Other Seasons:
Season 1: INNOCENCE
Season 2: IT’S PERSONAL
Season 3: THE STANDARD
Season 4: BARRIERS
They are both punished for opening up to each other, for expressing how they feel, for trying to do something different.
SCULLY
The season starts with Scully vowing to do something different than she has been for the past 5 seasons. She folded in on herself after her abduction, needing answers, needing to be strong, and she holds onto that isolation like a shield. At the same time, her affection and love for Mulder deepens - he’s brave and selfless, intelligent and humble, relentless and appreciative. When she gets sick, she realizes it only hurts her to be so closed off, that she’s missed so much out of her fear of getting close, letting people in, of exposing herself, of feeling too much and then being hurt.
So, she takes a risk - tries to deepen her relationship with Mulder, open herself up to the idea of raising a child that she thinks is her sister’s, only to be punished for it. Mulder rejects her, holds back precious knowledge from her, and his ex-partner and lover shows up - causing her to fear the loss of the most important relationship and its potential to grow into something more intimate. The daughter she never knew, stolen from her twice. And the chip that saved her takes away her autonomy. It’s a horrifying season for Scully, and the things that happen with Mulder are insignificant when compared with the rest.
Scully has been growing more and more dissatisfied with working on the X-Files. The losses she suffers this season only serve to strengthen these growing concerns. She knows that the people she wants to hold accountable for doing terrible things usually (always?) escape justice (”Tunguska/Terma”, season 4) and feels like her and Mulder have been manipulated for their own ends (”Redux”). If she cannot hold people to justice what is the point of working for the FBI? Even if she could somehow get answers, get the truth, there are no actions left for her to take after that.
The one thing holding her to the X-Files is Mulder. She’s had his back, saved him countless times. She knows what would happen if she wasn’t there. The relentlessness that she loves about him keep him tied to the X-Files even if he can never get justice or satisfying answers. But this season she begins to doubt not only the potential for them to have a deeper and more intimate relationship, but her effectiveness as his partner. Her fear of giving up her rigid skepticism causes significant issues - among them, Mulder getting committed in “Folie à Deux”, their office and work being destroyed in “The End”. He chooses her proof over the nebulous never-ending quest but this choice ends in disaster.
And someone shows up who used to be partnered with him (and who loved and was loved by him), who is a specialist in “para-science” and that Mulder trusts. Wouldn’t this woman be better suited to support Mulder, to give him what he needs, that Scully thinks she is incapable of providing? Diana’s injury sets those insecurities to the side, and in the gap between The End/FTF Scully supports Mulder, turns his black mood around. Things are good between them again, hopeful.
The events in FTF come and Scully’s insecurities rear up again. They’re getting split up, transferred. The only thing keeping her in the bureau (working with Mulder) is being torn from her, so she tells Mulder she’s quitting, not thinking that she has a significant contribution to their work, and being dissatisfied with it anyway. Maybe they can have a relationship outside of work, if she stays near him?
Mulder’s admission that he needs her, that she completes him and his intention to kiss her flips her world upside-down. She knows, now, how he feels about her, that he appreciates how much of an impact she’s had on his work and life. That he knows her skepticism grounds him, steers him in the right direction. He flies across the world to save her, cures her with something he held in his hands. The potential of the vaccine renews her faith in their pursuits in the X-Files as well, gives her something concrete to pursue.
Another risk for Scully -- I think it’s likely that the initial IVF conversation occurs sometime this season between All Souls and The End. Scully wants to keep her connection to Mulder, wants to explore the possibility of a relationship with him outside of the X-Files. I think she’d be too self-conscious to ask him to be a donor after DIana shows up, once she starts doubting the possibility that she could have a romantic relationship with him. She doesn’t expect her question to lead to a more intimate relationship, but she holds out hope that one day, down the road, they could have that together. Diana throws a wrench in those ideas, that Mulder may have feelings for another woman, that the reason he’s rejected her isn’t because of Scully herself, but because he’s been holding a torch for Diana.
MULDER
Mulder’s awareness of his feelings for Scully are a new thing for him. Her illness caused him to realize what he felt. I think he almost takes comfort in being more loving with her when she’s sick because he feels like if he’s going to lose her anyway, so there’s no point in keeping things hidden away. He enjoys the idea of his suffering because he deserves it (see my thoughts on “The Field Where I Died” about this in particular). He does everything in his power to save her because that’s just what he does, and he just cannot lose her even if he thinks that’s what he deserves.
Once she gets better, he’s not willing to risk their current relationship for what he views as a selfish desire for more. His previous relationships have not been healthy - the women he was involved with manipulative and abusive of his guilt-complex. It was easy for him to blame himself for failed relationships. The relationship with Diana, in particular, caused him to deny his feelings for Scully for so long, caused him to push her away even when he knew he loved her. Mulder can’t help but make parallels - that Diana worked with him on the X-Files and abandoned him because of his obsession. He absolutely couldn’t lose Scully because she means more to him than anyone else ever has, and up until now, he associates romantic entanglements with failure, caused by him.
It’s hard for him to deny his feelings, though. Scully’s near-death experience in The Red and The Black makes him desperate. He comes close to telling her his true feelings in “Folie à Deux“ (she’s his “one in five billion”). The thing that finally snaps him out of his stubbornness, though, is his belief that she’s leaving him anyways. When Scully says she’s resigning in Fight the Future, he thinks he won’t see her again. He thinks the only way to keep her is to have her as a partner - even if they don’t have the X-Files, if they have the potential to work together again he can keep her in his life. So, he tells her. It’s spontaneous - both the admission and the near-kiss, but that is a very Mulder-y thing to do.
At the end of the movie, he tries to push her away again briefly because of how close she came to dying, because of HIM. Scully sticks by him, reminds him of his words and their near-kiss, what they almost had. They hold hands and it almost seems inevitable what will come next. Not only does he have Scully by his side, sharing in his quest (that he has a renewed faith in), but he knows she saw something incredible. He thinks he can finally share his beliefs with her, his wonder at all of the unexplainable things he finds fascinating. I’m not sure if he’s convinced himself that she feels the same way as him, but she also hasn’t rejected him and reminds him of their moment in the hallway.
Things... might turn around for them, finally. (... Poor Mulder, and Scully.)
The X-Files MSR Analysis Series: Season 1 Episode 11
“Eve”
Previous episode analysis - 1x10 Fallen Angel.
Eve is a nice episode in terms of MSR because it is littered with cute little moments between Mulder and Scully. Mostly characterised by their silently eyeballing each other. Sometimes when the other isn’t even looking.
Sorry, lets be real here - sometimes when Scully isn’t even looking.
There’s a great scene in Mulder’s motel room which shows they’re still feeling each other out on a personal level - despite Scully’s dismissal of Mulder as a potential love interest in Jersey Devil, she clearly hasn’t 100% given up on it because she’s definitely putting the feelers out in that scene - testing the waters of Mulder’s personal life.
