S10.E04: Home Again

[SpaceBloom]

Un M & S like? I disagree on that. They felt like they did back in the day to me. They felt un M & S like to me during Founder's Mutation. No chemistry or history at all. 

 

As for Mulder not saying a word... he was letting her talk, taking on her burden. He was being a grown up. I couldn't have been more proud of him.

 

Agreed. This episode marks the first true to form M&S interaction I've seen yet in this reboot, IMO.

Edited February 9, 2016 by SpaceBloom

[lumberjackdexter]

 

Agreed. This episode marks the first true to form M&S interaction I've seen yet in this reboot, IMO.

 

Silence is golden?

[AntiBeeSpray]

Silence is golden?

 

Do you mean in regards to Mulder?

[madam magpie]

I don't have much to say about this episode except that Scully broke my heart.

Me too. Scully is my favorite, and this was very sad.

I thought Gillian was really great, but agree with others about the "like trash" line being overkill. It seemed like a clunky attempt to connect the storylines, totally unnecessary, and waaaaaaay too obvious to work well as a straight metaphor.

[AmeliaBedelia]

I liked this one a lot. The monster was sufficiently scary (there was a band-aid on my bathroom floor after the ep ended and I got creeped out for a second lol). Also pleasantly surprised by Tim Armstrong's appearance. Big Rancid fan. Some of his dialogue sounded like song lyrics.

 

RIP Mrs. Scully. I wish we had gotten to see her in a scene before the heart attack. I didn't know Scully had a brother named Charlie. I just remember Bill Jr. and his being a jerk.

 

I did think the editing was disjointed. Neither plot had time to breathe. Glen Morgan's interview on ew.com makes it clear he was trying to cram in as much story as possible with such a limited episode order.

 

My favorite parts of the ep: Mulder saying he invented wishing someone well, the banter between M&S on the stairs with the flashlights, the flashbacks (used well, made me awww every time), the douchebag line, graffiti, monster was gross and not cartoonish (needed after last week).

[lumberjackdexter]

Do you mean in regards to Mulder?

yes

 

Also, I did think that maybe he was cycling through his own thoughts about William but letting Scully say her piece.  Especially since she incorporated, "Fox." 

[AntiBeeSpray]

Me too. Scully is my favorite, and this was very sad.

I thought Gillian was really great, but agree with others about the "like trash" line being overkill. It seemed like a clunky attempt to connect the storylines, totally unnecessary, and waaaaaaay too obvious to work well as a straight metaphor.

 

Yea it was a bit much. But it was a throwback to a bit from 'Home':

 

Scully: (Discussing the murdered baby's long list of birth defects) Imagine all a woman's hopes and dreams for her child, and for Nature to turn so cruel... What must a woman go through?

Mulder: Apparently not much in this case, if she'd just throw it out with the trash.

I liked this one a lot. The monster was sufficiently scary (there was a band-aid on my bathroom floor after the ep ended and I got creeped out for a second lol). Also pleasantly surprised by Tim Armstrong's appearance. Big Rancid fan. Some of his dialogue sounded like song lyrics.

 

RIP Mrs. Scully. I wish we had gotten to see her in a scene before the heart attack. I didn't know Scully had a brother named Charlie. I just remember Bill Jr. and his being a jerk.

 

I did think the editing was disjointed. Neither plot had time to breathe. Glen Morgan's interview on ew.com makes it clear he was trying to cram in as much story as possible with such a limited episode order.

 

My favorite parts of the ep: Mulder saying he invented wishing someone well, the banter between M&S on the stairs with the flashlights, the flashbacks (used well, made me awww every time), the douchebag line, graffiti, monster was gross and not cartoonish (needed after last week).

 

Yea it did seem a little disjointed... but a lot less so than the first two eps especially. It flowed better.

[AntiBeeSpray]

yes

 

Also, I did think that maybe he was cycling through his own thoughts about William but letting Scully say her piece.  Especially since she incorporated, "Fox." 

 

Ah I see. Yea that makes sense. He's come so far as a character. I'm very proud of him.

