#xfiles plus one

[randomfoggytiger]

React: A Late-Canon Reviler Gives the Revival a Try (Plus One, Forehead Sweat, Ghouli, Kitten, Rm9sbG93ZXJz, Familiar, Nothing Lasts Forever), Part VI

Part I (My Struggle I), Part II (Founder's Mutation), and Part III (Weremonster), Part IV (Home Again), Part V (Babylon), and Part VI (This.)

Had to cut down on my react posts because I didn't have the time, drive, or willpower to keep plowing through at the same rate.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The usual complaints.

There are overly dramatic "DUUUUN" musical cues, scenes end too quickly, camera shot transition at odd times, and the cast can be too wooden or too emotionless in moments that desperately need something (Mitch Pileggi excepted. He nailed it.) David and Gillian trade off believability in their respective roles; and usually not in the same scene (unfortunately.) Scully is stuck with her 30-years-a-smoker voice; and Mulder magically finds every answer he could ever want from the Dark Web. (I don't think "the Dark Web" means what the writers think it means.)

However. The plots are tighter, the humor more effective, and the pacing (a tad) better constructed.

I wouldn't mind rewatching mid-S11 if it followed different characters in a different show. As it stands, nothing really hit the spot.

PLUS ONE

Mulder and Scully are but aren't but are together in S10 and S11. They also are in This but aren't in Plus One. What the script says they do versus what DD and GA portray them doing often clash.

Yeah, Mulder and Scully are already involved again in this episode. My theory: scoot-in-your-boot is a private in-joke they have. Backed up by: his twinkle and her quick "I'm scooting you out of here."

The siblings were like a Punch and Judy show, get it? (Chucky Poundstone? Punch? Ehhh? Also, Chuck like Chucky the doll. ...And also like the other Revival Chuck doll, Mr. Chuckleteeth.)

Plot problems:

A man who matched the profiles of recent, suicidal "sudden schizophrenia" victims was left, alone, in his cell while he screamed for help. That would not fly by 2015 standards. And if it did, there would be serious consequences or a serious attempt at a to cover up (which the cops didn't attempt to do.)

Chucky Poundstone: Fight Club levels of overacting.

Mulder and Scully were constantly called hot not because the topic naturally bloomed in conversation but because it was relevant to the episode's theme.

Scully let Demon Judy get to her. Scully wouldn't have been bothered to be out of "child-bearing age" because Mulder might want kids with someone else (WHEN HAS MULDER EVER)-- she should've been because she wasted their one shot at parenthood and "threw away" their son. Wrong track, wrong manipulation tactic. Like point 3, this was only brought up to serve the episode's theme, not because it was crafted to fit the characters.

A lot of Mulder and Scully's theories talked past each other or leaped from point to point without fully fleshing out the last one (i.e. Scully derailing their theories to insist that ghosts don't exist.)

Scully almost threw away the pills Judy gave her instead of, I don't know, testing them first.

Scully and Mulder didn't keep the lawyer under surveillance after he saw his double.

Scully didn't believe in the Devil anymore... despite the fact that she used to, and we aren't told when or why she changed her mind. Imperative character development the writers neglected.

Scully thought it was more plausible that a man would cut off his own head through shared psychosis than the possibility of a supernatural element at play.

Scully was butchered either way: she believes in a supernatural element but doesn't want to admit it to Mulder because Judy might be right about her; or, she believes everyone is in a state of delusion yet still gives weight to Judy's pokes about her age.

The "Can you hold me?" scene was pleasantly in-character for Scully, but wobbled and waffled for Mulder. It also bucked up against their "we're already together" vibe, and didn't fit with This (at all.)

"I don't have anyone to have one [a kid] with even if I could [have kids]." Script, don't insult my intelligence; Scully was literally in Mulder's arms when she said this ("What are we gonna do?"/"We'll think of something" kind of saves it. Rather, salvaged it.)

Mulder didn't see Scully's doppelganger even though he was facing the doorway and was on high alert. Scully didn't TELL HIM she saw her doppelganger earlier (which is stupid because she'd either be aware it's-- hello-- an evil entity or she could be considered a risk in the field.)

Mulder ran off WITHOUT SCULLY after seeing his double and after she admitted to seeing her own earlier.

