X-Files 4/28/02 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

We're in the homestretch of the series finale of the X-Files, and we get an episode directed by David Duchovny.

Spoilers below:

The story was bordering of some whacked out science that could make CSI blush. The DNA angle didn't sit well with me at all.

Having Miller turn out to be Jeffrey Spender be the burnt out from inside out, and sharing Mulder's exact DNA (since he and Mulder share the same father - Cigarette Smoking Man), and making fools out of the FBI was stretching a wee bit too thin.

At least Scully knew Mulder well enough not to buy into the DNA nonsense. Plus the eyes didn't look anything like Mulder's.

For the life of me, I couldn't understand why when Reyes and Doggett broke the "news" to Scully that one of them wasn't watching Miller in Scully apartment while both of them had to be in a closed room to break the news to Scully. That's just sloppy writing.

Are we to accept that there are clones of Scully's baby, William, being raised as children from adoption agencies? Or that Miller's injection of Magnetite will thwart the alien invasion? Again, disappointed in the writing.

I'm hoping Doggett's episode next week will somehow tie into the rest of the mythology arc.

3 more episodes to go (4 hours - series ending is a 2 hour show).

 

[Jason Moreland]

I don't think there are clones of William, Scully put him up for adoption to keep him safe...

 

[Patrick Sun]

Did I miss Scully's putting William up for adoption? We had severe tornado and lightning storm updates that interrupted the episode I was watching tonight. Sheesh!

 

[Jason Moreland]

Ah, I suppose you did. The last 3 minutes or so of the episode had her giving a monologue about how there was only one way to keep William safe, then they cut to a scene with the family from the beginning of the episode putting William into his crib.

I guess it was a sort of flashback story.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Jason Moreland wrote:

I guess it was a sort of flashback story..

The preamble and epilog involving the adoptive family that wrapped around the episode would have to have chronologically followed the decision to put the baby up for adoption (which itself was an outcome of the agents' adventures), no? Not technically a flashback of any kind.

 

[Jay H]

I believe they did flash a "One week earlier" caption after you see William being delivered to the adoptive parents.

Jay

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Jay is correct about the title card. The story was set up from the beginning to explain the events leading up to the family receiving William. The piece that strains credibility is that the whole adoption was accomplished in less than a week. Circumventing this much red tape would require "pulling strings" akin to those Skinner must have pulled to get the LG's buried at Arlington last week.

For the life of me, I couldn't understand why when Reyes and Doggett broke the "news" to Scully that one of them wasn't watching Miller in Scully apartment while both of them had to be in a closed room to break the news to Scully. That's just sloppy writing.

They believed that he was Mulder, and hence not a threat to William, and that he was sedated, and hence not a flight risk. One of the Hallmarks of the series is the agents not being paranoid enough when they have a suspect in their custody. You can call it sloppy writing if you want, but it's been there since Season One.
Regards,

 

[Mike Broadman]

What I don't understand is, how can Scully expect the baby to be safe with adoptive parents? If they're dealing with some government-alien conspiracy, they could find that baby very easily if they wanted to. Adoption requires scores of paperwork and record keeping, at least I would hope so. The baby is no safer with them than with Scully, probably less so.

Therefore, there will probably be some big dramatic scene where the bad guys go after the baby and our Heroes have to save him.

Next week deals with Dogget's son, the one mystery of this series I care the least about.

Also note that Spender said that Smoking Man was Mulder's father. To my recollection, this is the first time they are saying that. I know they've made implications and such, but I don't think they've said it outright.

In other threads, I have made speeches about how if you don't like a show anymore, you should stop watching. Rather than practice what I preach, I'm sticking through this because it's ending.

It's amazing how this show can attract viewers by basically saying, "Finally, it's over!"

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Great episode. First one I've liked all season. I haven't been watching it every week this year or last. I've watched the ones when Mulder is supposed to be around.

I find it amusing that people are picking nits with The X-Files for playing fast and loose with the science. When in the entire 9 year run of the series have they not? At least they gave us a few definitive answers last night. CSM is Mulder's father and Spender is still alive (barely). Pretty amazing stuff. And I suppose that Scully could have given the child up for adoption without much paperwork if she paid the right people, but I'm not worrying about it. Something tells me that if the last episode really does answer all the questions they are saying it will, there won't be any danger to William anymore. Now, if Scully thinks she could get the kid back from them afterwards, I doubt it.

 

[Chad R]

Therefore, there will probably be some big dramatic scene where the bad guys go after the baby and our Heroes have to save him.

No, it doesn't look that way at all. It looks like the poor baby's been written out of the show.

I think Chris Carter wants to reset everything reset back to zero for the upcoming movie. It's been said it's supposed to be a stand alone away from the conspiracy, and to do that properly he'll have to dump all the baggage he's created the past nine years.

The episode was weak, and the resolution was worse. Like someone said earlier, putting William up for adoption doesn't make him safer, it makes it more dangerous! At least Scully was a trained agent and knew what was going on! If one of these super-sojahs show up at the poor farm people it'll be a slaughter! Not to mention if the Aliens want the baby to grow up, why would he be in danger?

