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S11.E09: Nothing Lasts Forever

FormerMod-a1

By FormerMod-a1
in The X-Files [V]

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WritinMan

WritinMan

(edited)

Well, that episode was disgusting!

Loved the way Mulder looked at Scully when she said she didn't think this was X-File. It was like "Oh...you!"

I think the best parts of these new episodes involve seeing Mulder and Scully together talking. The actual stories...not so much.

Edited by WritinMan
Added stuff!
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Batgirl

Batgirl

This one was a little too gory for me. A few scenes of blood & guts— fine. But how many times did we need to see organs in the blender? 

I did enjoy the M & S scenes.

Are we to assume that the “leap of faith” mentioned at the end is searching for William?

Mulder looked surprised when Scully said, “are we together?” Was that because he thought they were together, or because he wasn’t talking about that at all?

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

So, the 70s sitcom star and (I think) Winn Diffy from Justified were some kind of...internal organ science vampires? Honestly, I think I prefer the straight up supernatural episodes, because when they try to drab poor science into the CoTW, things just get SUPER weird really fast. Those blenders of organs were just nasty. 

Mulder and Scully dynamic was good this episode, especially all their talks in the church, with Scully talking her faith in God, and Mulders faith in her. Also, Mulder is so not alright with getting older, and its cracking me up. I guess that tied into the weird science thing, although I am still trying to figure out how attaching people to Winn does anything for him. Unless they really are some kind of weird internal organ science vampires of course. 

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JackONeill

JackONeill

I have a feeling we’ll finally get to the end of this next week and still be left wondering if they’re together or not.

And really, if the main characters are going to whisper, how  ‘bout if the sound man wires them with a better microphone.

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phalange

phalange

Still not entirely sure about how that cannibal/vampire cult operates or what sewing people together is supposed to achieve, but I appreciated the singing-while-consuming-organs scene. What's a little cannibalism without show tunes?

All the scenes with Mulder and Scully just talking were the highlights, especially the final scene. My heart broke for Scully believing she had failed to protect William, and for Mulder when he talked about the life Scully could've had if she had left him early on. Loved Scully saying she wants to take a leap of faith forward together. I really want to know what she whispered to him, though. 

If I remember correctly, this episode and last week's were reversed, and I'm glad for that, because this ending is a much better segue into the finale. 

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SparklesBitch

SparklesBitch

(edited)

I like that Mulder and I have the same expectation of bursting into flame when we cross the threshold of a church. :) 

I’m still trying to figure out what was actually going on with the cult and the organs and what exactly the surgical attachment was supposed to do. I did enjoy the cult leader Barbara, though. I thought she was delightfully crazy. 

I loved all the Mulder and Scully interactions in this one, especially the ones at the church, so I’m happy. 

The mental image of a four year old Scully praying for a puppy instead of her sick brother is too cute for words. And her “you did that on purpose” to Mulder after he chased away the other agents or cops or whatever with his talk of evil and crucifixes cracked me up. Mulder saying “You think?” was just icing on the cake. 

I want to know what she whispered to him at the end, and I really love the idea of them  taking that leap of faith forward together. Oh, these two. They make me melt, and I’m not normally a melty sort of person. 

Edited by SparklesBitch
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MissL

MissL

(edited)

I'll have to watch the last scene again. I missed so much because I started screaming "WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW...ARE THEY GETTING MARRIED?!"  But no. Just more vague discussions and no kiss. So the whole revival will have no kiss. Chris you aren't funny you're an asshole.

 

Anyhoo. Always good to see my Mulder and Scully. Any scene with them was good and I loved the "did you get a haircut" moment although I do wish David had played it with Mulder's "I'm messing with you" grin because his eyes can't be that bad. Maybe he did and the director just cut it. 

Questions. Many questions: I'm  wondering what questions they asked the priest that led them to darkBuffy (don't remember her name just gonna call her that). I expected them to overhear her in the church or something but nope. Was the writer director so intent on showing us as many weird disgusting scenes with the cult and Winn Duffy that they skipped over all the investigating our duo does? Or any reason the cult was following Winn and the crazy redhead besides looking better?  I mean what's the point of fixing your disfigurement if you never go out? When/how did darkBuffy figure out what they were doing? Why not call the cops instead of staking people? Why stake people? Did she think they were vampires? Was the writing always this bad and I ignored it because of Mulder and Scully? Or maybe because I was 23 years younger and didn't know any better?