[Italian Ice]

I had to pry my eyes away from Scully in my recording of this to watch how Mulder was reacting with her, and honestly, he did an amazing, subtle, realistic performance IMO. He was at a loss for words, and he more than just about anybody knows how best to comfort her. He just let her be, and he was the rock she needed. Her touchstone, like she was and will always be, his. 

[lumberjackdexter]

Ah I see. Yea that makes sense. He's come so far as a character. I'm very proud of him.

 

He was collecting thoughts for an entry:

 

https://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2015-08/24/20/enhanced/webdr02/anigif_enhanced-24929-1440462411-2_preview.gif

[madam magpie]

Yea it was a bit much. But it was a throwback to a bit from 'Home':

 

Scully: (Discussing the murdered baby's long list of birth defects) Imagine all a woman's hopes and dreams for her child, and for Nature to turn so cruel... What must a woman go through?

Mulder: Apparently not much in this case, if she'd just throw it out with the trash.

Maybe...and it would have worked fine on its own. The reason it didn't work was because of the monster of the week storyline. I believe Scully feels this way, the guilt and regret and deep sadness. But the line felt like a "wink wink" to the monster story in a moment that was serious in tone, so it probably jolted a lot of the audience out of the moment. It did me, anyway.

Oh! And to whoever mentioned being surprised Gaeta had both his legs, yes! Me too!

[AntiBeeSpray]

I had to pry my eyes away from Scully in my recording of this to watch how Mulder was reacting with her, and honestly, he did an amazing, subtle, realistic performance IMO. He was at a loss for words, and he more than just about anybody knows how best to comfort her. He just let her be, and he was the rock she needed. Her touchstone, like she was and will always be, his. 

 

Agreed. It was so wonderfully done.

[SparklesBitch]

I had to pry my eyes away from Scully in my recording of this to watch how Mulder was reacting with her, and honestly, he did an amazing, subtle, realistic performance IMO. He was at a loss for words, and he more than just about anybody knows how best to comfort her. He just let her be, and he was the rock she needed. Her touchstone, like she was and will always be, his. 

 

You've all convinced me that I need to rewatch this scene, because I really want to see what the rest of you are seeing. I loved the scenes between them in the hospital, but the conversation on the log felt off to me somehow. I think maybe I wasn't paying quite enough attention to Mulder because my eyes are always naturally on Scully.

 

What hardship, having to rewatch X-Files episodes! ;)

Edited February 9, 2016 by SparklesBitch

[Frozendiva]

I wasn't too fond of the idea of the Tulpa, again. Went back to 'Arcadia' and the homeowners association for that one. This one was much more violent in ripping people's heads off. I thought that the Tulpa put the lady in her garburator, but maybe I was mistaken.

 

The flashlights were a return to old times; Scully's remark about wearing 3 inch heels, also old-time. I also went back to 'Beyond the Sea' (death of Scully's father). Petula Clark's 'Downtown' took me back to 'Lost' and 'Dance if you want to' (or whatever it was called).

 

I don't remember ever seeing Charlie in the previous seasons. Bill Scully, yes. Charlie was just mentioned. I would think that the quarter necklace that Mrs. Scully wore had something to do with William.

 

After all these years, why is William coming up now? Scully made the best decision at the time.

 

Was home late today and wasn't paying full attention. Will re-watch later this week.

[ottoDbusdriver]

So, was it the street artist that was driving the garbage truck ?  If so, where did they keep it between murders ?  And where did the body remains go ?

[HalcyonDays]

Did anyone else think the monster looked like Peyton Manning?

 

Omg, now that you say it, YES! Ha! I'd say appropriate, considering my Panthers lost... /cries

 

Un M & S like? I disagree on that. They felt like they did back in the day to me. They felt un M & S like to me during Founder's Mutation. No chemistry or history at all. 

 

As for Mulder not saying a word... he was letting her talk, taking on her burden. He was being a grown up. I couldn't have been more proud of him.

 

Apart from what you mentioned, how did they seem off to you guys?

 

I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been watching lots of episodes of the earlier X-Files seasons lately, but I've always seen Scully as being more in control of her emotions, more reserved, more...I don't know, just not someone who dissolves into tears so easily. She usually can hold it together, but there were even flashbacks to the later seasons were she was bawling.

