S11.E02: This

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

An old friend reaches out to Mulder and Scully in a seemingly impossible way, revealing a chilling secret.

[janeta]

I missed about 20 mins but this ep was much better.  Good to see Langley.

[WritinMan]

Well, the cold open was more entertaining than all of last week's episode.

But I'm gonna have to start watching this with closed captioning. A lot of mumbling and low-talking in these new episodes.

[Morrigan2575]

This was sufficiently weird, fun and utterly confusing. I liked it, I liked the old fashion MoTW stuff and I loved the call backs to the Lone Gunman. I just have no idea how any of this fits into last season finale and this season premiere.

White long haired dude was creepy especially showing up on the phone at the end.

I think I'm missing the bigger picture. I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts on this episode.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Morrigan2575

[AimingforYoko]

The cold open was better than anything we got last week. Thank you, Glen Morgan.

[janeta]

1 minute ago, AimingforYoko said:

The cold open was better than anything we got last week. Thank you, Glen Morgan.

Poo. I missed it. :(

[JackONeill]

The X-Files is Back.

Great opening. Tense. Fast-paced. All the adjectives, but all of them freshly done.

[tennisgurl]

So, someone saw the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror over the break, and thought "what if we did this, but got rid of the bright colors, the 80s music, and the lesbians?" 

On the other hand, we did get Langely, and a world where the Patriots constantly lose. So I can live without my Belinda Carlisle for now. 

[SparklesBitch]

I liked this one a lot better, it was a lot more fun and felt like old times. My only complaint is that I’m going to have to watch it again with closed captioning because I had a hard time understanding some of the speech. 

Also, I realized again how much I love watching David and Gillian play Mulder and Scully together. Their chemistry is just the best. 

[Seeminglynormal]

I always enjoy Glen Morgan episodes for the most part and this was no exception. I have to say I loved the scene on the bus with Scully getting annoyed by the children.

This episode actually felt like an XF ep and Mulder and Scully were themselves. Does anyone else feel that Glen Morgan understands these characters better than Chris?

[AimingforYoko]

2 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

So, someone saw the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror over the break, and thought "what if we did this, but got rid of the bright colors, the 80s music, and the lesbians?"

Actually, it was a lot closer to this:

[WritinMan]

1 minute ago, Seeminglynormal said:

 I have to say I loved the scene on the bus with Scully getting annoyed by the children.

 

I thought that was funny too. They're lucky she didn't shoot them.

[SparklesBitch]

4 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

So, someone saw the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror over the break, and thought "what if we did this, but got rid of the bright colors, the 80s music, and the lesbians?" 

Thank you!! I knew this concept was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. 

1 minute ago, Seeminglynormal said:

This episode actually felt like an XF ep and Mulder and Scully were themselves. Does anyone else feel that Glen Morgan understands these characters better than Chris?

Yes!!! A thousand, million, billion times yes. I always really liked Glen Morgan’s episodes and this is a huge reason why.

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, Seeminglynormal said:

Does anyone else feel that Glen Morgan understands these characters better than Chris?

Does anyone not?  (Or: Yes, yes I do.)

[tennisgurl]

I thought this was a solid return to form after last weeks absolute mess. Not an amazing episode or anything, but weird and creepy and everyone was in character, so I will take it. It even had some funny scenes and lines (cuffs huh? Oh, Foxxy Fox?) and some good call backs to the original show. Mulder and Scully remembering The Lone Gunman, and even Deep Throat, was really well done, and I admit to enjoying those a lot, both emotionally, and how it was tied into the plot. And the flash of the weird looking long hair guy on the phone with the Ramones blasting was classic X Files creepy. And Scully got to do stuff beyond sit in a bed and get attacked.

I still dont care about the conspiracy, and the shady conspirators who are all powerful and yet cant afford proper lighting. But at least they were more in the background this week, and when they were around, they felt like something we would have actually have been in X -Files. Thats why I liked this episode. It wasn't a classic, but it actually felt like X -Files in a way that last week didn't at all. Now I can go into the season with a LOT more enthusiasm. 

I do have to ask, is every single sketchy group of black ops soldiers in TV  land made up of Americans or Russians? Wouldn't it be hilarious if the evil black ops team chasing our heroes turned out to be, like, Belgium or Australian or Canadian or something? It would be the biggest twist in TV history!

[AmeliaBedelia]

I liked but didn't love this one. I had a hard time hearing/seeing what was going on at times and I was sitting 6 feet away from my tv. Will definitely rewatch this weekend. 

[Mama No Life]

So much better.

In-character behavior, interesting story, natural dialogue and a little dark humor.