 

oh and poor Scully.  After what happened to William and his family she has to be questioning even more what she accomplished by giving him up. I'm sure that's made her do even more soul searching. 

Edited by MissL
Because I had more thoughts
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Soobs

Soobs

Well that was gross. This was one episode where I'm glad it was too dark the whole time. Those squishy, blood sounds were the worst. There was a fountain of youth, cannibal episode back in the day that took place in a slaughterhouse with a vegan cult that looked guilty but wasn't. I liked that episode better than this one. I guess the relationship stuff was okay. This whole "we're super old" routine is getting old. They aren't that old. But if she was whispering about babies to him, than yeah, she's probably too old for that.

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AntiBeeSpray

AntiBeeSpray

2 hours ago, JackONeill said:

I have a feeling we’ll finally get to the end of this next week and still be left wondering if they’re together or not.

And really, if the main characters are going to whisper, how  ‘bout if the sound man wires them with a better microphone.

Yep. And it's why I'm tired of this.

Lmao. Nice one! XD Definitely. It was literally a whole lot of nothing.

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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)

As the episode opened, the surgery stuff made me think of Sanguinarium, then dastardly organ transplant teams made me think of IWTB, then eating organs brought me to Tooms, and finally a stake to the chest of Bad Blood.  All in the first two minutes.

The allusions (even if only in my mind that is looking for them this season – the 2111 address makes me think of 1121, so I’m seeing references absolutely everywhere) continued: vampire cult = 3 (and cults in general = Red Museum, though, thankfully, not TFWID - maybe the outfits), cannibalism for eternal youth = Our Town, hand wounds = Revelations, twisted angels = All Souls, “You Stink” = WOTC.  When the NY feds said they know Mulder’s reputation, I wanted him to respond, “I have a reputation?”

Since when does Scully have to go to church every five minutes, even when they’re out of town on a case?  But, hey, a mention of long-lost brother Charlie, and bless little Dana Scully for after two days starting to pray for a puppy instead of her little brother’s health – that made all the church stuff worthwhile.  As did Mulder’s transitive property speech, but WTF with “Are we together?”  Um, yeah, Scully, you have been, for eons, and you know that, even if the folks writing you sometimes don't.  For good and bad, and there’s a whole lot of both, you two have been tied together for life for a very long time; stop it, Show.  Cue guessing on what she whispered to save this conversation, but at least “I’d like to do it together” is included, stupid as it is for that to need to be said.

Other thoughts:

“There, she looks better than ever; we’ll eat her for now” and “I remember him, he wouldn’t shut up; I’m glad we ate him” -- wonderfully awful.  Everything around the There’s Got To Be a Morning After memory/performance was even better.  I do love this show's repertoire of songs to die by.

And yet Mulder’s “Progressives, not bifocals!” objection amused me far more (even though it’s rather dumb, since they both needed reading glasses back when the show started, and the characters were in their 30s then).  As did “Did you get your hair cut/Are you kidding me?”  Those two and their dynamic are why I can’t quit this damn show.

“Loved you on Dragnet.”

“Is she a Netflix executive?”

Also LOL to both lines.

Having had to make a “liver shake” for a sick cat, the thought of drinking those blender concoctions made me want to gag.  Which I know was the point, but normally when shows want me grossed out, I’m not, but this time I had smell-o-vision.

Hey, Jere Burns.  I hadn’t seen him since the ‘80s, and then a couple of years ago he turned up on Major Crimes, and now he’s on XF.

It is so weird that last week’s episode had the normal tag line, when this one continued the tradition of no other episode this season doing so (and you know the finale is going to be something weird)

Ugh, Tad Whatever and his stupid conspiracy theory show on the radio served only to remind me we have to get back into that shit next episode and I Do Not Want To.

But, overall, this one was fine; with the diminished expectations I’ve settled into this season, I’ll just enjoy it for what it is - a stupid case that never really came together, but that had entertaining moments, and some nice M/S interaction.

Edited by Bastet
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MissL

MissL

3 minutes ago, Batgirl said:

According this interview, we never get to find out what was whispered. Grrrr. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/x-files-what-did-scully-whisper-mulder-1094323

From the article: This could be the last MOW episode with the core team intact?  What the hell is that supposed to mean? David you'd better not agree to this ridiculousness. No to Mulder without Scully.  I didn't watch her without him either. Half of season 8 and all but the last of Season 9 didn't happen y'all. 

