S10.E02: Founder's Mutation

[GreenScreenFX]

Sorry, I was confused at the S rating (for sexual situations) it never even occurred to me that a man hitting on Mulder might be offensive. Scully rather pointedly says (paraphrasing) in the next scene "i can't believe in 2016 this is even an issue" I wonder if the production asked for the S rating to make a point, or if Scullys line was added because they knew it would be an issue

[Jeezaloo]

Woof! I want to believe this show is good -- but the dialogue clunks along like eight crusty bricks in a spasming clothes dryer. Eventually, I envied the Hindude who went spelunking in his own skull with a metal spike to his ear.

[TVHappy9463]

Wait! The conversation Mulder and Scully had outside the hospital after they met the Nun and the girl made it sound like William wasn't Mulder's but was a product of an experiment on Scully.  She kept calling it "her baby", not their's. I am super confused. 

[Bastet]

Jesus, I cannot understand either one of them half the time – low talking and mumbling do not mesh with my ears, and they took turns sounding like they didn’t have enough air to speak clearly.  To that end, did Scully say “lifestyle preferences”?

 

Although I’d prefer to forget William exists, Mulder and Scully obviously can’t.  I’d rather not devote so much of an episode’s time to him, but the “what if” fantasies-turned-nightmares were well done (loved Mulder doing JFK’s moon speech).  Now I just hope we’re done.  I hope he’s healthy and safe with his parents, so that the biggest of their many sacrifices was worth it.

 

I love seeing Scully back in the autopsy bay (and out in the field, but I have a particular affection for her doing autopsies … although seeing her flash her badge and introduce herself as Special Agent made me grin like a total idiot).  I also love Skinner covering for them again.  “Welcome back, you two.” 

 

It’s SO great to see them investigating together, rather than Mulder haring off on his own.  He’s even getting better at actually answering her questions.  And nice to see Scully not automatically rejecting every theory, just looking for evidence.   Why couldn’t they have been written like this earlier in the series?

 

“Dr. Scully, I was told that you were the rational one.”  Ha!

 

Was Mulder talking in warp speed in last night’s opening VO, too, and I just didn’t notice it, or was it sped up tonight?

 

The actor playing the doctor’s wife did a fantastic job telling M&S what happened, but it took me a minute to get over being pissed at the character for throwing something at a cat.  Nice job all around by the guest cast – good guys, bad guys, everyone felt real.

 

I liked this far better than last night’s (which was to be expected, as I tend to be “meh” on the mytharc, especially when CC writes it).  It had a nice old-school XF feel to it, with a case that’s interesting on its own and allows for character exploration because of their personal connection to the issues raised.

 

Next week’s episode is utterly fantastic.  One bit of humor doesn’t work for me, and maybe I’ll find something to nitpick on second viewing, but it makes this revival worthwhile no matter what happens in the other remaining episodes.  Anyone who was iffy on this one, please stick around for the next.  Seriously, it’s a pure delight.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Bastet

[baileythedog]

Much to say about this episode which I thought was wonderful. Beyond the mechanics of the overall story, what struck me was the differences and similarities yet loneliness of the dreams that both Mulder and Scully had of William.

 

Scully dreamed that William at age 8 or 9 begins developing alien features -- undoubtedly a bi-product of her learning that her own DNA is alien.

 

Mulder dreamed that William at age 8 or 9 is abducted much like his sister was.

 

Until these two respective events occur in William's development, both Mulder and Scully seem delighted and satisfied being parents although significantly, Mulder is not in Scully's dream and Scully is not in Mulder's. I thought that was profoundly sad.

[turnitwayup]

Much improvement over yesterday's ep. I think my favorite part of this revival is which recognizable guest star is gonna show up next. It seems like everyone that had a free schedule this past summer wanted to be on it. I was cracking up at Chuck's Lester trying to give Mulder a bj. A little Hannibal reunion with Gillian and Kacey tho I don't think they're characters ever met. A couple regulars from Continnum even though they didn't share any scenes together. Rebecca Witsocky is pretty much the best thing about Devious Maids so it's nice to see her do other roles. A reg from BSG. Now both Desperate Housewives Scavos have been on this show 23 yrs apart.

 

Wait! The conversation Mulder and Scully had outside the hospital after they met the Nun and the girl made it sound like William wasn't Mulder's but was a product of an experiment on Scully.  She kept calling it "her baby", not their's. I am super confused. 

