REVIEWED BY: JJC ON: November 8, 1999
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: November 7, 1999
What a fabulous start for the seventh season of The X-Files. It was truly, to use Scully's words in describing the markings on the spacecraft, "imbued with power."
In a series of Memento Mori-esque journal entries, Scully describes for us her experiences in Africa. Though these are not words written into a physical journal, they are nevertheless Scully speaking to Mulder; her thoughts about what she is doing, what she has found, and why she is doing it.
Scully ploughs forth with her search, although her discoveries place her innermost beliefs into danger. The ship has a wealth of information etched onto its surface, including passages from the Bible and other religions, and perhaps a complete human genome. Amazing as these findings are, there is no doubt that Scully's main concern is to find a cure for what plagues Mulder.
Kritschgau has seen Mulder's condition before, though he can't really do anything about it. He does know, however, the drug to inject into Mulder's saline solution to give Mulder short bouts of lucidity at a time. During one of these reprieves, Mulder demonstrates his new, superior brain activity by correctly pointing out each time a UFO appears on 3 separate TV screens without looking. Editorial note: it was very cool. :)
Skinner and Kritschgau are about to get Mulder out of there – Kritschgau injects him with a huge amount of the drug – when Fowley comes on the scene to stop what's going on. In all fairness, it does look rather suspicious, and we do know that Fowley doesn't want Mulder to come to any harm (though our definition of "harm" and hers is different). It is obvious from past episodes that she still has feelings for Mulder, though her loyalties may not only be to him. Mulder's body can't handle the amount of the drug that he's been injected with, and he lapses into a waking catatonic state, if that makes any sense. He is still unable to rest, but he has also been rendered unable to communicate.
Fowley delivers a speech by Mulder's bedside telling him that she knows he knows that her loyalties are not only to him, but she has her reasons, just as he has his. She says that he can see inside her to know this, and know also that she loves him, has loved him for a very long time. Now, while her speech didn't make me want to chuck my carton of Ben & Jerry's at her, and in fact made her less of an evil, 2-dimensional character, I still thought it was pretty cheeseball to announce that she loved him. But, we have to live with the fact that she gave her little speech. Mulder remains still, eyes-open, no reaction during the whole thing. When she walks away, his eyes follow her, telling us that his non-response was faked and he heard the whole thing.
Meanwhile, Scully and the female professor of biology (who knew Dr. Merkmallen and who has been helping Scully) have been held hostage in their tent by an increasingly insane Dr. Barnes. The two women escape, and Scully flies back home.
Her first stop is Skinner's office, to demand where Mulder is. She hasn't changed or anything, and has been on a plane for 22 hours, so people stare at her as she stalks by. She and Skinner have an exchange whereby Skinner tells Scully of Mulder's catatonic state, and that Mulder is dying. She replies forcefully that "He's not dying. He is more alive than he's ever been. He's more alive than his body can withstand." I'm not sure how she knows this with the information she got from Africa; she still has not explained how the rubbing came to have such an effect on Mulder, or why it affected Mulder and no one else. But she also admits that his state is caused by something that might be extraterrestrial in origin, so perhaps we are supposed to take that as another way she is willing to go out on a limb.
How perfect that Scully begins with "Mulder, it's me" – for who else could "me" be? For these two, there is only one person who could identify him/herself as such. Scully uses no words of love; she doesn't have to. She nearly breaks down crying several times. She doesn't need Mulder to excuse her for anything she's done, because everything she's done has been for him. She pleads with him to hold on. She needs for him to hold on so that they can continue working as a team. "It's a puzzle, but the pieces are there for us to put together." It's obvious that her main concern is for Mulder, whereas Fowley's main concern was for herself.
I can't forget that we still haven't been explained in canon how Mulder got to the hospital in the first place, after Fowley took off her shirt in Biogenesis. Knowing what was originally planned, it's hard to remember that it hasn't actually been explained. I hope CC and Co. are planning to tell us what happened there in the next segment, and not leave room for doubt as to whether Mulder actually slept with Fowley after that scene.
Gillian, as usual, was fabulous. But I have to say, her costar is the one who gets all of my kudos in this episode. Though David had very few lines, I believe this was some of his best acting to date. During his insane moments, he seriously looked deranged, while the small nuances of his facial expressions bespeak his ability to convey emotion and thought without saying a word.
The prime example of this is precisely why I'm not going to end this "review" with a quote, as I would normally do. The single most touching moment in the episode was near the end, when Scully is trying to get in to see Mulder. The camera zeros in on his face (the insane look is a great one for him, by the way – he's never looked better) and we can hear the familiar multitude of voices that he hears, if we remember back to Biogenesis. Vaguely, Scully's deep, resonate tones drift in and out.
Please feel free to
"I am here only for my partner."
Meanwhile, Mulder is living in what I can only imagine is a tortured state of being. He has become "all brain" – making it impossible to rest or sleep for even a short amount of time. With difficulty, he enlists Skinner's help (by placing a small cloth in Skinner's shirt pocket with "Help Me" inscribed in blood) in getting to Kritschgau, a man who helped Mulder two years ago. Mulder tells Skinner that he knows Skinner is being blackmailed by Krycek. 
Scully also delivers a heartfelt soliloquy by Mulder's bedside. Here we see the difference between the two women. Fowley's pronouncements were of a more selfish nature, a letting of her sins. Fowley encourages Mulder to look inside her and excuse her for what she's done in spite of her love for him.
I was almost glad that Fowley uttered the inane line "Now we can be together," to Mulder, because now we know what she really wants. We know she thinks she loves him. And it will just be that much more of a diss when Mulder chooses Scully over her. I have no doubts on that score, even if I was in a catatonic state myself after seeing the preview for next week's episode where Lingerie!Fowley's got her talons on Mulder's naked chest. Yes, I know that's supposed to be a "dream." Still doesn't mean I want to see it, or want Mulder to succumb to her, even in a dream. But that's for next week.
Although David and Gillian had only one scene together this episode, there can be no doubting how powerful their bond remains. Each of them alone still has the other there with him/her; it is an amazing and powerful thing to witness.
We see, as her voice penetrates Mulder's consciousness, his lips lift in a grimace of a smile – as much physical action as he's capable of. It's incredibly subtle, and no doubt some would even argue whether it was there at all, but I don't think there's really any doubt. Hearing Scully's beloved voice incites such joy in him...the recognition, the happiness. Quite a difference from his reaction to Fowley's speech...and here, Scully hasn't even spoken to him yet. She doesn't have to.
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1999 by JJC