Fine I'll just pretend she whispered "I want to raise Dagoo with you I'm moving back to the unremarkable house"  except she's lived there since This so I don't know what that other apartment was about anyway. 

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Italian Ice

Italian Ice

2 minutes ago, MissL said:

From the article: This could be the last MOW episode with the core team intact?  What the hell is that supposed to mean? David you'd better not agree to this ridiculousness. No to Mulder without Scully.  I didn't watch her without him either. Half of season 8 and all but the last of Season 9 didn't happen y'all. 

Fine I'll just pretend she whispered "I want to raise Dagoo with you I'm moving back to the unremarkable house"  except she's lived there since This so I don't know what that other apartment was about anyway. 

I think it's pretty apparent that FOX is bringing the show back, with or without Gillian. Everything has been all about the Season Finale, not the Series Finale, and I don't think FOX would kill such an iconic show without announcing it as the actual last season/episode. FWIW, I think Gillian will cave, and will come back. She always does.

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AntiBeeSpray

AntiBeeSpray

(edited)
7 minutes ago, Ghost of TWOP Past said:

I forgot to watch. Can I see it online somewhere? 

Via Fox's site. They should have it up.

Just checked and it's there. Under a lock though. So it might be a watch once, but if you want to watch more... have cable.

 

4 minutes ago, Italian Ice said:

I think it's pretty apparent that FOX is bringing the show back, with or without Gillian. Everything has been all about the Season Finale, not the Series Finale, and I don't think FOX would kill such an iconic show without announcing it as the actual last season/episode. FWIW, I think Gillian will cave, and will come back. She always does.

I sincerely doubt it. She really seems to be sticking to her guns. I certainly don't blame her either. The quality is terrible.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

Just now, GaT said:

I'm still confused, it reverses the aging process for who? And how?

The doctor gets younger, the people who were in the cult used to be deformed, but somehow appear normal looking after the doctor's treatments. Once attached to the doctor's back, that person's organs get absorbed and can no longer be used. They can also drink the organs of healthy people to stay healthy.

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Moonlit

Moonlit

I enjoyed it. Shades of La Chiesa—the star of this episode reminding me of Asia Argento as Lotte, of C17th Countess Elizabeth Báthory, and The Human Centipede. Carlena Britch was great as the violent and driven avenging angel. Her character kinda reminded me of Faith of BTVS, too. Attractive in a psychotic avenger sort of way. It was interesting the way they gave a modern spin on the Báthoryesque thang (the countess killed and ate/bathed in local peasant girls' blood to gain eternal youth and beauty, so it has been said), combined with a parasitic twin element plus smoothies.

 

2 hours ago, MissL said:

Questions. Many questions: I'm  wondering what questions they asked the priest that led them to darkBuffy (don't remember her name just gonna call her that). I expected them to overhear her in the church or something but nope. Was the writer director so intent on showing us as many weird disgusting scenes with the cult and Winn Duffy that they skipped over all the investigating our duo does? Or any reason the cult was following Winn and the crazy redhead besides looking better?  I mean what's the point of fixing your disfigurement if you never go out? When/how did darkBuffy figure out what they were doing? Why not call the cops instead of staking people? Why stake people? Did she think they were vampires?

 

They may've mentioned homicides in the local area that appeared to have ritualistic elements along with the "I will repay" phrase from the organ coolbox to the priest.  Carlena Britch's character Juliet Bocanegra walked right past Mulder in the church. The victim at the start had been abducted and, Juliet's sister Olivia was also missing, which M&S heard about from the priest. It's not unreasonable that they'd speak to the family. It was slick and relied on show don't tell (!). I felt the reasons for following were implied well. The cult members were once disfigured, unhappy, unfortunate. They wanted to be beautiful. The cult offered to give them that. Kayla, conjoined with Dr. Luvenis, was thin and gaunt. Perhaps simply wasting away or she may've been anorexic. Anorexia is about many things, control among others. But what young girls who suffer from it really want, is to be beautiful. Society holds youth and beauty as vital. The cult members still believed they were working towards that goal. Juliet was, in her mind, vanquishing evil. Cult members drank blood to give themselves continued life. In more than one sense they were vampires.

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GaT

GaT

2 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

The doctor gets younger, the people who were in the cult used to be deformed, but somehow appear normal looking after the doctor's treatments. Once attached to the doctor's back, that person's organs get absorbed and can no longer be used. They can also drink the organs of healthy people to stay healthy.