 

But even her being all upset about her mom not asking for her - it just seemed un-Scully-like to me. Not sure why.

 

And then her "Mulder, I need to work" just seemed out of place too. Also, the hospital removing the dead patients in full view of the family - just wrong.

[Bastet]

This episode would have been better if it was just about the MOTW, without the William stuff – and not just because at this point in the revival I’m Jan Brady, huffing, “It’s always William, William, William!”  It was a horribly clunky connection (oh my god, that trash line, and the flashbacks comparing William’s birth to bringing the tulpa) that was wholly unnecessary and created a disjointed feel. 

 

And I could have even done without the Ma Scully stuff in this context; I can’t properly concentrate on the MOTW when I’m worried about Scully.  It’s kind of like the “Now is THIS Samantha for real?” part of Redux II; I might care about this when I’m not concentrating on Scully being on the brink of death.  One story line really shortchanges the other.

 

The personal stuff was beautifully acted, though.  Gillian has always been a great crier.  (She also has the greatest laugh on television, but Scully gives her much more practice with the former.)  And I finally have an explanation for why we saw (in teasers) “William” on Scully’s phone, that she has a momentary hallucination, except wouldn’t she have her brother’s number programmed in, so it would come up as “Bill” (or “Bill Jr” or “Asshole Brother”) in reality, rather than “William Scully, Jr.”? 

 

Anyway, back to the acting.  Wow.  The reaction to the phone call is so perfectly Scully, and Mulder’s reaction to the news is just as spot on.  Especially for who he is now.  IWTB and some of this revival have kind of sucked as compared to the glory years, but I love modern-day Mulder in a way I never did before.  His “I’m here” at the hospital, and then talking to her about the case not because he’s an insensitive ass but because he’s trying to distract her.  The way they touch each other as Mrs. Scully is being extubated, and the fact they’re not constantly draped all over each other.  God, I love these two.  Kudos to GA and DD; yeah, Glen, too, but, really, that was them making it perfect M&S, fitting with what we saw for so long and who they are now.  It doesn’t matter where they’re each living or whether they’re sleeping together, they are family and that was clear.

 

The conversation on the log ... Jesus, Gillian.  I wish William had never been conceived, let alone born, let alone been made a focus when the show came back.  But you break my heart.  And this was another scene where David did perfect Mulder.

 

So, the MOTW.  Wonderfully gruesome but not gratuitous.  Love the feet walking up, the double badges, and then the “spooky cases” line (But what happened to “we used to”?  Did I go momentarily deaf?)  Treating people like trash to be cleaned up to make the city look better, because they happen to be homeless?  Painfully real.  Gruesome revenge for that attitude.  I should be into this.  I’m going to have to watch it again to properly appreciate the story, though.   (We'll see; does feel a little repetitive -- we’ve seen a golem, and we've seen a garbage monster.  [We’ve had great music to die by before, too, but I’ll take it again.])

 

Random notes:

 

-“Are you guys married?” because she called him douchebag.  Ha!

 

-Gillian’s short nails – not just the hand double’s, but hers – are distracting after all those years of the French manicure.

 

- Dana “I need something to put my back up against” Scully going back to work, but wearing the necklace.  That was great, and helped - somewhat - smooth a clunky transition between story lines.

 

-That is some really lame graffiti.

 

-Nice job disarming, Scully (especially since GA really did it … in heels).

 

-I’ve been waiting for the flirty little flashlight thing since I saw it in one of the first teasers way back when.  It did not disappoint, especially with the “back in the day with three-inch heels” preceding it.

 

-“Fox.”  Ugh.  This might not bother me so much if I haven’t wasted so much of my life since 1993 wading through awful fanfic in which Mulder and Scully get married, call each other Dana and Fox, and have twins named Melissa and Samantha, but … yeah, I think it still would.  They are not Fox and Dana to each other.  Every.single.one of the few times it has been used has sounded wrong. 

 

- I, like the recap writer, had a Nightmare on Elm Street 2 vision upon seeing the school bus.