On a non-MSR front, we also get our first whiff of a mention of the super soldiers that become so prominent in season 9. Which is interesting, right? Right?
So the episode begins with Mulder and Scully in Basement HQ talking about the latest spooky goings on. Professor Mulder must have got in late this morning, as he’s still putting together his slide show for this mornings class.
Mulder’s characteristic gallows humour makes an appearance, and what I really like is that he looks up to see her reaction to his joke - is he gonna get a flash of her dazzling smile?
No.
He gets nothing - nada, zip. Scully isn’t rewarding that mediocre attempt.
You know why this stood out to me now? After seeing season 11′s This, it reminded me of the skanky bar scene where Mulder makes a joke about Scully looking “adorbs”. Mulder stares at her for a long ass moment afterwards, waiting for a response.
From the very beginning, he always got a kick out of getting a rise out of her - cracking her cool exterior. I just like that the same gesture is seen here, right at the very beginning of their relationship. He makes a joke to enjoy her response - and I think, a little bit, just to see her smile, because holy shit, Scully has a million watt smile.
Who wouldn’t want to be the cause of that?
How quaint. Remember a time before you knew anything about cattle mutilation, Scully?
What I love about this is what I love about all Mulder’s slide show scenes, which is that he enjoys the song and dance of presenting his ideas to Scully. He likes playing teacher. Look at his face when she gives him her “say what now?” look.
Close enough, Mulder? He’s looming over her, being an utter space invader - as usual. It’s their classic physical flirtation, but where the real foreplay lies between them is in the meeting of two sharply intelligent minds.
He already knew that she wasn’t familiar with the fine art of cattle sucking, and that this would be how their conversation would go. He had it all planned out.
This is why he was queuing up the slide show before he even asked the question - he was just waiting to explain it to her. He sports the smile of smug success, because it’s all gone to plan. He’s hit his mark and now he’s ready to go - Professor Mulder is in the house, people!
He does this for her validation, which in turn allows him to present otherwise fantastic ideas in a way that fits the conventions of a regular FBI investigation - she brings order to his chaos and I think he actually desires that - at this point he’s come to see the value in it.
In Basement HQ with Dana Scully in attendance, Professor Mulder’s theories and ideas are not dismissed as nonsense, they’re treated as potentially valid. This is a place of safety and mental freedom for him. His relaxed demeanour, as he regales the grim details of the case, suggest this is the portrait of a man freed from the limitations of self-doubt and judgement.
This is in sharp contrast to how Mulder has been know to behave around his peers. He has a tendency to be very reticent with his fellow FBI colleagues. He’s been burned one too many times by talking about his ideas, and so tends to keeps his cards close to his chest.
It just goes to show how her validation is like catnip for him - there is no holding back in these show and tells. He fully expects Scully to hear him out and throw out her usual challenges, to which is he more than happy to rise because he knows they come from a place of scientific rigour not condescension and mockery - he revels in the acknowledgement and the challenge.
As the series progresses he refines his beliefs - he too needs proof. But at this stage he really does believe in almost anything, and is happy to go along with any bat shit theory. Seeing is believing for Mulder in season 1.
Not so with Scully, of course. He’s so overtly open and unabashed with his beliefs that sometimes - when you actually listen to exactly what it is he’s saying - you do have to wonder if he is, in fact, crazy.
See what I mean? He’s pretty bald-faced about it. Unflinchingly eccentric. It’s actually kind of touching to watch him spout this nonsensical stuff about aliens coming thousands of light years to exsanguinate some poor moo cows. Seriously, the guy sounds like he’s been smoking the good stuff.
Most normal people would tell him he’s a fucking mental case and report him to FBI human resources - this guy needs a psych evaluation - stat!
But Scully? Nope, she’s there to do a job - put his bat shit craziness to the test, so she swallows her disbelief and instinctive need to object... literally...
...and off we go!
So Mulder and Scully go off to investigate the man who had been blood suckered and have a chat with his daughter - the only witness to his death.
And oh God this series can be tough to watch at times with hindsight... more Scully being totes adorbs and sweetly softly spoken with kids.
Any time Mulder and Scully are in scenes with kids I can’t deal. It hurts man.
Even if the kid in question is creepy AF.
Seriously what is it with the kids being freaky mofos in this show?
Creepiness aside, I love that this little bunny-clutching satan spawn totally plays Mulder.
She tells him what he wants to hear; the implication is that this girl has some kind of mind reading capability to pull “men from the clouds” and the word “exsanguinate” from out her arse.
Uh yeah...
Mulder, this is important... and not the time to be staring at your partner’s lips again. Geez, man. FOCUS.
Scully gets a call that there’s been another murder, so off they jet to San Fran baby! Check it out - that’s a sunny establishing shot!
Although when they get to the murder victim’s residence the weather is grey and overcast as fuck.
You tried, Vancouver. You tried.
What I admire about this scene here with Mulder and Scully is the fact that she doesn’t let Mulder intimidate her.
When Scully was assigned to Mulder, she was green, untested. He’s literally her first ever partner since she’s never been a field agent before, and he has quite the reputation as an incredibly savvy profiler and successful investigator. Not to mention the fact he’s a man, and she’s a woman.
Yet she doesn’t let that stop her questioning his every step.
That’s pretty fucking impressive, isn’t it?
Scully’s self-confidence is crazy admirable. She truly is a phenomenal role model for young girls. I know she was for me.
What’s even more brilliant about her challenge here, is that she is more right than he is. Mulder is, in fact, super wrong. As we discover much later, these two deaths actually are the work of two killers working in tandem like Scully says and Mulder, the career profiler, dismissed this out of hand. 1 - 0 to Scully. Keep score in this episode, because Scully does well to prove she’s more than a match for Mulder.
So they head off to speak with the daughter of the second murder victim, and Mulder exhibits his terrible parking skills. How far away from the kerb do you wanna be, Mulder?
Look at Scully with her little season 1 briefcase... D’awwwwwwww.
Mulder is clearly in a good mood this morning, he’s quite playful with Scully all throughout this scene.
Case in point, when they’re discussing the fact that Teena Simmons has been abducted....
Let’s pause for effect. Look at him looking at her.
Oh Mulder... are you GAZING by any chance?
Scully says the roadblocks turned up nothing... again Mulder, in his chipper mood quips back...
He’s doing it again. Looking for her to react. Both times. He really does like to enjoy her reaction, and I think she knows it because she refuses to give him one. Perhaps it’s to loosen her up; relax. My theory is that he just enjoys breaking down her professional exterior and so he make it his low key eternal mission to make her crack. Like the proper little wind-up merchant that he is.