Weak, weak, weak. I've been hopeful that Carter would wrap everything up well, but he's just taking cop outs. And that's what the resolution to the baby storyline was - a big fat cop out. (And I've been one of the show's defenders as of late.)

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Given the last scene had William looking up a the mobile and it not moving I was lead to believe that the injection spender gave him did in fact "cure" him. Remember it was in the quarry with the magnetic rock that the super soilder was "killed" so there's some merit to the injection working against the aliens etc.
I think we've always known that CSM was mulders father, at least we were given enough hints that it was never a question for me what the connection was. Also with the DNA test if it was a quick and dirty test they might have been looking to see if there was any similarity between the person in custody and Mulder which of course there would be given that they were 1.2 brothers...still they did say it was a conclusive test.
I'm not all that impressed with the writing this year, so much potential wasted on keeping mulder around...oh well I'll watch it to the end.

 

[OliverT]

Really really weak episode.

What I don't understand is, how can Scully expect the baby to be safe with adoptive parents? If they're dealing with some government-alien conspiracy, they could find that baby very easily if they wanted to. Adoption requires scores of paperwork and record keeping, at least I would hope so. The baby is no safer with them than with Scully, probably less so.

That was my thought exactly. Terrible writing.

Umm, yeah...we'll inject the baby with something - hrmmm...magnetite sounds good! Now the baby is "cured" and Scully believes it! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPID.

Makes me not want to watch the rest of the shows and boycott any movies. You can't have such unfocused, directionless, ad-hoc writing.

OT

 

[Ted Lee]

looks like the poor baby's been written out of the show.

thank god...the baby's been nothing but a device to make us care and hope and blah blah blah...

now that the baby is cured, we can move on...

not a good episode, but heck...i've been watching it for so long, i feel like i have to "stick it out"...

 

[Zen Butler]

At least Scully was a trained agent and knew what was going on! If one of these super-sojahs show up at the poor farm people it'll be a slaughter!

The fact that she's an agent doesn't negate the fact that she is a single mother. I don't know if the baby would be safer with her, unless she strapped him to her while she's at work. To me, that part (decision) made sense. As far as the baby being safer? That I'm unsure of, because I don't know who we are to fear, the government? or the aliens? That part is hazy to me because I thought the writing was terrible. I do though understand Scully's decision as a mother.

 

[Todd K]

I have hated all the attention that the baby has gotten the last two seasons. It really drove the show into the ground for me. But I stuck with the show, wanting to like it, even when Mulder left. My enthusiasm went up when I found out they would end it and Mulder would come back. And now I'm rewarded for sticking with it by them just giving the baby up for adoption? Scully has had countless people murdered in her apartment, she keeps valuable files there that she knows people will want, aliens and other people have come for the baby, and she gives it up for adoption because it's stupid annoying cripple uncle comes for a visit???

The show has been getting weaker and weaker. What the heck is going on at FBI headquarters? Is there no security at this place? Are we to believe that all you need to do to is mug and FBI agent for his card to get access to this country's most classified secrets? It seems like everyone just comes and goes there. I have better security in my apartment building. People are murdered there and there is no security. Do they just turn all the lights off at night and let everyone go home? Bizarre deformed men just sneak in and have the run of the place?

And don't even get me started about them leaving the baby in the next room with some possible lunatic. Scully never believed it was Mulder. She had no reason to leave them so close together. The storyline there was WEAK. That kid is not safe at all. If he's not back with his parents by the end of the show, I will be quite upset.

And was there some significance to the white buffalo at the end? Wasn't some white buffalo being born when Mulder was recuperating with those indians or whatever it was they were?

 

[Mike Graham]

Hhmm, an interesting theory concerning the buffalo, but I believe the mobile was meant to show that William really was cured because it wasn't moving; at the first of the season when he was left in his crib he was able to move the mobile.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

Well, we were shown the buffalo on a flag at the top of the episode, so someone thought it was important.

As for the baby being given up, along with the Gunmen ep last week, there's a definite sense of furious thread-wrapping going on. Hey, Jeff Spender's back! By the way, Mulder is really CSM's son. Just thought you'd like to know.

And with a whole bunch of dead people supposedly coming back for the finale...

Definitely Krycek, possibly X...

it's only going to get worse from here. But before then, we have to wrap up the thread no one cares about (Doggett's son) and have the Brady Bunch episode (which I'm actually sorta looking forward to).

I'd have been happy if they ended it last season -- I thought the S8 finale was a good note to end on. I doubt I'll like the situation at the end of S9 better.

Ryan

 

[David Egan]

What a (mostly) silly thread. All of this fretting over "science" and "credibility". All of this obsession over insignificant detail is exactly the sort of thing that gives sci-fi fans a bad name. The emotions in this story were what counted and they were carried off very well. Scully's decision was not a cop out but a sensible, if sad, resolution to the problem. I look forward to an emotionally satisfying wrap-up. Sweat the details in a show that has defied logic since it's first episode if that's your idea of a good time.

 

[David Oliver]

David,

I agree and I think Gillian's acting last night was outstanding, as she usually is.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

But before then, we have to wrap up the thread no one cares about (Doggett's son)

To each their own. IMHO, Doggett is the only character on the show that does not seem played out at this point.

Regards,