REVIEWED BY: Jennifer J. Chen ON: July 6, 1999
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: November 22, 1998
Many wonderful reviews have already been written about the spectacular direction Chris Carter uses in Triangle, and I do not believe I have any further insight to add that would significantly add to the existing reviews that I've read about this episode, namely, Paula Graves' Review of Triangle and Tom Carissimi's Review of Triangle.
The one area in which I do have my two cents to add is in the area of the concept of "reality." As in, whether or not the events in this episode took place in the reality of the world of The X-Files. When I first saw this episode, I had only just discovered the online community of X-Files fans. I had no idea that themes and meanings of each of the episodes were bantered about. Eventually, I discovered that this question of whether the events in Triangle were "real" had been posed.
I must relate that it was to my utter surprise that reviewers whom I normally agreed with and I had completely divergent opinions about this facet. It never occurred to me to question whether an episode is "real" or not. It is a fictional world that they live in; the question of whether something is "real" I believe is rightfully left up to the writers and creators of the show. I do not presume to have the temerity to allocate an episode to a "fictional" experience by Mulder and Scully unless it is explicitly stated or implied within the episode itself. If I were free to pick and choose what episodes were "real" and what were not, many episodes would be relegated to "fictional" status (primarily The Field Where I Died).
Some will no doubt jump in at this point and say that Triangle lends much greater basis than most for believing the events to be more "dreamlike" than real—that the events were for the most part true, but certain aspects were exaggerated, or purely in the mind of the particular character(s). I will admit that it is unique in style from most of the other episodes of The X-Files. I will even go so far as to concede that it is different from all of the other episodes. But that does not make its events any less "real" than the events that occur in any other episode.
The only episode I can really see as being possibly fictional is Post-Modern Prometheus. The comic book backdrop, the exaggerated characters, the fact that it is never alluded to again; all lend credence to the idea that it is to be taken with a grain of salt, not meant to be taken into literal context within the "real" X-Files world of liver-eating mutants, aliens, and global conspiracies. There is enough evidence suggested within the episode itself to reach such a conclusion.
I found no such evidence in Triangle. It was bizarre, yes. But it's The X-Files. It's supposed to be bizarre. And I daresay that it wasn't even as bizarre as some of the other things that we've been asked to internalize over the years. So the direction was different—we saw Tornado!Scully fly through the FBI building. Again, it is a fictional show, and the way it is directed lends little to no substantiation—at least, for me—to whether or not I should view the events in the episode as "real."
There are other events in the episode that yes, try the limits of my suspension of disbelief capabilities. For starters, the fact that Mulder was found face-down in the ocean. What was he breathing, water? With his newly formed gills, or what? However, it wasn't anything I haven't been asked to endure before. Chupacabras, vampires, ghosts, a man who has the ability to "push" his will onto others—in fact, come to think of it, Triangle was easier than most to believe in.
Then, there is the fact that I took the two Scullys "merging" as a sign that these events were definitely "real." Granted, it was also supposed to simply be a cool little trick to play with the audience and the characters some more, but within the context of the reality of the episode, it was not only unnecessary but would not make any sense if we are to believe that the events being portrayed are not strictly real.
None of the events in Triangle have been referred to by any of the characters since they happened. But if they were to refer to it, I would not be surprised. Whereas if they referred to Post-Modern Prometheus, I have to say that would take me aback a little.
Perhaps it is just the rampant Shipper in me that needs Mulder's "I love you" to be real. Perhaps that is what is prompting all this insistence that the episode does exist in the reality of the X-Files universe. If that really is why, then I can't help it. Yet that scene itself is more evidence that everything really was real—in TV language, Mulder wincing and bringing his hand up to the area where 1939Scully decked him tells us—look, it really happened. She doubts him and he begins to doubt himself, but then he feels the evidence of his meeting with her counterpart, and a small smile crosses his lips because he knows everything he believed to be true was true. If one is going to be utterly stubborn, I suppose it could be argued that we didn't see Mulder after he "jumped" off the ship, or what happened to him before Scully and The Lone Gunmen found him in the ocean. He could have possibly hit his head against a hard object, and dreamed up everything that occurred afterward. But if we have to assume all that, then why not just take the facts we're given and build a more substantiated argument off of them?
And yes, the episode was deliberately alluding to The Wizard Of Oz. But just because the style and the way the events paralleled TWOO does not mean that the same plot devices still hold true. To take Triangle as a strict tribute to TWOO is to lose many of the other aspects of the episode that is uniquely its own. For instance, unlike TWOO, there is no real "before" and "after" effect to really separate the theorized "dream state" from reality. There are no glaring details that tell us it has to be a dream, nothing that is obviously out of place or out of character that would make us sit up and take notice.