Also, whoa... Mulder are you blatantly checking Scully out? She conveniently looks away... and down go those eyes. You bad, bad man.
“I do not GAZE at Scully.” Again, pause that.
Sure you don’t.
Then the door opens and we see that the second murder victim’s daughter - Cindy Reardon - looks exactly like the first murder victim’s daughter - Teena Simmons.
Spooky.
Mulder... focus.
I like the little silent conversation that goes on here.
Scully: Mulder, are you seeing this?
Mulder: Yeah, what do you think is going on here?
Scully: No fucking clue.
Scully starts to question the mother about Cindy, and when Mulder chimes in to cut to the chase, he unintentionally upsets the mother. Scully realises instantly he’s in trouble as Mulder stumbles over his words and Scully touches his hand, silently communicating – I’ve got this.
He instantly takes a step back and lets Scully handle it. I fucking love these two.
It’s such a simple gesture, utterly meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but for some reason little things like this make me think these two were made for each other. I know, that’s a melodramatic thing to say, but this little exchange just thrilled me. The simple act is trivial but also beautiful at the same time.
Am I weird? I’m probably just weird.
Muldo and Scullbag head back out to their car and whoa... that is some heady bright red velour interior in their car - yikes.
Holy crapsicle even the steering wheel is red! The 90′s man... Yeesh.
The banter… ah the banter. This is what makes these two so deliciously fun. It’s not the Joss Whedon style of hyper-lighting-fast, sarcastic barbs or witty, self-deprecating one liners that permeate pretty much every TV show going these days. It’s two clearly distinct personalities interacting and sparking off of each other in distinct, individual ways.
Mulder’s sense of humour bubbles along the surface of many of the duo’s scenes together, and it’s Scully’s reaction to his humour, rather than sharp-shooting back, that makes their to and fro banter feel genuine and real. Her reactions tends towards the incredulous or playfully disapproving, but every now and then, he will be rewarded for his efforts with a dazzling smile of genuine amusement.
That feels more real to me because we’re not all witty zing-miesters ready and waiting with the best come back of our lives. Although Mulder does land a few good ones, that’s defined as part of his personality, not just the collective state of all human beings that exist in the world like we seem to get in a lot of TV these days.
That’s not to say that Scully isn’t funny too. She also gets her occasional zingers, but the infrequency of them makes them all the sweeter.
So Scully goes to check at the IVF treatment centre to find out how these two girls look so alike, and asks the Doc a question that is kinda scary in hindsight.
Especially given season 11′s recent revelations regarding how Scully became pregnant. Yeah... this scene made my insides wiggly.
Scully discovers that a doctor called Sally Kendrick was experimenting with eugenics - tampering with the ova before fertilisation. Again, all very troubling to hear in hindsight for us as viewers in the midst of season 11. We as fans felt this question had been laid to rest about how William came to be, but season 11 has busted it wide open again. Scully may have had this same tampering done to her ova before being implanted - if she even was implanted, we have no idea anymore! Fuck CSM, man...
But lets wash the ickiness away with a stunning profile shot. Naw... Looks how beautifully 90′s Scully is...
Now the next scene takes place back in Mulder’s motel room... hey now guys, you do know this goes against bureau’s policy on male and female agents consorting in the same motel room while on assignment, right?
Want to see another creepy connection to William? Mulder and Scully are watching Sally Kendrick’s video monologue, which signs off on this oddly prophetic note...
Uhmmm....
Yeeeeeeeeeeah.
I realise that babies are described as miracles all the time, so it’s unlikely to be an intentional connection, but I got chills. Did you get chills?
Scully doesn’t miss a chance to point out that Mulder’s cattle guzzling alien theory is looking less and less likely by the minute...
WHERE HAVE I SEEN DAT FACE?
Scully is the one rewarded with the smile this time, oh man keep ‘em coming Scully... Mulder in his glasses with his sleeves rolled up and his tie undone is my kink, my aesthetic, my everything, the sweetest song that I could sing...
OH BABY.
It’s like watching the air go out of a balloon. Scully kicking dejected puppy!Mulder....
But wait! Ring ring... answer the phone, Scully.
New phone, who dis?
MULDER! IT’S THE DEEP THROAT SIGNAL!
Yeah Mulder, how far does a girl have to go to untangle her tingle?
SEVEN YEARS, THAT’S HOW FAR.
You’ve not yet qualified Scully, so get the fuck outta here. No girls with tangled tingles allowed that haven’t gone through the 7 year Mulder vetting process.
He’s not kidding, he doesn’t have a clue what a girl is because thus far no one has made it through the 7 year Mulder vetting process.
Who is up to the task, I wonder...
ANYWAY!
Mulder, are you seriously asking “what’s a girl?” when you have one of the most beautiful specimens right in front of you? Go die in a fire now please. Thank you.
Poor disappointed Scully, too. She wasn’t ready to leave and who can blame her with him flouncing around in those fucking glasses? STOP IT.
Ughhhh... this whole fucking scene is just lady porn.
Also, isn’t it sweet that Scully’s automatic assumption is that he has a girl coming over? She must think his little bit on the side was the one who hung up on the phone.
Notice how Scully executes a classic fishing expedition, here. She is curious about his personal life and because of his frankly highly suspicious behaviour - seriously Mulder, guy has zero chill, you could have done this a bit more convincingly - has handed her a prime opportunity to jokingly ask an otherwise overtly personal question.
Don’t think I can’t see what you’re up to, Ms. Scully.
So Mulder goes to meet his girlfriend, Deep Throat and they take a romantic stroll along the jetty, casually bumping shoulders, talk about catching a Warriors game together. So sweet.
I like that Deep Throat is concerned that Scully has followed Mulder. Look at this muppet. He’s a powerful man at the centre of an international consortium of men embroiled in all manner of nefarious government conspiracies and he’s hiding in a bush, afraid of a 5ft nothing red head in a pantsuit.
To be fair to him, Scully is a bad ass, I’d be afraid of her too. Don’t be messing with her boo, or she’ll be having words.
I had a discussion recently about how Deep Throat seems to take on a fatherly role for Mulder in season 1. A friendly, compassionate guide who supports Mulder at great risk to himself, his ideal father figure.
These little moments where Deep Throat (Or Ronald Pakula as we know now him, cheers season 11) seems to have more than a professional interest in Mulder. It’s not simply that he is using Mulder, he appears to genuinely care about him too - this is merely one of several occasions where he suggests they might have enjoyed spending time together outside of their clandestine meetings.
I’d say we will never know if this care is genuine, as there are certainly times when Deep Throat is shady as fuck - and later will even lie to Mulder - but then we see Deep Throat speak to Mulder from beyond the grave in his The Blessing Way fever dream in season 3.
Where he encourages Mulder to go back to the living world and not to look into the abyss. Suggesting he truly did care about him.