 

Yeah that was weird. I thought Mulder was gonna interrupt with "our baby" but he just let Scully ramble on.

 

The Scully wig in the fantasy William scene looked amazing. Why couldn't she have that hair for the entire time? Even the wig looked much redder in Skinner's office. At least Mulder is looking better in this ep than the last. The fantasy scene were well done and I think that's enough closure on William.

 

Years later and Scully still doesn't have a desk in that basement office. It's so weird to be seeing them use flat screen tvs and smart phones. I'm really not sure what Scully is doing about her job at that hospital. Is she taking a leave of absence to be back at the FBI, doing double duty as a consultant at the hospital. I just hope we don't see the hospital every ep cause it's gonna come off as like a permanent set.

 

I love seeing the 2 of them with their flashlights and Skinner having their back.

[SparklesBitch]

I wanted to hug Scully the first time she talked about William, I wanted to hug Mulder in the end, so alone in his pain (because he wants to be strong for Scully, I guess?).

 

Also: "You're never just anything." Mulder, you killed me here and I love you for it.

 

About Mulder being alone in his pain....I wanted to hug him too. It also made me slightly frustrated with both of them. Yes, their relationship is in a weird place currently, and yes feelings are hard, but seriously, they're BOTH obviously hurting over the kid. Would it really kill them to, I don't know, maybe talk to each other about it? Shouldn't Mulder know by now that he doesn't need to pull the big, strong man thing for Scully? Asking if he thought about William obviously means she'd be ready to hear about it, right?

 

And I loved that line too...it made me grin like an idiot.

 

 I hope he’s healthy and safe with his parents, so that the biggest of their many sacrifices was worth it.

 

The actor playing the doctor’s wife did a fantastic job telling M&S what happened, but it took me a minute to get over being pissed at the character for throwing something at a cat. 

 

Agreed on both counts!

 

 although significantly, Mulder is not in Scully's dream and Scully is not in Mulder's. I thought that was profoundly sad.

 

Yeah, I noticed that too and wondered if that was done on purpose....like there is a larger reason why they haven't thought about parenting William together.

 

One last little thing that I noticed that forgot to mention before....did it make anyone else smile that Scully drove for most of (if not all of) the episode? Her "little feet" seem to reach the pedals just fine. =)

Edited January 26, 2016 by SparklesBitch

[GreenScreenFX]

I hated the Audi or Ford ad.... They did for the on board camera...I love that I have no idea which car sponsored it.

Edited January 26, 2016 by GreenScreenFX

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Admittedly, I do not know much about the HR practices of the FBI. Even so, I find the following scenario unlikely. Director: "Yes, we're re-opening the X Files. But let's not put new agents we trust in the job. Let's track down that whackjob doctor who may or may not have had a couple of kids and bring her back. Also, that freaky guy who resigned/was fired/got killed almost as many times as he was reprimanded. Yeah, re-hire him." 

 

Anyway, the ep was entertaining enough. Though the semi-dream sequences of William dragged a bit. 

 

Nice to see the captain of the Alliance cruiser from Bushwhacked again. :) 

 

Oh, and the other odd moment. Scully: "I've got what I need from you, deformed child in a box. I'm now going to turn my back on you as you stand there and not address you again."

 

Original Recipe XF was creepy, but always off screen, or hinted at...

 

Somebody doesn't remember huge pulsating blisters bursting from dead pigs and people's faces.

 

Correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't Scully a pathologist in the original series...

 

And an FBI agent and a physicist and a surgeon and a floor wax and a desert topping. 

 

Lush basement office!

Edited January 26, 2016 by Ghost of TWOP Past

[kathyk24]

This episode felt like old school X-files and I loved it. I hope we do find out what happened to William and it's happier than Samantha Mulder's fate.

[GaT]

Much better than episode one. I've got to ask though. Both Duchovny and Andersen seem to be speaking with hoarse voices. Is that an acting choice, are they both sick, or do they both really sound like that now

Couch Hubby actually asked if Gilian Anderson had survived throat cancer, or if she always sounded that way.

I'm glad it's not just me, I had to turn the sound up to hear them.

 

I'm very confused by the whole WIliam thing, I don't understand what those scenes were. Were those flashbacks or imaginings? Though I don't know why Scully would imagine him breaking his arm. I also didn't find them very interesting, so I hope we don't have them every episode. 