 

-And, similar to the recap … Yeah, separate owner and dog?  To the garbage truck with you!

 

-They don't drag dead bodies off in front of families (unless families resist all advice to leave), let alone move in unhooked slow-mo with someone who's going to be a donor (but, good for you, Maggie).

 

So that’s now every freakin’ episode other than the glorious Were-Monster (and possibly next week’s clusterfuck) that includes William, so I guess we’re leading up to “Where – and what – is he?” for the cliffhanger.  I guess someone cares – and CC is clearly banking on the fact a lot of fans care – but it’s not me.  However, my considered feelings align with someone up-thread who cares about Scully more than is reasonable and thus really wants that kid to be okay.  Safe, happy (as happy as a teenager can be), and content with his parents (again, as content as any teen is with their parents) so Scully can know she did the right thing and move forward.  And so I can stop hearing about it!

 

I don’t know.  This was two episodes crammed into one, keeping me from appreciating either one fully.  It definitely needs a re-watch to properly evaluate.  I like each one of them, and maybe on second viewing I’ll like the combined result.

 

I'm not looking forward to the other things I know about next weeks' episode, but I have to say the part about the new agents doesn't bug me at all; it feels very tongue and cheek nod - in CC's clunky way - to the past rather than setting up a reboot or something.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Bastet

[luna1122]

I liked it. Too much for one episode, yes, with some clunky exposition. But the MOTW was scary, and the 'downtown' murder, set to the jaunty music, seemed a definite call back to 'home' and was genuinely disturbing.

Scully made me cry. And I thought she and mulder were very dear tonite.

Read an interview with glen Morgan---he recently lost his mom, and the whole quarter on a necklace thing was taken from that experience. His mom had that, and none of them knows why. I wonder if we'll ever find out what it meant to mama scully, or if it'll stay a mystery, like Morgan's mom's is.

[Italian Ice]

William was definitely wayyyyy on Scully's mind, even before her mom mentioned him. She kept seeing her phone ring as "William" and then change to who was *really* calling. 

 

In my X-Filey mind, William himself is trying to find Scully. I wouldn't be surprised if he could read minds, just like Sveta. 

[baileythedog]

This one was a mixed bag to me. While William and other personal issues to Mulder and Scully were always going to be the main through line of the season, "Founder's Mutation" did a much better job of integrating the MOTW and the personal storyline. Beyond that, Founder's Mutation was unique in that it featured M&S together in every scene, driving the narrative forward. I felt like this one got way too bogged down in the various city commissioners being targeted. (Who, by the way, were pretty much world's worst actors. Their initial confrontation in the alley was painful.)   The conclusion (?) of the MOTW wasn't compelling enough to warrant the "trash" metaphor as applied to William. 

 

As far as guest stars go, Tim Armstrong is no Rhys Darby, that's for sure.  I had a hard time understand anything that he was saying. 

 

I felt sorry for Scully who couldn't understand why her mother was calling for her estranged brother, and not her, during her last moments. Like she was missing in "Beyond the Sea", she doesn't really need to know "last words" because she knew her dad. And she knew her mom.  Although I guess I'm curious to know if the neckless quarter ends up meaning anything.  

 

Scully keeps saying "we" gave him away, in reference to William. Damn, Scully, talk about capitalizing the gain and socializing the pain.  She spent most of the time saying "my baby" this, "my baby" that, but after Mulder had no choice in giving him up, Scully's all "we" made that choice.  I would like to think that whatever guilt Scully is harboring now, she and Mulder at least had some knock down drag out fight in which they actually blamed each other at some point or another. 

 

I know this was technically a Scully-centric episode, but really I think Mulder was even stronger through this. Just by his silence and his being there and holding Scully together. Beyond that, GA and DD were really excellent in their scenes together. Scully calling Mulder a "dark wizard" was great as was Mulder admitted that he invented the practice of willing someone back to life.  

 

I definitely need to see this one again, although unlike the other three episodes this season, I'm not quite as anxious to. 

[Corgi-ears]

They did do a golem episode although off hand I can't remember what season it appeared in.

 

 

 

Heh. You said "off hand."