So moving on, Deep Throat tells Mulder about a secret government eugenics project called The Litchfield Experiment. Deep Throat says the purpose of this project is to create a “superior solider”. Yep, that’s right... the notion that the Syndicate were involved in creating super soldiers were seeded back in season 1.
He directs Mulder to an insane asylum where a subject of this shady experiment is being held named Eve 6.
So I am confused, how did Mulder explain to Scully how he knew about Eve 6 and the Litchfield experiments? He still hasn’t told her about Deep Throat, and won’t tell her about him until E.B.E. So how exactly did he explain to Scully why they were going there? “I dreamt it, Scully! I totally do not have an informant that basically lets me cheat every paranormal investigation I get stuck on. It err... yeah, came to me in a vision! Honest!”
Seriously, I’d forgotten just how often Mulder cheats by getting help from Deep Throat.
So off they trot to meet Eve 6, and Mulder takes another opportunity to side eye his hot new girlfriend partner when she’s not looking.
The eye sexing in this episode is off the chart by the way. They’re silently communicating a lot. A LOT, A LOT.
Eve 6 explains that she and many others were part of an experiment which gave them heightened strength, intelligence but also psychosis. They’re failed early attempts at creating super soldiers as they are uncontrollable. They all have a tendency to go bat crap crazy.
And shocker, the two girls Cindy and Teena are part of that same experiment.
Its interesting to watch Mulder and Scully’s differing reactions to Eve 6. The horror of what she is, a human monster but through no fault of her own. They both have a very visceral reaction to Eve 6′s Hannibal Lecter moment as she talks about trying to get a bit of lovin’ from a guard.
Scully is clearly uncomfortable; disturbed by Eve 6; her mental state; her living conditions, and the claims of what has been done to her.
Whereas Mulder looks at Eve 6 with morbid fascination. Like watching a car crash - you just can’t seem to look away from the horror of it. He’s reviled by her, but also strangely transfixed. Probably the profiler in him.
Now remember I said to keep score on how many times Scully gets it right and Mulder gets it wrong in this episode. Well, here’s another doozey.
So that’s Mulder acknowledging that the murders could have indeed happened at the same time by two different people working together, which earlier he summarily dismissed when Scully suggested it.
Have you noticed yet that I like to make a point of highlighting when Scully was actually right and Mulder was wrong? Why do I do it? Honestly, it’s because I still haven’t forgiven Mulder for his “who turns out to be right 98.9% of the time?” comment in season 6′s Field Trip.
Arrogant little bishop basher.
But wait, it gets better!
*whispers* Scully is too good for you.
Mulder suggests the two remaining Eves, Eve 7 and Eve 8, are killing the parents in order to take the girls back into the Litchfield fold.
But there’s some big holes in that hypothesis. First, if that was their goal all along, why not take the girls when they killed the fathers? Both kids were alone with their father’s at the time of their murders, so why kill the fathers and return later when the girls would be more protected, not less.
C’mon Mulder, there is obviously more going on here... you’re really off your game on this episode.
Maybe if you weren’t so distracted by all the eye sexing?
Cindy Reardon is kidnapped by Sally Kendrick a.k.a. Eve 7, and Mulder and Scully are left in the dirt. Mulder gets to do a bit of sexy running though. Damn, that boy can run!
Thankfully, through some spiffing police work, they locate the girls again, and it’s like someone has dressed them up in red as a warning - DANGER FOX MULDO, DANGER! They may as well have a neon sign above their heads blinking out the words “SATAN SPAWN!”
Someone has to take custody of the girls temporarily and, unexpectedly, Mulder volunteers himself and Scully for the job.
Wow, admit it, you just want to play dad.
Seriously, it’s almost like he planned it after watching Scully play Mum, talking about how “we” will take care of you... you’re safe with “us”.
You think I’m reaching? What is this “reaching” you speak of? This is a serious analysis series, with serious analysis only.
This is such a dad thing to say, Mulder. The translation is: SHUT UP AND JUST GET IN THE DAMN CAR.
I can just see Mulder and William now...
“Dad, what’s a momomyth?”
“Not now, son. Just put your shoes on. We’re going to grandma Maggie’s”
“But Dad, is it the sum of all human knowledge or first contact with an alien ra--”
“WE’LL TALK ABOUT IT IN THE CAR, OKAY?!”
I see you Muldo, checking Scullywag out. Shouldn’t you keep your eyes on the road? Look, even the creepy murder baby has noticed your wandering eye.
Hmm, asking a kid if they can hold their pee. Yeah, Mulder has definitely never had kids before. Heck, I’ve never had kids before and I know that’s a dumb question. Kids seem to like waiting until their bladder is about to explode before asking to stop.
SCULLBAG! YOU TRAITOR. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PARENTAL SOLIDARITY - SHOWING A UNITED FRONT?!
Ah the domesticity of the coke saga… the adults watching their waistlines get diet. The kiddiewinks in need of recharging their murder batteries go for some of that high fructose goodness.
I love the look Scully has on her face in the background, a look that seems to be saying ‘don’t mind our precocious little brats’.
It kind of tickles me that this serving wench believes Mulder and Scully are married with kids. Don’t worry, the rest of the world will catch up with this statement of fact in 25 years.
Mulder and Scully even do the eye sex communication before they’re about to go do their business. Pee you on the other side, Scully!
Mulder even tells jokes silently. It’s all there in the eyes.
Then the more sinister of the two satan spawn, which I think is Teena, comes out to poison Mulder and Scully’s drinks.
YOUR DAD?!
LOOK BACK THE HELL UP KID, DON’T BE FUCKING WITH MY FEELINGS RIGHT NOW I AM VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT THIS SUBJECT.
It’s all right for me to joke about it, but when kids in the actual show start calling Mulder “dad”, I am gonna probably hyperventilate to death.
So of course, Mulder goes and acts all fatherly again. AHHHH THE PAAAIN!
He would have been such a sweet dad, guys… seriously. FFS CHRIS CARTER. MOVING ON...
TOUCH MAH HAND MULDERRRR!
It’s hypnotic, actually, watching their hands meet on a perpetual loop - you start to notice weird details, like how her finger slides over his.
Look at what this show reduces us to. Slavering weirdos who get excited at the merest brush of a hand. Just, fuck this show... sometimes, really, it can just fuck off?
Then in a touch of writing genius, they drop the “oops I forgot my keys” trope.
Mulder runs back into the cafe to find DUN DUN DUN... the poison conveniently left a partial mug ring on the table.
Which makes no sense either, because if Teena had got it on the cup, wouldn’t Mulder and Scully have seen it already? It’s bright green after all. But whatevs... Mulder goes and sticks his fingers in an unknown substances then true to form, puts it straight into his mouth.