Scully ATE RANDOM PILLS instead of, I don't know, analyzing them first. The plot needed to have Scully have the pills because she wouldn't have saved herself otherwise. And also: why did the placebo pills work??? We're never told anything about them other than they're leftovers from Judy's food, and that the nurses superstitiously take them, too. That's it. No followup.

Scully continued to drive after seeing "herself" in the backseat. She should have pulled over-- even if she believed the doppelganger was only an illusion-- because she'd become a road risk and was following the pattern of the other victims.

The siblings just got mad at each other and wrote each other's names in the hangman slots. Which saved Mulder and Scully while killing each other, conveniently.

The "Mom" and "Dad" hangman papers haven't aged a day, despite being written, supposedly, when Chuck and Judy were kids.

DD salvaged the ending by waiting in the doorway for Scully.

Plus One thrust me into a world where Mulder and Scully are jumping in and out of bed, from Unremarkable House to motel, from etc. to etc., without ever talking about their future-- more accurately, where the writing pretends Scully never pondered the obvious conclusion.

THE LOST ART OF FOREHEAD SWEAT

This episode worked... up to a point.

As a one-off, the comedy hit pretty consistently and Reggie was an enjoyable third wheel. (I admit: I ALMOST laughed out loud when Reggie shot Eddie Van Blundht in the head.) The writing was tight, the dialogue flowed smoothly, there were no out-of-place musical beats or lingering camera shots.

As a part of the overall canon?

Forehead Sweat solidifies, for me, what doesn't work about the "modernization" of the Revival. Dr. They kindly pronounces that Mulder and his way of life is no longer necessary in the current age... and that's the stickler. The current age. Fox Mulder didn't fit into the current-world 90s, either, because the mythology and Consortium and mystery behind the original show was a fabrication inspired by old politics-- the Cold War-- that was then mapped onto a very loose, very forgiving framework. If Carter and Co. had kept to that formula, had steered away from cookie-cuttering the 2015-2018 political climate into their show, then Fox Mulder and Dana Scully wouldn't seem so lost and out of place chasing X-Files in the forest in their 50s while aliens did or didn't plan to colonize the planet and Skinner might or might not be on their side. Because that would raise questions: why hasn't the Trump Administration shut them down-- he'd consider their unit useless. Why are Mulder and Scully now afraid the FBI will be suspicioned or "shut down" if it's always been corrupt, if even now they serve a counter-culture role to the establishment, instead of striking off on their own? More importantly, in an era steeped in finger-pointing and blame-shifting and distrust and disbelief, there's no way the cases that drift to the basement wouldn't be blown up on social media within hours-- especially when the 90s already had NICAP and MUFON and other groups who closely followed their niche interests. The logic of The X-Files quickly falls apart in a world that would afflict stricter and harsher consequences, 2015 and 1993 alike.

That aside, this was the best Revival episode, thus far, in terms of quality. I will give it that. (Note from the future: that will be outdone, I believe, by Ghouli.)

Plot problems:

The comedy bits hit, but Mulder and Scully warp in and out of character to achieve them (particularly: the repeated one where Scully keeps leaving before Mulder finishes rambling. Ironically, it's out of place with Darin's other comedic episode Weremonster as well as 200+ other examples of her character. But if the execution had been tweaked, those scenes would have been satisfying to watch. )

Mulder was LOUD. That's not new; but he was LOUD in the wrong moments, at the wrong times-- raising his voice, yelling, punctuating statements with STATEMENTS rather than his usual smooth pantomime or one-off, quick-witted remark.

The Babyfication of Dialogue continues ("sugarboobs", "I'm Fox Freaking Mulder, you punks!", etc.)

I'll bet Reggie kept hiding from the baddies in Skinner's office, hence why he knew him. This isn't a criticism so much as a theory. Or maybe those two gossiped over the water cooler-- Skinner knows everything and everyone, after all.

The Trump Administration poses no threat compared to the global Consortium and Conspiracy Mulder and Scully faced in the 90s. It was considered a threat to 2016s America, which would explain the "I feel like the world's gone mad" quotes the two leads keep kicking around. But, to them? Who lost and almost died and tried to save as many lives as possible to the Syndicate? And in a mythology that had large, regular gatherings of conspiracists who believed in aliens and distrusted the government (as seen in The Red and the Black) it disrespects the intelligence of its viewers by injecting and magnifying struggles that Mulder and Scully would philosophically take on the chin.

