REVIEWED BY: Jennifer J. Chen ON: March 20, 1999
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: October 8, 1993
Lately, watching Season One episodes is enjoyable because of mainly one factor—I get to compare them with the more recent episodes. Not that Season One episodes aren’t enjoyable in their own right; after all, many important developmental events occurred during that season, not the least that it piqued the interest of some who would one day become many and made the show the success story that it now is. However, as watchers, we grow with the show, and are incapable of retrieving the same mindset that we had when we first watched these episodes. After all, we are six years removed, and the show and its characters have changed, as would be expected. Perhaps some people’s favorite shows are still from Season One; I’m sure you’re out there. But I for one seem to like each succeeding season more than the previous. Maybe I am just one of those X-Philes that are sneered at by others, that I like everything that the show puts out, good or not. And I have to say that, yes, that is true to a certain extent. Because I love the show so much, I am probably a lot more forgiving of its bad moments than I would be for another show. I give it my full benefit of the doubt when it is needed. But that all comes in my loyalty as an X-Phile; that the potential of the show and the many moments of greatness that it has produced is worth the scorn of these X-Phile purists, if it means that I will enjoy myself week after week.
With that long introduction, let me finally get into my review of The Jersey Devil. X-File-wise, it was pretty nondescript. If I had seen an episode like it coming from Season Six, I would have reamed it like I did Terms of Endearment and Agua Mala. But I enjoyed it, because I got to see Mulder and Scully getting to know each other. Especially knowing how they are now and accepting them as they are, it is difficult to imagine that they were not always as comfortable with each other or a time when they did not know each other well.
First of all, Scully has a life outside of Mulder. I don’t recall when that stopped, it was such a gradual happenstance (and why Never Again was so believable and crucial), but Scully at this point was still Dana to other people and to herself. Instead of pursuing an X-File with Mulder, who seems surprised that she wouldn’t want to, she has another commitment—her godson’s birthday party. Before learning of this, Mulder asks, “What? You have a date?” and it reminds me of another time he said something to that nature, only more forcefully and with much more emotion—when he finally pushes Scully into the arms of one Ed Jerse. Mulder at this point still sounds rather incredulous, but only because he couldn’t imagine any date worth giving up pursuing this case. But the main detail here is still: Scully has a godson? What ever happened to that kid? And what ever happened to the kid’s mother, who was supposedly such good friends with Scully that she would ask Scully to be her son's godmother? We also find out that Scully had told this friend that she thought Mulder was cute, but "obsessed with his work." Scully also goes on a date in this episode. Sure, we hated it, and she didn’t seem to enjoy herself much either, but she went. It sure was cute when Scully told Mulder about her date (even though this time he asked, “Another party?”) he responded, “Well, can’t you cancel?” It wasn’t Mulder being callous—if it were Season Six Mulder, it’d be selfish mixed in with some possessiveness, but Season One Mulder is the work-driven, nothing-else-matters-to-him eccentric that we still remember and love. In this case, he innocently and truly believes that Scully should rather be with him pursuing this fascinating case than want to do something as mundane as going on a date. Watching him shove food into his mouth and talking to Scully with his mouth full like an excited little boy made me remember what endeared Mulder to me in the first place. Scully’s conversation with her friend about how she would like to have a life was pretty ironic—compared to recent Scully, Season One Scully was a party animal. If she could see herself six years down the line, on a purely superficial basis, she would be severely disappointed. But I am sure of one thing—Season Six Scully wouldn’t change a thing.
Scully is still very much the fresh-faced young agent, a little green. She is fascinated by her partner, and you can tell that she admires him and is attracted to him—but Mulder is completely and innocently oblivious. It’s a good thing, too, because that Mulder wouldn’t have known how to handle such a development (not that Mulder is presently oh-so-sophisticated, but undoubtedly much more mature), Scully would have been mortified, things between them would have become strained, and their partnership would have collapsed. Luckily, even from the beginning, Scully was Mulder’s perfect complement. He didn’t see, and she didn’t tell. But I think the most telling moment is near the end of her date when she gets paged by Mulder. She wasn’t having a great time in the first place, but when she calls Mulder and he apologizes, she answers, almost embarrassingly quickly, “No, no, it’s okay,” and has a slight smile on her face, as if the sound of his voice makes her feel giddy and happy. At this point he was still somewhat of a stranger, someone she was attracted to, and therefore, a natural response. Scully also smiles a lot more. If Season Six Mulder interrupted Season Six Scully in the middle of a date (which is a big hypothetical leap, since their lives revolve around each other), she would no doubt be none too pleased, much less smile at the sound of his voice. But that’s because now, Scully knows not to expect anything from him but work, or else what Mulder is inflicted with, the you-don’t-want-me-but-you-don’t-want-anyone-else-to-have-me-either syndrome.
At the end of the episode, we see Scully in the first of many times, choose Mulder over having “a life.” So perhaps she should have seen her future coming. A man calls Scully, in the office, and Mulder just hands it to her then goes to requisition a car. I have no doubt that present day Mulder would have hovered, eavesdropped, done whatever he could to make sure that his Scully remained his Scully. But Scully makes a pretty significant choice when she refuses the date to go to the Smithsonian to work with Mulder; he seems indifferent to whether she wants to tag along with him or not. He even has the gall to deride, “Scully, don’t you have a life?” To which Scully tosses out a beautiful gem that at the time, barely makes the viewer’s eyebrow raise in amusement, but were it to be uttered in the more recent episodes, temperatures would rise to sauna-level: “Keep that up, Mulder, and I’ll hurt you like that beast-woman.” But what is truly wonderful about this scene is that we have a more recent similar occurrence to compare it to, and to really see the differences between their relationship then and their relationship now. This Mulder would not have been surprised if Scully had decided to go on another date; he even questions her decision, whereas in the more recent How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, he expects her to want to be with him.
As for the Jersey Devil, Mulder was not in love with her—he was fascinated by what she represented (typically in character). He seems to need to look after “helpless” women, victims of circumstance—this Neanderthal woman, Lucy Householder, Kristen Kilar, Melissa Riedel (I know, doesn’t even the name make you break out in hives?)—all going back to Samantha, whom he wasn’t able to save. Relationship-wise, Mulder seems prone to manipulative, intelligent but crafty, beautiful but only skin-deep, bitch-women. His relationship with Scully helps him to move on from such destructive behavior (though obviously still very much a part of him), such as in Season Three when he, much to Scully’s annoyance, likes Bambi Berenbaum. Bambi is smart, sexy, attractive, and utterly oblivious to Mulder in a sexual way. Coincidentally (I think not), she sounds a lot like his partner (who isn’t utterly oblivious to him in that way, but he's too dense to know it). Still, it is quite nice to compare the very much work-driven Mulder from Season One to the Mulder six years later, with work no longer as his focal point; it has instead, been replaced by the only person that brings meaning to his life--Scully.
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1999 by Jennifer J. Chen