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How the Ghosts Stole Christmas |
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Monday |
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Biogenesis |
Not much here, considering that Mulder wasn't in this episode, but at least Scully jumped on a cross-country flight at the sound of Mulder's voice...something we already knew she would do.
I love it! Last week Scully cried in front of Mulder. This week, they laughed and smiled together and flirted like junior high schoolers with crushes on each other. I love that Mulder and Scully express their emotions to each other more now, and I didn't mind the "hips before hands" scene either!
We have yet another moment that can be summed up with a song by Sarah McLachlan: "Ice Cream" (Your love is better than ice cream...)! Or, should we say, "Fat-Free Tofutti Rice Dreamsicle"? Mulder literally tackles Scully to get to her ice cream (or maybe just as an excuse to touch her). Gillian Anderson has the most wonderful laugh I've ever heard, and I wish she had more opportunities to laugh on TXF. I thought this was the cutest moment ever until...
Hips before hands. Hips before hands. My new mantra. I feel the same way about baseball as Scully, but I would have become just as happy with batting practice as she was if I were enveloped by Mulder. I've said this before, but Mulder and Scully can make anything erotic. During batting practice, Mulder never let go of Scully except when he tried to put his hands over hers on the bat. Both of them were aware of nothing but their bodies against each other. Their smiles were worth more than anything.
I love Mulder because he arranged a night of batting practice for Scully's birthday just so he could be with her--hold her. I bet he and Scully stayed at the park for hours in the same position, not saying a word, content in their embrace.
Welcome to Laura eating crow. After my bitching last week about the show's losing its touch, the writers' losing the truth of the relationship, and the need for a hug, The X-Files> gracefully presents me with everything I asked for and more in what is possibly the best episode ever. Milagro is dark, compelling, and eerie. It is frightening and sensual and leaves a hollowness at the pit of your chest. It poses questions about the relationship, using the physical human heart as a visceral metaphor for the heart that craves love.
A physical relationship versus one based on spirit and emotion is a choice Scully is unwillingly faced with. Padgett plays to Scully's inner longing to feel beautiful, sexy, and desired. We have to admit that her relationship with Mulder doesn't exactly fulfill in this area. Padgett accuses Scully of loneliness, and her reply is that "lonelieness is a choice". A minute later, she takes it back: "I'm not lonely. In fact, anything but." Even under Padgett's spell, she remembers Mulder. She doesn't have a physical relationship with Mulder, but he keeps her from being lonely, giving her heart the love it needs.
A lot of 'shippers rejoiced when Padgett said, "Scully can't fall in love. She's already in love." I thought this was meant to imply that Philip had tuned into Mulder and Scully's closeness. I was disappointed, since in this sense, the statement would be too obvious and completely irrelevant. Looking back, I think Padgett was simply pushing Mulder and Scully's buttons. When he said, "Scully can't fall in love," he paused, as if he were implying that Scully was frigid, incapable of loving. "She's already in love", said by Padgett, meant that in his novel, Scully was in love with him. The remark was a subtle threat, reminding Mulder and Scully that she was in his power, since whatever he wrote came true.
Milagro is proof of how far the relationship has come. Now, Mulder and Scully routinely go over evidence sitting side by side on his couch. Scully has no qualms about hanging on to Mulder's wrist when she's terrified.
At ro the end, the hug...oh goddess, I could write volumes about that. Mulder and Scully fall into each other, almost horizontal on the floor. Scully clings to Mulder like she will never let go, struggling to keep her hands tight on his back. She opens her heart to him and sobs desperately like she has so few times. This is the hug I have waited for, the one we have waited six years for. In the perfect, tragic ending, as Mulder and Scully touch each other's hearts, the tortured writer, devoid of love, dies with his empty heart in his hand. What a perfect story.
#6009176-B in the catalogue of Cute Flirty Moments of Season Six:
Scully: Spontaneous human combustion.
Mulder: Scully. . .
Scully: Well, isn't that where you were going with this?