GHOULI

Another bump up in quality. The sharp back-and-forth camera techniques are better utilized with this episode's destabilizing, reality-questioning moments. Mulder rambling about the pathos and history behind classic monsters is a classic Mulder moment, Scully snorting and slightly smirking as he does so is a classic Scully moment. Is this the origin of the "Bob" nickname on Tumblr? The girl's "Kids would get stoned on it, in the summer. ...Not me!" was hilarious. Scully's speech in the morgue was the most Scully moment I've seen thus far. Scully subtly admitting to hiding evidence from her parents in her mattress (like Jackson.) Skinner always gets updates about Mulder's activities through other government employees' complaints.

Demerits: shots and cutaways still, well, cutaway at odd moments. Instead of holding on a scene and easing the audience into the atmosphere, cutcutcutcut snaps them out of it. But that's par for the course in the Revival; and it's not tooooooo badly done in Ghouli. Hoebag Jackson Van de Kamp. Mulder didn't get a moment to grieve over his son.

Thoughts? It turned from gripping mystery to big, fat disappointment. Skinner was great, Scully's morgue scene was great, um, Clone!Mulder had a nice moment or two. Jackson stank. As a condensed, disparate experience? It's alright. I quite liked it. (But it still wasn't The X-Files to me, etc. etc.)

Plot problems:

Mulder initially thought Scully's experience was sleep paralysis when he quite literally experienced this before in Paper Hearts. And neither were off-put or shaken by the similarities. (The episode tries to patch this up with, "You've been receiving visions through seizures. I'm sure this is another form"; but that's after she pointed to an open x-file and identified that boat as the one in her "dream".)

Mulder quoted a quote similar but different to his own from the original show. Instead of, y'know, quoting his own quote.

Mulder and Scully's kid is just Free Willying it up everywhere. And for what?

If CC wanted to do away with William (and that's an if), his death and his last attempt at justice for himself and his adoptive parents would have been a mature, heartbreaking way to do it. But no, we got My Struggle IV instead.

Mulder is oddly hesitant to believe his son's alive-- he's usually the one who is borderline delusional about believing and having hope. Yes, the series is supposed to show Mulder on the "other side": depressed (maybe? jury's out), burnt-out, and afraid to believe. But it goes back and forth on that message so often that there is no concrete change in his character to hold onto.

SKINNER'S ON THE CSM'S LEASH AGAIN.

We're back on the "men in Conspiracy but actually aliens but ACTUALLY men in Conspiracy" schtick. Pick a lane, mytharc.

Jackson played dead but it backfired because his parents found him not the agents, then he had to escape so the agents know he's on the run anyway, so.... *Cue Tony Stark*: "Not a great plan." Jackson is an idiot.

Mulder puts together all the pieces of the case off-screen without us, the audience, being there to see him working the mystery out logically. A "tell don't show" approach that undercuts the brilliance of his leaps.

Jackson let his two gfs see a monster and stab each other.... Jackson is an idiot.

Jackson made up a monster legend website to prank both his girlfriends-- who don't know the other exists-- at once; and ended up causing them to stab each other in fright. Jackson's an IDIOT.

Jackson is an IDIOT and a bit of a psychopath. And a LOT of an IDIOT. And he only got his visions and powers recently (since My Struggle II or III, it would appear); so he had to be an idiot before unlocking his abilities-- like the Rush highschoolers. So. Great going, writers.

SARAH TURNED HIM IN BECAUSE HE WAS KISSING ANOTHER GIRL. I mean, get him, girl; but then don't come groveling back.

JACKSON DOES THE MULDER FOREHEAD TOUCH WITH ONE OF HIS TWO GIRLFRIENDS.

JACKSON GOES ON THE RUN INSTEAD OF ASKING FOR HELP FROM HIS POSSIBLE BIO MOM DESPITE HAVING VISIONS OF HER BECAUSE HE'S AN IDIOT.

Mulder. Never. Had. A. Moment. With. His. Son. WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY.

Oh. Mulder and Scully accepted their son wanted to move on with his life, away from them. ...Nnnnnnnoooooooooo, Jackson's not safe and is now an orphan and a high school dropout. NOPE.

KITTEN

This is Blood and Sleepless and Wetwired 4.0. ...But it's not bad.

Mulder snooping around Skinner's kitchen... fine, I liked it. Sue me.