I know, I felt thoroughly ashamed of taking this screen cap of Mulder licking his finger. But it’s not like I stopped and looked at it for a long time or anything. *whistles*
Realising the girls have poisoned his and Scully’s drink, Mulder runs back outside to rescue bae.
Again, Mulder has zero chill when it comes to feigning ignorance. Was the earlier kerfuffle getting Scully out of his motel room in such an obvious way put there just to demonstrate that Mulder has the acting ability of a wacky, flailing, inflatable, tube man?
How chivalrous.
Before we move on, lets rewind back a second...
MULDER’S FLOPPY HAIR FLOOFING IN THE WIND OMG.
FLOOFING!
Okay, okay... so the girls know Mulder is onto them, obviously... I guess Mulder forgot that the Eves have heightened intelligence as well as heightened psychosis.
Arghhh.. they’re so young! Mah baby agents!
The girls vanish but Mulder and Scully outsmart the fuck out of these little shits.
Side note... baby!Scully... such a badass.
baby!Mulder... eeeh not so much.
Mulder and Scully go back into the cafe to see if the girls went to hide in there, and Scully ruins my dream - of a single human being existing in the world who thinks Mulder and Scully are married with kids - by flashing her FBI badge at the serving wench.
I know she’s a waitress. Shhh... If I was a waitress, I’d much prefer to be called serving wench.
Wenchy McWenchface says a school bus just left with a ton a kids, so Mulder and Scully, quite cleverly I might add, trick the girls by splitting up.
Just to show us once again, these two are a pair of smart cookies, and are clearly meant for each other, as work partners as well as being the loves of each others lives. Yeppers.
So Scully follows the bus in the car, and Mulder stays at the cafe.
Come out, come out, wherever you areeeee....
Mulder bullying children. It’s a side hobby.
That’s all for Mulder and Scully, but there is an interesting scene at the end with the Eves. It seems Sally Kendrick was, in fact, Eve 8 not Eve 7 (or maybe they were both her?) as she arrives to rescue the girls.
I wonder if perhaps, after they escape, these three are involved in the super soldier project that spawns the super soldiers we come to know later in season 9? Who knows... but it would have been a cool little twist if they’d have brought back the Eves in season 9.
Shame.
It would have been a brilliant little bit of continuity. But we know this show is continuity averse at the best of times, so it doesn’t really surprise me that the never took the opportunity to tie that thread.
Next up... Ooh it’s the one you’ve all been waiting for, I can tell. 1x12 - Fire.
THEME: BARRIERS
Other Seasons:
Season 1: INNOCENCE
Season 2: IT’S PERSONAL
Season 3: THE STANDARD
First half of season 4 (pre-cancer arc):
Things are normal-ish between them, similar to their default in season 3. Working well together, partners, enjoying each other's company. Things get a bit more serious though. Mulder first thinks of Scully as a mother (Home) but he’s in denial about the nature of his feelings for her (The Field Where I Died). Scully goes to jail for Mulder (Tunguska/Terma) and they show affection for each other publicly, not caring what others see. Scully sees the desperate measures Mulder will take to find answers about Samantha (Paper Hearts).
Cancer arc (starting with Leonard Betts):
A potential illness that both of them have been aware of for a while now. (Mulder's "You're all right, aren't you, Scully?" in season 3's Nisei/731.)
It still hits them both unexpectedly.
SCULLY
Scully's reaction to her illness (Never Again): will anyone remember me? Have the things I've done actually made any impact? Have my choices, to sacrifice my personal life for my professional been worth it in the end? Her insistence on putting up her walls, on keeping her distance from Mulder outside of work, seem like mistakes in the face of dying, of not having a legacy, of someone to be close to. Needing strength, needing support, but being too proud and not being sure of how Mulder feels about her. She feels regret, but her feelings for Mulder aren't new. She's known for a while how she's felt, but other things prevented her from acting - her fears of opening up, the depth of her feelings, her need to focus on the work to find out what happened to her, thinking Mulder didn’t return the same feelings.
Her illness makes her vow to do something if she ever gets better. To let down her barriers, finally, to let Mulder in.
MULDER
Mulder, on the other hand, finally realizes just how much he loves Scully. It's a revelation for him. He's loved her since season 2 when she was abducted but it's buried within him. He still harbours immense guilt and feelings of unworthiness, however. He's the reason she's sick, that she's lost so much - months of time from her abduction, her sister, her ability to have children and maybe now her life. He's more than willing to pay the price himself for anything that happens in this quest for the truth, but now that Scully is here he's finding it harder to justify because of the things that keep happening to her. He knows he needs her, but on the other hand, how can he keep her near him when so many terrible things happen to her?
Perhaps it is more comfortable for him to love her considering that he might lose her. He doesn't deserve happiness (see: The Field Where I Died). He doesn't have to deal with the fallout of her not loving him, of her leaving him, if she's already gone. Everything he loves leaves him (his sister/the emotional connection with his parents/Diana). He can't lose Scully, so he can't love her. But she's leaving him anyway, so what is the point of denying it? On the one hand he cannot comprehend a world without her in it. On the other he doesn't see a chance for him being able to love her.
Mulder realizes he loves her, but he can't let himself. He feels he needs to be punished, not rewarded for everything that's happened to her. Loving her is SELFISH, in his mind. He's not worthy of her goodness. And he's not sure how she feels, but where that is the thing holding Scully back, the main thing holding Mulder back is his guilt.
He builds his walls to try to protect her, not to protect himself.
Where they are now.
So, the end of the cancer arc. Scully - determined to do something about her feelings. Mulder - he KNOWS how he feels, but he's determined NOT to do anything about it.
Not sure if you’ve answered this already, but what are your thoughts on the Bad Blood narratives? I think Mulder’s showcases a lot of his insecurities, like Scully into someone else & saying “I do it all for you” (he’s taking her away from her life). I think Scully’s is accurate of her inner thoughts (esp. in the autopsy bay) & some of Mulder’s rougher edges (ditching her). I ♥️ that ep not only bc its light & hilarious, but I think it shows some great character insight too. What do you think?
I have not talked about Bad Blood before, no. But instead of picking it apart myself I am going to quote someone else who did the job already. There is an excellent book by Michelle Bush called Myth-X which goes into depth on the psychology of what is happening in Bad Blood in a way that I could never match. So what I am going to do, is lift an excerpt from that part of her book for you, and so you can enjoy it as much as I did because I think it perfectly illustrates what is happening between Mulder and Scully in that episode.
At first glance, the title Bad Blood appears to be referencing the vampire theme, but it also refers to the tension between Mulder and Scully. The episode gives the viewer a peek inside their heads and illustrates three important things; first, how they see themselves, second, how they see each other, and finally their insecurities about their attractiveness to the other. Here it is all about their partnership, the vampires are merely the backdrop against which it is played out.