Mulder: Dear Diary, today my heart leapt when Agent Scully suggested spontaneous human combustion.
Scully: Mulder, there are one or two somewhat well-documented cases.
Mulder: (nods)
Scully: Mulder, shut up.
Chris thinks he's appeasing the growing audience of shippers by adding more UST. Thanks Chris, we appreciate it. Unfortunately, it seems he's forgotten why shippers hold their beliefs: Mulder and Scully are in love. The sixth season is concentrating on the superficial side of the relationship, forgetting that there's a deep basis for said 'ship. It's nice that the level of physical attraction and open flirting has gone up over the last season, but when was the last time Mulder and Scully had a good, long hug? That's what I want to see.
This episode was about territorialism, but the most important aspect had nothing to do with canines. I'm talking about Scully jealousy here. When she learned that Karen, the dog expert, and Mulder knew each other, she responded with a chilly, "You two are chummy?" Later, Scully found out that Karen and Mulder were online friends, she grew more miffed, and became outright catty at the incident of Mulder guiding Karen's hand on the mouse. Like a suspicious dog, Scully confronted Karen about her motives with not-so-veiled threats. Scully also tried to convince Mulder (who seemed a little too amused for my liking) that Karen was "enamored of him" and made up the case as a pretext to meet him.
Can we say jealous?
Season six has been rife with Scully jealousy: Diana Fowley in The Beginning, the little secretary in Dreamland (even though it wasn't really Mulder, she didn't know that at the time), Sheila in Rain King, Fowley again in Two Fathers/One Son, and now Karen the canine expert. It is extremely evident that Scully does not want anyone infringing on her territory, and the show's producers are making it increasingly clear that she, at least, wants more out of her relationship with Mulder. From his saying "I love you" in Triangle and all the many flirtations on his part, it's obvious that he feels the same way. Don't deny it, Chris, you're leading us up to something!
Mulder was really getting into the charade! He touched Scully at every opportunity; in fact, he spent most of the episode with his arm draped across her shoulders. Once, he was clutching her so tightly it's doubtful that she could breathe. Mulder seemed to be taking advantage of being "married" and getting close to Scully whenever he could.
Mulder also made all kinds of references to their "marriage" when he was alone with Scully. He tried to get her into bed,
Mulder: (on bed) Come on, Laura, we're married now.
Scully: Scully, Mulder. Good night.
Mulder: The thrill is gone.
makes a lot of suggestive comments,
Scully: You ready?
Mulder: Let's get it on, honey.
Scully: All right, then. (snaps on the latex)
Mulder: Want to make that honeymoon video now?
wants to carry her across the threshold, and is sincere when he calls her honey.
Scully wasn't into it at first, but she was happy enough to play along eventually. Think of Miss Kensington in Austin Powers.
"We just spooned up and went to sleep like little baby cats"... hee hee.
Skinner is a shipper! After all, he was the one who assigned Mulder and Scully to pose as husband and wife. Matchmaker, matchmaker!
Aaaaahhhhhh! Brace yourselves: it's the return of the evil MulderBabes!!! Diana Fowley is evil, evil, EVIL!!!! Not only that, she is a disgusting you-know-what! Let's join together in clunking Mulder on the head--maybe he'll finally realize that his "chickadee" is a nefarious schemer.
I love Scully when she is angry, and she was steamed at Diana in this episode:
Scully: Mulder, this stinks, and not because I think that woman is a. . .well, I think you know what I think that woman is.
Mulder: No, actually, you hide your feelings very well.
Scully is so incensed that she did a background check on Diana and, on finding that she has a part in the conspiracy, urged Mulder to think twice about trusting her. Mulder didn't want to admit that Scully is right, but he still went to her hotel room to search for evidence, all because of what Scully said. Mulder doesn't want to think his former lover (yuck) could be guilty of the worst crimes, but he's smart enough and trusts Scully enough to know that her suspicions are valid. While in Diana's hotel room, she catches him there and (ugh) kisses him. Fortunately, we can take heart that her kiss was cold and repulsive and Mulder wasn't into it.
