Oh, what more could I ask for: an alien/conspiracy episode, tons of 
Scullyangst, the amazing stunt-boy action-Mulder, and in-jokes 
galore.A wonderful holiday X-Files treat. Now if they really do 
give us "Beyond the Sea" as a Christmas present it will be a 
successful X-Mas season. 

The Mulder/Scully opener was sublime with the interplay that we 
love from the "That's not your usual brand of entertainment" to 
the cracksat FOX's much repeated (but for the final time tomorrow... 
really.. yeah right) "Alien Autopsy". But the really funny part 
is that, despitethe jokes, we learn Scully watched it (don't tell 
me the X-Files hasn't got to her ). 

Finally, we are getting a real glimpse into what really happened 
to Scully during her abduction, and as we suspected it isn't pretty. 
For a change, we get more answers than questions. Once again 
Gillian Anderson doesn't disappoint. We see Dana Scully trying 
her best to remain professional as things began to crumble around 
her. She is unable to find her badge under the initial scrutiny of 
the women, and you can see how "freaked out" she becomes as 
her little MUFON investigation quickly turns into what someone else 
has cleverly dubbed the "little surprise tupperware party from hell". 
Despite the overly supportive group Scully retreats repeatedly. She 
shows us a reaction to her regression hypnosis experience, and 
continually scampers back into denial when faced with the truth. 
She is finally holding on to the only strength she has left by latching 
on to her job at the end only to be faced with further horror when 
she asks what has happened to the woman she initially came to 
visit. The Scully snap potential is now very high. When faced with 
the "we're all dying because of what they do to us" reference I 
remembered Clyde Bruckman's "you don't" and hoped for the best 
(after all she has only been taken once as they pointed out). 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the amazing action-stunt-Mulder 
has found a solution to his gun losing ways in a hilarious aside 
(while also learning a little about the receiving end of martial 
arts and I'm sure some new really nasty Japanese swear words). 
Skinner, that "beacon in the night" proves to be oddly supportive 
yet not supportive yet ambivalent (that little line walker) about 
Mulder & Scully's .. uh.. "video piracy" investigation. Mulder 
makes a leap (mentally this time) that I didn't follow to find 
the ship and later UFO, and manages to once again avoid those 
super-trained black ops who actually must be kinda stupid or 
Mulder is really really sneaky. 

Now, all you folks who were so super critical of Scully after last 
week's episode I want you to remember that when our pair do reunite 
and Scully REALLY wants to talk to Mulder about her experience - 
when she needs a friend because she is afraid of dying  - Mulder is 
rather flip, distracted, and kinda blows her off. I'm sure she found 
him telling her not to be "freaked out" very comforting. At least 
during this scene I am vindicated in that we learn *yes* Mulder & 
Scully DO talk offscreen and tell each other what has happened to 
them. (I have a suspicion that they eat when we aren't looking too). 

This same scene does give us another nice glimpse into the Mulder/
Scully dynamic with the "after all you've seen..." "I need more than 
you. I need proof" discussion. As an example of Scully's growth we 
see her ask in her next scene "So you're saying this is man made?" 
somewhat surprised and being chided with "what else would it be?"

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

-Once again it is apparent that EVERYONE calls him Fox but Scully - 
and he doesn't flinch when the senator does it.

-What was that outfit that Frohike was wearing? The vest REALLY 
scared me.

-I think we have a new guy to hate. I'm not sure who he is, but I 
like to think of him as "Crewcut Man Wannabe". I'm not sure why he 
kills the guy in the train station towards the end - any guesses?

-I think this is the third time Mulder or Scully has pulled their 
gun on their boss. Jeez, I'd just like to flip mine off and get 
away with it..

-Scully watches the autopsy tape the same way I watch the X-files: 
stop. rew. play. stop. slow. rew. play. etc. 
I love the way she answers thephone after this scene - so rattled 
she says "Scully" as if she's not sure.

-Does the fact that all the MUFON support group was women mean 
anything? Though I find the "Scully's alien child" theories 
foolish, I have never discounted that they may be choosing women 
to harvest eggs.

Autumn
"Let it go"