I don’t really have a problem with the whisper, because there IS said a lot of stuff right before and after it. The whisper is just a tiny little fragment in there. And the conversation in my mind is stellar. I think every Mulder and Scully scene in the episode is written very very well. Do I think that the whisper is a great screenwriting choice: Nope. Not great. Stuff like that can quickly become a crutch or an excuse to make a choice. If you think about it It might even have to do with Karen Nielsen’s fear of the legacy she’s become a part of. The reactions, backlash, whatever. I don’t think so, because she had a neat explanation for it (the whisper being the ultimate private moment) and the rest of the episode doesn’t seem fearful, especially considering what IS said in the church conversation. I understand that people complain about the whisper because so much of Mulder’s and Scully’s relationship has in fact been private, meaning we never got to fucking see it. You could argue that to a viewer it doesn’t matter if you don’t even get to see something in the first place OR you get to see two people say something incredibly intimate that you don’t get to hear. Withholding is a problem with this precious awesome show. Withholding and vagueness that ceases to serve any purpose. Milk some chemistry! Be my guest. There IS something fun and interesting aboutit. But never think that vagueness is a good storytelling choice, especially when it comes to a relationship that has lasted so many tv hours. But that’s the thing: Karen Nielsen (together with Wong and Morgan apparently-but she had this vision! This is hers!) opted to get out of that vagueness. She did something really outstanding in the history of this show, I think. And she did it very very well. That whisper is actually just a little remainder of sins of the past, a fragment of a Chris Carter fingerprint...