Hey, it's another Fringe-like episode. And the character development here is getting complicated.
There are a lot of characters suddenly. Mulder is back, Scully's never left, Doggett is still around, and now Monica Reyes is back and while still really really weird, seems to be very much like Mulder was early in the series. But it's all an entirely new dynamic, and I don't really know where they're going with it. It was kind of hoping when Mulder came back that Doggett would just go off to do whatever he was doing before he was sent to the basement and we'd get back the show we knew and loved for seven seasons, but of course, Kersh saw to that.
I like Reyes more now than I did when she was introduced, and I think a large part of that is that she brought this case to Mulder, rather than being dragged in by Doggett because he doesn't trust Scully. And she seemed a lot more likeable, if still a bit odd. I think it's interesting, though, that the show lasted so long and did so well with exactly two main characters, and now it seems to be moving in a direction that's more familiar to me as a watcher of 2000s television.
But at the same time, that's not The X-Files. I'm enjoying the show again now, but it's still not the same show, and I don't think they can truly get back to normal in season nine, even if they kill off Doggett. He'll still have been a part of it, and it can never return to being just Mulder and Scully. Maybe the movie will be.
I just miss the frequent Mulder and Scully banter! There are too many other people around now for that to work.
But there's still some important development of Doggett here, and it's now clear whose picture he was looking at back in 'Invocation', and maybe even why he acted the way he did towards the kid who apparently returned unaged ten years after being abducted. But what we didn't get then and do now is more insight into his anger over his son's case not as a parent, but as an investigator. And a good look into one of the aspects of his harsh skepticism.
He's looking for rational answers in a world where none may exist. In this case, it's pretty clear that the idea of transference of evil is a Thing that exists, and Doggett's fear is that in an irrational, chaotic world, by ignoring these unusual circumstances, he lost an opportunity to save his son. And I'd say he's been beating himself up over it ever since, but I have to be fair - the guy lost his son, so as far as traumatic events go, I think it's pretty reasonable that he'd have strong feelings about it.
And maybe it's Scully's comment about being afraid to believe that allows him to get to where he needs to in order to solve the current case, which was kind of Reyes's point. He can't save his son. All he can do is remember his son and do what he can to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else. And wow, I could have been describing Walter Bishop there, couldn't I? Maybe there's an alternate X-Files universe where Luke Doggett is alive and well. Which of course would mean other horrible things are happening, but still.
I did like the idea of evil being this thing that can take over a person like a disease and some people's immune systems or moral systems are just better at fighting it off than others.
However, this was definitely the weakest episode in the recent stretch. The case itself wasn't really that interesting apart from that notion of evil, but the parallels to Doggett and Reyes's past investigation into his son's disappearance and subsequent death were, as was Mulder's involvement, and of course, pretty much all the Mulder/Scully scenes.
Oh yes, those Mulder/Scully scenes. This and 'Deadalive', seriously. How I have missed those kinds of scenes. I think the one at the end where she opens his gift and it's completely not what anyone expected is one of the best between these two in the series. No, we don't know that Scully likes old dolls, but Mulder must, because Scully's eyes lit up when she opened it. It was incredibly sweet of him, and I feel like things are maybe back to 'normal' now. The show is still being somewhat vague about the whole thing, but their relationship is obvious to me at this point, and it's pretty damn awesome.
"But then that's the other gift that you gave me, Mulder... Courage... to believe. And I hope that's a gift I can pass on."
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