Plus "OUR" home.   <3

[domina89]

Well let's see...

1) Shady government goings on and subsequent disappearing act..... CHECK

2) Mulder receiving cryptic messages about said shady government goings on.... CHECK

3) Mulder and/or Scully in mortal danger..... CHECK

4) Creepy woods at night.... CHECK

5) Mulder loses his gun and/or phone..... CHECK

6) Dark lighting and low talking.... CHECK

7) Mulder making flirtatious remarks to Scully.... TRIPLE CHECK

8) Creepy ending

I'd say that was definitely more like the show I remember and love.  I give it a B+.

[ganesh]

I'm just going to pretend that this is the regular X Files and My Struggle episodes are just the final delusions of CSM clinging to his last shreds of life.

Great one liners too. Except there's no way a college professor is still using an overhead projector.

I don't know why Skinner's monologue isn't good enough for the premise for rebooting the show: new intelligence agencies, private military contractors, etc. There's more than enough there for a show. 

I don't know if anyone saw, on FB, GA posted a picture of the scene with she and DD in the restaurant with the caption: Tonight on the X Files, Mulder and Scully go to Chili's.

Edited January 11, 2018 by ganesh

[JackONeill]

Loved the Chili’s photo. She seems to really like the show, so why is she leaving? Ploy for more money? Seems kind of sad.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

57 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

So, someone saw the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror over the break, and thought "what if we did this, but got rid of the bright colors, the 80s music, and the lesbians?" 

On the other hand, we did get Langely, and a world where the Patriots constantly lose. So I can live without my Belinda Carlisle for now. 

The X-Files have been dealing with issues around technology, society, and consciousness for a long time (going back to episodes like Ghost in the Machine and Kill Switch). They didn't need to be inspired by Black Mirror.

Anyway, as a long-time Pats fan who can remember a time when the Patriots constantly lose, I can understand why Langley's world was hellish. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by eleanorofaquitaine

[tennisgurl]

1 minute ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

The X-Files have been dealing with issues around technology, society, and consciousness for a long time (going back to episodes like Ghost in the Machine and Kill Switch). They didn't need to be inspired by Black Mirror.

 

Well, I dont actually think they stole the idea, but it is funny that the episodes concepts are so similar. 

[eleanorofaquitaine]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

Well, I dont actually think they stole the idea, but it is funny that the episodes concepts are so similar. 

Doctor Who also recently did an episode that addressed the idea of achieving a form of immortality by uploading one's conscious.  IMO, it's not so much funny as it is the fact that all of these shows are reflecting back to us some societal anxieties around technology and the ways we seem to live online. 

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, Seeminglynormal said:

This episode actually felt like an XF ep and Mulder and Scully were themselves. Does anyone else feel that Glen Morgan understands these characters better than Chris?

I think DD and GA understand them the best and should have more creative control. I don't know that CC ever cared much about 'knowing' the characters. 

21 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

Loved the Chili’s photo. She seems to really like the show, so why is she leaving? Ploy for more money? Seems kind of sad.

I don't know. If she thinks last week is finally crossing a line she can't come back from, then I don't blame her. On the other hand, post-XF, GA works more like a UK actor; lots of roles, lots of shows, nothing too long of a run. The Fall I think was less than 20 episodes and I think that's been her longest as one character. She was only on the one season of American Gods and she totally killed it. 

19 minutes ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

The X-Files have been dealing with issues around technology, society, and consciousness for a long time (going back to episodes like Ghost in the Machine and Kill Switch). They didn't need to be inspired by Black Mirror.

It is coincidental, but I think that's more the cultural zeitgeist than anything. 

I really think the "welp, someone must have watched show X" is really unfair, and flat out not true. Most tv people are even watching tv. This episode probably could have been in spec before the Black Mirror episode aired. There was an episode of The Orville that also was like a Black Mirror episode, even though the writer was inspired by a book on the topic. It was about the prevalence of social media and how it can pervert society. Again, zeitgeist more than anything. 

Criticisms for ridiculous mythology and how much of a hack CC is aside, if anything, the X Files paved the way for a ton of modern tv. Not only issues around technology, but creepy stuff like Tooms and the fire guy, or the Eves (biological engineering). You could make a case that American Horror Story owes a debt to the show. Conspiracies? Lost. 

I think making the modern X Files Big Bad the woman who runs the private military firm is totally fine. With all the real issues in the world that can be explored on the show, aliens just seem trite. 

[MissL]

Yas!   This was so much better!!! I didn't understand some of it for sure and there was some -just roll with the crazy moments- but it felt like the show was back.  I even had a moment of "don't go and leave the evidence behind guys it's gonna be gone"...and it was. 