Okaaaaay, I guess I'll just live with that LOL

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luna1122

luna1122

It was truly gross, and I had to avert my eyes a few times. And Hannibal is my fave show, but, you know, he was a handsome, fastidious, elegant cannibal. this stuff was nasty. I also felt a lot of callbacks to previous episodes, especially Sanguinarium. The blender scene nearly ruined this morning's smoothie.

Winn Duffy!!

I loved pretty much everything with M&S. I love his new glasses (and yeah, they really need to remember that both Mulder and Scully wore glasses in long ago episodes). I love his joke about bursting into flames upon entering a church, cuz I make the same joke. I loved his 'did you get a new haircut?', which I just took to be stereotypical male-inattention rather than being half blind. I loved all their banter, and the final scene in the church, and the heartbreaking admissions they both made...Scully's regrets about William, and about leaving Mulder...his about sometimes wishing she'd just fled long ago so as not to have her life ruined by him. I loved the Lost in Translation whisper...I'm okay with not knowing what she said, exactly. I don't even mind her doubts about whether they're together or not...I think she's needing reassurance now. She left him, and sadly, Mulder probably never tried hard to stop her. He probably never called her up after too many Scotches to beg her to come home. He pined, but he probably never let her see he pined. So I think she really wants to hear from him that he really wants her back, when in his heart, she's always been his one in five billion.  But goddammit, I really wanted a kiss.

I don't want the show to be over, and I don't actually want it to continue without GA, but you know what...I'd watch. I watched when DD left, and he's my boo...so if he's still around, I will watch, even if I actively hate whatever machinations they'd have to go thru to explain why Scully isn't there.

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Taryn74

Taryn74

Literally almost had to pause the TV to get my gag reflex back under control when the guy licked the pancreas at the beginning.  It's making me dry heave just to think about it.

Mulder's face when Scully said "Are we together?"  ....sigh....  The man does know how to break my heart.

Not sure how I feel about this one as a whole.  There were some delightful moments, however.  Mulder looking all Clark Kent in his glasses alone was worth the price of admission.

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eleanorofaquitaine

eleanorofaquitaine

(edited)

My significant other basically had to walk out of the room when the guy killed himself during Barbara Beaumont's song. I am normally pretty squeamish but for some reason, The X-Files gore doesn't bother me that much. 

Anyway, I loved the fact that we got some emphasis on Scully's faith and that finally Mulder seems to accept that part of who she is, rather than feeling like he is in competition with it. For so long, whenever Scully's faith was mentioned, Mulder sneered at it - it's nice to see that he's matured about it.   Scully's rational take on her Catholicism was a good counterpoint to the extremism that we saw from both Juliet and Barbara Beaumont's cult, both of whom essentially were using faith to justify terrible behavior, rather than having faith inform their humanity.

And of course, I loved the lived-in interaction between M&S. As nice as it is to hear Mulder articulate his guilt about Scully's life - a guilt that has been overhanging them since Duane Barry - it was also interesting (and welcome) to hear Scully admit that she's made mistakes when it comes to their life together.  We get so used to thinking of Mulder as the screwed up one, it's comforting to see Scully admit to her own flaws. 

I will say, though, that I did find this episode flawed - like with Familiars, I felt like there was a little too much going on, and the stuff with Juliet didn't quite come together for me. But the M&S interactions were spot on.

Edited by eleanorofaquitaine
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festivus

festivus

I liked this one. The gore doesn't bother me, I'm a horror movie person. The only thing that gets me is eye or teeth stuff, I'll cover my face with a pillow for that. The villainess  was good and campy, loved her song. Sometimes the religious episodes on this show annoy me but I was fine with this one. I liked the talks that Mulder and Scully had. I'm actually going to go with this episode as being the series finale and Scully's whisper to Mulder as " We don't need to try again Mulder, we've never really been apart." There, done!

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pagooey

pagooey

This episode got me to thinking about the real estate boom in Vancouver over the last 20 years--dank, seedy murder!cult apartment buildings must be a LOT harder to find these days.

The case itself was gruesome and campy and I am overthinking it: are we supposed to believe that Barbara is really 85 and it...worked? And which part of eating/being surgically attached to/making organ smoothies out of cult victims was the One Weird Trick doctors don't want you to know? 