 

Was I the only one who, upon first seeing Alessandro Juliani, thought of his role in BSG and thought: "Well. At least he has two legs again"?

 

 

 

Though the net gain, in terms of limbs, ultimately turned out to be zero.

 

This was less a Golem episode than a Pygmalion one, it seems, though I will grant that Eliza Doolittle was looking rough.

[Sandman]

My theory is that Charlie wasn't really estranged from his parents; he was avoiding Bill at all costs. Because wouldn't you?

 

More like Pyg-maim-ion, amirite?

Edited February 9, 2016 by Sandman

[HalcyonDays]

-I’ve been waiting for the flirty little flashlight thing since I saw it in one of the first teasers way back when.  It did not disappoint, especially with the “back in the day with three-inch heels” preceding it.

 

Not only that, their flashlight beams crossed into a X, when they first walking into the dark room. Loved that.

[baileythedog]

 

I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been watching lots of episodes of the earlier X-Files seasons lately, but I've always seen Scully as being more in control of her emotions, more reserved, more...I don't know, just not someone who dissolves into tears so easily. She usually can hold it together, but there were even flashbacks to the later seasons were she was bawling.

 

But even her being all upset about her mom not asking for her - it just seemed un-Scully-like to me. Not sure why.

 

And then her "Mulder, I need to work" just seemed out of place too. Also, the hospital removing the dead patients in full view of the family - just wrong.

Don't underestimate what a mess S9 made of both off-screen Mulder and Scully's characterizations.  Scully was just one big ole weepy mess.  I despised S9.

 

The getting back to work thing rang true to me. I think they tried to peg Scully's reaction as much as possible to her reaction and thoughts to her dad's death in Beyond the Sea.  She was right back at work for that, too.  

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

I had a hard time following this one. My eyes glazed over at yet another Scully family tragedy, and the MiracleNotAlienBaby (William) storyline never made much sense to me or involved me emotionally, so I really do not remember much of it. GA does tragedy well, but I'm tired of seeing Scully depressed. (After reading the other comments here, I agree the material was not good, but still feel GA did well with most of it.)

 

The trash man story was kind-of interesting, but again, didn't draw me in. It did bother me that despite Mulder's erudition about the tulpa (or whatever it's called), he didn't mention that they've encountered one before. (In Arcadia, 6-15.) (As others noted by the time I got here.) 

 

So really all I'm left with is 1) Scully's neat little takedown of the armed vagrant, 2) is her ringtone Morse code for SOS?! and 3) the cute line about her taking the stairs in heels.

 

Quick note about the absence of the brothers: Bill is in the navy, and might not be able to hop a plane when he would like, and I don't think Charley got the word in time to be there. 

[catrox14]

I really liked this episode. I thought it felt very much like Mulder and Scully.

 

Gillian nailed those scenes with her Mom. I thought she was completely authentic with her reactions to her mom being on death's door and her sadness that her mom didn't ask for her but letting her mom know she was there for her. And not in a competitive way IMO. I thought Gillian struck the right balance of grief, sadness, anger, and guilt.

 

The final scene made sense to me because whilst her logical, rational mind understands she did the right thing at the time, but guilt is a son of a bitch whether warranted or not.

[baileythedog]

 

Quick note about the absence of the brothers: Bill is in the navy, and might not be able to hop a plane when he would like, and I don't think Charley got the word in time to be there. 

 

Bill Scully, Jr. is in the Navy, right?  Or maybe he isn't anymore?  Because for the purpose of this episode he was in Germany although I don't think we have Naval bases in Germany?  I could be wrong on that, but I thought we only had Army in Germany.

[VCRTracking]

Yep, this is Gillian Anderson's Emmy submission episode for sure.

 

We lost my dad six years ago in a similar situation. He had a stroke and had been pronounced brain dead and was put on life support and my mom had to make the decision to let him go.

 

"Back in the day? Scully, back in the day is now." (cut to the flashlights forming the X) and me going "Oh yeah, baby."

 

I could see this being the second episode with "Founder's Mutation" being episode 5 if that's what was originally planned but the order they aired it still works. Scully's not just going to think of the son she gave up for one episode and that's it.