 

Was the doctor trying to cure the kids or was he creating them? Why did he keep his own daughter locked up?

[baileythedog]

I'm glad it's not just me, I had to turn the sound up to hear them.

 

I'm very confused by the whole WIliam thing, I don't understand what those scenes were. Were those flashbacks or imaginings? Though I don't know why Scully would imagine him breaking his arm. I also didn't find them very interesting, so I hope we don't have them every episode. 

 

Was the doctor trying to cure the kids or was he creating them? Why did he keep his own daughter locked up?

The William scenes weren't flashbacks -- they were dreams / nightmares from both Scully and then Mulder's perspective.  Scully imagined his body breaking down and becoming alien.  Mulder imagined him being abducted.  Their respective fears were very personal to them, given what we know about the characters.

 

The doctor was definitely creating mutations in children, that is for certain, and that is why he was keeping his own daughter locked up. She had unique abilities, including some sort of telepathy and clearly she had some sort of gills that allowed her to breathe under water.  He may have been "treating" the other children, but that seemed more of a cover for his experimentations. 

[GreenScreenFX]

This definitely was an old school episode. Not something you try on a 6 epidode revival.

Loved it, for maybe an epidode in season 9... 12 years ago.

[Happy Harpy]

I love seeing the 2 of them with their flashlights and Skinner having their back.

Oh yeah. I thought, my show is really back.

[Bec]

I pretty much stopped watching the old series back when they did the “all hail the miracle child” plot.

 

But I’m digging the current plot “gathering hapless pregnant women to experiment on their babies”. Awesome! Since Mulder snuck off with that blood sample, this probably ties into the bigger conspiracy somehow. Okay show, you have my attention. For now.

 

Aw yes, it’s so sweet that Scully is never “just” anything to Mulder - even though it looks like in the big picture her pregnancy is just one of many conspiracy experiments. So their kid is not a Messiah or anything like that. Good! He doesn’t need to be Jesus to still be special to his parents.

 

Although I’d prefer to forget William exists, Mulder and Scully obviously can’t… Now I just hope we’re done.  I hope he’s healthy and safe with his parents, so that the biggest of their many sacrifices was worth it.

Right there with you. I am so ready to move on already. Knowing how TV shows work though, he’s probably going to play a significant part in all this somehow. It’s funny he was this wide-eyed moppet in their daydreams - he’s most likely just another surly teenager by now. If they cast someone to play their kid, he better have the ability to do epic eyerolls.

 

It would be so soapy if Cigarette Smoking Man is raising William as his grandson. I’m not sure whether I would hate it or love it.

 

I’m just gonna shrug off how little it makes sense for Mulder and Scully to send their “miracle child” away to protect him. It works in a “fairy tale logic” kind of way.

 

That was very Rosemary’s Baby when that pregnant lady was trying to escape her mad scientist husband and everyone thinks she’s crazy.

 

And I’m so psyched that the flashlights are back!

 

This whole thing is reminding me of comic books. What with science making super-powered people (and also messing up and making some poor unfortunate souls).

 

That shiny science-y building reminds me of Ultra HQ. Maybe Mulder and Scully will find their 15-year-old son living in an underground hideout with The Tomorrow People.

 

Those crows gathering like that is just Monday in Vancouver. Nothing to be alarmed about.

[baileythedog]

I'd just like to add that Mulder meeting a guy at a bar called "The Corner Pocket" and not realizing it was a gay bar until he was nearly fellated was about the best scene I've ever seen played out on this show. Everything about the lead up conversation was fantastic -

 

My name is

No names please

You're Sanjay's friend? ... Is that guy bothering you?

Not yet.

What do you want?

I want to talk - can we go someplace private?

I don't know you

I'm safe.

 

OMG.  Hilarious. 

 

And of course Scully's creepy hospital Our Lady of Sorrows would end up being a source of incubation and genetic experimentation.  Scully only worked there for 7+ years without realizing that.  lol

Edited January 26, 2016 by baileythedog

[pcta]

Loved it. Hope William is an arc. The episode went incredibly fast for me. Definitely left me wanting more.

[JWalker]

Somehow I don't think the William storyline will ever be closed at least not for Mulder and Scully. I suspect they are both feeling somewhat guilty for giving William up. That kind of guilt doesn't go away I don't think even if the 3 of them are reunited somewhere down the road.

