The X-files Panel Discussion

The following is an e-mail discussion following Season Eight between myself, a.k.a. Bravogabbo, and a fellow X-Files fan who has asked to be called Lilahdog. It is a fine example of how a common interest can unite cat people and dog people.

Bravogabbo:

So... Skinner shot Krycek in cold blood. I can't believe it! There were so many times when I thought it would make a lot of people's lives easier, but that it was, of course, wrong. But I keep forgetting that the Skinman saw combat in Vietnam, and there's always that potential for violence...

Lilahdog

Personally, I thought this scene was totally out of character for a professional law enforcement agent. Skinner just plain executed Krycek, and brutally, too. I realize he had it in for Krycek, but an FBI Asst. Director would not execute a fugitive. Ratboy wasn't resisting, 'cause he only had his artificial hand left and couldn't even pick up the gun. I didn't like it and I felt sorry for Krycek even though he deserved it, yet he WAS trying to help Scully in the end. I wanted to know exactly what he meant by calling Mulder "brother." Did he feel they were working toward the same end? If so, what end did they have in common? Did he mean some blood relationship? Why did he want Scully's baby to live? What did he mean by it being a miracle? Was this "miracle" the reason the replicants wanted the baby? See, I have some of the same questions you and everybody else has. I am assuming CC will answer some of them next season.

Bravogabbo

I'm still trying to sort out the whole business with Krycek and the alien replicants. Was he working to destroy or save Scully's baby? It seems obvious on one hand that the replicants wanted to destroy Scully's baby; yet it was the "Agent Crane" replicant who crushed "Billy Miles" in a garbage truck, helping Scully and Reyes escape. [How DID Agent Crane know Mulder would be pitching Billy Miles off the roof right in front of the underground garage exit, anyway?] Then, the replicants went to a lot of trouble tracking Scully down again. The "Sheriff" kept and eye on S & R, then, when discovered, would only state, "This baby WILL be born!" as if she and the other replicants were trying to ensure the child's safety.

Lilahdog

I haven't figured our whose side Billy was on either or if he was the same type of replicant as Crane???

Bravogabbo

Now, I'm pretty sure that those at Zeus Genetics wanted the baby to be healthy. Perhaps the baby WAS part of a "superbaby" genetic engineering program. So, if the Zeus people and the replicants both wanted the baby to be alive and healthy, why did Billy Miles kill the doctors and burn down the facility? Was Billy Miles a "rebel" replicant? The bumps on his neck looked different to me than those on the other replicants. Did the sheriff really shoot him to stop him, or to further the illusion that she was on S & R's side?

Lilahdog

One thought I had was that the doctors were trying to create a human that could survive or perhaps defeat the alien invaders. Billy is working for the bad aliens, not the rebel aliens and so he killed the doctors. The doctors were working for The Syndicate, according to the nurse sent to "help" Scully, and The Syndicate was trying to double cross the invaders by creating this super human as well as a vaccine for the virus. But if this were true, why would the replicants be practically worshipping the baby instead of destroying it? It is all so confusing!

Bravogabbo

And why go to all the trouble to scare Scully et. al. into running away when the child was going to be born eventually, anyway?

Lilahdog

I thought the plan for S & R to go into hiding with no one to protect them was totally stupid. Why they didn't tell Mulder where they were going was stupid, too. Seemed like a silly plot device just so they could have a light guide him. Thought that was rather weak.
Also, I was thrilled that CC didn't take the virgin birth aspect to its conclusion. That would've been dumb, as well as insulting to a whole legion of religious people.

Bravogabbo

I've also considered the possibility that Krycek, in this episode, was an alien replicant, but that doesn't seem likely. He acted just like Krycek would under the circumstances. Which doesn't explain his actions, of course. The most important thing to remember about Krycek is that his main motive is looking out for himself, not humanity or the greater good. Yet, in his last few minutes, he seemed to be trying to convince Mulder, or more probably, himself, that killing Mulder would be for the greater good - to hide the fact that the alien replicant conspiracy (whatever that conspiracy is) goes deep into the FBI. I think after all these years, he saw Mulder as a sort of comrade or doppelganger: in literary terms, Mulder was his foil, and withour him, Krycek could not survive. That's why he had a hard time trying to kill Mulder - it would have been like killing a part of himself.

Lilahdog

I don't know about all of this Krycek/Mulder thing. I've even thought that since Krycek was so much younger than the Syndicate members that he was someone's son. Whose? Was he CSM's son? CSM did seem to have a number of identities and lives and perhaps wives. In my wilder moments, I even thought perhaps he and Mulder were half brothers belonging to CSM. He seemed almost loving toward Mulder in the end even though he was preparing to kill him. Very strange.

Bravogabbo

So why did he think the alien replicant conspiracy was that important? Why did he go along with it? After CSM's apparent death (surely the old boy is deadby now), the old guard was gone, leaving Krycek to start over again, if he wanted. When he delivered Mulder to the aliens at the end of Season 7, was he is collusion with them then? Was he trying to advance the replicant's cause? By giving them Mulder, did he plan on Mulder becoming an alien replicant, so that he and Mulder would then be on the same team?

