Friday, May 17, 2013

The X-Files Friday Feature: Shipping

Whenever I watch a show, I have a tendency to put characters together that I think would really be compatible. That's kind of hard on The X-Files, because there are really only two main characters.

But there are enough secondary characters to provide for at least some variation.

I don't ship Mulder/Scully. I like the idea, but I'm also perfectly OK with them being working partners and having a completely professional relationship. Minus the times Mulder acts unprofessionally, anyway. But again, it's just one of those things that happens in stories with few main characters that go on long enough. Or at least it'll be suggested or implied, even if they don't go there directly.

I think I started writing this post months ago - when I first decided to do Friday Features, that is. I always knew I'd do one about shipping. Because of reasons. It's a Thing.

That was certainly before I had seen episodes like 'War of the Coprophages' or 'Syzygy', though. The former only strengthened my feelings about Mulder/Scully, and the latter served only to confuse me. And to anger me, because I do not like seeing the two of them angry at each other, regardless of my feelings on whether or not they should be together.

But now, a little ways into season 4, there's a new wrinkle in the whole shipping debate, because there's another character: Marita Covarrubias. And they made her a young and attractive woman, and she's Mulder's contact, not Scully's. Given Mulder's general characterisation so far, the way he interacts with Marita is unsurprising. To some extent, he's treating Scully as completely off limits, despite any possible feelings for her. I think he's possibly interested in Marita as a distraction from his true feelings for Scully. I can't wait to see how that blows up in everyone's face. It'll surely be a good time.

Because there was also that scene in 'Memento Mori'. I know that would be kind of a terrible way to develop a relationship between Mulder and Scully, because it would appear that maybe he just felt sorry for her, so it's good that they didn't do anything right then and there, but I still got the feeling that there was now an added dimension to their relationship, and that they care more deeply for each other than either of them previously realised. (Though the writers will probably continue to tease us about it for a while.)

But there are other characters on this show worth talking about.

Like Krycek. I think he's too dysfunctional and/or evil to be able to properly interact with another person on any reasonable level, let alone be in a relationship. Krycek/Black Oozing Goo, anyone?

We only just recently found out that Skinner was married, and then divorced, all in the course of one episode (that is we found out about his marriage, not that he got married and divorced in 'Avatar'). But I don't know that there'll be any shipping for him. Skinner/work? I don't know, I'd kind of like to see his character explored a little more outside of work, but since it was his work that led to his divorce in the first place, that's probably not going to happen.

Even the Cancer Man has more possible connections. I know I made the comparison a couple of weeks ago to Snape in the Harry Potter series, and we learned in that that Snape was in love with Lily, Harry's mother. Here, we don't know the full background between Cancer Man and the Mulders, though I think at one point I somewhat jokingly brought up the idea that he could be Mulder's real father.

So what if that's actually true? What if he and Teena got together at some point about 35 years ago? That's kind of a horrifying idea, right? Especially because of what still appears to be the sheer coincidence that Mulder ended up joining the FBI and working on the very cases that could expose the Cancer Man. How weird would it be if Mulder suddenly discovered that the Cancer Man is more than just his nemesis?

Wait, this post is about shipping, right? I don't ship Cancer Man/Teena Mulder. I don't ship Cancer Man with anyone.

Well, that's not entirely true. I do ship Cancer Man/Morley Cigarettes, but who doesn't?

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