"Are we going to be able to talk to somebody who can tell us 
what this is all about?"

So, everyone feel fully disclosed now? Right. Thought so. I 
don't even know how you folks that still try to make it all 
make sense do it, but God bless you. Me, I know I should try, 
really try, to understand exactly why everyone wants 
Cassandra alternately dead and alive or why the faceless 
guys with the fire fetish do anything or if colonization is 
now imminent or not, but it'll just make me crazy. Suffice 
to say Carter and Spotnitz have written another mythology 
episode that "streamlines" by killing off characters complete 
with a whole bunch of confusing alien/consortium infighting. 
The net result is that Mulder and Scully have the X-Files 
back and we still don't really have a clue about Samantha 
except this week she appears to be Bill Mulder's kid again. 
That's what I got out of it. It's a cruel irony now that I 
would rather watch a monster of the week episode over 
mythology that the very existence of these other cases 
seems ludicrous and trivial when you're talking about 
wiping everyone off the planet.

I don't know whether to blame the writers, the director, the 
editor, or a combination there of, but this episode was all 
over the place. Completely lacking in transitions. Actually 
breaking down more as the episode progressed. When tension 
should have been mounting I just felt like they'd run out of 
time to tell the story so they were haphazardly presenting 
the final pieces which should have been shocking but weren't. 
Mulder and Scully are together in quarantine. Suddenly Mulder 
is off by himself chasing Marita and Scully is at the Lone 
Gunmen office. Or she's just gotten info and is tracking 
down a train car. Krycek is doing who knows what. Everyone 
is at Diana's apartment. It just seemed scattered.

You know what? By the third time we got to see someone paw 
the face off of that Bea Arthur wannabe nurse we were over 
it. And suddenly the faceless guys can morph in the end 
instead of having to have the fake face clawed off? And 
Cassandra apparently wasn't killed even though Spudner says 
she was because she was off to the side during the Smoldering 
of the Syndicate? CancerMan and Fowley conveniently run away 
and everyone else stupidly just lets themselves get surrounded 
like sheep? OK.

I try to like Mulder. I really really do. Did I mention I 
liked him in the movie? But for crying out loud why does 
he have to be such a complete and utter dick in the mytharc 
episodes? Scully may argue with him but she never EVER mocks 
him. He was annoying enough with all that "I don't have time 
for this" stuff (when apparently he has all night to sit 
around and pout about things he basically already knew), 
but when he mockingly gasped at her I was ready to knock 
him into next week. "You're making this personal?" WHAT? 
When has it not been personal to you buddy? At least when 
he was about to go running off with his back stabbing girl 
friend he thought to invite Scully along. Lucky for him 
Scully wasn't ready to just roll over and play hybrid and 
decided to try to do something whether he was coming or not 
instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for herself.

What did I like? Well I liked the way the quarantine frenzy 
in the beginning was shot. It was tense and weird. I liked, 
and this will shock some of you, Laurie Holden who was 
finally feeling something as Marita. I liked, and this will 
shock none of you, Gillian Anderson's performance. Her slow 
burn to a flame when talking to Diana while Mulder tries to 
shush her, her sympathy for Cassandra, and especially the 
pain she showed us at feeling betrayed by Mulder in the Lone 
Gunmen scene. I liked that Scully was right which is actually 
an emerging trend in the mytharc. At least Carter and Spotnitz 
didn't make her say anything stupid like "aliens shmaliens" 
as they enjoy doing so much. I liked that they finally tried 
to do something interesting with Spender, but I can't say 
I'll miss him.

The thing I liked the most though was the hope that now we 
can finally move forward instead of these endless trips down 
memory lane - as Spender says "I know more than enough about 
your past". We end with "The future is here. All bets are 
off." Guess that means it is the perfect time to go monster 
of the week hunting. No reason to let this pesky impending 
alien invasion drag you down week after blasted week. Right?

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

-Only Chris Carter could give us a grandiose voice over 
containing the words killing fields and hurly burly together.

-Big episode for self referential time stamps as well. How 
nice of the aliens to visit on little Fox's birthday, and 
later we had an 11:21.

-Speaking of those alien visits. Everyone waits inside a 
big building for the aliens to park the spaceship out back 
then waltz in with Close Encounters lighting effects? Couldn't 
they have just met them in the parking lot or is the ship just 
too expensive to see?

-Boy CancerMan has quite a way of showing love. Bill Mulder 
was a good friend. So I had him killed. My wife? Had her 
abducted and turned into the alien it girl. The boy? Shot 
him when he grew a heart. Happy Valentine's Day to you too 
Smokey. Could you blow Diana a kiss next?