 

The monster of the week wasn't up to the classics in the old series but seeing gruesome details like the maggots in HD is new.

 

That's the second BSG cast member who had a very minor role.

Edited February 9, 2016 by VCRTracking

[HalcyonDays]

Don't underestimate what a mess S9 made of both off-screen Mulder and Scully's characterizations.  Scully was just one big ole weepy mess.  I despised S9.

 

The getting back to work thing rang true to me. I think they tried to peg Scully's reaction as much as possible to her reaction and thoughts to her dad's death in Beyond the Sea.  She was right back at work for that, too.  

 

I didn't even watch season 8 or 9. Scratch that, I did when it originally aired, but I remember nothing. I have the DVDs, but just don't want to go there.

 

Okay, her going back to work immediately is on point. Good to know. It just didn't feel quite like M&S. However, this could be M&S after being together for a long time, being intimate and comfortable with each other! So I guess it makes sense.

 

I will say, that final scene, with M&S sitting on the log, was so sweet. And such beautiful Vancouver scenery!!

[catrox14]

So the guy that played the Golem like creature also played the Golem on Supernatural....

 

I shouted GAETA when I saw Alessandro Juliani

[GaT]

That was NOT a good episode IMO. We only get 6 episodes, I would like it a lot better if I didn't have to watch Scully spending half of them thinking about William. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

Omg, now that you say it, YES! Ha! I'd say appropriate, considering my Panthers lost... /cries

 

 

I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been watching lots of episodes of the earlier X-Files seasons lately, but I've always seen Scully as being more in control of her emotions, more reserved, more...I don't know, just not someone who dissolves into tears so easily. She usually can hold it together, but there were even flashbacks to the later seasons were she was bawling.

 

But even her being all upset about her mom not asking for her - it just seemed un-Scully-like to me. Not sure why.

 

And then her "Mulder, I need to work" just seemed out of place too. Also, the hospital removing the dead patients in full view of the family - just wrong.

 

Ah well they've been together for a long time... so I kind of viewed it as a 'they've changed as people' kind of thing. And she's changed as a person. 

[baileythedog]

I thought Gillian did a fantastic job. 

 

It was a weird episode to try and do two different things, but Gillian did great. The flashbacks to when Scully was in a coma just got me. I loved their relationship here in this episode. In the end, it's always Mulder that's there for her. Always. 

 

And yeah. I hope they find William, for her sake

 

I'm pretty conflicted on the idea of finding William. I feel like as characters they should have some peace of mind, but my 15 year old nephew is adopted and if his birth mother came looking for him at this point I'd be out of my mind with rage. 

 

And I suppose there's always the possibility that William's adoptive parents never told him that he was adopted at all....

[AntiBeeSpray]

I didn't even watch season 8 or 9. Scratch that, I did when it originally aired, but I remember nothing. I have the DVDs, but just don't want to go there.

 

Okay, her going back to work immediately is on point. Good to know. It just didn't feel quite like M&S. However, this could be M&S after being together for a long time, being intimate and comfortable with each other! So I guess it makes sense.

 

I will say, that final scene, with M&S sitting on the log, was so sweet. And such beautiful Vancouver scenery!!

 

Yep. That's pretty much how I viewed it. And Glen and his brother nailed the mature side of them. I couldn't be prouder.

[kalamac]

Back when the name of this episode was first released, along with who was writing it, there were rumours it was going to be a sequel to Home (S04E02 - The one about the creepy inbred murders). I'm really disappointed that wasn't the case.

[Italian Ice]

I just want Scully to have a happy ending. She's lost her mother, father, sister, brother (Charlie, kinda), child, husband (DD referred to Scully as Mulder's wife in interviews), her health, her fertility, her job, and even her dog. Seriously, can she please find happiness now?

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Bill Scully, Jr. is in the Navy, right? 

 

Yes, but there are all sorts of reasons for US Navy personnel to be in Germany. It's an allied NATO nation with a navy of its own, for example, and our ships do visit their ports and our people sometimes do exchanges and serve on each other's ships. :) 

[GreenScreenFX]

I am SO glad this wasn't a sequel to HOME.... I fing hated that episode.