I do love seeing kick ass Mulder and Scully for sure but I felt like the old days was a little more realistic.  They either fought down and dirty and sloppy (or lost) or looked like they'd had FBI basic defend and subdue training. When did Mulder get Jason Bourne fighting skills and Scully become a sliding Ninja? Ok you know what? I'm going with it. It's more dynamic and this appears to be a new show for a new age. 

Favorite moments are definitely Scully startling awake at "chilis", the kids, and the handcuff comment.  Oh and the way they worked together to fight back when attacked and process the scene at the house and competing cell phone hide/not hide/hide again thing.  Just every moment of them working together as a team. Unlike Carter who seems to want to split them at every opportunity Morgan really really let the partnership and understanding shine. 

I've lost track of when Skinner  came the bad guy to them again? When did that happen? 

The muffin thing seemed weird.  You guys think that was an adlib?  

i feel so much better now.... they should never have let CC write for this reboot. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by MissL
Some of my post disappeared!

[WritinMan]

I do really enjoy seeing bad-ass Scully. So much of her character can revolve around her being a doctor with the medical/science talk. It can be easy to forget sometimes that she is a fully trained FBI agent.

[Frozendiva]

Ah, a Darin Morgan ep with his brother Glen directing!

I will probably rewatch on the weekend - a lot of mumbling and I am sure I missed something. And a lot of the scenes were very darkly lit.

Interesting idea of dehumanization and AI - rather chilling that it can be done on cellphones. Darin Morgan usually focuses his storytelling lens on humanity and hope.

Nice that the X Files have been modernized and scanned for convenience.

[Frozendiva]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I'm just going to pretend that this is the regular X Files and My Struggle episodes are just the final delusions of CSM clinging to his last shreds of life.

Great one liners too. Except there's no way a college professor is still using an overhead projector.

I don't know why Skinner's monologue isn't good enough for the premise for rebooting the show: new intelligence agencies, private military contractors, etc. There's more than enough there for a show. 

I don't know if anyone saw, on FB, GA posted a picture of the scene with she and DD in the restaurant with the caption: Tonight on the X Files, Mulder and Scully go to Chili's.

Maybe some universities don't have the budget to install smartboards and podiums that have all the tech available - for all classrooms. Although it might be a challenge to actually find the plastic sheets for the overhead projectors!

Skinner could also go on a bit about the FBI and the new Administration.

I think almost all Chili's locations in my province have recently shut down.

[ganesh]

I taught at a community college and they all had a computer and projector in each classroom. Same for the university I'm at now. Not only finding the sheets, but the bulbs too. Prior to that you could just take your laptop and your department would have 2 or 3 portable projectors to borrow. 

[Frozendiva]

I work at a university. We got some new classrooms back in the spring - nice projectors, podiums and such. And also projectors bolted to the ceilings to deter theft. And glass 'blackboards' which are nice when there are no windows and sun. Plus classrooms with multiple screen potential. Instructors now have to buy their own Powerpoint clickers - those tended to walk quickly. No computer labs as it's now BYOD but of course, the planners planned ahead for 10 years from now when devices will have longer battery life. Not enough, er, plugs.  

[Shaynaa]

Fun fact, the boys on the bus are Gillian's sons.  I don't blame her one bit for wanting to leave.  It has been 25 years and Scully has been through pretty much every hell imaginable.  The writing is not what it once was.  She wants to move on.  The show really does need to end.  Give these characters some piece and something resembling a happy ending together.  They deserve it.

GA's tumbler post about Chillis is a reference to a rather infamous fanfic story.

[roamyn]

I thought this was terrible!  It was boring, confusing, and the way they brought back Langley was ridiculous.  I couldn’t even watch after 20 minutes.

[bilgistic]

Whose headstone did they do a close-up shot on? Not Deep Throat's, but the one against which the cemetery shooter landed/bled out? I couldn't see a thing.

[baileythedog]

33 minutes ago, Shaynaa said:

 

GA's tumbler post about Chillis is a reference to a rather infamous fanfic story.

Saw her tweet and had no idea what she was talking about. I don't read fanfic, so I guess I still don't.

However, Fox aired Chili's commercials during the third break which makes absolutely no sense in my geographic area.  All of the Chilis in the Pacific Northwest have been gone for years. I feel like I'm being teased and trolled.

[festivus]

Well that was certainly better than the last episode. What I could see of it anyway. So dark and my eyes are so old. I also have no idea about this Chili's fanfic thing. Is it good? Bad? I think I need a link to be sure.