The cop... fine, sue me, I liked him.

Skinner's code name is Eagle... because he's bald. I don't care, sue me, that was hilarious.

Skinner had the best speech.

I admit: I really, really do like this episode. It's the only one that fits into canon, oddly. (Mulder and Scully aren't themselves, etc. etc., blah blah, what else is new.)

My overall thoughts: Um. What did it achieve? Kinda progressed their characters forward... but had to regress them, first. Mind control and chemtrails and falling teeth and Mulder and Scully possibly holding Skinner's career back and Mulder distrusting Skinner but trusting him again while Scully did trust Skinner and was proven right in the end.... And a reference to Mulder's juices. It was necessary for Season 11, character-wise-- a "let's repair the damage to Mulder's trust issues" (which had been resolved?? in This but then wasn't, I guess??)

Plot problems:

There goes S9 Kersh's character development: all that he came to believe in. Right down the drain. (Not that I care; but keep it consistent, series.)

Scully questioning what happened to "the old, reliable Skinner we always knew and loved" is RICH considering A. she and Mulder were questioning his loyalty not five episodes ago and B. Skinner constantly got his hands dirty to help them out (which they largely forget in the Revival, for plot reasons, unless forced into a corner.)

Mulder: "As much as I don't trust the guy right now--" EXCUSE ME. I don't care what My Struggle II or III implied, Mulder of all people, Mulder, has seen Skinner squeezed into tighter corners and still ended up trusting him.

Skinner's getting framed, again, on surveillance tape.

SCULLY giving Skinner the benefit of the doubt, NOT MULDER.

There's no way Skinner's surviving that wound without blood transfusions and serious medical attention. Nope.

Skinner... was behind the two agents... in a pit... but managed to not only climb out but outrun them... in the woods... with a side wound... and knock over a full-grown man... and punch him enough so that said man could get caught in his own trap. ...'Kay.

So. The teeth falling out was never explained. Except to suggest, I guess, that the gas slowly rots them out? Except the policeman and his wife also had teeth loss? Or was that as a comedic bit? Or and as a comedic bit? Who knows!

WAIT, I WAS WRONG. CHEMTRAILS. Really. CHEMTRAILS SPREADING POISON OVER THE TOWN. (Blood already did this but BETTER, writers.)

Mulder's "We're with you" is undercut by nearly 30 years of previous history.

Rm9sbG93ZXJz

This episode is, again, not too bad.

The characters, again again, don't feel like Mulder or Scully to me; but I could see Mulder and Scully doing the actions that the characters did. All in all, I can see why those who like the Revival would enjoy watching this.

Also, I still wish Clone!Mulder never had to pay the tip.

Plot problems:

The world with all this tech doesn't coincide nor coexist with The X-Files universe (and, yes, that include the Revival.)

The whole... not speaking thing. I know it was supposed to be artistic or to convey some layered meaning; but, narratively, it was off-putting. Perhaps if they'd both been knocked about in the field, and it was painful to talk? Mutual tonsil surgery? Anything??

Whipz. Get it? Scully whipz and naynays.

The robots having that much influence over lesser forms of tech (i.e. Mulder's cable, not smart, tv.)

Mulder would have absolutely spiraled if he'd experienced half of what this episode put him through. Scully would have spiraled. None of this would not have been easily brushed aside with a tip.

Mulder still calls sex phone operators; and the machines ratted him out to Scully. Either that, or it was a callback just so Mulder could tell the caller to "Shut up." He's grown and changed, guys~~~~~.

It doesn't make sense why the robots are trying to kill Mulder or Scully if they want a tip from them. OR, one could argue, the robots are threatening Scully's life so Mulder will pay the tip. Either way, the two could have been killed multiple times if they hadn't ducked or dodged. Seems counter-intuitive, and mostly just in service for a "surprise, we just want the tip" twist ending.

"We have to be better teachers." REALLY. That's the takeaway. Not the fact that they were almost KILLED due to the incompetence or oversight of whoever created these robots. REALLY.

FAMILIAR

So. Uh. Classic X-File. Held up pretty well. Classic Mulder eating crime scene evidence. The script was old-school tight.

In other words, this was Chimera 2.0. But not too shabby.

Plot problems:

The police immediately rule out the child's cause of death as a murder. And think it might be a coyote. Or a coy wolf. ...Uh huh.