[revbfc]

Sorry, I was confused at the S rating (for sexual situations) it never even occurred to me that a man hitting on Mulder might be offensive. Scully rather pointedly says (paraphrasing) in the next scene "i can't believe in 2016 this is even an issue" I wonder if the production asked for the S rating to make a point, or if Scullys line was added because they knew it would be an issue

I'm not the network censor, but I'd guess the issue was not the guy hitting on Mulder. It was the guy attempting to blow Mulder.

[Jac]

This episode was much better.

My theory is that a significant amount of time has passed since the events of My Struggle and this episode and that in the interim all the processy stuff like quitting jobs and doing whatever was necessary to reinstate Mulder and Scully as FBI agents and reopen the X-Files was done. As much as I would have liked to see some random HR worker see the names Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on a personnel form and be like "Christ I thought we were finally rid of these two, they create so much paperwork' it was not really necessary to have those scenes to make sense of the overarching plot and with only 6 episodes it is easy to see why any processy stuff was avoided.

The MotW plot was a B- probably, better than average but not great.

I'll have to rewatch before I pass judgment on the William plot, I was watching with an ardent hater of the whole William plot who complained about his inclusion in any form the whole time he was on screen.

[shrewd.buddha]

William has been mentioned in both episodes, so it appears he is the endgame. 

And while I realize they are trying to just get to standalone episodes, it would have been nice if there were some mention of Conspiracy Blogger Man or Abductee Woman who went missing last episode. There was a reason the X-Files department was reopened and taking on random odd occurrences wasn't it. 

 

Other than the fantasy/dream sequences about William there wasn't anything about this episode that made it different than those from 15 years ago. Mulder mumbles and Scully whispers and they drive around interviewing people and stumble over clues that any other investigators could manage to find. 

 

So far, I am as excited about the return of the X-Files as the actors, writers and characters appear to be... 

Edited January 26, 2016 by shrewd.buddha

[Ms Blue Jay]

I was enthralled by the first episode, the one that the critics hated, and for this episode I was super grossed-out and scared; not an enjoyable experience.  It brought back all of the memories of me not being able to watch the show as a kid.  So things don't really change.  I'm just not an X-Filer!  Or whatever you guys call yourselves.  

 

I'll continue to watch though.  6 episodes is so low commitment.  I enjoy seeing all of our questions answered here and everyone geeking out about Mulder and Scully.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Frozendiva]

Back in the day, viewers were X-Philes, or just Philes.

 

On the original X Files messageboard (well, I think I joined a slightly more modern version in the late 90s) there were also the Shipper and NoRomo camps.

[Sandman]

Scully was a pathologist before. She also taught surgical techniques at one point. Then she would always introduce herself as a doctor with a background in "hard" science. I never understood that line, cause being a doctor is based in precise science (to me).

 

Didn't Scully do a PhD. thesis on part of Einstein's theory of relativity? Mulder's background is psychology, right? I always understood her line about "hard science" to be about a contrast with the social sciences or psychology (or, given their work in the X-Files, and some of Mulder's loopier ideas, parapsychology) not about drawing a distinction between physics or chemistry and medicine.

 

Damn, does he ever shut up?

 

In a word: No. Not often, and never for long.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Sandman

[Frost]

I thought Scully was pregnant twice in the original series.  Once after she was abducted (that weird scene where pregnant Scully is floating in a row boat on some nameless body of water comes to mind) a couple of seasons in, when GA was pregnant in real life.  And then later on with Mulder.   I can't remember what happened to Baby #1.  Did it supposedly die?  Did Scully wake up one morning suddenly not pregnant anymore?

[fastiller]

Jesus, I cannot understand either one of them half the time – low talking and mumbling do not mesh with my ears, and they took turns sounding like they didn’t have enough air to speak clearly.  To that end, did Scully say “lifestyle preferences?”

 

 

Yeah, I caught that one too.  It did surprise me.

 

I'm glad it's not just me, I had to turn the sound up to hear them.

 

When this first aired, my husband always used to call it "X-Files: People Whispering in Dark Rooms"

[Morrigan2575]

I thought Scully was pregnant twice in the original series.  Once after she was abducted (that weird scene where pregnant Scully is floating in a row boat on some nameless body of water comes to mind) a couple of seasons in, when GA was pregnant in real life.  And then later on with Mulder.   I can't remember what happened to Baby #1.  Did it supposedly die?  Did Scully wake up one morning suddenly not pregnant anymore?

