#x-files rewatch

[solia-dreams]

X-Files fans, help me out! I'm writing a 5+1things and I need episode names where Mulder runs off and leaves Scully behind in any way, between S2 and S4. I already have him racing ahead of her in the Pilot for S1 and ditching her in the hotel room in Detour for S5, but need 3 more to guide my rewatching this week while I polish off the creative writing component of my PhD, which is literally in X-Files fanfiction.

So this request is quite literally for (social) science. Thank you xx

[dreamingofscully]

Rewatch

After PhileFest I'm inspired and renewed, so I've decided to do a rewatch of the show and re-do my rewatch posts. They're going on 3 years now, and a lot of the links are broken, so I figured it would be nice to revisit! IDK if much of the content will change, but ... possibly. Hope you enjoy them. 😊

[pressxtodavid]

Imagine being cast to stand in a room and smoke a cigarette whilst everyone else talks, basically a living fucking prop, yet your craggy face and lack of lines somehow make you so mysterious to viewers you become one of the most iconic television villains ever

[kaleidoscope-vol2]

That's it. That's the show.

And I don't know how Mulder isn't more frustrated with Scully.

[thexxit]

I just watched Agua Mala and Monday and honestly those are two underrated shows. Agua Mala, where Mulder seems so desperate to get Scully to love the chase again even though she is classic Scully and obviously also very irritated with him. And Monday... well, Scully is especially gorgeous, she offers to take his friggin check to the bank for him, she learns of his waterbed and knows his bedroom enough to be surprised by it... and the way she holds his chest as he bleeds in her arms... sigh. 

Then, of course, comes Arcadia, and that is always a good time :) 

[dreamingofscully]

6x19. “The Unnatural” - X-Files Rewatch

“Mr. Mulder-- maybe you'd better start paying a little less attention to the heart of the mystery and a little more attention to the mystery of the heart.” - Arthur Dales

The gifs in this post are by @trusttnno1​ and are used with permission! (Check out the full The Unnatural baseball post here.)

Here it is y’all. I think Mulder and Scully became romantically involved after this episode. I know it’s not a commonly held theory, but I love this idea and I think there’s sufficient canon to support it. However! I’m not trying to say my ideas are somehow superior, or that I am attempting to convert everyone to my thinking. I don’t want you to abandon your headcanons if you love them, but if you’re curious about mine, then continue reading and let me know what you think! But just as I respect your theories, I’d hope you’d have the same respect for mine.

Read on for analysis!

Poor Scully lugging the giant books. She complains about being inside on a sunny day, but you’ll notice she frames it as a question towards Mulder: “Mulder, it is such a gorgeous day outside. Have you ever entertained the idea of trying to find life on this planet?”

She’s saying, in essence, I’M HERE, HELLO?!

Also I love the connection to the ending. Scully wanting to be outdoors and to enjoy time away from work, then Mulder inviting her outdoors later specifically separate from their work.

Her cute face when eating her dreamsicle. She is in SUCH a different place here than the last scene we saw her in - the ending of “Milagro”. This is one of the main reasons I see the shift in their relationship happening around this time rather than in season 7. Scully is playful, very smiley, joking around. She has a lightness about her that we have so VERY rarely seen. Something’s different - I think she’s ready and that she’s just waiting for him to be ready as well. She is super flirty with him.

Mulder’s “Ugh. Bet the air in my mouth tastes better than that. You sure know how to live it up, Scully.”

Why don’t you test that theory? 

Also, WHO exactly is the one pouring over records in the office, calling her in over a weekend? WHO exactly needs to learn to “live it up”? 

Scully’s throwing all the hints Mulder’s way but he’s still SO FOCUSED on the work. I think he intended to invite Scully to the office to just spend time with her, because he doesn’t know how to spend time with her otherwise. He feels he doesn’t have the right, or that she wouldn’t want to, or that he can’t have her and his quest at the same time. 

The picture of them is now ON THE WALL instead of sitting on the desk. I guess Mulder is done his feathering. I’m wondering at the symbolism of that, though. No longer just placed on a counter, with the lamp pointing at it, but attached to the wall WITH PERMANENCE. 