[Happy Harpy]

I loved it.

 

Loved it, loved it, loved it. I'm a mess right now with all my Mulder/Scully feels. I don't even know where to start with them. It was exactly like back then for me, and I felt exactly the same watching their scenes.

"Fox"...argh, kill me now, just kill me and let's be done with it.

I usually hate angst, but with M/S I eat it up a with spoon and ask for seconds. I think it's because it isn't used to tear the characters apart and cheapen their relationship, unlike on most shows, but to bring them closer, unite them, and show what links them. They have such a strong bond, like no other, and I felt it in this episode more than ever. I don't even mind the break-up anymore because it doesn't change anything, they're still the most important person in each other's life and that's pretty much all that matters to me. 

I remember feeling at some point during the original run that Scully was more often there for Mulder than the opposite, or at least that his stubborness brought trouble to her, so I was so glad that he was there without fail for her, comforted her with hugs, and just listened to her. I, too, thought that he was letting her vent because she needed it; it made sense to me that he would keep his own sorrow about William for himself, so that he wouldn't burden her with it, especially after the scene with the picture at the beginning of the season.

 

I think that DD and GA were both fabulous. Every look Mulder gave Scully said a world, imo.

 

The MOTW was OK, for me, it was a classic one in the good meaning of the term. I didn't like Kaddish back in the days, and I thought this one was done better. The creature didn't take me out of it, it was human-like enough. As far as horror/humor go, the "Downtown" scene worked better for me than anything else they did in this register this season. The woman put up a good fight, for a second I thought she might make it (just for a second, because music + murder = toasted).

 

I loved the Easter eggs in the last last episode, but I looooved the references in this one. I might have squeed at the torchlights. I loved the use of the flashbacks. I never minded William and the scene where Mulder holds him for the first time is one of my favorite M/S moment...although I might have a thousand favorite M/S moment. The "I have to work" one is making my list.

(Maybe I feel a connection to this episode because I'm shipper trash.)

 

I hate that Margaret Scully is dead, though. Aside from William, the only members of the Scully/Mulder family still standing seem like a collection of assholes; IIRC: her brothers, Spender, CoackroachSM.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Happy Harpy

[shapeshifter]

No comments yet posted on the NYTimes.com site for this excellent (of course) review: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/arts/television/the-x-files-season-10-episode-4-back-in-the-day.html

"Back in the day" there'd probably have been 100 already.

[SnideAsides]

I think the title was a play on how the original Home was supposed to be an in-joke about Morgan and Wong returning to the show (see also: the devil substitute teacher's "It's been nice working with you" message in Die Hand Die Verletzt; the title Never Again for their last classic-era episode). Except because they shuffled the episodes around it doesn't make sense any more.

[VCRTracking]

The scenes I like in this episode and this whole revival in general are just the scenes of Mulder and Scully together. You see that they've been through so much together and know each other so well and their bond is still so strong.

 

 

BTW William Shatner was livetweeting the episode and it was AWESOME.

Edited February 9, 2016 by VCRTracking

[turnitwayup]

I did like the ep but it felt like 2 different eps crammed together. We've seen all the Scullys over the seasons that maybe they would finally show us Charlie, but all we got was his voice. Bill Jr. probably wasn't to happy when he found out Ma Scully last words was directed toward Mulder. I could just picture him still seething at Mulder during Ma Scully's funeral. I kinda wish that we had more eps so we could've had a 2 parter and seen Bill, Tara and their kids and Charlie for a funeral scene. Was Charlie suppose to be estranged or some random excuse why we never saw him.

 

I liked the scenes with the lab tech guy. It reminded me of the early seasons when they would get results from random specialists or Pendrell. Poor Gaeta, you got ripped to pieces. Loved the flashlight scene and all the Mulder/Scully scenes in the hospital. Trashman was gross but not as gross as Flukeman.

[Big Bad Wolf]

Is there anywhere Scully won't wear those stiletto heels? I mean, a pebbly beach...?

 

Is this some in-joke I'm not up to speed on?