It’s important to remember that the two of them are in the middle of a bit of a tiff (that bad blood), which affects their perceptions. Scully is upset that Mulder dismisses her theory throughout the case whereas he’s angry that she doesn’t want to go in the first place. Add to that the underlying tension of Scully’s attraction to Sheriff Hartwell and you have memories blow way of out proportion – as is typically the case in the series narrative. Ultimately what Scully wants most of all is for Mulder to see her as smart, capable and interestingly enough, sexy. Mulder on the other hand, just wants desperately for Scully to stay with him and admire his intelligence. Their recollections are coloured by their own biggest fears.
In both cases their perception is that they are the significantly less dominant partner which is fascinating because in reality they are both such strong and assertive personalities. Perhaps their normal general bossiness is overcompensation for what they each internally perceive to be a weakness. In Scully’s mind Mulder cavalierly orders her around and she meekly acquiesces every time. In reality, she does tend to end up going along with him, but she normally puts up bit more of a fuss about it first – although certainly not as much of one as he apparently thinks she does. Mulder on the other hand, sees himself as overly conscientious of her feelings and respectful of her opinions, not to mention somewhat frightened of her.
Perhaps their recollections aren’t truly how they really see their own actions as much as how they want the other to see them. Scully wants Mulder to know that his behaviour makes her feel like a useless tagalong whose only purpose is to do autopsies and Mulder wants her to know that she scares him or probably more accurately that he’s afraid she’ll finally refuse to follow him.
Interestingly in his version Mulder has no sense of humour, which is one of his defining traits. Maybe this is an indication that this defence mechanism is mostly subconscious for him.
In Scully’s version Mulder never shuts up. He interrupts her constantly and he is extremely sarcastic about her thoughts on the case. In fact, he has a hard time even remembering her name when introducing her to Sheriff Hartwell.
He also embarrasses her in front of the sheriff by telling her to get those little legs moving. He is cracking bad jokes and he maliciously withholds information. All things designed to make her contribution look less than important. He does behave this way all the time, but this is a complete exaggeration of how he normally goes about it. These are the traits that make Mulder, Mulder after all and normally, while Scully may find them irritating, it’s unlikely she sees him as quite this callous. The important thing here is that in Mulder’s mind he isn’t dismissing Scully and her contribution at all. Internally he does respect her opinion and isn’t nearly as sure of his own theories as he lets on.
In Mulder’s version, Scully is a raging bitch. She’s sarcastic and really unenthusiastic about the case. She is easily distracted by the sheriff and uses guilt against Mulder. She’s constantly rolling her eyes at his comments and only considers him as an afterthought in her diatribe. Again, behaviour designed to make it clear that she doesn’t want to be there and more importantly with him. Like Mulder, she does do this, only nowhere near to this degree. These too are the traits that make Scully, Scully. Again, in her mind, she went along with Mulder without much fuss and is not angry at him at all.
Mulder also has the additional insecurity that she’ll find an attractive man and leave him. Perhaps this is a left over fear from her fiasco with Ed Jerse in Never Again or it could be Mulder’s insecurities over Scully going off to find a normal life. There is also a peek at Mulder’s guilt complex where Scully’s concerned when she tells him that she does it all for him. No doubt, he’d rather she did it for the work instead.
Finally the most interesting thing is their attempts to highlight in themselves those traits they feel the other finds attractive. First, in Scully’s version, Sheriff Hartwell is extremely interested in her and finds her smart and alluring. He’s almost fawning over her and in her retelling she makes sure to point this out to Mulder. In addition, this guy isn’t afraid to use her first name, something Mulder rarely does.
Conversely, in Mulder’s version he’s the smart one while Sheriff Hartwell is a raging idiot and ugly to boot. Mulder makes sure that in his retelling Hartwell is extremely impressed with his intelligence and competence. Mulder even exaggerates a negative physical trait (the overbite) in Hartwell that he himself has.
In Scully’s version Mulder barely registers the fact that Hartwell is attracted to her at all, whereas in his version he only notices her mooning over the sheriff who seems relatively indifferent to her. In his mind, Mulder is extremely nice to Hartwell, yet when we see them together in reality he is sarcastic and dismissive. He leaves Scully with Hartwell because even though he is bothered by her interest in Hartwell, as far as he’s concerned the feelings aren’t reciprocated so he isn’t worried anything would actually happen.
Until Agent Doggett, Mulder seems to have somewhat of a blind spot in this regard. He always appears to be surprised when another male actually shows romantic interest in Scully. While Scully on the other hand always assumes every female is out to bag Mulder.
One final thing, in the scene where they’re waiting to talk to Skinner, Scully is trying to take care of Mulder by fixing his tie and telling him to say he was drugged. Mulder tells her to stop it and yet he makes sure his tie is straight, and the first words out of his mouth are “I was drugged!” He’d like for Scully to believe he’s indifferent to her attentions, yet in reality he takes them very seriously.
In the end the vampires are nothing like their press. They don’t burn up in the sunlight, crucifixes have no effect, and they have no fangs. Similarly, Mulder and Scully are not like they think they are. Mulder isn’t nearly as indifferent to Scully’s contributions as he appears to be and Scully isn’t as cold or unfeeling as she comes across as. Ultimately, their outwards behaviour is not necessarily indicative of what they’re really thinking or feeling.
I’m here to talk about my favourite subject again! DIANA FOWLEY! *sigh*
So I felt the need to get these thoughts out because I just read another fanfic where Scully is agonising over the events of Amor Fati feeling like Diana did more for Mulder than she did, ultimately it was Diana who sacrificed herself for Mulder not her yadda yadda yadda...
I won’t name the fanfic; it’s beside the point anyway since a lot of people have written similar things. But after reading that kind of thing again, I had to get some thoughts out about it.
First, I think it was @kateyes224 who put it like this, so credit where credit is due, but if you abuse a dog, and then patch up it’s wounds afterwards, that doesn’t make you a healer. Doesn’t make you a saviour or a hero.
Diana was in no small part involved in putting Mulder in danger in the first place; taking him away to have brain surgery to serve CSM’s agenda. The fact he survives is a happy coincidence - the doctor, CSM and Diana all discuss the fact that what they’re doing to Mulder will probably kill him and she lets them do it anyway.
Diana sends Scully the book on native American myths and legends to explain why they are doing what they are doing, but doesn’t give Scully anything to go on in terms of actually saving Mulder.
Diana doesn’t give Scully the means to rescue Mulder until after the brain surgery is already underway. So what was she was expecting Scully to do at that point, anyway? For all she knew, it was already too late.
Ultimately, it’s Scully who actually saves him - the physical act of saving him by breaking into the facility and hauling his lanky 6ft ass outta there. But also the mental prison he was trapped in - her voice breaks through to him, and he wakes up.
Now for comparison, think of Fight the Future.
Do we credit the Well-Manicured Man with saving Scully more than Mulder did because he was the one who gave Mulder Scully’s location and the means to save her life?