As I recall, she was.  The first pregnancy was part of an alien abduction story, she never had the baby but I believe her eggs were harvested or something to that effect.  The scene you're thinking of (in the row boat) was after Mulder found her, she was in a coma and dreaming of her deceased father, IIRC.  All of this was done to hide GA's real life pregnancy and then give her time off to recover.

 

William is from the second pregnancy which was later in the show (S8?) and that was (IIRC) Mulder's but it was also possibly alien as well since the Government and/or Aliens were after the baby.

[Tardislass]

Didn't Scully do a PhD. thesis on part of Einstein's theory of relativity? Mulder's background is psychology, right? I always understood her line about "hard science" to be about a contrast with the social sciences or psychology (or, given their work in the X-Files, and some of Mulder's loopier ideas, parapsychology) not about drawing a distinction between physics or chemistry and medicine.

In a word: No. Not often, and never for long.

It's actually becoming a running gag. The ep. Bad Blood parodied it best with his monologue on vampires but the Simpson's parody also highlighted his lengthy monologues- "the unsolved mysteries of Unsolved Mysteries!" Hee. I know there are some who don't like it that the storylines aren't all connected but it's classic X-Files. There'd be one mythology episode at the start or two. Then all that happened would be negated until the finale.

[cpierce]

"The visual gore/creep factor has increased dramatically."

F. Emasculata. Those heaving and exploding pus-filled boils on those escaped prisoners faces were disgusting!

[Tardislass]

"The visual gore/creep factor has increased dramatically."

F. Emasculata. Those heaving and exploding pus-filled boils on those escaped prisoners faces were disgusting!

One word "Home"

[Sandman]

I remember both "Home" and "Sanguinarium" being pretty graphic. And that one with the head-twisty dead prostitute in bed with Skinner.

 

Okay, now I'm going to go think about sun-filled green meadows and snow-capped unsullied peaks and such things. Pink sand beaches! 

[paigow]

I'd just like to add that Mulder meeting a guy at a bar called "The Corner Pocket" and not realizing it was a gay bar until he was nearly fellated was about the best scene I've ever seen played out on this show.

it reminded me of an original episode in which the victim / witness was a woman named BJ... And Mulder said to Scully that he always been curious to meet a woman with that name..... 

[shadderk]

Loved the episode!

 

There was one part that drew my attention and just seemed a little off.  I will have to re-weatch again tonight to see if there was anything I missed.

 

There was a scene where Scully and Mulder were in the vehicle and stopped at an intersection or exit of a back alley(cant remember).  The camera pans to the onboard dashcam showing people walk on the sidewalk in front of them.  Then pans back to Scully and Mulder talking.  Then the scene shows Scully look at the dashcam again, see that its looks clear and start to drive off, nearly hitting someone who was still in front of the car.  Now I dont have a dashcam in my vehicle but when I drive forward I look forward to see if anyone is in my way, even if I had a camera mounted, I would not look at a display of a camera of the front of my vehicle to make sure its clear.  And aren't most dashcam cameras usually positioned for the rear of the car?

 

I don't know why but that really bugged me in this episode.

 

Saying that, I loved everything else in the episode, really brought me back to what I loved about the x-files

[Bastet]

We don't know if Scully was ever pregnant before William; she dreams a bunch of stuff while in a coma after being returned, and one of those shows her with them attaching something to a distending belly, but we don't know if any of that stuff is real (and it seemed more to be about having fun with GA's pregnancy than implying a Scully pregnancy; I think it was a general "I was turned into a lab rat" fear we were seeing from Scully's mind).  Mulder later learns her ova were harvested during her abduction (and takes his sweet time telling her that, but that's another story), and we learn Emily is genetically hers, but was incubated in someone else.  So there was never - thus far - a revelation that she was impregnated during her abduction, just that her ova were stolen and later used.

 

I'll have to rewatch before I pass judgment on the William plot, I was watching with an ardent hater of the whole William plot who complained about his inclusion in any form the whole time he was on screen.

 

Normally I would joke about you watching it with me, but I wound up grudgingly accepting it and thus keeping my grumbling to a minimum.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Bastet

[Mama No Life]

Yeah, Bastet, that was my take on the harvesting vs. pregnancy.

