The X-Files: all things

An old flame of Scully's is in hospital and her efforts to aid in his recovery lead to the discovery of a few new things about herself.

This episode is very much a case of love it or loathe it. All credit to Gillian Anderson for trying something that bit different with the show (she wrote and directed this one), but I don't think it comes off at all.

As you might expect, this is a Scully solo story (although how much time Gillian can spend behind a camera if she's in front of it is unclear). These tales have often been of a religious nature in the past, and this one is no exception. However, like many of the worse X-Files stories, this one explains very little as to what is going on and leaves you wanting Gillian to pop round and give you some pointers. Scully gets a vision and finds a holistic healer, but it's not clear what overall function they serve.

There are simply too many weird elements thrown in and they just don't form a coherent plot. There's Scully's vision, her being told she needs to slow down and examine her life, a blonde woman who she keeps chasing after and moments when time starts to slow down, although whether this is something Scully is noticing or whether it is an artistic thing remains unclear.

There's also no closure to the episode. After everything that happens, we don't get much information about Scully's prior relationship with the doctor in hospital and she doesn't seem to reach any understanding with him or the woman we are led to believe is his wife. It's as if Anderson is happy to have all the information in her head, but doesn't want to tell the rest of us. Yes, the whole episode looks pretty good, and the recurring use of music is effective, but it could be much better put together.

**

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