No? Why not? It’s exactly the same thing, isn’t it?
Even right down to the personal sacrifice - the Well-Manicured Man is killed for the help he gives Mulder in the same way that Diana is killed for helping Scully.
You might argue that it was Diana’s motivations that make the difference. But loving Mulder makes no difference at all, in fact, it makes what she did worse. I mean, honestly, how much could she have loved him when you consider all the ways she betrayed him and was willing to let him die - only trying to save him when her conscience got the better of her.
If that was love, it was a very self-serving twisted kind.
Believe it or not, I have more I want to say about The Sixth Extinction in relation to how season 11 might end... but I really want to get my Eve analysis finished first. So I will come back to it - I have a really weird idea about how the prophecy of a “man who can save the world” from The Sixth Extinction is connected to Mulder and William, and the boy he keeps seeing in his visions on the beach. Hmm!
when do you think mulder felt in love with scully? and when did she fell in love with him? thanks for your insight
Okay Anon. I’m finally gonna answer this! Strap yourselves in, this is gonna be a long one, because of course it is.
So I will start with Mulder. For him, I think it was a two step process. The first being when he realises he loves Scully, and then when he realises he is in love with Scully.
Mulder realises how important Scully is to him in Little Green Men, the season 2 premiere. After the X-Files have been closed and he and Scully are split up, Mulder is in crisis. He is losing his faith in his quest.
He heads off to Aricebo, Puerto Rico, and keeps a voice recording we initially assume are notes he’s making for himself, but we come to realise he’s actually talking to Scully. He needs her so completely at this point that, when she’s not there, he has to create some avatar of her - a way for him to still talk to her - keep her close. He says to the tape recorder that before she came into his life, he couldn’t trust anyone, and now he can only trust her.
Later, after Scully rescues him and they both return to the FBI, Scully muses that he lost everything once again, and he responds that he still has his work, he still has himself…
He realises this early on that he needs Scully to balance himself, to keep his feet on the ground. But is that love, or dependence?
I think over the course of season 2 we see that it is indeed love; absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Being apart from her, missing her, makes him realise how much he not only needs her, but enjoyed her company - how much she challenged him - their mental foreplay.
Until finally we come to her abduction.
In Ascension Mulder doesn’t even think, he is just solely focused on finding her again. He can’t bare the thought of losing her this way not just because she is his closest and only friend, but the manner of the loss - it’s Samantha all over again. Watching Mulder as he recounts the attack, hearing Scully scream his name still gives me chills.
Scully is taken and Mulder is bereft, he barely functions - doesn’t sleep and looks like hell. In 3 we see him made so vulnerable by the loss that he takes relief anywhere he can find. Namely by sleeping with the vampire Kristen Kilar that now not only reminds him of Samantha, but Scully as well.
It always intrigued me that, now Samantha and Scully have briefly become conflated in his mind, this is the first and only “Samantha clone” that Mulder has a sexual encounter with. He isn’t seeing her just as a sister figure but as a substitute for Scully. What the sex means in that context, I dunno… perhaps it’s just the grief talking… or perhaps it’s an expression of longing.
Think of that the next time you watch that scene in 3. That he might well be kissing (and then having sex with) Kristen unconsciously longing for Scully. Hoo boy…
It’s not until One Breath, when Scully is returned, that we see the depth of his feelings. It’s not just that he misses her and that he feels responsible for what has happened to her; it’s clearly deeper than that for him - he isn’t sure he can go on without her.
To avoid these feelings, he becomes so consumed with his own grief and anger that he is willing to sacrifice just about anything to exact revenge. But it is Melissa Scully who helps him to realise what’s important - that he expresses to Scully how he feels, not even through words but just by being there at her side when she needs him most. Mulder is able to let go of his need for vengeance and gives himself over to being there for Scully - expressing his love for her is ultimately what helps to bring her back.
So then how do we go from love, to being in love. That’s the question. Well, I’ve thought a lot about this and I think it comes down to Mulder being shoved into the realisation during the cancer arc. Because I think Mulder would have been happy to continue remaining platonic partners for as long as she would have let him. She’s become so important to him that the idea of changing the nature of their relationship out of selfish sexual desire was never going to happen - Mulder isn’t that kind of man. He would have accepted just being her friend until the end of time if that’s all she offered him.
But when she is diagnosed with cancer, Mulder has to face again the prospect of losing her. But this time there is no enemy for him to fight - no revenge he can take. The enemy is an illness that, piece by piece, takes her away from him and there is nothing he can do about it.
He sees this woman he loves, desperately fighting for life and losing that battle, and all she wants to do is protect him. To give her death meaning, she wants to save him. There’s a look he gives her in the moment as she offers to take the blame for the man Mulder killed. An expression of breathless awe… Honestly, something clicks in that look… something changes in Mulder’s mind at this very moment.
I believe Mulder realises here that she might just care for him as deeply as he cares her - and that’s a pretty big deal for a guy like Mulder, a perpetual loner whose lost everyone he’s ever loved. And it’s with this knowledge knocking around in his brain that chips away at his resolve, and allows him to begin to see her differently. It lays the groundwork for many romantically charged moments in season 5 - a season that builds to the romantic climax that is Fight the Future.
So tl;dr for Mulder. He realises he loves Scully in One Breath, refuses to allow himself to even contemplate taking those feelings any further (for oh so many reasons) until Redux II where he starts to consider that 1. he cannot live without this woman and 2. that she cares for him as deeply as he cares for her. With these two realisations gnawing at him, he cannot help but to fall in love with her. But it’s a slow burn throughout season 5 until we hit Fight the Future where he then acts on those feelings.
Now for Scully, I think she falls for him much faster but, like him, keeps those feelings at arms length. In season 1 and the beginning of season 2 leading up to her abduction, it seems that Mulder and Scully are on a romantic trajectory. But it’s slow… slowly hitting all the typical tropes you would expect of a developing romance. (CC can blow me, they were definitely going for these tropes to tease the audience.)
The introduction of romantic partners, new and old, who pale in comparison to the relationship they have with each other (Jersey Devil, Fire), also experiencing brief snatches of jealousy at the thought of either of them having past lovers (Lazarus, Fire). Their faith in each other is tested and reaffirmed (Ice, Fallen Angel, Darkness Falls) which then develops into a growing attachment to each other. Not to mention an equally growing isolation from everyone else.
E.B.E. is a big turning point in that regard. Mulder telling Scully “we’re alone on this, there’s no one we can trust…” it reaffirms their connection to each other in a way that excludes all others. It’s shaken, tested and almost breaks at various times in the series, but even as recent as season 11, this statement is still the through-line of their relationship. Us against the world. It’s a very romantic notion.