But I'm okay with it, because Mulder and Scully got to have thoughtful, meaningful conversations--about themselves and each other and their relationship--and they looked beautiful while they were at it. I'm kind of a secret sucker for the "BUT WHAT DID SHE SAY??!?" feint in a story, so I'm willing to leave them to their whispered privacy. (That said, "I want to come home" is my guess.)

I was most moved by Mulder, standing there and saying in every way he could that he was still all in, #OTP, one in five six billion--that even though Scully (and he) has made all sorts of choices, struggled, faltered, gone away, drifted back...he doesn't see, or want, any other ending but her. Scully's always been more hesitant to admit her heart, but I think she's there too. Adding "living apart from Mulder" to her Fail List, now. 

Also, the image of baby Scully praying "eh, my baby brother seems to be on the mend, how about a puppy?" is wonderful and sidesplitting. 

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AConspiracy

AConspiracy

45 minutes ago, pagooey said:

Barbara is really 85 and it...worked

Yeah so being a cannibal lets you look good forever?

I can almost believe having your blood pump through a younger person's body like he did could help keep you young. But then she is just eating organs to achieve the same?

It's like the writers couldn't get enough gore out of either method so had to throw them both in the episode.

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Cyranetta

Cyranetta

Quote

...the star of this episode reminding me of Asia Argento as Lotte, of C17th Countess Elizabeth Báthory...

I've never seen the movie, so I was not reminded of the actress, but I was aware of the Countess' history, and I wondered if this episode was inspired by her.

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Italian Ice

Italian Ice

Random, but as a relatively young (mid 30's) person who spent their entire school life in Catholic schools, and later went on to spend years working for Catholic schools, I noticed some glaring irregularities. Mass in the X-Files did not follow any kind of existing Catholic structure. The Mass has very specific words and prayers that are said, and this was very much not that. I've also never experienced Communion in a Catholic Church using a tiny cup. The accepted tradition is to use a Chalice. 

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EUROTRASH

EUROTRASH

I really liked this one. It's probably my favorite after "Ghouli", although there's a gap between them. To be clear, overall it's just OK, nothing more than that, and pales in comparison to XF greats, but within the revival itself it's good. I enjoyed it 10x more than "Familiar".

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festivus

festivus

1 hour ago, EUROTRASH said:

I really liked this one. It's probably my favorite after "Ghouli", although there's a gap between them. To be clear, overall it's just OK, nothing more than that, and pales in comparison to XF greats, but within the revival itself it's good. I enjoyed it 10x more than "Familiar".

Yeah, I agree with you. Ghouli and this one are the only two I can see myself re-watching from this season. 

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eleanorofaquitaine

eleanorofaquitaine

1 hour ago, Italian Ice said:

Random, but as a relatively young (mid 30's) person who spent their entire school life in Catholic schools, and later went on to spend years working for Catholic schools, I noticed some glaring irregularities. Mass in the X-Files did not follow any kind of existing Catholic structure. The Mass has very specific words and prayers that are said, and this was very much not that. I've also never experienced Communion in a Catholic Church using a tiny cup. The accepted tradition is to use a Chalice. 

The X-Files' grasp of Catholicism - its tenets, rituals, etc. - has ALWAYS been tenuous, at best.  Like Law and Order, they tend to portray Catholicism as if Vatican II never happened. It's unusual to walk into a Church and find votive candles (though to be fair, I did see that more on a recent trip to Canada than I do in most of my local parishes). And Gregorian Chant is not all of that common, either.  The one thing that they have always gotten consistently right is that the Catholic Church actually does allow science and faith to co-exist in ways that other Christian denominations do not.

Re Barbara Beaumont - my sense is that Barbara and her doctor-boyfriend there were basically sucking the nutrients dry of the individuals they were attached to, and that's why it helped to keep them young.  It also sounds like essentially they tied their hearts together - I think at the point that the doctor was being attached to Olivia, he said something about her aorta. 

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Batgirl

Batgirl

Regarding linking the two people’s hearts, apparently heterochronic parabiosis has actually been done to mice and involves connecting the circulatory system of two individuals. I don’t know the research goals of this practice but thought that was interesting (& a little creepy).

 

Regarding what Scully whispered, if we never find out, I guess the writer doesn’t know either? But I can’t really think of anything besides something relating to William for which Mulder’s response would make any sense. 