Lilahdog

Again, I just don't know about the Krycek role. Hoping CC will enlighten us. I dearly hope CSM and Krycek aren't dead, but I figured those actors wanted to move on, too.

Bravogabbo

Krycek's death might save a lot of people from getting jerked around, but he certainly took a lot of unanswered questions with him. Not that we could have expected straight answers from him.
Moving on, I LOVED it when Doggett burned Kersh - that was just so cool. And it left the door open for more Doggett-Reyes collaborations, which may come up if/when GA leaves the show. In spite of what many people think, I always felt Reyes was one of the good guys, even though she's a flake [WHALE SONGS, for pete's sake??!!]. I think "Essence" proved it.

Lilahdog

Oh, I think the Doggett/Reyes/Kersch scene was a perfect setup for the next season. I fully expect to see some cameos from DD and limited visits from GA, but I think Doggett & Reyes will be the main characters next season. I like them both. I think CC was beginning to really develop Doggett's character in the eps from "Per Manum" to the end. Also, unlike so many other fans, I find Reyes very interesting. Her psychic powers, her cigarette addiction, her goofyness all make her very human and very interesting. I like them both just fine. Of course, I don't love them like I do M & S, but I didn't love M & S at first either.

Bravogabbo

As to THE KISS: that was part reward to all the shippers out there, and partly just a natural outpouring of emotion after the birth of what is, most likely, THEIR SON. And since Mulder's not in the FBI anymore, he probably feels more free to expore his feelings - all of his feelings - for Scully, and vice versa. It was a nice closing of that chapter of TXF. But it's still TXF, and not a soap opera, so I don't expect we'll be seeing a lot of bedroom scenes, etc. in Season 9. Especially since we won't be seeing much of Mulder at all.

Lilahdog

Well, I really loved the ending. It seemed a logical progression of the characters' development, especially Scully. CC set her up as a person who was basically an emotional coward who through herself into her work to avoid emotional involvement, where Mulder was always a passionate person, but his passion was extended into his job. I found it interesting to watch Scully thaw over the past 5 or 6 seasons. I remember in the "Emily" two-parter she told a social worker in so many words she was afraid of loving. Loving Emily, even though she lost her, awakened her to all the wonderful possibilities of loving children, a husband, etc. So I liked the kiss for that reason mostly. It was proof that Scully, who had been an emotional cripple, had come full circle and was able to accept the love Mulder had been trying to give her since "Momento Mori." PLUS, it was an ending to the M & S era, an ending that I needed before I could give them up and move on to new characters and a new show. If CC had just dropped Mulder out of the storyline, it would have been ridiculous and made Scully look like a fickle idiot to just forget this man who had meant so much to her.
As for bedroom scenes, though I love the thought that M & S are in love with each other, I NEVER had any desire to see them humping around like a couple of horny hamsters. Save that crap for Ally McBeal. Their characters are much too dignified for a public exhibition! I thought the kiss was plenty. It was all I needed.

Bravogabbo

I do think it's nice the way they've been able to phase Mulder's character out over time, rather than just boom! one day he's not there anymore. It's a lot more smooth this way, and it's not so blatantly a contractual issue when you're watching an episode. That is, we didn't have to sit there thinking, "Mulder is not there because DD didn't want to do it:" we could, within the comfortable parameters of the suspension of disbelief, think, "Mulder's not there because he was abducted by aliens." Okay, okay, the contractual issue was always in the backs of our minds, but we knew that Mulder would be coming back, although we did not know in what capacity. In the same way, it will be a lot less jarring for viewers next season to have Mulder popping up in brief cameos/ possible guest appearances. We just want to know he's out there somewhere, fighting the good fight.

Lilahdog

Yep, I am waiting for Mulder to be searching for the truth in X-Files movies! I hope.

Bravogabbo

Well, that's about it for me! And I want to apologize if I sounded presumptuous in my last e-mail, calling you a shipper. I'm glad to know you're a semi-shipper. I wasn't familiar with that label, but I think I like it a lot better than either shipper or noromo, because neither one of them fits me either. It means we are both intelligent, thinking individuals. So, hail, fellow semi-shipper!

Lilahdog

I made up semi-shipper because I began to realize that a lot of the shippers just wanted SEX and didn't give a d--- about the quest that Mulder was on. I watched the show for nearly 5 seasons never dreaming that they would become involved. Even when CC began to put it in the plot, I still thought I was misinterpreting it or that he was just using it as a lure to suck in more viewers. I am a female. As a female I have nothing against a little romance, as long as it is wrapped in a more interesting plot. I don't EVER watch shows, movies, or read books where romance is the main polot line. That is too boring. Now, if as in TXF there are characters that I grow to love, I don't mind if they fall in love, but I do not want to see people I feel like I know fornicating before my eyes. Sex is not a spectator sport! FIRST AND FOREMOST I AM AN X-FILES FAN!!! The shipper stuff if just a silly sideline.

Bravogabbo

Trust No One (Except God)

Lilahdog

I sure hope Doggett figures out about not trusting anyone. Our Doggett is a little slow on the uptake!
ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH SEASON 9!!! (It's going to be a long, dull summer.)