[Bastet]

Yeah, this is how I like to ask my TV, “What the fuck is happening right now?” while watching XF.  Mulder and Scully’s teamwork on full display, bizarre events, a Mulder theory I don’t really understand, lost evidence, dry humor, cartoon villains, and allusions to previous cases*?  Yes, please.

(*Another “Who needs Google when you have Scully?” Yay.  And repeating the fact Mulder watched Deep Throat’s funeral at Arlington through binoculars is an even better callback.  And I loved the reference to a “kill switch” as the villains tried to trace the connection, since the Langly/Professor stuff is so reminiscent of the Esther/David agreement in Kill Switch.)

Mulder having a picture of the Gunmen on his desk is cute.

As is Mulder and Scully falling asleep watching … music videos on mute?  So they take care to have her reference the address as Agent Mulder’s house, but later she says “our home”?  I don’t particularly care; I actually have no idea how those two would live together long-term, so living apart works for my idea of how they can best translate their love for each other into a relationship, but I am curious.

I’ve been excited for the opening action sequence since I saw clips of Scully’s table slide in the early promos; it lived up to my expectations.  And then the crime scene processing (Mulder putting the phone in the oven, heh), the second invasion, the escape, and the Skinner appearance – I was all in.

But can someone get Scully a throat lozenge?

Oh, and “Accuse Your Enemies of That of Which You Are Guilty” is one of my new favorite taglines, because that’s timely as hell.

“Better call it in from a landline” set the tone for an episode that a semi-Luddite like me finds quite interesting – and simultaneously doesn’t fully understand.

“Frohike looked 57 the day he was born” is my line of the night.

Scully calling Skinner "Walter" I can do without, but I otherwise like the parking garage scene.  What happened to the simultaneous, “Wait, what?” by Scully and Skinner from the promos, though?

“Spank Bank” with Scully’s picture as a way to attract Mudler’s attention to the file?  Effective, but gross.

Scully startling awake at the skanky bar and Mulder having to stop her from attacking, was fabulous.

The AI Langly’s confusion over who’s real and who’s not is poignant.  (And a world in which the Patriots never win sounds great to me, heh.)  This was a good way to integrate a dead character.

Scully’s reaction to the kids on the bus is everything.  Gillian's sons were there, right?

Scully bringing Mulder into custody and winking at the guard?  And the little flick she did with Mulder when the guard looked away?  Mulder’s imitation of Lechter?  “Sorry, Bro, married to the Bureau”?  Love it all.  Just please keep CC away from the characters he created, and all will be well.

The Barbara Hershey stuff at the end was seriously weird.  What happened behind the stairwell doors during the scenes intercut with that conversation, with Scully going in, some guy following her, and then her coming back out?  Did she take him out and the rescue is real?  Or did she not and everything after that is a simulation?  Or it was all a simulation, since they wind up where they started, on the couch?  They do love to make the times in which Scully saves the day turn out not to have happened.

[Ghost of TWOP Past]

Holy snot, that was a mess. 

Much of the ep was so dark I couldn't see what was happening. I have no idea what was going on in the cemetery scene, where all I could see where the white blobs of the tombstones. Why are M&S suddenly action heroes? Sure, they've always been competent, but able to evade or defeat paramilitary assassination squads? What the hell? Who decided Langly was one of the world's great geniuses worthy of preservation? How ridiculously bad is Virtucon's security if M&S could bluff their way into this supposedly top-secret facility? Gradeschoolers are taught to backup their computer work these days, but we're supposed to believe M&S were so stupid that they didn't anticipate the simulation would have a backup? I mean, they didn't even damage anything. Just turned it off, for crying out loud. And I guess they're no longer fugitives because Barbara Hershey has taken a shine to Mulder? 

Except for a couple of funny lines, this was drivel from start to finish. And I mean, Spotnitz-level plot confusion, for all that it came from Morgan, whose eps I normally love. 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Ghost of TWOP Past

[catrox14]

I was confused but I loved it.  I loved everything Scully and Mulder. I don't even care if it didn't make any sense. It just FELT like X Files and I'm good with that for now.

Still pissed about 11.1 but will see how that turns out. 

2 hours ago, eleanorofaquitaine said:

Anyway, as a long-time Pats fan who can remember a time when the Patriots constantly lose, I can understand why Langley's world was hellish. 

LOL. As a lifetime Broncos fan, I was happy to think of the Patriots losing for all eternity. LOL

[Italian Ice]

LOVED this episode! One quick question though - why can't Mulder and Scully get back into their office? Wasn't Scully in there in the last episode? What's the time jump between MSIII and This? 

[Bastet]

9 minutes ago, Italian Ice said:

One quick question though - why can't Mulder and Scully get back into their office?

