S10.E05: Babylon

[HalcyonDays]

TVLines Recap - S10:E05: Babylon: Save a Horse, Ride a Mulder.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I think CC is now adding music V.O. instead of words. Unless he's saving it all for next week.

 

I think the only thing I really minded was the fact that we didn't even get a good LGM moment-or maybe they would have had to pay extra for the actors?

 

But I did love the ending...and it looks like viruses for next week. 

 

Maybe. 

 

Yea that looks intense.

 

The ending fit, but I hope M & S get back to kissing though.

TVLines Recap - S10:E05: Babylon: Save a Horse, Ride a Mulder.

 

That one is fitting.

 

Too bad Scully wasn't there! Dang it.

[festivus]

That whole religious... thing at the end was so weird. I watched it twice, and I still have no clue what they were saying. It was verbal diarrhea, but I Gillian looked gorgeous, so yay for that. And yay, more handholding!

 

I don't either to be honest. I just know that I want Mulder to stay an atheist even though I agree with the opinion here that it was nice to see him being more open to listening to her.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Right?! I don't normally feel nearly as protective of Mulder as I do of Scully, but Agent Einstein tearing him down like she did got under my skin. This show never would have worked if Scully had treated him like that. She's always been skeptical, but she's never so cruelly outright dismissive of him. Ugh. Not only was Einstein dismissive of Mulder, but in the scene with MIller in the airport, she starts in on Scully's whole career path. I wanted to smack her.

 

 

I think that it was deliberate.  I mean, never in a million years would Mulder tell Scully to "sit down and shut up."  Because she would never act like a Mugwump.

 

I don't either to be honest. I just know that I want Mulder to stay an atheist even though I agree with the opinion here that it was nice to see him being more open to listening to her.

 

 

Yeah, I don't particularly care if he believes or doesn't. But he know that she is a believer and that her beliefs are important to her.  So it is nice to see him putting aside the ridicule he usually has for her religious beliefs.

 

Also, it was nice of him to not want to impose upon Scully with the mushroom thing because he knows she's still grieving her mother.

Edited February 16, 2016 by eleanorofaquitaine

[Frozendiva]

Sandman, I remember Autumn T's reviews. Used to find them linked on the Fox X Files board.

 

Agent Einstein needs to turn it down from 11 (Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap playing with his amp). Nothing compelling about Miller and Einstein. Mulder in the initial series welcoming Scully with 'welcome to the FBI's most unwanted' compelled me to want to know more about this person. Nonsensical bickering makes me not want to care. Show me why I want to care about the new two.

 

Perhaps Mulder is a little too old for real drugs and the placebo did wonders for him. I'm surprised that they couldn't find some psychic for seeking info from the terrorist guy at the hospital. Surely someone from the Edgar Cayce Society or something legit and not some fortuneteller. The little visit to WhiteRabbitland?

 

His little trip was amusing, though.

 

The twosome have been to hell and back and then some and are still together and balance each other.

[KaleyFirefly]

Well that was...ummm...an episode. Luckily, I have no expectations for this new X-files mini-series, I'm just happy to have Mulder and Scully back on my TV (I was a big X-files nerd back in the day)

 

Mulder line-dancing was actually pretty great. He did look like he was having a lot of fun doing those scenes!

 

Agent Einstein was super annoying. 

[GreenScreenFX]

This episode would have been more powerful with home grown American militia, why further a stereotype? It could have made its point without maligning an entire religion, and pointed out how misguided hatred has become...(Or always has been, more accurately)

The 'shroom experience was stupid .... Especially it was the equivalent of baby aspirin.

Why even include The Lone Gunmen?

Lauren Ambrose is such a likable person, why use her most abrasive and useless line readings? We are supposed to like her at some point, if the spin-off rumor is to be believed.

The Miller guy, hot.

I liked the end.... I wonder if the mysterious noise is a reference to the "Taos Hum" in New Mexico that can not be recorded, (edited for accuracy)and only a small percent of the population can hear?

Edited February 16, 2016 by GreenScreenFX

[VCRTracking]

The Lone Gunmen! I jumped up out of my seat when I saw them!

 

Man, on the one hand I was like "WTF?" during Mulder's "trip" but I also was laughing through it all. Duchovny went all in in that sequence.

Edited February 16, 2016 by VCRTracking

[Bobbin]

So the nurse switches off the life-support for at least a minute, the patient flatlines, then a minute later she switches it back on and he immefiately comes back and isn't finally brain-dead? Amazing.

[madam magpie]

I can't decide how I felt about this episode. I like Lauren Ambrose a lot and feel like she could kill something like this, but she was too mean. Her semi softness at the end felt false and made me distrust her. I don't think we're meant to feel that way, though.

Mulder telling Einstein to sit down and shut up was warranted, but it sort of startled me. Of course he'd never speak that way to Scully, but she's never that nasty either. I wonder if that was the point, to show that Einstein really is nothing like Scully despite appearances.