 

Re: Mulder and William....I feel like Mulder has always yielded to Scully in regards to this issue;  he was abducted while she was pregnant and on the run when she was dealing with infant William.  Not his fault, but it's almost like Scully was alone in it so he yields to her "my baby" nonsense. DD plays it as guilt and it works.  Plus, even though they know they bonked they don't know that's how she got pregnant for sure so they're both scared of that.

 

That reminds me....why does everyone forget that Mulder was abducted as well?  If Scully has alien DNA from her time with the aliens (men? whomever?) wouldn't Mulder? Or is he immune because of the black oil?  OMG why do I try to figure this out?

 

Still, best line I've heard in a while..."You're never just anything to me, Scully."  The love lives on.

[Kathcart]

 

So are those scenes them imagining what it would have been like?

Yes. You could tell they were fantasy because Scully was smiling instead of going around like Gloomy Gus.

 

All those poor kids in the hospital, suffering from CGI.

[Bastet]

Per the early overnight ratings, XF won the time slot last night, with over 9.6 million viewers.

[Tardislass]

Big drop but still decent numbers and perhaps this episode will draw back some fans that disliked the first. Only bad thing is I've heard that CC wants to reboot the series. I hope he and Fox know the draw is Mulder & Scully. Without them, I'd probably not watch it.

[njudah]

These new eps of X files are nice, but they really don't seem that special. It's like they decided "hey, anyone else wanna see a few new episodes of show that hasn't been on for a long time? yes? well let's make 6 of them, but let's not really rock the boat".

glad I am not the only one who wondered about this:

"ack in the X-Files office -- which is now all kitted out and decorated (maybe that's where Mulder and Scully put their energy instead of seeking the once imperative but now apparently forgotten Sveta), "

I mean, wtf. But as always the x files is entertaining, even in Today's World, and it's nice to see so many Canadian actors from Battlestar Galactica, Continuum, etc getting some work in the episode...

[peacheslatour]

I got a bit misty during the "what if" moments with William I will admit. And Mulder and Scully looked younger during those scenes. Not sure if it was lighting, on purpose because they would have been younger with a young William , or on purpose to show how much being without William wears on them... But I saw it.

MUCH better than last night. But I think that porch scene killed Sunday's ep for me.

I saw that too.  I kept wondering if TPTB had Duchovny and Anderson aged up for the first ep. and they will slowly de-age them as the series goes on.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Escape From X-Files Mountain
Geez, kids can be such a headache sometimes.

[Neurochick]

Jesus, I cannot understand either one of them half the time – low talking and mumbling do not mesh with my ears, and they took turns sounding like they didn’t have enough air to speak clearly.  To that end, did Scully say “lifestyle preferences?”

 

 

I am glad someone else mentioned the sound.  I watched this one two TV's; one from the 1990's and the other from 2004.   The sound on the 90's TV was muddled, I couldn't understand what anybody was saying; but I had no problems on the TV form 2004.  They could benefit from closed captions though.

[benteen]

I enjoyed that episode and it was more fun than the first episode.  It was good to really get back to the cases again and the thing with the twins at the end was cool.  The "dream sequences" did kind of take me out of the episode but I thought they were very well-acted.  It was nice to see Mulder and Scully happy, even if it wasn't really (or with each other).

 

Also noticed Aaron Douglas, Chief Tyrol from BSG, pop up in the beginning.  I just saw him as the villain on The Flash last Tuesday.

[ksb]

Good episode.

However, I wished before the new season and I still do, they hadn't revisited the William debacle. It brings back memories of me bitching on an on about the idiocy of Scully's  decision back in the day on Haven. I can't believe they reiterated the stupidity of "keeping him safe by giving him up". Still drives my crazy after so many years. 

Nonetheless, the what ifs worked really well and struck a chord with me. Seeing Mulder and Scully in so much pain was hard to watch.

The melancholy that surrounds them constantly and that is also reflected in their speech pattern (I believe the subdued hoarse voices are an acting choice), makes me wish that by episode 6 they somehow manage to leave part of the darkness behind them.

 

Mulder in particular has a fragility about him right now that tugs on my heart strings.

Hopefully, part of the bigger plan is to let him slowly recover and become stronger again (maybe reflected in a change of voice) over the next episodes, now that he's got Scully by his side again.

 

I'm so happy the Skinman is around. He hasn't changed one bit which makes the change in Mulder and Scully even more prominent.

