooky now.

#GoTeamSpooky

They’re finally on the same page, working together and when that happens it’s magic.  Straight away they corroborate their theory that the murderer is Tooms.  Oh right, I haven’t mentioned that guy yet, huh.

They’re so great together as investigators, it’s fun to just watch them put the pieces together, challenging each other to refine their theories, never intellectually threatening one another, only raising each other up.

I love how Mulder sums up Scully’s theory of introjected sociopathic values being passed down through the generations of Tooms’ family.

They go to investigate Tooms old apartment and there’s some great classic moments here, not necessarily MSR, but certainly a few great character moments.  Also, this iconic shot.

So character moments, the first one is with Scully being a total badass and going down into the creepy murder dungeon first.  She doesn’t even flinch - she’s straight down that ladder... also, her hair touches Mulder’s face.  

Not that I think such trivial things are important at all.  *whistles*

Not to mention this classic Mulder-ism.  

Glen Morgan and James Wong certainly have a way with dialogue.

Things progress quickly from here, Tooms steals Scully’s necklace right from around her neck as he dangles from the ceiling of the murder dungeon, which sets her up as his next liver and onions victim.

Mulder thankfully works this out and rushes to Scully’s apartment, arriving just as Tooms attacks.

This is another dynamic that will oft be repeated in the show.  Some crazy psychotic killer targeting Scully, and Mulder arriving just in the nick of time to save her.  It’s a little cliché, but I have to admit, it also brings the two of them together and delivers on some great MSR moments, and it’s not like Scully doesn’t do her own fair share of saving.  It’s just not usually because some mad man has decided to target Mulder and murder him in his bathroom.  

People seem to try to murder Scully in her bathroom all the time.  I always wondered why she never moved.  So many creepy things have happened in that apartment.

Also, since Tooms’ ability is to contort his body to fit through small spaces, why doesn’t he just slip out of the handcuffs?  I mean, it makes sense that he doesn’t since Mulder is pointing a gun at him, but he’s yanking away at the cuffs, presumably to get free, but we know that he can easily do it if he wanted to.  Weird.

Then we come to the end, with Mulder musing about how people spend so much money on security systems trying to feel safe, but that when he looks at Tooms he realises that it’s not enough.  He’s disturbed by him, and Scully notices this.

It’s here we see one of the first examples of how they comfort each other with touch.  Whether its a rub of the arm, a hand hold, a hug, a kiss to the forehead... they develop this language of reassurance and care towards one another, and this is one of the first times we see it.  

It’s kind of amazing to go back and watch these episodes and see all of these firsts.

And that’s it for Squeeze.  Wow, seems each episode I do the longer these get!  But this was a pretty special episode, in that it’s a true classic of the series, the first truly golden episode that, amongst many others, is held up as one of the best in the entire show’s run.  I hope that my next episode won’t be quite this monstrously long, but hey, I hope you guys enjoy reading it all the same, because I have such fun writing it.

Next up... 1x04 - Conduit.

Edit: FYI, I slightly altered my analysis from the original post with the help of this fantastic Anon’s feedback.

[cutemothman]

maybe you won't have to be mrs. spooky anymore

Squeeze is such an important episode for Scully. (And it's just a great episode in general! a truly classic motw) We've been talking a lot lately about Scully's autonomy and her decisions that led her down the path that she follows and I feel like Squeeze is a showcase of exactly that. Of how her decisions affect the narrative.

We start the episode with her listening to a colleague insult Mulder, completely unprovoked. They weren't even talking about Mulder. Colton asks her "How are you doing? Have you had any close encounters of the third kind?" He doesn't care how she's doing. He just wanted an excuse to bring up Mulder so that he could talk shit about him and then turn around to indirectly ask Scully to bring Mulder in to help on the case.

Scully wastes no time defending Mulder. I think it is very telling of someone's character when they stand up for people who aren't around to defend themselves. Scully certainly knows how it feels to be looked down on, especially as a woman in a male dominated field. Even though Colton asks for her help, it's obvious that he doesn't respect her the way that Mulder does. He even goes as far as to ask Scully to choose sides, to which she responds that she's on the victims side.

Ooooooh. That moment right there. It is a perfect example of why Scully chose to follow Mulder. They want the same thing. They want to catch bad guys. They want to help people. They want to find out the truth. She isn't throwing her life away, even though that's what her colleagues may see. She's choosing the path that she believes is right. This is the Dana Scully who chooses the side of the victim and stands up for her partner.

Another great moment is when Mulder says "you may not always agree with me but at least you respect the journey" This!!!! This boils down their relationship so perfectly. In the beginning, Scully disagrees with Mulder. A lot. But she's here for the exact same reason that he is. To find the truth. It reminds me of in season 6(?) when Mulder is defending Scully to Diana by saying the she makes him work for it. Yes yes yes. There's a great song by Tacocat called Dana Katherine Scully with the line "she wants to know what's out there, but she needs to know why". Scully doesn't take things at face value, but she doesn't belittle Mulder for what he believes. It's her scientific brain needing proof, and honestly, I think that's admirable. She wants to find proof not only for herself, but for the rest of the world. And for Mulder.

Mulder then tells Scully that if she wants to keep working with Colton, he won't hold it against her. He's not used to people sticking around. Scully was sent to spy on him. Of course he doesn't expect her to be in for the long haul. Her response is to follow him and say that she knows he has more evidence to back up his theory. She wants to find the truth! She's open to these possibilities even if they are kind of out there! She's following her orders to investigate(debunk) Mulder's claims of the paranormal with scientific evidence, and you bet your ass she's going to do it right! Scully and Mulder are on this journey for the same reason and by god she's gonna follow it to the end. She chooses to. It's her decision and no one else's. Maybe being Mrs. Spooky isn't such a bad thing.

[isthemachinesinging]

The X-Files 1x03 | "Squeeze" | Do you think I'm spooky?