I'm in the camp that found the use of "Ho Hey" to be too obvious, though I also kind of buy that Mulder would be listening to that song.

I dug the complementary Scully/Mulder plans, and the flip in tone with the new agents (the skeptic being rigid and the believer being softer and open to change). I loved the first part of Mulder being high: line dancing and slapping high fives to Miranda Lambert and Billy Ray Cyrus. I liked Mulder being open (ish) to religion. I thought the end was sweet, but didn't get the trumpets or totally understand the larger meaning of the conversation about mothers. Will have to watch again.

Bummed that there's only one left, but next week looks great!

Edited February 16, 2016 by madam magpie

[Bastet]

Well, I didn't think this was crap, but I certainly think it was clunky.

 

And as a not-so-backdoor pilot to get me interested in XF: The Next Generation, in which Miller and Einstein investigate and Mulder and Scully make guest appearances?  Epic fail, because Einstein is like some junior high parody of Scully.  She had her moments, and I think the actor tried her best, but that was pretty much awful.  It really proves how much of Scully's greatness comes from GA rather than CC.  (Miller worked better, but nothing to base a show around.)

 

So is this another show in which someone pays lip service to the fact most Muslims are not terrorists, but you walk away thinking the writer believes most Muslims are terrorists?  I truly give CC the benefit of the doubt here, but I'm sort of worn down by media representation (in which the overwhelming majority of Muslim characters are getting ready to blow some shit up) and this is either the first group or among only a few Muslim characters on XF, and all but the mother wanted to, you know, blow some shit up.  At any rate, CC's keyboard should probably be fitted with something like those devices multiple DUI offenders have on their car, where they have to blow a sober breathalyzer reading before the ignition will start -- when he starts typing about religion, his computer just shuts down.

 

My main objection:  We have six episodes to work with, and we're going to spend one splintering M&S off with random new people?  I didn't watch seasons eight or nine, but this reminds me of hearing fans scream about the fact that in at least one of the few episodes in which DD appeared, one would be with Reyes and the other with Doggett, instead of showing M&S working together.  Since that's, you know, why people watch the damn show.  One of the things I most praised in the second episode of this revival (so the first since they started working together again) was seeing them actually working together the whole time.  That's what I want (sure, they're going to split off to do things separately from time to time, but it's mostly a duo).  And while production can certainly lag behind over a full season so you need to play catch-up by sending one off with the first unit and the other with second to make up some time, this is episode five of six (and, I think, was filmed second or third).  Come on!

 

The dialogue in the final scene was painful, but I'll watch that scene on mute many, many times.  GA and DD are just nailing the modern-day M&S relationship!  It's beautiful.

 

And, hee -- the updated version of a Mulder slide show.

 

Scully saying she's waited 23 years to say that (repeating Mulder's "nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted" line from the pilot) made me grin, and there were several more nods to the past that made me smile (e.g. the emphasis on "medical doctor").  But, on the whole, it was forced.  Such a contrast to Darin Morgan's shout-outs to episodes of yore.  CC was trying too hard.

 

Mulder's mushroom plan was ridiculous, even for him.  The hallucinations themselves?  At first, they made me laugh as a glimpse into Mulder's strange mind and as a clear bit of fun for DD (and, yay - the Lone Gunmen!).  But they dragged on, and then just got dumb. 

 

No one actually does anything about a cardiac arrest in ICU, just waits five seconds and says, "Gee, sorry"?

 

And, yeah, can we stop with the constant "there's a flight to Texas" and "I'll meet you in Texas" crap -- they'd be using city names.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Bastet

[madam magpie]

I liked the end.... I wonder if the mysterious noise is a reference to the "Taos Hum" in New Mexico that can not be recorded, (edited for accuracy)and only a small percent of the population can hear?

That's interesting. I hadn't thought of that, but I like it!

[Italian Ice]

Well, I didn't think this was crap, but I certainly think it was clunky.

 

And as a not-so-backdoor pilot to get me interested in XF: The Next Generation, in which Miller and Einstein investigate and Mulder and Scully make guest appearances?  Epic fail, because Einstein is like some junior high parody of Scully.  She had her moments, and I think the actor tried her best, but that was pretty much awful.  It really proves how much of Scully's greatness comes from GA rather than CC.  (Miller worked better, but nothing to base a show around.)

 

So is this another show in which someone pays lip service to the fact most Muslims are not terrorists, but you walk away thinking the writer believes most Muslims are terrorists?  I truly give CC the benefit of the doubt here, but I'm sort of worn down by media representation (in which the overwhelming majority of Muslim characters are getting ready to blow some shit up) and this is either the first group or among only a few Muslim characters on XF, and all but the mother wanted to, you know, blow some shit up.  At any rate, CC's keyboard should probably be fitted with something like those devices multiple DUI offenders have on their car, where they have to blow a sober breathalyzer reading before the ignition will start -- when he starts typing about religion, his computer just shuts down.

