"I'm fine. I'm free."

Thank God I gave up on the mytharc making any sense anymore. 
It allowed me to enjoy a pretty damn good dramatic outing on 
"The X-Files." Mulder finally has "Closure" and we are all 
finally free of the specter of Samantha over this show. In a 
series that so often dwells on lack of conclusion, frustration 
and pain, it was nice to see a bittersweet and freeing end to 
the issue that started it all so many years ago that rainy 
night in an Oregon motel room - Mulder's quest for the truth 
about his sister.

I believe "Closure" to be some of David Duchovny's very best 
work on the series. (Let alone the fact he managed to get 
through yet another of Chris Carter's trademark purple and 
ponderous voiceovers when all of a sudden Mulder waxes eloquent 
about God with minimal scarring.) He was absolutely wonderful 
in the end as I actually saw all those years of pain being 
lifted off of him as Samantha ran towards him. It was a truly 
beautiful moment for the show and for the actor. I also liked 
the honesty in the first moments when Mulder admits to Scully 
that he had hoped to find Samantha dead to end his search. As 
usual, Duchovny and Anderson shine together. Whether sharing 
an emotional argument over Samantha's fate in the hotel room 
or quietly reading her journal in a diner their connection 
crackles with intensity. While the diner scene is the easier 
to latch onto, I think I liked the honesty the actors brought 
to their argument even more. The frustration of Mulder's many 
years and Scully's seven of dealing with this issue came 
across as raw and powerful without ever losing the obvious 
affection between the characters. I'll certainly miss these 
types of moments when these actors finally go their separate 
ways.

Given that, I can still do without the divide and conquer 
snippiness we often get in mytharc outings. Scully is off to 
D.C., but her "I'm going back to Washington" exit certainly 
could have had more compassion. Similarly Mulder does his 
usual "so what" when Scully, still digging and trying to find 
the answers to help him, calls him with her findings even 
though he must later tell her "it turns out you were right." 
I do find it interesting in these last couple of years of the 
mytharc that it is Scully who is coming up with most of the 
hard connections - her discovery of the CGB Spender evidence 
last year and the hospital records that were looking for her 
here as an example. It gives Gillian Anderson a little more 
to do during the Mulder focused mytharc and helps to underscore 
Scully's commitment to helping her friend find the peace he 
seeks. I thought Scully's offer to talk to the nurse for him 
was a nice choice by the writers in highlighting this.

The special effects in this episode must be singled out for 
capturing beautifully the mood, moment, and emotion. The 
ethereal children lit in smoky blue light shimmering in the 
dark while Mark Snow struck just the right musical notes 
gave hope in the tragedy of murdered children. Kudos to Kim 
Manners and Bill Roe for pulling that off so wonderfully. 
From the supporting actors, Anthony Heald as Harold Pillar 
brought an edge to the role that justified both Mulder and 
Scully's reactions to his character - not an easy task. His 
last moment as a man who refuses to accept the fate of his 
son was especially well done. I also really liked Patience 
Cleveland as the elderly ER nurse with the amazing memory. 
She did a great job of selling her story to even the most 
skeptical. She even made us believe that CancerMan was the 
only man who smoked in 1979.

Writers Carter and Spotnitz of course took a few shortcuts 
to get to their dramatic moments. Finally, Mulder projecting 
on a case works even though the whole "Santa Claus" thing had 
nothing really to do with it. And we never really figure out 
the walk-ins - I take it they, in effect, kill the children 
by turning them into that starlight energy before the visions 
come true thus allowing them to play glow in the dark skip 
rope without having to actually go through the pain of death. 
Why they make the innocent parents write incriminating notes 
so they can face incarceration however escapes me (or perhaps 
that was just a cool plot device thing to do in "Sein Und 
Zeit"). Whatever the answer, it was pretty hokey no matter 
how well it was executed.

What writers Carter and Spotnitz don't address is why we should 
actually believe them this time. What makes this different? How 
do we know they aren't just going to turn around and tell us 
down the road that the evidence was planted and that Mulder's 
visions were those of a desperate and grieving mind that wants 
badly to believe? There was no real physical evidence, and 
certainly no body. No direct proof it really was Samantha. 
I'm sure a lot of fans who don't believe as Frank "the mytharc 
makes sense if you study it like I do which of course means 
forgetting little things like how long Scully was missing any 
anything else inconvenient" Spotnitz does are going to feel 
ripped off by "Closure". It's too bad, because getting angry 
over all the indications that Samantha was alive throughout 
the years would probably seriously impact your ability to enjoy 
this episode. You know, those little indicators like the Bounty 
Hunter telling him and leaving him for dead, Cassandra Spender 
telling him, Bill Mulder coming all the way back from the dead 
to say so in "Blessing Way", the thrill of seeing the recent 
tissue sample in "Paperclip" back when you thought paying 
attention would pay off, all the CancerMan talk (which is 
written off by his claims of "kindness" and not needing to 
protect anything anymore - whatever), and the list goes on. 
Plus, it seems pretty foolish to me for the Consortium to have 
allowed Mulder to believe when all it did was cause them grief 
all those years when they could have nipped his "quest" in the 
bud so easily. So, mytharc people, I feel your pain, that is 
unless you've found a way to justify everything and then I say 
God bless you and I'm happy for you. The problem Chris Carter 
and Frank Spotnitz have in all this is after years of misdirection 
and lies they've left the audience with no reason to trust them 
that this time they really really - cross their hearts hope to 
die - are telling the truth about Samantha. They cried wolf one 
too many times. The audience deserves closure "just like anyone" 
as well.