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

(edited)

Wasn't there an earlier episode where a bunch of cannibals in a little town working at a chicken plant all looked way younger than they actually were due to their eating of people? I think that was supposed to be some kind of magical thing, maybe this is the same thing? The key to youth in the X Files verse is eating people with maybe some magic or techno babble thrown in? I mean, its not the weirdest thing to happen in this verse, but its a pretty weird conclusion to draw. 

Little Scully praying for a puppy instead of for her brother is so adorable, I can almost mentally block out all those internal organs being sucked down like an energy smoothie. And Mulder admitting guilt for getting Scully involved in his crazy life, only for Scully to say that shes happy to have shared a life with him, gave me all of the feels. 

I should have known these guys weren't real vampires. The real vampire in the X-Files verse seemed pretty nice. 

Edited by tennisgurl
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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
7 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Wasn't there an earlier episode where a bunch of cannibals in a little town working at a chicken plant all looked way younger than they actually were due to their eating of people?

Yes, Our Town, from the end of season two.  That's one of the many episodes this one reminded me of -- kind of a cross between Sanguinarium and Our Town, with allusions to several other episodes sprinkled throughout.

Edited by Bastet
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eleanorofaquitaine

eleanorofaquitaine

34 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Wasn't there an earlier episode where a bunch of cannibals in a little town working at a chicken plant all looked way younger than they actually were due to their eating of people? I think that was supposed to be some kind of magical thing, maybe this is the same thing? The key to youth in the X Files verse is eating people with maybe some magic or techno babble thrown in? I mean, its not the weirdest thing to happen in this verse, but its a pretty weird conclusion to draw. 

 

There is also the parallel to the Catholic belief that the Eucharist is the literal body and blood of Christ, and that eating the Eucharist will bring eternal life to those who do so. It clearly wasn't a coincidence that we see Scully taking the host at the beginning of the episode. 

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PreBabylonia

PreBabylonia

I found this one very choppy and almost overwhelmingly gross. Definitely not one I will likely repeat. Which is pretty sad, given that it's the second last one. They definitely could have done better. My favourite part was Scully and Mulder discussing glasses. Can totally relate to the dismay of switching to progressives later in life. As Mulder says, "they are not bi-focals!" 

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mledawn

mledawn

On 3/14/2018 at 9:20 PM, tennisgurl said:

So, the 70s sitcom star and (I think) Winn Diffy from Justified were some kind of...internal organ science vampires? Honestly, I think I prefer the straight up supernatural episodes, because when they try to drab poor science into the CoTW, things just get SUPER weird really fast. Those blenders of organs were just nasty. 

Mulder and Scully dynamic was good this episode, especially all their talks in the church, with Scully talking her faith in God, and Mulders faith in her. Also, Mulder is so not alright with getting older, and its cracking me up. I guess that tied into the weird science thing, although I am still trying to figure out how attaching people to Winn does anything for him. Unless they really are some kind of weird internal organ science vampires of course. 

YES! It was totally Wynn Duffy, I yelled at the screen when I saw him!

I was watching the Leafs game last night so caught up over lunch today. BIG. MISTAKE.

Huge.

Loved all the M&S for my poor shipper heart.

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TVbitch

TVbitch

God knows I love Mulder and Scully, I do. But this show is on fumes.

When Mulder said something about "wondering how it would end" I felt like he was talking about the show. 

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Mystery

Mystery

On 3/15/2018 at 4:52 PM, eleanorofaquitaine said:

The X-Files' grasp of Catholicism - its tenets, rituals, etc. - has ALWAYS been tenuous, at best.  Like Law and Order, they tend to portray Catholicism as if Vatican II never happened. It's unusual to walk into a Church and find votive candles (though to be fair, I did see that more on a recent trip to Canada than I do in most of my local parishes). And Gregorian Chant is not all of that common, either.  The one thing that they have always gotten consistently right is that the Catholic Church actually does allow science and faith to co-exist in ways that other Christian denominations do not.

The episode started with the killer crossing herself the Eastern Orthodox way (making the sign of the cross from right to left, unlike Catholics who do it left to right) and that made me think they were going someplace with that, but no. The killer went to the same church as Scully, who did it the Catholic way. It didn't seem like anyone gave a donation for the candles they lit, and there was WAY too much talking in church. I wondered if the show was trying to cover up Gillian's voice by having everyone whisper. 

Is there a Go Fund Me to get the production team some lights?