 

My main objection:  We have six episodes to work with, and we're going to spend one splintering M&S off with random new people?  I didn't watch seasons eight or nine, but this reminds me of hearing fans scream about the fact that in at least one of the few episodes in which DD appeared, one would be with Reyes and the other with Doggett, instead of showing M&S working together.  Since that's, you know, why people watch the damn show.  One of the things I most praised in the second episode of this revival (so the first since they started working together again) was seeing them actually working together the whole time.  That's what I want (sure, they're going to split off to do things separately from time to time, but it's mostly a duo).  And while production can certainly lag behind over a full season so you need to play catch-up by sending one off with the first unit and the other with second to make up some time, this is episode five of six (and, I think, was filmed second or third).  Come on!

 

The dialogue in the final scene was painful, but I'll watch that scene on mute many, many times.  GA and DD are just nailing the modern-day M&S relationship!  It's beautiful.

 

And, hee -- the updated version of a Mulder slide show.

 

Scully saying she's waited 23 years to say that (repeating Mulder's "nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted" line from the pilot) made me grin, and there were several more nods to the past that made me smile (e.g. the emphasis on "medical doctor").  But, on the whole, it was forced. 

 

Mulder's mushroom plan was ridiculous, even for him.  The hallucinations themselves?  At first, they made me laugh as a glimpse into Mulder's psyche and as a clear bit of fun for DD (and, yay - the Lone Gunmen!).  But they dragged on, and then just got dumb. 

 

No one actually does anything about a cardiac arrest in ICU, just waits five seconds and says, "Gee, sorry"?

 

And, yeah, can we stop with the constant "there's a flight to Texas" and "I'll meet you in Texas" crap -- they'd be using city names.

 

I think it's because the city where this *actually* took place IRL, is ridiculously named. "A plane to Garland" sounds ridiculous. 

Edited February 16, 2016 by Italian Ice

[catrox14]

Hmmm....I'm not sure what to make of that other than, Mulder was channeling Walter Bishop's mode of research and it was kind of awesome.

 

I thought Robbie Amell was pretty good here and Lauren Ambrose annoys me. 

 

I'll have to rewatch.

 

I really found the music far too intrusive at the end.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Well, I didn't think this was crap, but I certainly think it was clunky.

 

And as a not-so-backdoor pilot to get me interested in XF: The Next Generation, in which Miller and Einstein investigate and Mulder and Scully make guest appearances?  Epic fail, because Einstein is like some junior high parody of Scully.  She had her moments, and I think the actor tried her best, but that was pretty much awful.  It really proves how much of Scully's greatness comes from GA rather than CC.  (Miller worked better, but nothing to base a show around.)

 

So is this another show in which someone pays lip service to the fact most Muslims are not terrorists, but you walk away thinking the writer believes most Muslims are terrorists?  I truly give CC the benefit of the doubt here, but I'm sort of worn down by media representation (in which the overwhelming majority of Muslim characters are getting ready to blow some shit up) and this is either the first group or among only a few Muslim characters on XF, and all but the mother wanted to, you know, blow some shit up.  At any rate, CC's keyboard should probably be fitted with something like those devices multiple DUI offenders have on their car, where they have to blow a sober breathalyzer reading before the ignition will start -- when he starts typing about religion, his computer just shuts down.

 

My main objection:  We have six episodes to work with, and we're going to spend one splintering M&S off with random new people?  I didn't watch seasons eight or nine, but this reminds me of hearing fans scream about the fact that in at least one of the few episodes in which DD appeared, one would be with Reyes and the other with Doggett, instead of showing M&S working together.  Since that's, you know, why people watch the damn show.  One of the things I most praised in the second episode of this revival (so the first since they started working together again) was seeing them actually working together the whole time.  That's what I want (sure, they're going to split off to do things separately from time to time, but it's mostly a duo).  And while production can certainly lag behind over a full season so you need to play catch-up by sending one off with the first unit and the other with second to make up some time, this is episode five of six (and, I think, was filmed second or third).  Come on!

 

The dialogue in the final scene was painful, but I'll watch that scene on mute many, many times.  GA and DD are just nailing the modern-day M&S relationship!  It's beautiful.

 

And, hee -- the updated version of a Mulder slide show.

 

Scully saying she's waited 23 years to say that (repeating Mulder's "nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted" line from the pilot) made me grin, and there were several more nods to the past that made me smile (e.g. the emphasis on "medical doctor").  But, on the whole, it was forced. 

 

Mulder's mushroom plan was ridiculous, even for him.  The hallucinations themselves?  At first, they made me laugh as a glimpse into Mulder's psyche and as a clear bit of fun for DD (and, yay - the Lone Gunmen!).  But they dragged on, and then just got dumb. 

 

No one actually does anything about a cardiac arrest in ICU, just waits five seconds and says, "Gee, sorry"?