So yes, I do believe that Scully kissed Skinner in that elevator. As a strict and phobic Mulder/Scully advocator, it pains me to say that, just as it pains me to accept the events of TFWID. But she only did it out of the sheer gratefulness of the moment, and that has directly to do with Mulder. Scully rarely loses her cool—and when she does it is usually because of her wayward partner. It's a little annoying that strictly speaking, Mulder and Scully still have never kissed. Their intention to kiss in Fight the Future brought their non-platonic feelings for each other to the forefront, and for that I will be ever grateful. But the fact remains that the actual act has never occurred.
Which means that: 1999Scully has kissed 1999Skinner, and 1999Mulder has kissed 1939Scully, and 1999Mulder and 1999Scully intended to kiss but never actually consummated the act.
I believe that 1939Scully was indeed 1999Scully's counterpart. She imbued too many of 1999Scully's personality traits for it to be believably coincidental. Headstrong, stubborn, a law enforcement officer (I ask you how many female law enforcement officers were around in those days?), of course physical appearance, and a weakness for Mulder. It's Scully all right.
But even if she weren't, the most important fact is that Mulder believed it was his Scully. We never learn her name, but Mulder calls her Scully. To him, she is his Scully. He tells 1999Scully that she saved the world--she did it. She believed him. In the tenderness of the moment, in his conscious realization that once again, Scully was his one in five billion, the only person who loved him and trusted him enough to believe in him, he told her something from his heart. He told her he loved her.
Now here I differ a little from mainly, Shippers. I don't necessarily believe that the love he was speaking of at that precise moment was a romantic love. Oh, I completely believe that he is head over heels for her, and that was probably part of it, but I believe that the kind of love he was professing was of the kind possibly stronger than romantic love—the kind of love that stems from respect, friendship, a testament to the invisible yet incorruptible bond between them. So in a way, I think it's even "Shippier" than believing that it stemmed from romantic love, which in that situation would have been weak, fleeting. I would rather not see them get romantically involved than to see that bond between them compromised. It has often been said that what Mulder and Scully have surpasses the typical love between a man and a woman, and if that has to be compromised for a romantic relationship I would rather give up the latter.
That Mulder believed 1939Scully to be 1999Scully is significant for another reason—it means that it is his Scully from the future that he kisses. Not literally, of course, but emotionally. That makes it the second time he has expressed his desire to lock lips with his partner, and does so finally this time in case they "never see each other again." The question of whether this scenario is actually "real" or not isn't pertinent here—again, as in the movie, it is the intention that counts. Mulder believed that he was taking an enormous risk by jumping back into the ocean, and that by doing so, he might never see his Scully again. With those thoughts, his last act is to kiss his Scully. Whether this really occurred or whether it is only in his "dream," he still thought about it and acted accordingly.
I thought Scully's reaction was perfect. This, I know, is also different from what most people—specifically, Shippers—believe. But I don't want Mulder and Scully's relationship to be all champagne and roses. Where's the fun in that? It's so conventional—so boring. Sure, it would have been mushily nice to hear Scully say, "I love you," too, but the moment wasn't really right for it. It wouldn't have been Scully, either. And while sure, I think Mulder was a little hurt at first, I don't think he would have wanted his Scully any other way. His utterly pleased grin at the end and dreamy eyes tells us that he has been reminded of all he needs to know about his Scully—she might not be demonstrative, but when it comes down to it, she has a weakness for him. She loves him, she trusts him, she believes in him. 1939Scully had no good reason to believe this lunatic running around saying that he was from the future and that the world was going to change for the worse if the Queen Anne did not immediately change course. No good reason except that she is Scully...and he is Mulder. Enough said.
Plus, Mulder has the penchant to be dramatic. And he was on drugs. And he had just been fished, face-down, out of the ocean. All good reasons for Scully not to lay her heart on the line, only for him to not remember later—or worse, to remember only to torment her in that obnoxious manner only Mulder has perfected. She would have nowhere to hide—she would have admitted her love of her own free will, no excuse to fall back on, whereas if Mulder got cold feet he could simply blame it on the drugs and his traumatic experience. And I don't believe it was a malicious or uncaring "Oh brother"—it was, in my mind, a rather indulgent and affectionate dismissal, much like when a friend has had one too many drinks and is blurting out to anyone who will hear how much he loves them.
Triangle was utterly entertaining. It entertained me more because I believed everything to be real, but of course anyone can view it however they like—that's the beauty of The X-Files and no small reason for its success.
"Scully?"
Please feel free to
"So, in case we never meet again..."
"Yes?"
"I love you."
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me at jenu1bruin@centropolis.org
1999 by Jennifer J. Chen