How apt is it that Mulder leaves on a case, distracted by it, forgetting that he called Scully here for a different purpose (just to have her near)? VERY.

Scully’s face when he tears out the page in the book, contrasted with her very turned on face and saying “Rebel”. She’s generally a rule follower, but… she’s willing to break them under very particular circumstances. And enjoys it when doing so. 

***

I really enjoyed the Exley story. It was a wonderful tale that I seem to forget about because it’s sandwiched between some of the best MSR we’ve ever gotten in the show. But, this analysis is about the MSR so that’s what I’m going to focus on.

“What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will.” - Arthur Dales

All of Mulder’s questions can be answered by baseball. So what does he do at the end with Scully? He shares baseball with her.

“Agent Mulder, do you believe that love can make a man shape-shift?” - Dales “I guess… women change men all the time.” - Mulder

Dales goes on to say he’s not talking about women, and Mulder is being non-specific about being changed - but it is 100% the case that he’s changed since Scully has come into his life. It doesn't really have to do with the fact that she’s a woman, but that she’s SCULLY. He’s learned to only trust the right people, that she loves him and he might even be worthy of it, but he still has some ways to go.

Dales’ “heart of the mystery/mystery of the heart” comment. Just… !!!!! He encourages Mulder to think about things other than his obsession with the X-Files. That there is more to life than his endless pursuit of the Truth.

Dales calls his baseball figure “Pete Rosebud”. A reference to Citizen Kane? A name spoken on a deathbed that doesn’t get solved, but it’s related to the last happy moments of the character in the movie. The suggestion that trying to solve the mystery on its own is doomed to failure, that there is something else worth pursuing.

Mulder’s love for baseball brings him back to his childhood, when he was happy (see “Home”) and his thoughts about settling down and having a family, remembering his childhood by the smell of the baseball. He wants to give that to Scully.

The love Exley has for baseball - it changes him. Mulder changes, or vows to change, by the end. This is the awakening he needed. He doesn’t HAVE to have a singular, obsessive focus on his quest in order to be successful. In fact, the suggestion that he CANNOT be successful if he pursues his Truth above all else in his life.

Just because something is mundane, like love, doesn’t mean it isn’t the purpose, the reason behind it all. This doesn’t mean he should discount all the complicated stuff, that he should “get out of the car” like Scully seems to want, but that he should INCLUDE it in his life alongside all the rest. His focus has been solely his work. He lives there, considers it his home, and was lost when it was taken away. He needs to round out his life to give it a stronger purpose.

After hearing how baseball changed Exley, whether he believes it or not, the message is there. Mulder thinks more about simple things - love, baseball. Perhaps he can change too?

For a while now Scully has been questioning her priorities and trying to get Mulder to leave the X-Files, to abandon the quest that she sees as never ending and having no hope of a satisfying conclusion. She feels she has no chance for a relationship with him as long as he is so focused on his quest - and she is partially correct. Dales’ words, and Mulder’s reminder of happier times, gets him to take that next step, showing Scully he’s ready to expand his universe to include more than his quest.

So, he invites Scully to play baseball with him.

And not just… tossing balls at her and giving her a few tips. Wrapping himself around her, speaking closely into her ear, making her laugh, his hand lingering on her hip. It’s SO MULDER, and so very intimate and romantic.

“Hips before hands.”  ❤️   

“I’m in the middle.”  ❤️ 

And Scully’s giggle.  ❤️ 

Not to mention baseball metaphors/idioms. They are literally hitting home runs. Hitting it out of the park. Together, they write their future in the stars.

I can’t imagine them waiting minutes, never mind months, to release all the pent-up passion they’re been withholding for years after this moment. Scully’s ready, and Mulder decides to take a chance, to expand his world to include a relationship with her. Not abandoning his quest, but making it stronger by including Scully, by having her closer at his side for it. 

By focusing on the mysteries of the heart as well as the heart of the mystery.

End Note/Future Discussions/Disclaimer I’ll address such things as the Amor Fati confessions/dream, the Millennium kiss, and the conclusion of the Samantha arc when it comes to those episodes.