 

And, yeah, can we stop with the constant "there's a flight to Texas" and "I'll meet you in Texas" crap -- they'd be using city names.

 

How did you find them forced? Do you mean dialogue wise? Do you mean between M & S? S and Miller? M & Einstein?

[GaT]

While high Mulder was awesome, I found the rest of the episode kind of boring.

[GreenScreenFX]

I didn't find the " high Mulder" cute or amusing at all. It was stupid and contrived and no way would even a Jr. Agent (especially one as tight as Einsein ) ever condone or even tangentially participate in.

[Sandman]

Scully's "I've been waiting twenty-three years to say that" was my favourite part of the episode.

[catrox14]

I didn't find the " high Mulder" cute or amusing at all. It was stupid and contrived and no way would even a Jr. Agent (especially one as tight as Einsein ) ever condone or even tangentially participate in.

 

Technically, she didn't because she gave him a placebo. 

[GreenScreenFX]

Technically, she didn't because she gave him a placebo.

That's why I said tangentially.

Edited February 16, 2016 by GreenScreenFX

[catrox14]

That's why I said tangentially.

 

 

I don't think she even helped him tangentially on purpose. IMO she gave him the placebos to humor him, not because she was actually trying to help him with such an unorthodox method. It kind of reminded me the way she humored the nurse by playing along with her ranting about the outsiders coming into the city to get her out of the room.

[Shaynaa]

So the nurse switches off the life-support for at least a minute, the patient flatlines, then a minute later she switches it back on and he immefiately comes back and isn't finally brain-dead? Amazing.

 

I have no medical expertise and have never seen an ICU but this drove me nuts.  It doesn't work like that.  I also don't think you can just flip off life support like that.  Per usual the hospital makes no sense.  Isn't an ICU full of doctors and nurses constantly checking vitals?  A patient flat lining would have people all over him. 

 

The episode had the subtly of a sledgehammer.  Of course the muslims are terrorists but it is okay because that kid was Jesus.  No, just no.  Like someone else said, why not home grown terrorists?  We have enough of those and they like to blow things up and shoot people. 

 

If Miller and Einstein are XF next gen then it would have been nice to add a little diversity in there.  Not that I want them to be the new leads. 

 

[madam magpie]

I don't think she even helped him tangentially on purpose. IMO she gave him the placebos to humor him, not because she was actually trying to help him with such an unorthodox method. It kind of reminded me the way she humored the nurse by playing along with her ranting about the outsiders coming into the city to get her out of the room.

I thought she gave him the placebos to humiliate him and expose him as a fraud. No?

[catrox14]

I thought she gave him the placebos to humiliate him and expose him as a fraud. No?

 

Oh, I hadn't considered it that way. But yes I can totally see that. Either way I don't think she was trying to aid him in his mission.

[GreenScreenFX]

Tangentially or otherwise.... I don't like her.

[GreenScreenFX]

Regardless, I like Lauren Ambrose a lot, and I think she was given the wrong direction. She was playing it "asshole" when she should have been "skeptic." She was really off putting. I guess we'll see what she does with the next episode.

[preeya]

Agent Einstein will always be Claire Fisher.

[Happy Harpy]

The opening sequence made me dread the episode. The events of November are still very fresh for me and I wasn't sure I'd be able to bear the use of such a sensitive subject to promote any kind of political agenda, from either side of the spectrum.

That said, it wasn't as bad or "in your face" as I feared it would be. I fully expected the guy in the hospital to be revealed innocent and the guilty party proven to be some right-wing militia for the sake of a "gotcha" moment or a very special Hollywood lecture. So I was surprised, and rather pleasantly, that the writers went for "Sometimes, it isn't a zebra". OTOH, the show made clear that islamic terrorism (not Islam) is only a brand of hatred among others, showed the" other side" (hatred/despise for Muslims and immigrants) and enlarged the scope of the problem to hatred in general. So I didn't think it was pointing at just one religion, or even just at religion as the source of it. Of course, it had the subtlety of a sledgehammer but well...

In a nutshell, I wish the show had kept clear from the subject but I didn't hate it as much as I thought when the episode started.

 

I loved Team Puppies. Would I watch a reboot with them? Probably not. Would I watch a miniseries spinoff with them, if it could get me a Mulder/Scully miniseries every year? Probably. I thought they had good chemistry with each other, with Mulder, and with Scully.

Agent Miller made me think of Tweety-Pie in a suit, he was completely adorable but not too green either and I just loved the character -I know he can't be William, but I'd love it so much if he could. I never tried to imagine Mulder and Scully's son as an adult until I watched this episode, but that's exactly how I think he should be. A kickass believer with a savvy streak.

