This episode co-written (with Frank Spotnitz, and help from Chris Carter) and directed by Gillian Anderson had me wishing I'd paid better attention in Comparative Religion class, with its references to Buddhism. (What I remember about Buddhism would fit in a thimble.) Anderson delved into Scully's past and present, and tantalized us with clues to her future. She, also, gave a new perspective on the age-old question of how much of our lives are fate and how much can we choose? Are we fated to do "this?" Or, could we have chosen something else that would have led us elsewhere?Those are very intriguing questions. We humans just love, "What ifs?" We have a tendency to believe the grass is always greener over there: it's always better somewhere I'm not right now. The conversation Mulder and Scully have at the end is interesting in that respect. Did all events in their separate lives lead them to being partners... to that very moment?
Did ya catch all the objects in motion? The slides, the pencil, the blind pull, the turn signal... All were in motion. I think that was a theme for this, especially given the lines Mulder and Scully exchange at the beginning (see above) and their conversation at the end:
Scully: "I once considered spending my whole life with this man. What I would've missed..."
Mulder: "I don't think you can know. I mean, how many different lives would we be leading if we made different choices? We, we don't know..."
Scully: "What if there was only one choice? All the other ones were wrong... and there were signs along the way to pay attention to?"
Mulder: "Then all the choices would lead to this very moment. One wrong turn and...we wouldn't be sitting here together. Wow... that says a lot... says a lot, a lot, a lot. Which is more than we should be getting into at this late hour."Scully is feeling this strong urge to slow down and she's hearing from all sides she needs to slow down. But, she and Mulder share one characteristic: the need to keep moving. She's trying to fight being in motion. Mulder doesn't see the need to fight it. At the beginning the beating objects, e.g. the pencil, had a fast beat. However, as the episode progresses, this beat slows. She slows down, in fact, and listens to herself. She sees Daniel again, quite by fate, and begins wondering if she should've stopped a long time ago and settled down with him. However, she soon understands that she has been moving forward and she is a different person than she was when she was with Daniel. She cannot live in the past. She can only live in the present. She decides she actually likes her life now and wouldn't want to miss out on all she's done for the last ten years. She slows down some, but she's still moving forward. She can't fight it.
I've read many interpretations and theories of the "ponytail girl in the baseball cap." Who was she? What does she represent? My thinking on that subject is that she represented Scully's present. Scully kept trying to catch up to her, but she couldn't. She couldn't until she dealt with her past. Scully has been avoiding her past so much, she hasn't been able to really deal with any issues in her present. The "ponytail girl" even led her into the Buddhist temple, to finally confront her past. She has had so much happen to her and, as we learned in this episode, not just since joining Mulder. She had a lot of baggage coming into her relationship with Mulder. When she did catch her present, and she let go of her past, she found Mulder. Then, they went home to Mulder's and discussed the past, present, and future.
Okay, Okay.... That leads us to the thus far unmentioned teaser/opening scene and end scene. I know... I am still very undecided as to what really happened. Did they... y'know? Let me preface my current thoughts on the subject by saying I am a shipper (an end-shipper). Okay, with that said, I'll share my humble opinion: I do not think they... Y'KNOW (at least at this time... I reserve the right to change my mind!). I think Scully spent the night on the couch then was freshening up a bit. I'm hoping they wouldn't leave such a monumental moment to our imaginations. Or perhaps those twisted screenwriters would... I was quite pleased with their conversation over tea on Mulder's couch. It was a most intriguing topic and I liked the direction in which it was going. But, the icing on the cake was the way Mulder tucked her in when she fell asleep. Okay, all together now: AAAWWW!!!
Postscript (5/22/00): Okay...I'm changing my mind. (I said I reserve that right, didn't I?) I think THIS is when Scully's baby was conceived. Chris Carter made a statement during an interview/speech at UC-Santa Barbara that the finale would address the teaser in "all things." After all, he did write those scenes as well as "Requiem." This is so amazing! Go Chris Go!
Pictures from Nynaeve's Temple of X
Right
by Susan Frankovich
~~~~~~She came to me.
From out of nowhere, she came to me.
And when I turned around and saw the look in her eyes, I knew she was right where
she wanted to be.And so was I.
We exchanged a few words, then she put her
hand on my back and she guided me right
where she wanted us to be.Home.
When we got there, she made us tea and
together we sat on the couch, both of us
resting our feet on the coffee table.
I listened quietly, intently as she let me
see inside her heart.And it was comfortable.
And it was right.
She talked to me.
She told me of things I never knew and of
things I always knew.And it was comfortable.
And it was right.
And together we came home.And it was comfortable.
And it was right.
I began to speak to her of my own revelations, but when I turned to look at her, she was asleep.
And she was beautiful.
And she was with me.
I gently tucked a few strands of her hair
behind her ear, then carefully covered her
with a blanket, wrapping it around her
body... and her heart.She came to me.
From out of nowhere, she came to me.
~end~
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