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Sharna Pax

Sharna Pax

(edited)
On 3/15/2018 at 12:00 PM, pagooey said:

But I'm okay with it, because Mulder and Scully got to have thoughtful, meaningful conversations--about themselves and each other and their relationship--and they looked beautiful while they were at it. I'm kind of a secret sucker for the "BUT WHAT DID SHE SAY??!?" feint in a story, so I'm willing to leave them to their whispered privacy. (That said, "I want to come home" is my guess.)

I was most moved by Mulder, standing there and saying in every way he could that he was still all in, #OTP, one in five six billion--that even though Scully (and he) has made all sorts of choices, struggled, faltered, gone away, drifted back...he doesn't see, or want, any other ending but her. Scully's always been more hesitant to admit her heart, but I think she's there too. Adding "living apart from Mulder" to her Fail List, now. 

Also, the image of baby Scully praying "eh, my baby brother seems to be on the mend, how about a puppy?" is wonderful and sidesplitting. 

I did love all of that. I adore Mulder's declaration of faith in Scully - it's a callback to "One Breath," in a way, and it's lovely to hear Mulder say it again, in so many words, with so much certainty and with so much genuine respect for Scully's beliefs. And Mulder is still better at saying variations on "I'm here," than anyone else in the world.

Scully's puppy/prayer story is terribly cute, and really every Mulder/Scully scene is a delight. Mulder deliberately weirding out the younger cops is a nice callback to "Squeeze" - "sometimes the need to mess with their heads outweighs the millstone of humiliation" - and I loved that Scully joined in by yelling "GOUT" at them for no reason at all. The glasses are a fun running joke and also look great on Mulder - he should wear them more often. 

Though Juliet's story didn't quite work for me, I liked the idea of the background for Mulder and Scully's final scene being this woman who has just sacrificed her entire future to save her sister - a kind of Portrait of Mulder as a Young Vampire Slayer. And that final scene with the mother and daughter sets up another parallel to Mulder's story, because, as he points out, his obsession with finding his sister ended up costing Scully hers. Mulder is so much mellower these days, it's easy to forget how very reckless and single-minded he used to be. Juliet is a reminder of the Mulder we met in the pilot, the one who told Scully, "Nothing else matters to me," and meant it. In what's effectively the finale, it's nice to be shown how far Mulder has come.

But ultimately I didn't love this episode as much as I hoped to, and it's not just because of the pancreas smoothies. It's the ending. I wanted it to resolve the relationship issues that Mulder and Scully have had all season, and all it did was make me worry about them more. Mulder and Scully talking about the guilt they both feel is lovely and poignant. But look at the way Mulder's face falls when Scully asks if they're together. Everything about him says that he wants them to be together and he's just waiting for the word from Scully. And whatever the whisper is, I don't think it answers the question. Mulder doesn't look to me like someone who's just gotten good news. He looks like he's bracing for something difficult, and his last line sounds awfully final. I don't think this scene can be a breakup - that wouldn't really make sense - but I don't think it can be them getting back together either. I think the whisper must have to do with William, and I'm okay with that, but I have to assume that the status of Mulder and Scully's relationship is still completely unresolved. 

And that's not enough for me, mostly because I don't think it's enough for Mulder. He looks so terribly sad when he's telling Scully she should have fled earlier. What I want is for Scully to tell Mulder, as clearly as he told her, that she still wants to be here with him. Not just that she feels bad about giving up on them. Not just that she doesn't begrudge him the things she's lost. I want her to remind him, as she did in "Je Souhaite" and in the "The Truth," that she chooses to be with him, that he brings something to her life that she values, that he makes her happy. If this is the last normal episode we get with these two, I want Scully to tell Mulder something that will put a smile on his face.

Oh, and that "before I even needed glasses" line desperately needed a rewrite, because even if you accept that in this universe Mulder only just got glasses, it still doesn't make any sense. He wishes Scully had walked out of the basement office before he needed glasses? So, any time before 2018, then? Duchovny does a wonderful job with that line. It's a very powerful moment. But how did no one notice that the line made no sense?

Edited by Sharna Pax
Shortened this because it was way too long.
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TV Anonymous

TV Anonymous

While I get the idea of the episode, it left me confused. What was happening? I mean that in the sense of what the mechanism is that consuming human organ can reverse the aging process. I wished that someone explained or handwaived it as it is not how it works IRL.

And yes it also confused me that Juliet who was supposed to be a devout Catholic crossed herself to the right first, the way Eastern Orthodox did.

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