Agent Einstein had the thankless role of being "the foe", and I actually liked her a lot, too. Considering what their FBI foes usually do to M/S, I thought that a few scathing remarks were sweet daisies in comparison. Mulder is abrasive and Einstein is abrasive, nowhere as philosophical or patient (or in love, hee!) as Scully, so their interactions made sense to me. He provoked her at every opportunity and she fell for it everytime. Also, she was extra nervous and restless imo because she was afraid she couldn't save people in time; I found her much nicer and calmer in her last scene at the airport, and she isn't completely obstinate either. And as much as I see Miller as M/S spiritual son, I see her as Skinner's spiritual daughter. I'm digging their interactions, the headache mention had me laugh out loud, and Bossman needs someone firmly in his "please stop the insanity" camp imo (you know that Scully will always go with Mulder, eventually).

 

The tripping scene was a blast in itself, but in the context of the episode I don't know if it was a good idea.

 

I don't think that anything can compete with last week's "I'm here" in my shipper heart, but Mulder wanting to spare Scully because of Margaret was a heartwarming moment of awesome for me all the same. I watched the last scene with Mulder and Scully with a smile from ear to ear and I'm so, so happy that the X-files is back on my screen simply for moments like this one.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Happy Harpy

[turnitwayup]

This ep felt like Mulder and Scully meets a 24/Homeland ep with extra mini me agents plus a medley music video. Claire Fisher really needs to chill out. I wouldn't mind keeping Agent McHottie Miller but I wonder what Stephen Lobo would've done in that role and not be random Homeland Security agent. Loved the M/S scenes with them being totally amused by their mini me and Scully's callback line from the pilot. Mulder's trip was hilarious, but I wish TLG actually got lines. Skinner at Mulder's hospital bed kinda reminded me of Triangle but he was more annoyed than amused at Mulder. When Einstein talked about Scully is in love with Mulder, it made me wonder if other FBI agents get a brief on M/S when they consult with the x files.  You would think news travels fast in that building with Mulder's disappearance, Scully's pregnancy, Mulder on trial, the 2 of them on the run, consultants years later and now back full time. It felt like Miller and Einstein knew nothing about them just that they work on weird cases.

[Sandman87]

The episode made it look as if Mulder, with his decades of dabbling with every damn mystical weirdness that there is, had never taken magic mushrooms before. I'm going to need a much bigger crane to suspend my disbelief on that one.

 

Looks like most of the people in TX are caricatures rather than characters.

 

Agent Nein-stein needs to learn how to disagree with people without being a jerk about it.

[JodhaBai]

Lauren Ambrose is lovely and believable as an FBI agent.  I think she was a good choice.   Robbie Amell on the other hand was not.   TPTB should have gone with someone more unconventionally good looking and not so stiff.   Amell should go back to CW shows.  DD was never a great actor but he had a charm about him.  Amell on the other hand...

 

I was disappointed with this ep.   I'm disappointed that Mulder and Scully haven't advanced much at all since S9.  How about some advancement on the mythology and William!

Edited February 16, 2016 by JodhaBai

[JWalker]

Its been great seeing M&S(David & Gillian) back on my TV screen. Thoes two made the Xfiles what it was. I say "was" because I think Ive seen enough of this new series to conclude that that the shows best years are behind it. Hopefully we get some more episodes at some point with David and Gillian front and centre doing what they do best.

[Sandman]

Agent Nein-stein

Excellent!

[Chaos Theory]

I thought this episode was hilarious. MiniMulder and and MinScully plus Mulder on magic shrumes line dancing.

The Revival hasn't been perfect but I am flabbergasted by people who do not line it at all. I think it is what it set out to be.

I thought some of the lines were hilarious Einstein's "crazy train" and Scully joke at the beginning which I can't recall right this second that she had been waiting to say. I thought this episode....and season have been great.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Regardless, I like Lauren Ambrose a lot, and I think she was given the wrong direction. She was playing it "asshole" when she should have been "skeptic." She was really off putting. I guess we'll see what she does with the next episode.

 

I think that was deliberate. As has been pointed out, her attitude was actually a lot more like Mulder's than Scully. So she shared Scully's inclinations but not her personality whereas Miller shares Mulder's inclinations but is more like Scully in personality.  I didn't particularly like Einstein but I love the show for making her unlikable because I like the show for taking on that presumption that women have to be "likable" on tv.

[roomtorome]

As if we don't have enough lousy to mediocre television grappling with the terrorist plot lines - I'm disappointed they squandered one of a handful of episodes on it given we are drowning in other shows about ISIS, bombings, etc 

 

And, they said nothing profound about religion or anything that hasn't been said a zillion times or thought of when contemplating belief and religion.

 

Stupid all around and I really can't stand the new female agent - whatshername - 

 

What a waste - what?  All to show DD dancing and looking stoned? Ugh.

[shrewd.buddha]

Was the title "Send in the Clones" already taken? Because that's what it felt like to me. The really surprising thing was how exact the cloning was : a ginger medical expert and a paranormal obsessed male profiler (who never applies psychology to anything). The overall heavy-handedness , of everything , was just a sad sort of surprise. 

