#txf conduit

[cutemothman]

The X-Files 1.04 "Conduit"

You know when I was a kid, I had this ritual. I closed my eyes before I walked into my room, cause I thought that one day when I opened them my sister would be there. Just lying in bed, like nothing ever happened. You know I'm still walking into that room, everyday of my life.

[celestialdryad]

[jessiesjaded]

1x04, Conduit.

[anders-hawke]

Dana Scully in "Conduit"

[bisexualfbiagents]

You know when I was a kid, I had this ritual. I closed my eyes before I walked into my room, cause I thought that one day when I opened them my sister would be there. Just lying in bed, like nothing ever happened. You know I'm still walking into that room, everyday of my life.

THE X FILES GIF MEME [1/6] PARALLELS Conduit (1.04) and Paper Hearts (4.10)

[tennant-the-tigger]

Interrogation

Keke, That pink cup in this scene. I see it as either a Baby girl cup or Boss girl cup. Went with Baby Girl cos of Mulder's chair-sitting in Shadows

TXF Fanart ☆ MSR Fanart

[randomfoggytiger]

Unrest, Faulty Memories, and Lost Sisters

It's interesting to think of Gerald Schnauz as a cautionary tale for Mulder-- the dark side of a man who lost a sister, then himself.

PARALLELS

In the Pilot, Mulder details his sister's abduction to Scully:

"In my research, I worked very closely with a man named Dr. Heitz Werber; and he's taken me through deep-regression hypnosis. I've been able to go into my repressed memories the night my sister disappeared."

As a child, he'd repressed what happened the night Samantha was taken; and chalked it up to a mundane, tragic disappearance. Then the Lone Gunmen, Arthur Dales, and the X-Files turned his world upside down.

We later learn that Mulder's father, Bill Mulder (or CSM, according to canon's current interpretation), was a responsible party to Samantha's abduction-- either picking her to ensure her protection (Fight the Future) or becoming the dupe of CSM's swap (Paper Clip and Closure.)

Thus, the parallels to Gerald Schnauz.

Gerald is a schizophrenic whose sister was murdered (taken from him) because of his father. Gerald repressed that memory, muddying his conscious recollection with personal blame.

Scully: "In 1980, you attacked your father with an axe handle...."

Schnauz: "...I was institutionalized. I had a kind of chemical imbalance."

In Mulder's case, he wants the Truth about what happened to his sister; in Gerald's case, he wants to heal the sick and twisted.

Mulder: "It says here you have a sister. Where is your sister, Gerry?"

Schnauz: "She passed."

Mulder: "Actually it says here she committed suicide in 1980."

Both men personalize tragedies that pluck at their traumas; and both men's causes are responsible for Scully's abductions.

Scully's life was "ruined" and she was abducted because of her association with Mulder. Scully was, again, taken and almost killed because of the "unrest" Gerry projected onto her. (On a separate note: The writers of Unruhe were excellent, turning away from the obvious parallel between Schnauz and Mulder to focus on the rancor and vulnerability the case-- medical malpractice against kidnapped women-- would stir in Scully.)

Both men also try to "fix" the mind of the afflicted-- in Gerry's case, other women; in Mulder's case, his own-- with a hole poked or drilled into their gray matter.

Gerald Schnauz believes demons are infecting the minds of his victims, and Fox Mulder believes his own infected memory is holding him back in Demons. They are, alike, driven.

One last interesting thought strikes me.

In the latter half of Mulder's Pilot monologue, he says: "I can recall a bright light outside, and a presence." This, coincidentally, is the last thing Gerry Schnauz sees before he dies.

WHAT IFS, AND DEMONS

But what if Mulder had lost his mind-- given up or given in-- ala Gerald Schnauz?

Well, we get a glimpse of what could have happened in Demons: he blames himself for not recalling, then blames his parents for what happened to his sister, then blames himself, again.

Instead of lashing out and trying to "heal" the world around him, Mulder chooses to self-immolate in his efforts to draw closer to the Truth. To, one could say, wholeness.

CONCLUSION

Did the writers intend these parallels? I don't think so; but you tell me.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[is-on-its-way]

For Mulder, Scully is his touchstone

For Scully, Mulder is her covenant (biblical)

[shebsart]

The X Files' iconic "I want to believe" line is generally about wanting to believe in the unknown -whether it be extraterrestrial life, god/faith, a reason- and keeping an open mind to possibilities

but when you remember the context those words were spoken in for the first time in the show by Mulder, it was him in a hypnotic therapy session saying he doesn't know if he believes, but wants to believe that his missing sister is still alive out there somewhere.

