The X-Files Season 8, Episode 19: Alone

'Alone'. Or, 'Doggett and Leyla Harrison, X-Files Groupie go on a Field Trip'.

Because seriously, this episode reminded me, at least at first, of 'Field Trip', only I don't think its quality can quite compare. 'Field Trip' was spectacular. 'Alone' I had kind of a hard time getting into because I've never really cared about Doggett and now suddenly a new agent is brought in only she seems to be more of a fan of the X-Files than a reasonable FBI agent?

OK, the episode was kind of meh a lot of the time, but I think the final scene really raised it in my estimation. I would assume Chris Carter was asked many times about certain scenes in the movie, and that's where this incredibly awesome conversation came from. It's just funny how this character was the voice of the fans in a very meta sense, because the fans would be asking about the movie, and she's actually asking about everything that was written down in the X-Files in the actual in-universe FBI.

In fact, she seemed to spend much of the episode recapping some of the past stories from the show, which was kind of hilarious. And she was really bad at being an FBI agent, which I think might have been more hilarious if it hadn't come off so sexist. It seems that much of her portrayal and Doggett's treatment of her was based on really tired stereotypes and clichés, which was unfortunate, because she was otherwise entertaining.

The story in the episode, especially the way Mulder was able to piece together the evidence that Scully had so helpfully provided to Doggett at the beginning, was somewhat interesting. (Also, I am both disturbed and amused that Seinfeld managed to so thoroughly alter the language that the word 'regifted' appeared in this show, too.) Really, though, primarily from an investigation standpoint as opposed to what they were investigating. That was kind of boring.

Again, it was made uninteresting not by the shaky science but by the weak resolution to the case. I mean, once they killed the guy, there wasn't really a whole lot else to do, was there? We got the vague 'scientific research' explanation in the middle, but they didn't do enough to develop the mad scientist to the point where I cared.

However, it was definitely amusing watching Mulder claim to be Kersh. Never mind the fact that impersonating a federal law enforcement agent is a very serious crime - that never really gets prosecuted on TV anyway, does it? - that was awesome. Mulder just does not give a shit any more and knows exactly who the enemy is.

I also believe it would be kind of funny if they played all of Scully's maternity leave like this. She's off, resting at home, spending time with her baby, and Mulder, having heard about some case the FBI is incompetently investigating without them (because let's face it, Doggett may not be explicitly incompetent, but his unwillingness to accept the existence of paranormal activity makes him poorly suited to the X-Files) calls her up and asks for help with an autopsy or something. Wait! Better yet, Mulder performs the autopsy and has Scully walk him through it over the phone.

Though I suspect they're just going to have her give birth at the end of this season and take her maternity leave over the 'summer' between seasons eight and nine.

Another thing I did enjoy in 'Alone' was all the callbacks to pas episodes. Not just from Agent Harrison (was she even an agent?) but even the scene in the beginning when Scully cleaned out Mulder's desk. Again, this is the kind of thing I might expect from a series finale. But still, it was great to see the drawer full of random X-Files artifacts. The coins from 'Dreamland' that neither Mulder nor Scully would be able to remember the origin of; Queequeg's tag, I guess recovered in 'Quagmire'; and of course the Apollo 11 commemorative medallion from 'Tempus Fugit'/'Max'.

I'm starting to feel a bit nostalgic for the old episodes, myself, just writing that.

And because it can't be reiterated enough, the final scene was fantastic. I will never get tired of watching Mulder and Scully laugh with each other and flirt and engage in their classic banter. That was one of the most perfect Mulder/Scully scenes in the whole series.