Although mini-me-Scully was sort of loud and shrill, I did like how she engaged Mulder as an adult dealing with another crazy adult, as opposed to Scully who engages Mulder like an exhausted mom who can't keep her toddler off the monkey-bars.  

 

I could actually tolerate a an X-Files with the mini-me clones. I'm over the Scully/Mulder drama and the writers have killed off almost everyone they know. I just don't think they have any new ideas to work with. 

 

It appears Scully's newest obsession is her mother's necklace and not whatever-happened-to-baby-William. 

Edited February 16, 2016 by shrewd.buddha

[PugLoaf]

We hadn't see any promos for this ep so we went in blind. The first thing I said to Mr Pugloaf was "please, no.... not a backdoor pilot when there are 6 available episodes!"

I love Amell but he seems to have the worst luck with cancellations. She was just the worst, I don't think I could make it through a season with her. I would take Amell with a dog partner instead and I hate animal focused shows.

The dancing scene was so long that before it started Mr Pugloaf stepped out of the room, when he came back he thought I had changed shows. I liked watching him have fun with it... for the first ten seconds.

Along with many others I am over the Islam terror plot, I kept saying "well maybe the leader will have some kind of coercion abilities, there will definitely be more to it than standard radicalization!" And then there wasn't.

I also want to join the others who are over that song. Please no, shows, just let it die.

[baileythedog]

"Babylon" lets you know up front that the X-Files is going to throw some stereotypes straight in your face. Muslim extremist terrorists ready to die for Allah? Check. Redneck Texans suspicious of the brown "other?"  Check.  A terror response to artwork depicting Mohammad? Shouty talking heads on TV yelling past one another such that no meaningful dialogue can be had?  Every single person in Texas wearing a cowboy hat at all times and in all places?  Check, check, and check.

 

Mulder's latest interest is the "ear witnesses" of people who claim to hear trumpet-like sounds, seemingly from out of thin air, that Mulder suggests may be interpreted as sounds from God, heralding the End Times. Scully challenges him on this statement, reminding him of his general atheism and aversion to organized religion.

 

Miller and Einstein are contrasty doubles, not a backdoor pilot for spin-off characters.  Einstein is Scully but not Scully. Our Scully wrote of the real Einstein's Twin Paradox but this Einstein is Scully's twin in concept only. She's an agent and a medical doctor and she calls her partner "Miller" but the similarities pretty much end there. She's rigid and inflexible and fairly intolerant of any idea other than her own.  One might even call her an extremist. She deduced that the only reason Scully would still be in the basement working on "science fiction" was because she was in love with Mulder.  While that may be partially true, she wasn't even remotely willing to consider that Scully was rigorously challenging herself scientifically by working on the X-Files; a job 23 years later she told Tad O'Malley was the most satisfying and rewarding of her life.

 

That she worked at cross-purposes with Mulder is a given, but she also worked at cross purposes with her own partner, Miller. Mulder is avoiding Scully because he knows she's suffered recent trauma.  Einstein is avoiding Miller because she doesn't trust his methods.   Without determining why Miller and Scully were working together, Einstein immediately contacted Mulder as though to thwart or spite her partner's approach to the investigation.  Mulder was right to tell her to sit down and shut up -- she is totally a mugwump. Unlike Scully who, although disagreeing, always heard Mulder out, Einstein pays little attention to Mulder's theory that thoughts and ideas have weight.

 

For his part, Agent Miller was far more open to both extreme and scientifically sound approaches for the investigation.  While his attempt to speak to the terrorist wasn't ultimately successful, he gets major kudos for holding fast to the idea that the guy could be reached at all and that there was valuable information to be retrieved. 

 

Both Mulder and Scully had independent, valuable methods to communicate with the terrorist. Both approaches served each other.  Scully and Miller may have kept Shiraz alive long enough for Mulder's more hallucinogenic approach to bear fruit. Miller / Scully find a number of government officials who'd rather the suspect be left to die quickly (and likely think there's no information to be gleaned from him) while it takes Mulder's daytripper episode for him to recognize Shiraz's mother, from whom we learn that Shiraz didn't detonate his own vest and tried to pull out of the attack at the last minute. 

 

And what of Mulder's magical mystery tour?  He's clearly influenced by his surroundings if Texas native Miranda Lambert is the first soundtrack of journey through the layers of his subconscious.  Layers that include a too brief glimpse of Skinner and the Lone Gunmen,  a whole lot of Bedonkedonk, and some achy-breakey heart before getting whipped by both a dominatrix Einstein and The Smoking Man. Finally, Mulder witnesses a Pieta type scene featuring the terrorist and his mother.  While Tom Waits wails that "Misery is the River of the World", Mulder's subconscious finally meets the terrorist who whispers something in his ear.

 

He wakes up in a hospital to Skinner yelling at him and Einstein telling him she gave him a placebo and his trip was entirely due to the power of suggestion, which is surprisingly strong.  Mulder later takes this lesson to heart, believing that many heinous acts in the world, including acts of violence and terrorism, are completed due to the power of suggestion.  And yes, that thoughts and ideas do indeed have weight in the world.