Because they're wanted for arrest by this private security contractor that has been given national security powers?  I honestly don't know, since so much time has passed since the last normal episode after them regaining the X-Files last season; we had case, case, case, delusion, crazy-ass apocalypse, oh wait, that didn't really happen, and then here we are (or something like that).  So I think it's just the events of this incident that position them outside the FBI again, but I'm not sure.

[Italian Ice]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Because they're wanted for arrest by this private security contractor that has been given national security powers?  I honestly don't know, since so much time has passed since the last normal episode after them regaining the X-Files last season; we had case, case, case, delusion, crazy-ass apocalypse, oh wait, that didn't really happen, and then here we are (or something like that).  So I think it's just the events of this incident that position them outside the FBI again, but I'm not sure.

Yeah it was weird. Skinner was talking as if Mulder and Scully were still on the run from the FBI or something. They honestly looked shocked that their whole life's work had been digitized...15 years ago, apparently without their knowledge. That's what was throwing me off, especially given the last episode when everything was fine, and Scully was still in Mulder's office. 

[DaynaPhile]

 Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! Dark, moody, weird, snarky, innuendo, GUNS! Our boy Morgan knows how to write these characters. Sadly, CC does not. This was Mulder and Scully with a  capital M&S, baby. 

It was pretty funny to have so many subtle jokes to how old they are getting. Huffing and sweating, all the stairs, heh. 

[GaT]

Much better episode than last week, but I didn't understand a damn thing that happened.

[baileythedog]

More to add later, but just thought I'd point out that, according to his Tombstone, Deep Throat's name is evidently "Ronald Pakula." 

Alan Pakula directed "All the President's Men" which TXF owes a stylistic debt of gratitude to, including the character "Deep Throat."  

[Happy Harpy]

I wasn't a fan of the Weremonster (unpopular, I know) but I really liked this one and I loved the Mulder/Scully part. Plot was clunky, I think I stopped long ago to try and make sense and I don't care when I have my dose of M&S and MSR.

The man with white air was genuinely creepy, especially in the cemetery scene.

The scene in the bar was my favorite, Mulder turned on by badass Scully.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Happy Harpy

[JackONeill]

8 hours ago, festivus said:

Well that was certainly better than the last episode. What I could see of it anyway. So dark and my eyes are so old. I also have no idea about this Chili's fanfic thing. Is it good? Bad? I think I need a link to be sure.

Someone responding on GA’s Facebook post had dropped a link for it. I glanced at it. It looked...graphic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

[luna1122]

Well, I loved this one. The opening five minutes were fabulous and evocative and creepy. The Ramones! Langley! M & S dozing off at home like an old married couple! Then becoming ninja bad asses!

Maybe it's a low bar, comparing it to last week's, but I was really happy watching this, and in fact, watched it a second time with my honey, who got home just after it aired...I rarely rewatch stuff, but I enjoyed it the second time too. All the little quips....the teasing and flirting...the nod to Gillian being on Hannibal, the handcuffs...and I have dreamed of Mulder a time or two, so...yeah. I loved it.

Edited January 11, 2018 by luna1122

[MissL]

1 hour ago, Happy Harpy said:

I wasn't a fan of the Weremonster (unpopular, I know) but I really liked this one and I loved the Mulder/Scully part. Plot was clunky, I think I stopped long ago to try and make sense and I don't care when I have my dose of M&S and MSR.

The man with white air was genuinely creepy, especially in the cemetery scene.

The scene in the bar was my favorite, Mulder turned on by badass Scully.

I didn't either!!! On my im so relieved I thought I was the only one!! Every article I've seen praises the Weremonster but I guess it was the best of season 10 maybe?  I don't know.  I agree if you think too hard about the plot of this episode it hurts but M&S working so well together makes up for a lot. 

Trying to just enjoy the Lone Gunman mentions and Langley and not think about the fact that CC twists the story into a pretzel to keep CSM alive but our boys are still dead. 

[kokapetl]

I thought it was passable, but not great. 

I miss Scully’s scepticism. The original X-Files succeeded with a formula of “opposite personalities solve crime together”, and although the logic in the x-files universe was that Mulder’s irrational kooky theories were usually correct, Scully's rational thinking was also never really “incorrect”. He would see stuff while Scully blinked and missed it, he would believe iffy unreliable information and she would be all sciencey but their individual conclusions would be reasonable. There’s basically none of that now. 

[domina89]

Did anyone else get a feeling of "Home" with the opening scene of the creepy guys driving an old car to a small home to murder people with a peppy song playing over it?  When the episode started for a split second I thought we were going to get some kind of sequel, especially knowing Glen Morgan was the writer.