"You're my homie": Babyfication back.

Scully doesn't believe in human combustion. ...Honestly, shakes out with her theory having been disproved in Trevor. (Although, I don't know if there was a spontaneous human combustion case in S9, feel free to correct me.)

Scully telling Mulder he's "wasting his time" for wanting to interview a little girl who was an eyewitness. ...WHAT.

The boy's mother is... not the best actress. Taking me back to the OG show at times.

What are those creepy teletubbies. Nightmare fuel.

The community... didn't know... there was a convicted sex offender... in their midst. ...Did no one care to look up, I don't know, A SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY??

WHY is Scully fighting back against his witchcraft thesis when she's witnessed a witch doctor plastic surgeon AND a bewitched doll??? Amongst such things????

Gotta admit: I chuckled when Mulder accidentally got the Chief to confess to an affair (his "I... did not see that coming.") However: that scene was wildly out of place amidst the tragedy of the salt-circle and the possible murder of the innocent-in-this-case pedophile.

The episode just skips from the police officer shooting the pedo straight to the officer's trial. ...What happened to that old curse put on the town, huh? Just... took a break for a couple weeks? Mulder and Scully stuck around, or flew out-and-in while Mr. Chuckleteeth took a power nap?

Officer Wentworth let Scully's suspicions slip to the child's father, at the child's funeral, and is kind of portrayed as the good guy here. He doesn't express remorse for not following protocol (especially to a broken-down father grieving the death of his child), only that he is "sickened" a man (the father he broke protocol for) gunned down another man without due process. ...'Kay.

So, all the responsible parties involved all die because the jealous wife was cursing the cheating woman and eventually her husband. ...But if that's the case, why did the Hellhound go after the CHILDREN first, not the two people it was summoned to punish?? Usually things go awry after a bit of murder and mayhem, not before.

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER

What a stinker of an episode. Just when the cinematography levels out, the plot absolutely rots.

I did like Mulder scaring off the two officers by pretending to be a religious supernatural investigator.

And the church scene was good. It was necessary for this series, for these characters. Glad it was done. (I say Scully whispered she's ready to let go of the past: a.k.a. move back in with him, let go of the files even, let go of her rigid expectations of herself. Hence Mulder's line: "I always wondered how it was going to end.")

Plot problems (well... some of them, lost interest):

I hated... everything about that opening sequence. Doctors eating pancreases, illegal organ harvest, "chemtrails" reference, NINJA WOMAN WHO CAN TOPPLE A GROWN MAN, NAAAAH, GET IT OUTTA HERE. THIS ISN'T BATWOMAN, BOOOOOO.

Mulder's defensive over his glasses. ...They both have needed glasses since the 90s. Is Scully ribbing him over a stronger prescription?? I don't think so.

Mulder only has progressive lenses because the plot needs a contrast to a cult sacrificing people for eternal life (Our Town and Sanguinarium and Roadrunners, anyone?)

The gore's just off the charts, huh?

Crazy, washed-up actress living off of her shut-ins' blood. Possibly their organs. To remain forever young. ...I unironically read a better fanfic of this, ngl.

There are so many, too many, egregiously many plot contrivances. Wow. Here's just one set: Ninja killer is seeking vengeance but just happens to attend church the same day Scully just happens to attend church the same day Mulder happens to follow Scully in the same day the priest happens to put up the verse that just so happens to correspond with the verse on the evidence organ cooler which just so HAPPENS to be tied to a small illegal operation keeping a crazy washed-up actress alive and young while she subsists off of parts from her shut-ins she "rescued" from the street. Stunning.

Mulder never had a dog: confirmed. ...But he did have a dog in his childhood photos, soooooooooo. Guess someone else gave it to him, then. (Or there is no show bible. Or this is an awful, no good, no-hate-if-you-like-it-but-I-don't universe.)

WE'RE STILL ON THE MAGGIE COIN NECKLACE??? What other answer for it is there except it was the date Charlie walked out of her life???? Ugh, forget it. The writers wanted it to be a mystery box. Then Gillian walked away from the series and nothing was resolved, yolo.

Mulder always bears North, Scully says, no matter how hard the wind blows against him. ...Except it didn't-- numerous times in this series, numerous times in this season, in fact. The Revival is, in fact, built on top of him losing his way pre-My Struggle I. So. Strike 1000 for missteps in Writing 101, I suppose.