-Spender says he can't get Marita out because of "security". 
What security? Marita wanders around like a little waif, 
Mulder runs about unguarded (and in that outfit it is obvious 
even the fashion police were absent), the top secret most 
important thing is no longer guarded as it was in "Erlenmeyer 
Flask" but now inside a room clearly marked "Purity Control" 
(which is akin to wearing a big "steal me" sign on its back) 
and Spender can't find his way out?

-Can 1013 officially retire Mulder holding a gun on CancerMan 
and not using it. Been there. Done that. Have the many videotapes. 
Oh, he cocked it this time. Wow.

-I'm glad to see that Scully is working so much with the Lone 
Gunmen these days. I'm sure they love it too. Especially when 
she wears that funky poaching outfit over.

-Uh if Fowley is so close to the consortium why did they have 
her shot in "The End" or is that just another inconvenient 
thing that happened that will be forgotten for the sake of 
making it up as they go along?  Not that I minded her getting 
shot.

-Those little Close Encounter aliens just didn't know what 
to do with their hands. Some of them look like they are 
trying to put their hands on their hips or stuff those long 
fingers into non-existent pockets.

-Mark Snow seems to be having a grand old time this season 
sampling his movie soundtrack. I guess you can't really steal 
from yourself.

-I hope Mulder lined up Scully with the plastic surgeon that 
did such a grand job of removing all trace of his bullet 
wound. She's gonna need it to deal with that pesky stomach 
scar she must now sport.

-Count on math girl to figure out their exact location 
based on travel time. Let's see if one CDC van leaves DC 
carrying two federal agents and crosses paths with a train 
headed to... I bet she loved story problems.

-Frank's Fashion Spot: Two words for that black turtleneck 
long coat combo on Scully - hoo boy.

-Both Mulder and Scully have been subjected to the vaccine 
before and they look fabulous. What the hell have they been 
spiking Marita's with? Apparently it successfully removes a 
lisp, makes you the poster child for Visene and gives you 
an unnatural fear of shampoo.

-No one really yells out the name of the person they are 
visiting when they knock on the door of an apartment unless 
they need to clue the TV audience in to where they are at.

-Frank's Fashion Spot #2: Just how much lingerie does Diana 
own? I mean two drawers of bras is a little much.

-Did anyone else think "young" Bill Mulder looked a little 
too much like Eddie Munster with that hair? Still Elvis!CSM 
takes the cake.

-Speaking of bad wigs we got one on Cassandra as well who 
ended up looking like a scary extra from "That 70s Show" 
complete with a vinyl jacket.

-I'm curious about abduction protocol. How come everyone 
else was returned except Samantha? The aliens just really 
liked her, but Cassandra they just wanted to visit every 
so often?

-Well we got Scully doing the driving and tire squealing, 
but what was she thinking with that parking the car across 
the tracks plan? She's had brighter moments that's for sure.

-Speaking of that I'd hope she had good insurance though
I'd hate to see what her premiums will be now.

-It also seemed more than a little odd to me that the two 
of them would be shooting at the head of a train conductor 
when they had no actual proof as to what was in that train. 
Somehow that seems against procedure.

-Just why did all those folks have suitcases with them? I 
mean what does one pack for a hybridization?

-Speaking of the little Elder BBQ where was Strughold? 
You'd a thunk he would be there or was the actor just to 
expensive to bring in to burn unlike all those Vancouver 
guys taking their last trip to L.A.?

-Frank's Fashion Spot #3 (because I can): What a sad picture 
it was - Scully her clothes burnt by a "dressed to the nines" 
Fowley standing their in flat sandals holding a shapeless 
gray dress. No wonder she was pissed. 

-We don't have Chunky Italian to kick around anymore. He's 
now officially Crispy Italian. 

-Well, Mulder and Scully finally take a shower together and 
it just isn't as fun as many had imagined. Though Mulder can't 
resist sneaking a peek and Scully sees him do it.

-So when are we going to get the Fowley/Scully death match? 
Scully got a lot of good exits this week, but methinks next 
time she meets up with Diana it ain't gonna be pretty. Hmm, 
and I don't think the foul one is acquainted with KungFu!Scully. 
Yet. You think the boys at 1013 will be able to resist some 
sort of a showdown between these two? I don't.

Autumn
"Mulder this stinks and not just because I think that woman 
is a ... well I think you know what I think that woman is."