 

How much I love this show!

[uoflfan]

I enjoyed the episode and was glad they addressed William. My 15 year old son is in boarding school 600 miles away (to allow him to focus and improve his grades). My ex and I only see him one weekend each month. As a result, I cried buckets at the William dream sequences, thinking of my own son. I do wonder if we'll get a peek at William in the finale and wouldn't be at all surprised if CSM is a part of his life. There is no way in hell that the government hasn't been keeping tabs on William.

GA's and DD's hoarse voices puzzled me. I'm wondering if they had both caught colds by the time this episode was filmed. Someone on another forum with a pretty solid source posted that the episodes were shuffled after filming and that last night's episode was actually filmed after the 4th or 5th episode had already been filmed.

[Apocalypse Cow]

One word "Home"

"Home" was one of the freakiest shows ever to me. I had nightmares about that one. This new episode didn't come close to the creep factor of Home.

[HalcyonDays]

"The visual gore/creep factor has increased dramatically."

F. Emasculata. Those heaving and exploding pus-filled boils on those escaped prisoners faces were disgusting!

 

Now that you and others have mentioned it, now I remember some of that stuff. Not part of my frequent rewatches is probably why. But yeah, I do remember. Ew....And Flukeman. Remember Flukeman?

 

Didn't Scully do a PhD. thesis on part of Einstein's theory of relativity? Mulder's background is psychology, right? I always understood her line about "hard science" to be about a contrast with the social sciences or psychology (or, given their work in the X-Files, and some of Mulder's loopier ideas, parapsychology) not about drawing a distinction between physics or chemistry and medicine.

 

Yeah, first episode I think Mulder asks her about that. I just always assumed a surgical doctor would have a degree in something like Biology or Pathology, before going into a residency to develop their specialty. Like, I would want my surgeon to know the detailed in and outs of the human body. I just assumed every doctor who performs operations or is a cardiac specialist, or gastroenterologist (for example) would not have a degree in psychology, but a basic and very detailed understand of the physical human body and how it functions. A psychology degree isn't going to allow a pathologist be able to distinguish between a myocardial cell and a striated muscle cell or whatever. I hope that makes sense. I just assumed the hard science is required for these careers.

[uoflfan]

Scully had a bachelors degree in Psychics, before going to medical school. She did a paper on Einstein in connection with her undergraduate degree.  Trust me, I'm an X-Phile and re-watched all 9 seasons and the two movies before Sunday's reboot.

Edited January 26, 2016 by uoflfan

[Bastet]

Someone on another forum with a pretty solid source posted that the episodes were shuffled after filming and that last night's episode was actually filmed after the 4th or 5th episode had already been filmed.

 

Yes, this came towards the end in the production order.  I initially thought it was also written to air fifth, so I wondered what switching it to the second slot was going to do to the characterization trajectory over these six episodes, but I recently heard it was always designed to come second (and was just filmed fifth).

 

Scully had a bachelor's degree in Psychics, before going to medical school. She did a paper on Einstein in connection with her undergraduate degree.

 

"Einstein's Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation, Dana Scully's Senior Thesis.  Now that's a credential, rewriting Einstein." 

Edited January 26, 2016 by Bastet

[DaynaPhile]

Tense office scene with Skinner, check! Mulder in pain, check! Agents being tossed against the wall, check! Blood and gore, check!

I can't even describe how much I loved seeing this whole episode go down. Watching a happy Scully and Mulder fantasize about what raising William would have been like...it's been a while since an X File made me teary. The gore factor has been significantly increased, I covered my eyes more times in this episodes than I used to do in an entire season before. All the glass breaking in the hospital and M & S ducking out of the way, loved it! Mulder's line to Scully, "you're never just anything to me, Scully." I have no words.

The fantasy scenes with William, it's like a nod to all the baby fic that sprang up after the series ended. "Mulderand Scully do boring parenting things with their maybe alien baby". For Scully's I was half expecting her to wake up like she used to from nightmares, gasping and sitting straight up in bed. I was also hoping that in the very last scene, she would have walked up behind Mulder and put her hand on his shoulder, thus seeing that he, too, had a baby picture. Which of course she would have given him, how else would he have a copy of the one she has? I know he's a bit nuts, but for all they have been through, they need to stick together. And that means living in the same house to soothe each other's nightmares dammit!

I had forgotten how hard it is to wait a week for a new episode.