[dreamingofscully]

7x12. “X-Cops” - X-Files Rewatch

Why is the female cop frisking Mulder and the male cop frisking Scully?

Scully hiding behind Mulder, or doors, or anything really, is super adorable.

Walking and talking closely. She grabs his arm to pull him away from the cameras. I wonder if they watched this episode later, and were like… “Huh, we really are pretty obvious aren't we?”  😆

Mulder’s cute smile, leaning close to her to say he appreciates her not wanting him to look foolish. But... “I don't want me looking foolish, Mulder.” 

Scully backing up Mulder in front of the cameras and Mulder’s smile. When Scully hears from Skinner that they “don’t have anything to hide” (aka cooperate) she’s nicer but NOT comfortable about the situation. 😆

I LOVE Steve and Edy.  ❤️

Mulder trying to banter with Scully but she’s quiet because they have an audience. I love how they approach the cameras so differently. Mulder is nonchalant about it - enjoys having someone to narrate to, someone to potentially capture evidence of what he sees. Scully, however, is so awkward and embarrassed about it.

Mulder only drives with one hand. He’s not holding Scully’s hand here because there’s other people in the car but I bet they hold hands when they’re alone. 😭

Love Mulder’s complete disinterest when the witness sees something mundane (the pimp).

“Oh God, more of you?” - Scully 😆

Mulder is acting a bit obnoxious in front of the cameras - ordering Scully around and telling her to get gas. (We know from Dreamland that he usually does that, haha.) He’s just acting like an excited child, I don’t think she takes offense. 😆

Scully’s cute “because the FBI has nothing to hide” and her smile while doing the autopsy.

The cops watching Mulder and Scully’s interactions in the autopsy bay when they’re leaning into one another. They can tell. Definitely.

Scully’s “I hate you guys” when finding the terrified camera crew in the closet, slamming the door on them.

The ending, Scully’s smile. She feels bad he didn’t get proof, but Mulder points at the camera, saying it's all about the editing.

[dreamingofscully]

7x15. “En Ami” - X-Files Rewatch

WRITTEN BY WILLIAM B. DAVIS

(Sorry but that taints this episode completely for me. I rant a lot about how incredibly creepy and stupid this ep is - warning ahead!)

This episode is ALLLLLLL about WBD/CSM wanting to possess something (Gillian/Scully). Also he’s stupid (I prefer to think of him as the bumbling thug from Anasazi than into some sort of sympathetic and omnipotent villain that the show keeps wanting us to see him as). 

Mulder is unused to Scully knowing about random stories before he can tell her. That should arouse his suspicion, and is one of the reasons he is so adamant something is wrong later on in the episode.

Scully’s light blue turtleneck. 😍

CSM tempting Scully and telling her not to contact Mulder. That should be her first warning something is wrong. She’s written pretty stupidly this episode (no surprise given the writer) but I explain it by her confusion over not being able to trust herself. She’s slowly transitioning from a position of absolute skepticism to something with more ambiguity. Her instincts scream at her to NOT TRUST CSM but she ignores them because she’s not sure if she can trust herself anymore.

CSM traps her in the building so she can’t change her mind about seeing him. What a fucking creep. The only way he can possess her is if he tricks her, forces her into it. Gross.

That Mulder immediately calls her when he uses the “family emergency” excuse. ❤️ He either knows something is strange or is just concerned about her because he loves her and he’s worried about Maggie. 😍

All of the “revealing” shots this episode. CSM/WBD is just a fucking creep.

“You keep your guard up, a wall around your heart. How else do you explain that fearless devotion to a man obsessed, and, yet, a life alone? You'd die for Mulder but you won't allow yourself to love him.” - CSM

He has no idea that M&S are already involved, Krycek has been easily keeping that from him. What a fucking idiot.

Her sarcasm. How wrong he is. He’s completely off the mark. She HAS been walled up about believing things, that’s her downfall this episode, she’s not sure what to believe or who to trust.

“I’ve been a destroyer all my life.”

He really has a high opinion about himself which I couldn’t care less about.

It’s all about the power for him. How original.

