The X-Files Season 1, Episode 21: Tooms

Confession: I accidentally watched this episode out of order, after episode 22. But I'm posting about it first, so there.

Amusingly, they even referenced Tooms in the next episode, and it didn't even register with me. Shows how much attention I've been paying, apparently.

I do remember at the end of 'Squeeze', thinking there'd be no way they could contain the guy in a conventional cell, and there were plenty of ways he could escape, but given what I knew of the show, especially the early episodes, it was unlikely that case would ever be revisited.

And I didn't even think about that when we saw Tooms at the beginning of this episode. In fact, I was so not expecting this kind of continuity that when he appeared and started reaching through the slot in the door, I thought, "Well, at least he's not that guy from 'Squeeze', because then he could just put his entire body through there..."

Whoops.



So yay, continuity!

But let's get to the truly important parts here, which aren't really all that related to the A-plot here.

One, obviously the FBI is trying to get the X-Files shut down. I think the same thing happened in the first season of Fringe, and to Paul Ballard in the first season Dollhouse (though that time it actually worked). It probably happens in all science fiction shows with settings in a government agency. The bureaucrats don't like the people who investigate weird but real things. Too scary, too dangerous, they have to use unconventional methods, etc.

The point is, well, that's obviously not going to happen. Unless, of course, Mulder and Scully go rogue for the rest of the series? Somehow that seems unlikely. Sure, Mulder has a motive for wanting to investigate these things anyway, even independently, but Scully just got assigned to it. She's an FBI agent first, and would probably want to stay at the FBI in some other role, even if Mulder got reassigned or suspended. She might even be relieved.

Well, that's what I would have said at the beginning of the series, anyway. Now, though, it seems she's taken a liking both to him and to the work she's doing. It's no longer just a job to her, but I think she enjoys working with Mulder, and enjoys the investigations - and not just in a "Ha ha, I'm going to disprove this wacky belief, too!" way, either - I'm sure that on some level, she does want to believe - or rather, she wants to be able to. She's skeptical, sure, and has to maintain scientific rigour, but there's definitely a part of her that is very close to being ready to accept some of the more bizarre possibilities. But only after figuring out that they can't possibly be anything else.

After all, she even goes so far as to lie to the assistant director (though she's apparently not a very good liar, because he sees right through her) to cover for Mulder. That's not generally something you do for a job or a person you don't really care about.

But I also think it must be at least partly because she's come to care for him in some way beyond just as someone she works closely with. For the entire series so far, there's been pretty minimal discussion of their lives outside of work, but it's clear from some of their conversations now that they do know each other better than just their roles in the FBI. As just one example shown in this episode, Mulder is clearly a pretty huge baseball fan, and teases Scully about her apparent lack of interest, but she plays along. (I believe most people would probably call that flirting. For that matter, so would much of their banter about reality versus Muldereality [tm].)

And she calls him Fox, and he hilariously explains that he made his parents call him Mulder. (I imagine that would have been awkward. Does he have a normal name? Is Fox just a nickname? Don't answer that. I suppose the show may tell me at some point.) I think the first time he addressed her as Dana was in 'Beyond the Sea', in a moment of sympathy. He may be tactless at times, but he certainly cares for Scully, and she for him.

"Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you."

I'm sure this is in part because no one else understands the work they do. There's no one else who thinks it's as important or who they can even talk to about it, since everyone else seems to think the X-Files are a joke. But part of it does sound more personal.

I can honestly say I'm unspoiled on this. I really do not know if Mulder/Scully will happen (though I'm sure there's plenty of fanfiction, regardless of what happens in canon). I'm still indifferent to it - I like their dynamic as it stands now, and want to see them continue to play off each other this way, but if they got together, or tried to get together, it wouldn't be the end of the world for the show or my enjoyment of it.

I do think it's somewhat inevitable. As inevitable as Peter Bishop/Olivia Dunham. Actually moreso, since Fringe actually did have more main characters. But this show has exactly two: one male, one female, and not terribly far apart in age. I think it's statistically impossible for a TV show with that kind of setup to not at least try to pair them, even if it doesn't work out in the end.

But this episode really seems to be the first hint that there actually could be more.

One other brief observation/non-sequitur, what's with the guy smoking in the FBI building (also not saying anything and acting generally shifty)? I mean, seriously. Smoking. Inside the FBI. I'm pretty sure that's not allowed now, but I have a hard time believing it even would have been OK in 1994. Aliens? Sure, no problem! Smoking at the FBI? That's where it's harder for me to suspend disbelief. (Apparently I've already forgotten he showed up in the Pilot, too, so this probably would have belonged in the initial post if I hadn't written about 16 episodes all at once and had them run together in my memory.)

And lastly, the escalator squish. Gross, but, well, effective.