I thought it was ironic that Mulder and Scully's decontamination shower was brought about by Diana Fowley. The partition between them was quite scarce, so our agents probably got an eyeful when they thought the other wasn't looking ;-)
Lastly, I know we all felt an evil, vindicative thrill when we saw Marita Covarrubias looking pale, sick, and basically like a corpse. Diana, take note: all evil MulderBabes shall come to grief in the end.
Mulder and Scully flirting in public?? Next they'll be giving each other hickeys in the back of a movie theatre ;-) Seriously, the UST in the basketball scene was off the chart. Scully got to admire Mulder's sweaty body and basketball skills, and Mulder didn't seem to mind at all leaving the game to talk to her -- and ask her if she wanted to go "one-on-one".
The DAL wasn't too apparent in this episode, since nobody's life was threatened, but it wasn't completely invisible. When Scully was asking Mulder to talk to Cassandra Spender, she said, "What if what she tells us might expose who did this to me?" Not another word is needed for Mulder to interrogate Cassandra -- finding out who abducted his Scully is enough of a prompt.
On another note, did anyone else notice that Scully spent an awful lot of time in Mulder's apartment? Wonder what they were doing in there...
Mulder and Scully have taken the art of handholding where it has never gone before. You can't even call it hand-holding because their hands caressed each other, more than making up for Mulder and Scully's silence.
Scully has done a 360 from her attitude in the first season. When she is given a new partner and a chance to redeem herself to her superiors, she acts in a manner similar to Mulder's, bucking authority and disobeying orders to pursue an X-File. She doesn't exactly take kindly to her new partner, Agent Ritter, either.
Ritter: "You muck up my case, and Kersh'll hear about it. Are we clear on that, Dana?"
Scully: "Scully. And we're done with this conversation."
(You were a little worried about him in the beginning though, weren't you, shippers? Admit it.)
Scully never used to concede to Mulder that a case had anything to do with the paranormal, spouting rationalism in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary. But in <i>Tithonus</i>, she admits fairly early that her case is, in fact, an X-File.
Well, we can't expect much UST from a Skinner episode. Mulder and Scully were apart most of the time and too busy saving Skinner's life to do any bonding except for a few conversations with the level of chemistry that's become expected.
There's a veritable relationshipper bonanza here. First of all, Mulder and Scully were mistaken for a couple on three different occasions. (My favorite was when the TV station people greeted them as the farm couple that won a romantic getaway).
Mulder and Scully were both confronted and forced to 'fess up about their relationship. Mulder gets quite defensive (not trying to hide anything, are you?) and Scully makes a confession of love for Mulder in the folowing conversations.
Scully and Sheila had girl talk in the ladies' room:
Sheila: You love him, don't you?
Scully: What?
Sheila: You're jealous Agent Mulder and I have a special connection, and you're trying to divert me to Holman.
Scully: What?!
The conversation broke off here and resumed later, implying that there was a portion of it that we missed as the scene changed to Daryl and Mulder:
Holman: You spend every day with Agent Scully, a beautiful, enchanting woman. You two have never--? I confess I find that shocking. I've seen how you two gaze at one another.
Mulder: This is about you, Holman. I'm here to help you. I'm perfectly happy with my friendship with Agent Scully.
Mulder: I do not gaze at Scully.
Yeah, right, Mulder! Are you sure you're not a little defensive?
Apparently, Sheila quizzed Scully on her and Mulder's relationship in much the same way that Mulder was quizzed by Holman. Scully's pause and wistful expression after Sheila asked, "Not even a kiss?" made me think of a certain scene in a certain hallway, the same thoughts I'm sure Scully had.
Sheila: Not even a kiss?
Scully: (shakes her head)
The tiny, dreamy smile on Scully's face showed that she was speaking from personal experience. She admitted for the first time that she sees Mulder as more than a partner and a friend--something we shippers have known for a long time, but it's nice to finally hear the words out loud.