 

Einstein and Miller finally get on the same page at the end as they watch newscasts of FBI heroism in breaking up a terrorist cell and thwarting another attack. They appear to be more of an extreme opposites pair than Mulder and Scully ever were, largely due to the extreme nature of Einstein's personality. It's hard to imagine that they will ever be the successful team that Mulder and Scully are.

 

Mulder and Scully are still mirroring each other through the end of the episode. Mulder saw unconditional love - the mother / son;  Scully saw unqualified  hate that has no end - the DHS officials and the vigilante nurse that sounded like a bot from the worst excesses of talk radio.  Scully wants Mulder to talk to her; Mulder wants Scully to walk with him.  The talk-to-me/walk-with-me gives way to a conversation in which they posit different interpretations of God's violent scattering of people from the Tower of Babel. Mulder suggests the act itself from an angry God contributes to the violence of man and that violence can only be tempered by maternal love.  Scully agrees with the maternal love part and that mothers don't have children to be martyrs, but that the dispora from the Tower of Babel alternately is God's challenge for humanity to come together to find common language and end hatred.

 

And what of William? Was he born, contrary to Scully's wishes, to be a martyr?  Significantly, it's Mulder alone that hears the trumpets at the end -- just in time for some Biblically bad shit to go down next week.

 

Random Thoughts:

 

Question: even if the power of suggestion were enough to make Mulder trip balls like that, what did he do to land himself in the hospital? Dance himself to exhaustion? 

 

Mulder has a sweet piece of property far away from the noisy city. But appears to have no car.  What on earth is his commute to work like in the morning?

 

One thing that became predominant in television after the X-Files went off the air was the rampant cross-marketing of music in television. Call if the "Grey's Anatomy" or "OC" effect, but there could be no other way to end an episode than a moody singer-songwriter  or folk-rock band leading a montage of sentiment until end credits.  Only a couple original X-Files episodes have used pop music at all, so the musical approach in Babylon was a stark departure, yet each musical cue shifted to tell us something about the characters. While I'm certainly totally Ho-Hey'd out by now, the Lumineers track worked very well to conclude this episode.

Edited February 16, 2016 by baileythedog

[Jac]

I honestly do not know how to feel about this episode.

The subject matter at the heart of the story made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I agree with the person above who said that the episode would have been better if it focused on domestic rather than Islamic terrorism.

For the second week in a row I found the medicine disappointingly inaccurate.

The fan service was much blunter than it was in Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster.

It felt like Chris Carter wrote this episode as a way of saying The X-Files can keep up with the times and is aware of the modern obsessions and paranoias of the American public and failed in doing so because his episode felt like it was dealing with issues that were five + years old.

The music felt very intrusive for the most part.

Where was the X-File?

That said there were a lot of things I quite enjoyed.

I liked Einstein and Miller and thought that Lauren Ambrose and Robbie Amell were good in their roles.

I laughed a lot during Mulder's trip. I think DD did a great job with these scenes.

Scully's FBI's least wanted quip was a little heavy-handed but it still made me laugh.

I loved the end. Scully smiling, Mulder and Scully communicating. Hints of ominous things to come, now that is my X-Files.

I definitely need to watch this episode again. I think my opinions may change now that I know about and am prepared for the episode's problematic central theme.

[Snow8585]

I thought they were somewhere like Ariz at the end until they zoomed out and it looked like it was closer to the East Coast and the Chesapeake Bay.

[Neurochick]

Pretty sure Neurochick was referring to the song Miller was listening to on his earphones (Bose, natch) at the airport.

 

Yes, that's the one, I already know the "hey, ho" one.

[Neurochick]

The song Miller was listerning to was "Secret Heart by Ron Sexsmith.

 

Thank you.

[Sandman]

I don't think female characters on tv need to be likable at any cost or in all circumstances, but Agent Neinstein ( Sandman87, not I) was more than dismissive and provoking; she was angry -- as if even being seen in the Basement Office would be ruinous for her career, and dangerous for her personally. Mulder's abrasiveness is clearly the result of years of professional marginalization and personal heartbreak. I have no real idea why this junior agent agent was so truculently disrespectful and disapproving -- especially when the Assistant Director recommended consulting Mulder and Scully. Did she think she'd catch Spooky cooties? I don't think her interactions with Mulder were at all professional -- mind you, I don't think the dynamic between Mulder and Scully is hyperactive toddler vs exhausted mom, either.