Big Boss fight with a woman attached to his back. ...Guys, this isn't The X-Files, this is Resident Evil.

Olivia looks ghostly pale on second, then almost normal the second the guy she's attached to is murdered. ...Guys. She's attached to a dead guy. That's gotta be sepsis by the time she's in the hospital, right? Also: if Olivia was in THIS deep in a cult, she would have been devastated, not dazed but delighted, that her sister had killed the guy she was attached to.

CONCLUSION

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

If I feel in a ranty mood in future, I'll cover the last three Struggle episodes. But until then, my Revival journey has reached its end.

And what are my final thoughts? The same as they were going in. ;))

Thanks for reading¬

Enjoy!

[dreampencil]

I'm writing a destiel fanfic and am trying to challenge myself, so give me one thing to happen in it. Could be anything, including killing off a character or a crossover with another show, provided I can watch the source material. If the crossover is for one of the fandoms in my pinned, then I'm definitely going to be able to do it, but if it's not, I can't guarantee anything. :>

I always fancied a cross over with Xfiles, what with the link with Kim Manners. Dean and Cas could come across Mulder and Scully and fight a monster of the week! Plus, M&S were always staying in motels!

[autisticandroids]

re: spn being generic and not really having an identity in the first season, there's an interesting moment in something wicked, which is the "freaky looking old woman" fakeout. that's a moment of textual reflexivity about the show which really..... isn't about the show. like dean seeing someone who is Weird and assuming they're Evil isn't really a successful critique of supernatural? that's like. it's a reflection on the x files, not on spn. it's txf "humbug" in miniature. but spn isn't really about that, except maybe skin, which does genuinely feel out of place with spn wrt how xfilesy it is. most of the people and things we've fought so far on spn fall into one of two categories: a kind of non-personalized curse that is haunting its victims (this is all the ghosts, plus the way the demon is framed in 1x04, + arguably 1x02), or an actively malevolent agent (meg is the best example but also the vampires in dead man's blood, and to a lesser extent the shtriga itself). there aren't really xfiles style tragic freaks and weirdos, except skin and arguably maybe nightmare. but meg isn't freakish. the vampires aren't freakish. and we're not interested in them because they're freakish. they're just villainous, and that's our interest in them. it's much more buffy than txf. so dean seeing a weird old woman and assuming she's evil doesn't hit like it should, because it's reflecting on a different show

[mlobsters]

supernatural s4e11 family reunions

DEAN And what am I running from?

SAM From what you told me. Or are we pretending that never happened?

you fucking tell him, sam.

i'm not sure what i know her from really, she's been in a lot of things. could be old old supergirl, or even her uncredited role in a seinfeld episode because those have all been seared into my brain. maybe city slickers!!

seinfeld s3e19 the good samaritan - helen slater as becky gelke (uncredited)

helen slater in city slickers (1991) and supergirl (1984)

and me just realizing in my head city slickers and when harry met sally take place in the same universe because of billy crystal and the dude the with mustache are in both.

the magicians s2e1 knight of crowns - karin konoval as the kitchen witch

AND I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT

i did not watch this season because it was post-the Very Bad Thing involving quentin coldwater, but they in fact DID NOTHING with the candy (kitchen) witch. NOTHING HAPPENED. she had quentin's blood. no nothing. the end. fuck you. *bitterness intensifies* maybe that was their little joke. i've let go a lot of my feelings about sera and how she was involved with the magicians fuck up, it sure seems like a lot of it is on the other showrunner john mcnamara (and honestly realizing how young she was when she started writing on spn had something to do with it, hell she's younger than i am), but she was involved and things like this get my back up all over again. deep breaths.

okay karin konoval has also been in 3 episodes of the xfiles - two iconic ones and one.. i don't remember at all.

the xfiles s3e4 clyde bruckman's final repose / s4e2 home (it was her 😩)

the xfiles s11e3 (2018) plus one

me: that looks like the 13 reasons why kid, but i bet it isn't, i would have noticed when i looked up the rest of the cast. oh. it is.

for something i actually enjoyed (the docudrama about elizabeth holmes, it's really well done),

the dropout (2022) s1e6 iron sisters - dylan minnette as tyler shulz

why are we getting to know this family and their issues. emotional music swelling, what are we doing on a farm, talking about zucchini.

this, i think, was a much better spooky implementation of climbing inside the walls vs that episode with jo.

ok.

now this feels like an actual homage that landed for the x-files home episode. nice little circle getting one of the actors from it too.

doesn't dean already carry enough guilt, did they really need to put 10 years of enjoying torturing souls on top of it. edgelord shit.

sometimes media crosses this line with me where i feel like it's emotional manipulation and i get pissy. like if a show is engineered to make you cry a minimum once an episode (looking at you this is us), it really puts me off and i'll lose interest. in this case, i'm heavily invested in the characters, but the angst despair anxiety etc.. at some point, i get mad about it. walking a fine line right now.