[agent-troi]

the nsa bursting into scully’s room like WHERE’S MULDER either they got their rooms mixed up or they think they’re already sleeping together and i choose to believe the latter

[xf-cases-solved]

S1E4: Conduit

Case: Sioux City, Iowa, at Lake Okobogee, Darlene Morris' daughter, Ruby vanishes outside their trailer. A bright light and ominous music precedes her disappearance. Darlene—an alleged abductee herself—is pretty sure she knows where her daughter is. (👽🛸). Mulder takes a vested interest in the case because it reminds him of his missing sister. This is not the only time Mulder is going to take on a case because it reminds him of his missing sister.

Does someone die in the cold open: We do not know RUUBAYYY's fate by the time titles run, however we learn at the end that she did in fact survive, so no cold open deaths today.

Does Mulder present a slideshow: Yes

Does the evidence survive the investigation: The NSA stole most of it, but I think they were able to hold onto the creepy kid's binary code portrait of his sister, so that's something at least.

Whodunit: The government? Aliens? The government and aliens working together? Who's to say.

Convictions: They did technically catch that pregnant girl for murder, but since that was not what they were investigating, I'm gonna say they got none.

Did they solve it: No, but by now they've had enough shady encounters with the government that they're probably starting to notice a trend, which I will count as experience points.

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: Crying alone in a church. With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be hard to find time to just get away from it all and express those feelings welling up inside. Have you never shown any indication that you may be religious at all in the context of your personal narrative, and in fact, does your character development later on lead to the revelation that you have no strong connections with faith? No problem! At the end of the day, it's all about aesthetics, so give crying alone in a church a try!

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 1 (they lost their streak)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, it's me": 1

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 1

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 0

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 1

Total Number of Sexually Charged and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 3

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed: 1

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 2

Total Number of Nosebleeds: 4

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 2

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 :(

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 1 (but in this case I only remembered bc once, many years ago, I saw in the notes of someone else's post saying Mulder and Scully's safeword is "Okobogee" and that has stuck with me ever since)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 1 (i literally made this category b/c i knew i would have to watch Conduit. i do not care about Conduit)

[deathsbestgirl]

OKAY back to conduit for a second. because this episode means so much for mulder & scully.

scully followed mulder in the pilot, based on nothing but his pain, passion, memories she didn't believe but he did, and his simple belief that the truth is out there. she bared her body to a man she barely knew & didn't trust her, and in return be bared his soul. mulder didn't let her run off half cocked to write up a report to say he was right without actually having the proof. he reminded her of protocol, what her job is. he protected her reputation.

in squeeze, their case right before conduit, she firmly made the decision to stay with him on the x files, in the basement of the fbi, forgoing any real chance of moving up through the ranks. because mulder cares about the victims & the truth more than other agents, he respects scully like no other person ever has.

in conduit, scully finally witnesses how deeply samantha's abduction marks him. she tells him to stop chasing his sister because no one ever has. she doesn't tell mulder what she really thinks happens to samantha, he isn't ready to hear it and she doesn't want to break his heart. mulder ends up opening up to her even more. he's walking into that room everyday. and now, scully's there with him. she follows him even though his behavior is concerning. blevins didn't want to approve this case, but he let scully give her judgment on it. and despite knowing it was mainly about his sister, she's already learned to follow his instincts and (i think anyway) she thought something was strange too.

and at the end, mulder tells kevin they're probably not going to find ruby. he did for this little boy what no one did for him until scully. neither of them want to believe that, and for kevin it wasn't the truth. but mulder has seven long years ahead of him before he gets any closure about samantha. and the moment he's ready, scully finds his answers. she approaches the nurse for him when he can't face it. she sits there with him as he reads sam's journals. she is there with him. she doesn't let him do it alone and she tries to tell him the truth & what he needs to hear. she wants to give him peace.

[limnsaber]

Actually that scene where Mulder stares at pictures of that little girl and thinks of Samantha in Conduit… heartbreaking

[jessiesjaded]

Mulder in season 1 episode 4, Conduit.

[cutemothman]

watching iwtb tonight 🫡🫡 thoughts and prayers would be appreciated

[bisexualfbiagents]

You know when I was a kid, I had this ritual. I closed my eyes before I walked into my room, cause I thought that one day when I opened them my sister would be there. Just lying in bed, like nothing ever happened. You know I'm still walking into that room, everyday of my life.

THE X FILES GIF MEME [2/8] CHARACTERS Samantha Mulder