[JWalker]

It appears the William storyline is not a favorite with everyone. Having said that its obvious William is very much on the minds of both Mulder and Scully not to mention the writers. Resolution(if we get any) will most likely depend on how long this new series lasts and perhaps the availability of both DD and Gillian Anderson for future episodes.(if we get any)

[Mama No Life]

I think it was in regards to her giving him away. She felt like when people throw out their trash. It was metaphorically speaking.

 

I loved tonights ep. It reminded me of why I loved the X Files. It was wonderfully acted and paced and the writing was good. 

 

Yeah, I got the metaphor, I just thought it was clunky.  Had she said, Will he feel discarded? or something maybe. But using the word trash just was so "over the head" it took me out of the scene.  As did "Fox". 

 

Again, I didn't hate the ep....I thought their interactions were perfect Mulder and Scully, but somehow more intimate.....Margaret holding his hand, him staying by Scully's side, their literally almost faces touching battle about going to work....it felt like interaction between two people who are totally each other's world.  I loved those parts.  And I liked the xfile.  Just didn't care for the pairing...

[Tardislass]

Didn't the writers say that they had wrote 9 episodes originally but FOX only wanted 6. I think most of the revival episodes would have worked better as a two parter or been divided up. It seems like CC, Morgan, Wong had some great ideas that were fitted into a 45 min time slot. If/When the show returns I'd loved to see some two-parters.

 

That said, if I ever hear my garbage man singing/playing "Downtown", I'm outta there.

[Jac]

This episode highlighted something that I thought had the potential to occur after episode 2 and that is that the writers are simply trying to cram too much into each episode.

I feel like there were two episodes that had the potential to be very good in this episode but because neither plot was given the space to breath they both ended up feeling rushed and disjointed, especially because the tone of the MotW elements was so different from Scully's family tragedy.

I was not a big fan of much of the direction and cinematography in this episode, the scene immediately following Scully finding out her mum had had a heart attack when the was walking down the stairs with the weird camera angle and the slightly blurry effect felt heavy-handed and unnecessary. The end scene at the beach though was beautifully shot.

The golem side of the story had potential to be quite intesteting, even if the Banksy-like villain was a little on the nose for my liking but it was too rushed to really have any impact.

The Scully/William side of the episode did not bother me half as much as I thought it would and much of it was quite effective and moving, if again a little heavy-handed. The end scene was lovely.

I'm going to watch the episode again before posting more thoughts.

[CrashTextDummie]

Yes, the writers are trying to cram too much into too few episodes. It's a flaw of this reboot I find myself being able to forgive quite easily.

 

The MotW wasn't all that much, but I found the idea of a murderous Banksy painting come to life (or unlife) as the literal embodiment of revenge for the underprivileged oddly endearing. The message may have been a little too on-the-nose, as were the William connections, but the true heart and soul of this episode, the Mulder/Scully relationship, was handled subtly and beautifully by both the writers and the actors. Show and not tell. It worked for me.

Edited February 9, 2016 by CrashTextDummie

[Sandman]

I think I agree about the on-the-nose quality of some of the writing for this episode; I found a lot of the dialogue was hard to hear, even more than previous episodes (and the closed-captioning seems to be on the fritz on CTV), and so didn't even pick up on anybody calling Mulder "Fox." I thought the episode was true to the somewhat difficult history between Scully and her mother. There's love there, obviously, but mother and daughter never really understood each other completely. Even Scully referring to herself as "Dana" feels almost ill-fitting, as if her true identity is closed to her mother. (But then, it's not like she could ever refer to herself by last name within her own family, so.)

 

The first scene of Scully by her mother's bedside seemed completely realized; it really hit home for me. I agree also that it seems unrealistic that the hospital would not wait for Bill to arrive before yanking the plug on his mom. And I was sure there was going to be a plot-derived reason revealed for the change in Margaret's living will. But those things served to confirm Bill's utter uselessness as a human being -- berating his sister, again, over the phone, and then not showing up before his mother dies.

 

I believed Mulder and Scully's interaction absolutely in this one, though; and I thought the final scene on the beach was played perfectly.