I can already tell season five is going to be spectacular. I also have pretty much no idea what to believe any more after watching 'Redux'.
So, season four ended with quite a bit of mystery, but not really, because I was pretty sure Mulder wasn't really dead. But before I get to that, I'm going to talk a bit about season endings and beginnings.
I like when TV seasons end with some closure and some plot threads. Obviously season four of The X-Files ended with a bit more open than some of the other seasons have so far, but there was still a ton of potential in terms of answers to various questions and further unravelling of the conspiracy. But it follows from liking the ends of seasons that I also do like the beginnings of the next seasons, too.
Season five begins here with the most uncertainty of any season so far, but we learn very quickly that Mulder isn't dead, which we might not have known if we'd been watching this as it aired, but I was pretty confident of given that there are five seasons left and two movies. It does take away a little bit of the mystery.
What we do learn was not quite what I had suspected as of the end of season four, though. I thought it was possible that Scully did some quick thinking and faked Mulder's death when she realised he wasn't the body in his apartment and that he wasn't home, either. I figured she would find a way to secretly tell him about her plan later, and then they'd go off and do what they needed to do to expose the actual lies. But it turns out Mulder was in on it from the beginning, which I suppose is a safer way to perpetrate this kind of intricate lie.
Not that anyone is particularly safe in the course of this episode, but like in 'The Blessing Way' and 'Paper Clip', I feel like by the end, most of the immediate danger has greatly diminished, and will be replaced with different danger later.
Because Scully's cancer is in magical remission, thanks to a microchip that Mulder was allowed to discover in the secret Pentagon warehouse connected directly to a private facility. That's not at all creepy. I commented while watching this that Mulder should have watched more spy movies, because then he'd know to get what he needed and get the hell out, then look at it later, but he pretty much did. I mean, if he'd stuck around he might have found the implant devices from the Pilot or the alien fetus from 'The Erlenmeyer Flask', but he'd also probably have been caught.
Well, maybe not, since he kind of was caught anyway, but allowed to leave. It's the classic supervillain move. Let your nemesis go so he doesn't suspect your involvement. Truly a clever plan, now Mulder can't possibly find out the Smoking Man has a connection to this company or the Department of Defense. Oh wait, he already knows that.
And now the Cancer Man is dead. Only not, because apparently the show is now into doing the fake death thing. I mean, come on. Again, like with Mulder, we never actually see a body. And Skinner never saw a body. Just lots and lots of blood. I'm pretty sure he's not really dead, and will turn up again when we least expect it. I guess we're meant to believe the Death Eaters have lost faith in him, but my feeling is really that they are faking his death as part of a larger setup that will come out in the course of the season.
Especially now that Section Chief Blevins, the man who originally assigned Scully to work with Mulder, is the mole within the FBI, is outed as the mole (What if the mole was so good at being the mole that the Right Hand Man picked him to be the spy?). I think I must have suspected this a few scenes before Mulder realised it at the hearing. When Blevins used the same phrasing as Skinner had about being Mulder's 'friend' - a word also used by the Cancer Man in this episode - I initially thought maybe he was indicating to the viewer that he was on the same side, like that was a code word or phrase used to know who the mole isn't. But then I remembered that the Cancer Man did say it. They're all trying to get Mulder to do what they want or need him to do by trying to convince him they're not just looking out for him, but that they like him.
That's the creepiest part. Not only does everyone want Mulder to do what they need him to do, but they all try to act like they know him or are somehow close to him. I don't doubt that the Cancer Man had some affection for the Mulders, given that he keeps a picture of Fox and Samantha, but right now, he's just trying to use it to his advantage. Thankfully, Mulder doesn't fall for that sort of insincerity. Well, except once.
When the Cancer Man showed up with a woman claiming to be Samantha, I knew it had to be a trick. That wasn't spelled out here, but come on. I don't believe for an instant that's really her or that she was raised by the Cancer Man. That scene was so carefully staged and Mulder bought every minute of it. It's amazing what you can convince people of by playing to their emotions, right?
Speaking of emotions, I have some about Bill Scully, Jr. I do not like him. Scully's treatment is not his decision. Scully is a medical doctor, for one, and for two, she's mentally capable of making her own choices, so piss off, Bill. The way he treats Mulder is similarly dismissive and ridiculous. Ugh, no, just stop already. Let people make decisions that you don't agree with or wouldn't choose for yourself, and stop being so damn judgemental. Your sister is an adult. You don't get to make ANY choices for her.
Other than that - actually, no, not other than that. This was still a strong opener, even with that. I may not like Bill, but as eyerolling as his scenes were, they were important in learning more about how the Scully family operates, and why Dana Scully herself is even more awesome than we knew before. (Oh yeah, one other thing, Bill, the treatment worked. What do you have to say about that, huh?)
And because the Death Eaters like to cover their tracks, they manage to kill Blevins before he can potentially reveal anyone else's identity or role to the FBI, and stage it as a suicide. Yeah, right, like Mulder's going to believe that. Especially since he was shot in the chest. Not a common location for suicide.
OK, where do we go from here?
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