I think Scully falls in love with Mulder in the sweep of all of this - a sweet, young, naive kind of love. Wouldn’t anyone? She even seems to try to express this on some level in Tooms.
Once she’s taken off the X-Files and reassigned she doesn’t draw a line and move on with her life and career like most people would, she clings to Mulder. Constantly reaches out to him and tries to encourage him when he’s flagging and starts to consider quitting the FBI.
She doesn’t give up on him no matter how much he pushes back. She inserts herself into his work, even when he discourages her.
She pushes to stay connected to him, and he ultimately relents, because as he said earlier, the only reason he would stay in the FBI is if he can work with her.
Wow.
But after her abduction something changes. She takes a step back and reels her feelings in. This experience changes her, and she seems to refocus on the work - it has become as personal now for her as it is for Mulder - and so her feelings for him take a clear back seat for the remainder of season 2 and into season 3.
Half way into season 3 is where we get hints of the fact that Scully’s romantic feelings towards Mulder are still there but repressed. War of the Coprophages and then Syzygy are the first clear indications that Scully is territorial with Mulder and feels jealousy when he shows interest in other women.
Oh God, the childish mock!Mulder voice she puts on in this scene is priceless.
Scully keeps these feelings buried deep down until they are fit to burst in season 4′s Never Again, where she is so wound up in her conflicted feelings that she begins to rebel against Mulder in frustration. She is forced to confront her daddy issues and need for approval - Mulder’s approval, specifically. I wrote about this episode in a lot more depth here.
Never Again is the spark that threatens to set fire to Mulder and Scully’s relationship. It is the spark of doubt in Scully mind that Mulder doesn’t need her - that he doesn’t acknowledge her as a true equal on the X-Files. Hence the question about the desk. Her fear is compounded by Mulder’s foot-in-mouth comment regarding her just being assigned to the X-Files, whereas for him it’s his life.
This doubt is abated for a brief time, as Scully’s cancer takes centre stage and brings the pair of them closer together again, but the doubt doesn’t go away for Scully.
It burns slowly throughout season 5 and then becomes a raging inferno with the arrival of Mulder’s former lover, Diana Fowley, in the season 5 finale The End.
Her fears permeate both season 5 and Fight the Future and the consequences of Mulder’s choices in response (and then lack of response) to these fears negatively affect their relationship throughout season 6.
In The End, poor Scully is smacked hard in the face with the fact she is in love with Mulder. She feels herself being replaced, no longer needed by Mulder not just on the X-Files but as the person closest to him, emotionally. That unspoken bond between them is suddenly threatened in a very real way and that’s terrifying for her. But she cannot face it, so she does what Scully does best which is to lock down her emotions and keep them at a distance.
It’s the reason why she so easily gives up in Fight the Future and decides to resign from the FBI. She doesn’t think Mulder needs nor wants her anymore. He has Diana back now, right?
Fight the Future is the emotional nadir of the Mulder and Scully relationship - it’s make of break time, and Mulder has one chance to get it right otherwise it’s over.
Phew… nice save, Mulder.
They’ve both come to realise they are in love with each other at roughly the same point, I’d say. Mulder it’s the beginning of season 5, for Scully it’s at the end. Fight the Future marks the point where they first acknowledge that fact, especially Mulder. Scully still isn’t ready to go there so acknowledges it more indirectly by repeating back to him words from his own “love confession” and in choosing to remain at his side.
So tl;dr for Scully. She falls in love with him around the end of season 1 after being swept up in his charm, brilliance and the adventure of his all consuming quest that only has room for two. She is so attached to him that in season 2 she makes all the effort to keep them together. But after her abduction she turns inwards and locks her feelings away, until another woman threatens the sanctity of her bond with Mulder, and she is forced to acknowledge that she fears losing him because she is in love with him.
But these two are a pair of awkward insecure losers, so in season 6 not only do we not revisit what happens between them in Fight the Future, they actively tear it all down and throw it in a dumpster fire.
Mulder’s bullheadedness, Scully’s insensitivity, and Fowley’s fuckery is not done with them yet. Which sends them both spinning off course, and into a spiral of their respective insecurities. Which is why it takes them so long after realising their feelings, to finally get their shit together and finally move forward into a romantic relationship… 2 years later. Oy.
To do that they must let go of what is holding both of them back. For Scully it’s accepting her life with Mulder and realising that this is her true path. Meeting her former lover, Daniel, in season 7′s All Things makes her realise she has changed so much from the person she once was.
She was never meant for a normal life; there was only ever one path for her that was right, and it was the path that led to Mulder. Regardless of whether he can offer her a normal life, it’s him she is meant to be with.
In coming to terms with this she, somewhat surprisingly, takes the bull by the horns and waste no more time - it’s off screen so we don’t know the exact way it happens, but its strongly implied that she makes a move on Mulder and they consummate their relationship.
For Mulder it’s his quest, his obsession with finding his sister and the search for proof of extra terrestrial life. He has to prioritise Scully over this mission for their relationship to have a hope in hell of working.
Arguably he does this at the end of Closure when he looks to the sky and says “I’m free.”
Free to let go of Samantha. Free to put himself first; to finally pursue his own love and happiness.
But he doesn’t actually follow this up until Requiem when he sees Scully with the baby and realises there is so much more than the life they have been living.
Whether he’s just thinking about her or himself too we never get to find out, as he is then abducted.
When he returns, he is off kilter and suffering from PTSD. He feels (ironically enough) that he has been replaced by Doggett, like he doesn’t know where he belongs anymore.
That goes for his relationship with Scully too, seeing as she’s suddenly pregnant… and he’s gotta be thinking “erm… is that my baby?” but just too terrified to hear the answer.
Thankfully he gets over this pretty quickly and warms up to the idea of becoming a father throughout season 8.
But his experiences make him cling to the one thing left that he knows, which is his work. He’s not quite ready to say goodbye to his quest until suddenly the choice is made for him - he’s out of the FBI. But what probably surprises him more than anyone is that he doesn’t really seem too bothered by that.
By Essence, Mulder has made that transition - his focus is now Scully and his unborn son. Like he says at the end of Existence - what he was afraid of was the possibilities, the truth he and Scully both know. That William is his son, and he’s in love with Scully. Aw yis!
*sigh* This is why I think Existence really should have been the end of the show… Mulder and Scully’s character arcs were complete, and then they instantly take a sledge hammer to them by making Mulder focus on his quest again at the expense of Scully and William. UGH.
They try to repair that damage by having Mulder revisit the question of giving up his quest in exchange for a life with Scully in I Want to Believe.
But then sledge hammer that AGAIN by splitting them apart in season 10 and now season 11 too. Just… what even is this show, man?
So yeah… I think I answered your question and then some… I have no idea why I go overboard and give you guys a bunch of crap you didn’t even ask for. But hey, that’s probably why you guys come to me with these questions, right? lol!