He compares his want for power to Scully’s decision to go into medicine. That they are similar at all. They couldn’t be MORE different. He can’t comprehend that people have different motivations to him. He has ZERO empathy.

Scully doesn’t want to talk to Mulder on the phone, she knows she wouldn’t be able to lie to him.

He’s so worried about her. 😥

How she’s able to stay asleep. I could see her falling asleep because she’s exhausted, but it would be a LIGHT sleep. She’s definitely been given something to make her deeply unconscious. There is NO WAY she wouldn’t wake up when she’s carried from the car to the room and undressed. He puts the gloves on to inject her with something. The implication that his weak ass carries her is fucking hilarious (it was his stooge that did it, and who probably undressed her too).

That she doesn’t leave immediately upon waking is the biggest error of her character this episode. I can see her doing the rest not trusting herself but there is no way she’d stay after this. The writing is fucking terrible.

LGM/Skinner interaction is the best part of the episode. But I still hate it. Fucking WBD/CSM.

The fucking sexy dress. This episode is all about objectifying Scully. More than even fucking Milagro. Who cares what her motivations are, what she would normally do, lets show her bra over and over and put her in a strapless dress and imply that CSM fucking changed her clothes while she slept. 

She’ll be reluctant to wear a similar dress again, because it reminds her of this stupid creepy asshole.

Calling her “Dana”. UGH.

She’s finally had enough, returns immediately. Mulder’s pissed - understandably.

CSM realizes how much he likes her after all, thinks he has a right to her company. Ugh what a creep.

Scully trying to justify her actions and explain her decisions. (They were just stupid because the writer is a hack! WOW IMAGINE THAT WBD AND CSM ARE SO SIMILAR.)

That she trusted his words - so uncharacteristic. Mulder’s disappointment.

CSM throws away the disc which can supposedly save millions because he can’t possess Scully. The world must burn because he’s a petulant child that can’t have his way. What a fucking asshole.

A few points to address:

He doesn’t do anything to her while she’s sleeping, he just wants the sense of power and control it gives him. He wants her to feel that he COULD have done whatever he liked. UGH.

The implication that he’s the father of William is complete horseshit. Scully would have done a paternity test, WOULD HAVE PERFORMED IT HERSELF TO ENSURE SHE COULD TRUST IT, and would have known who the father was as soon as possible after his birth.

I prefer the theory from @dnscully​ that she was healed/returned to normal from the craft in Biogenesis/Sixth Extinction, and thus became pregnant naturally. Like with any pregnancy, it takes time and luck (and the effects are not immediate), so she conceives William around the time of “all things”.

This episode takes away Scully’s agency (forces her into CSM’s building early on, takes away the normal decisions she would have made, takes advantage of her vulnerabilities - her mental state at this time and her desire to cure people, AND DOES THINGS TO HER WITHOUT HER CONSENT WHILE SHE IS UNCONSCIOUS). It should never have happened, and I am really upset about the existence of the things that happened - for Scully and for Gillian. 

After the events of this episode, Mulder is really hurt by Scully's actions. She's his only person in the world and he feels as if she broke his trust. He needs time to forgive, to get over what happened. Scully feels really awful about what she put Mulder through, and in hindsight knows she made a terrible mistake.

It doesn’t matter that Mulder has gone off and done stupid things like this before, that he’s trusted people he shouldn’t. That’s one of the things that Scully has tried so hard to rid him of - his willingness to trust and believe in anything. That the person he looks towards, his TOUCHSTONE, goes against everything that she seems to hold as true would be devastating for him. 

The “you always keep be guessing” gets twisted in this episode. Does he really know her? Can he trust her? Does she really love him? Should they be together?

A headcanon:

I think the events in this episode, combined with his brain surgery in Sixth Extinction, his mother’s death, and his mixed feelings about finding out about what happened to Samantha would trigger a depression. M&S go through a rough patch for a bit.

My fic Momentum takes place directly after this episode and deals with the above theory/headcanon and goes through the next two (Chimera, all things). I’d love it if you gave it a read and let me know what you think! (Or you can wait until after Chimera/all things.)