 

Well, not all the time.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Sandman

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I don't think female characters on tv need to be likable at any cost or in all circumstances, but Agent Neinstein ( Sandman87, not I) was more than dismissive and provoking; she was angry -- as if even being seen in the Basement Office would be ruinous for her career, and dangerous for her personally. Mulder's abrasiveness is clearly the result of years of professional marginalization and personal heartbreak. I have no real idea why this junior agent agent was so truculently disrespectful and disapproving -- especially when the Assistant Director recommended consulting Mulder and Scully. Did she think she'd catch Spooky cooties? I don't think her interactions with Mulder were at all professional -- mind you, I don't think the dynamic between Mulder and Scully is hyperactive toddler vs exhausted mom, either.

 

Well, not all the time.

 

I'm not saying that they did a good job with her, just that I like the impulse to make her unlikable. That being said, I also think that there is a bit of commentary of how much Mulder gets away with in terms of his self-centeredness because he's a good-looking guy (still!) who can also turn on the charm when he needs to.  No way that a female agent gets away with as much as he does because women are held to different standards.

 

THAT being said, I do think that they could have given her a little more depth, especially in her interactions with Mulder.  I agree that her outright anger at Mulder, especially after agreeing to meet with him, was a little over the top.  I mean, just tell him no and stick to it, but don't get mad at him because you were intrigued.

[Sandman]

Heh. Salient points all, especially the last.

[Italian Ice]

This episode would have been more powerful with home grown American militia, why further a stereotype? It could have made its point without maligning an entire religion, and pointed out how misguided hatred has become...(Or always has been, more accurately)

 

I agree with your reasoning, but this story was based on a true story that really did happen in Texas last year, when two Muslim guys attacked an art gallery outside of Dallas, that was showing disrespectful depictions of Mohammad. 

 

And that nurse? I unfortunately run into people like her all the time here in Texas :/

[eleanorofaquitaine]

With regard to the use of Muslim extremists, I am of two minds of it - I don't think it would have been more powerful using a homegrown militia because that would not have played into the themes of religious belief and the two directions that one can go in when it comes to religious belief: rigid adherence to your group vs. finding universality across traditions (ultimately, that's what M&S last conversation about the Tower of Babel was about).  The episode wasn't interested in looking at just terrorism but religiously-motivated terrorism.

 

But I go back and forth because I don't want The X-Files to contribute to misunderstandings about Muslims and about terrorism (the reality is that there are over 1 billion Muslims in the world, and it is only a tiny, tiny fraction that perpetrates that kind of terror and yes, there are also white domestic terrorists here in the US who are primarily motivated by racism and ignorance).  But I also think a lot of people - including Chris Carter, apparently - are mulling over how it is that religion can be perverted into justifying inhumane acts, and I don't know that one can have that discussion without at least considering what is motivating people to put on a suicide vest. (FWIW, I don't think it is just religion and I also believe that any person of any faith could potentially use their faith to justify such things, given enough provocation).

 

I thought that this Vulture recap that looks at the cold open in relation to the rest of the episode was pretty good.  I actually think when it came to Shiraz and presenting his humanity, as well as the inhumanity of his actions, they found a good balance.  But where I think that they may have tipped it into a more negative direction was the scene at the end with the terror cell.  Had they not included that scene, I would feel more comfortable with this element of the episode as a whole.

[mledawn]

All I could think of, while Mulder was dancing around was, "we only have 6 episodes, and THIS is what we're getting?"

 

Grr.

[madam magpie]

I don't think female characters on tv need to be likable at any cost or in all circumstances, but Agent Neinstein ( Sandman87, not I) was more than dismissive and provoking; she was angry -- as if even being seen in the Basement Office would be ruinous for her career, and dangerous for her personally. Mulder's abrasiveness is clearly the result of years of professional marginalization and personal heartbreak. I have no real idea why this junior agent agent was so truculently disrespectful and disapproving -- especially when the Assistant Director recommended consulting Mulder and Scully. Did she think she'd catch Spooky cooties? I don't think her interactions with Mulder were at all professional -- mind you, I don't think the dynamic between Mulder and Scully is hyperactive toddler vs exhausted mom, either.

 

Well, not all the time.

 

Yeah, I don't think she worked so far. Maybe because we don't really know her. That happens in life, right? Maybe we'll get to know her, and perception will change. I don't mind angry so much, or even nasty, if I can see a reason for it. But I don't see those reasons in her; she just blew in guns blazing and I have no idea why. Plus, was she jealous of Scully and Miller working together?? I didn't understand that. Was she jealous professionally, or was she having some knee-jerk reaction to her man choosing to work with Scully? Are we meant to see real parallels between her and Scully, or to understand how different they really are? Was Einstein maybe an attempt to give us more information about Scully herself? I didn't understand any of it.

 

That said, though, I also feel like the angry, bitter woman in business is a pretty tired gender cliche, so I see nothing particularly stereotype-bashing about Einstein. She was just mean...and she was mean and dismissive of characters we already love. So it's like...step off! Don't try to belittle Scully by reducing her professional career to being ga-ga for a guy. Don't demean and manipulate Mulder so you can turn him in at the end and try to make him look stupid. And so on.

Edited February 16, 2016 by madam magpie