Random Musings
-----------------------

-The tag line was changed this episode: "BELIEVE TO UNDERSTAND" 
though what exactly that means is open to interpretation. Could 
be Carter helping to plug his pal Cher's hit "Believe" in the 
Grammys for all we know.

-Oopsie for the props gang: Samantha's missing person's report 
lists her age as 14, instead of 8.

-If Mulder's Mom knew all along about April Air Force Base and 
what happened to Samantha, then let me just say here and now: 
good riddance.

-I'm unsure what, if anything, this episode was trying to say 
about the alien abduction angle. We still know Samantha was 
"abducted" though by whom is never said. Are we to believe the 
aliens gave her back to CGB, or was that whole Scully and the 
older agent watching the tape scene thrown in there just to 
show Mulder could have imagined the alien abduction angle? And 
if that's the case, is it just bizarre coincidence that his 
search for his sister got him mixed up in aliens anyway? 

-Scully drags out that look we all know in the "you're a 
police psychic" line, but what is even more amusing is how 
Gillian Anderson manages to make that skeptical Scully face 
with her eyes closed in the séance sequence.

-I thought it was a cool idea that as Mulder is led away during 
the séance, Scully never feels his hand leave - her hand still 
grasping air as if it were Mulder's hand.

-Subtext Moment: When Mulder and Piller first find the house on 
April Base where Samantha was held it is on "Albatross" street, 
reminding one of Samuel Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient 
Mariner" from which we get the phrase "albatross around one's 
neck."  Samantha has long been Mulder's heavy burden of guilt.

-Frank's Fashion Spot: The good news is Scully's hair actually 
moved this episode! (I guess they finally decided that perhaps 
half a tube of gel was sufficient instead of the whole thing.) 
Plus, while she still unbuttoned that blue untucked blouse 
almost to her navel in one scene, we did get to see her in that 
new lovely light blue turtleneck. And the black leather jacket 
looked great when it wasn't buttoned up to show it was a little 
too small. Baby steps, fashion friends, baby steps.

-While I'm on hair, I bet Mulder wishes he had stuck to audio 
regression tapes if this is the result. It's almost as bad as 
that wig they slapped on Gillian for her "Christmas Carol" 
flashback scene. I guess both Mulder and Scully were having 
hair issues around that time.

-I was actually quite surprised to see that video since we'd 
never known of its existence in all the Samantha brouhaha 
throughout the years. Apparently both a video and audio record 
were taken. 

-Subtext Moment Part Two: The hospital where Samantha was taken 
is named after St. Dominic Savio the patron saint of youth and 
of the falsely accused, both of which feature prominently in 
this two parter.

-In all the years of the X-Files Scully has always worn minimal 
jewelry - her cross, of course, the "Squeeze" plot device 
necklace, small earrings - which is why it surprised me 
considerably to see a large ring on her right hand when she 
answered the phone at her apartment. 

-Speaking of her apartment, a moment of silence please for the 
blue striped couch. My favorite piece of Scully furniture seems 
to have been replaced. 

-I find it amusing that so many people break into Scully's 
apartment that she's not even surprised anymore when someone 
makes their presence known. I guess she knows she's not the 
only one handy with a lock pick.

-Old CancerMan is not quite as quick at recovering from surgery 
as Mulder is under the expert attention of his personal doctor. 
I see we are also leaving whether or not CGBS can read minds up 
in the air as well, but if I were to venture a guess it looks 
like the experiment was not the success he might have wished. 

-Subtext Moment Part Three: This one is too over the top obvious 
for my tastes but the "Planet of the Apes" video segment about 
"you may not like what you find" was obviously thrown in for 
effect.

-My favorite "yeah right" line was when CancerMan tells Scully 
he let Mulder believe "out of kindness". That "Redux 2" here's 
your sister but she wants nothing to do with you was especially 
kind.

-Jeffrey? Ugh. Now he was tested on too? Or he just hung out 
with Samantha and got the ever popular air force base mind wipe 
to forget the whole thing?

-I really liked the idea of both the father and his son taking 
turns leading Mulder to the truth. That had a simple beauty to 
it. As did that moment when Amber Lynne's walk-in self smiled 
up at Mulder. What a cutie they found in that little actress.

-Speaking of, they did an especially nice job in casting Samantha 
Mulder. It was a simple, but extremely pivotal part. She looked 
like Samantha at 14 and did a great job in a role that had no 
lines.

Autumn
"Oh yea, a séance. I haven't done that since high school."