Well, it seems to me that the best relationships, the ones that last, are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before, like a switch has been flicked somewhere, and the person who was just a friend, is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.
There was a cute moment after the Shelia and Holman got together when Holman said to Mulder, "You should try it sometime."
One must wonder where in Scully's room Mulder had to sleep.
I loved the GTM when Scully ran her hands through Mulder's hair.
Although there was no overt relationship content in this one, there was a tidbit near the end when Wayne said, "I only want what everyone else does." He meant a wife and children; in other words, the normal life that Mulder and Scully discussed in the Dreamland episodes. That line hinted that perhaps a life together with children is what Mulder and Scully want. You have to wonder what went through their heads or if they made significant eye contact then.
For starters, we can always hope for more scenes in Mulder's bedroom!
The conversation that happens after Scully tells Mulder there is no way to reverse the change is another scene that's romantically charged for no particular reason. Their eyes make Scully's technical jargon more romantic than a thousand "I love you"s. This was possibly the saddest scene ever.
Oh yeah . . . Scully mentioned that Morris confessed to Kersh more than she confessed to her priest. Now what do you suppose she could be confessing for? ;-)
There was a nice phone conversation at the end, when Mulder just thanks Scully for coming with him. A phone call that's not totally related to work?? Pretty soon they'll be having phone conversations that last for hours. :-)
The teaser has the best eyeball UST I have ever seen. Watch how Mulder and Scully can't keep their eyes off each other--while Mulder is driving, no less! Their eyes were saying volumes more than their words.
The conversation in the car showed how dedicated Scully is to Mulder. She could have a fairly normal life, but she goes along with Mulder despite everything her science and the FBI tells her because she believes in him. Scully will always be in the car with him, following another lead, no matter what she says.
Mulder said Scully's name in his sleep with a porn flick playing in the background. You have to wonder what he was dreaming about.
Mulder must not be able to drag his eyes away from Scully. He named the exact lunch she had been eating, yogurt with bee pollen.
It was interesting that Morris' wife could tell how much her "husband" cared for Scully. Mulder's arm around Scully's shoulder was enough to make her throw his belongings onto the doorstep. Even when Mulder is in Morris's body, it shows how compatible he and Scully are.
"In case we never see each other again..." (you know what happens here)
"Hey Scully. . . I love you."
Is there anything else left to say?
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Okay... has Vince Gilligan been brainwashed by aliens? This episode had very little of his usual comic, sensitive touch. The only Mulder/Scully shippy interaction was the usual phone UST and concern for Mulder on Scully's part. Scully also jumped to defend him an awful lot of times in this episode. Even though she doesn't believe in all his theories, she trusts him. Mulder and Scully's new boss, A.D. Kersh, is another to add to the list of observant folks who see the attraction.
Now to the important stuff... THE PREVIEW!!!! It's unmistakable that there will be a Mulder/Scully kiss next week. There have been rumors that the entire episode is Mulder's dream, and that Scully is actually a 1939 Scully lookalike, but still!!! Don't forget to set your VCRs for this one!
Not bad, considering the handhold and all, but when you compare its relationshippy content to that of last year's Redux and Redux II, it seems... less. Still, Scully repeated parts of the hallway conversation to Mulder and held his hand. Even though Mulder harshly told her that her science was wrong, he didn't sound very happy to be saying it. He can't agree with her beliefs, but he still loves her.
The other noteworthy conversation took place in Mulder's office, when Scully asked Mulder to trust her. "It's a matter of trust. It always has been." Insert Paula Graves' "love" whenever you hear "trust", since that's what we know the agents really mean, and it works perfectly!
On another note, there was zilch chemistry between Mulder and Diana Fowley, so I don't think we have to worry about that front. Mulder mentioned that Diana had stabbed him in the back, so I don't think those two will be hooking up anytime. Still, through the whole scene in the nuclear power plant, the thought kept running through my mind that Mulder should be with Scully, not Diana.
Oh... did anyone else want to hit Mulder when he ditched Scully for the zillionth time?
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