[spookysexy]

💚

Plus One Script: Scene Notes

[mikibwrites]

Nice ask week - what's the movie that you will always stop and watch 5-10-20 minutes of if it's on? Please & thank you.

Thank you for sending me this and I'm so sorry it took me so long to get to it!!

Oh gosh this one changes by the day. comfort movie? it was How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days until RWRB finally got made. Now it's that lol. As for like, 'it's easy to pick up this movie at whatever part in the runtime bc I've seen it so many times I can pick up the thread easily'....I'm not sure if I have a movie like that, per se, but ANY time I EVER see xfiles in any capacity I'll be sat. that was my comfort series from the time I was about 10 years old and I have the first 9 plus FTF on DVD that have followed me from middle school to high school to college to moving cross country and they are like my security blanket lol so any time I see an episode I can just sit and watch bc I have most of them memorized but I love them enough to watch again :)

[spookyagentfmulder]

this ask is a love letter to your portrayal of mulder from someone who's only ever seen a handful of xfiles episodes so i dont know how relevant my opinion is but- your mulder has it All. the curiosity, the wit, the smarts, the excitement, the affection, the absolutely delightful dynamic with scully that makes me happy any time it graces my dash 💛 plus there is the aspect of redeeming some of those cool 90s malehero qualities which,, is Honestly doing god's work because mulder deserves this. you literally brought him back from the dead and he came back not wrong but better and free to just. be qhat they could have never allowed him back then ☀️ love u

「   ASK MEME :   HOW’S MY PORTRAYAL?   」

ʚ₍ᐢ ›̥̥̥ ༝ ‹̥̥̥ ᐢ₎ɞ "he came back wrong but not better" STAWP. THANK YOU SO MUCH??? Mulder is such a fascinating character and one that really deserves a second chance at redeeming himself from the forced machismo of a sci-fi protagonist of his time. Really the only other equivalent that stood against the pen of those that wish to wipe softer men from the face of the earth is Dale Cooper who also has a very special place in my heart.

Mulder is so genuine and so caring and so wanting to extend himself and be a believer and he keeps getting written to say stupid lines as a reflection of the time he was written. I hate it!!! He should be allowed to express himself even cautiously. Set. My. Boy. Free.

[unremarkablehouse]

Omg this was hard!

‘This’ is one of my favorite URST fics- the entire episode is basically MSR foreplay. It’s also an excellent story and I was just thinking about Langley in the simulation.

‘Plus one’ is a great story with bonus points for incorporating one bed into a script, plus I love that is canon Scully gets pissy when she’s horny 🤣 ATTHS… TWICE!

‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ is too short, they really rush the storyline to add more MSR and I love that. The speech in the church is actually profound and makes up for a lot of BS the audience goes through.

‘Familiar’ is a great monster of the week episode that is legitimately creepy.

‘Mulder & Scully Meet the were-Monster’- is a brilliant piece of writing that somehow looks at Mulder’s tragic backstory and becomes comedic.

‘Lost art of forehead sweat’- this is a really cynical view on facts and so fascinating. It would have gotten higher points if there was some more on screen PDA but I’ll take it as implied RST and just continue rolling my eyes at the fact that CC has made TWO xfiles porno films but didn’t let the characters kiss on screen during the revival even though it literally defies all logic.

‘The Rmj-blah-robots’- really shows how great David and Gillian can act with very little dialogue, and the story really paces well. Scully’s smart home has no personal touches (except her mini vibrator), so it definitely fits with my head canon that they actually weren’t separated for that long they’re both just drama queens about any distance between them.

Basically I LOVE most of the episodes except for the myth arc, Agent Einstein & Miller, and Kitten. The thing is though, even the eps I’m not a fan of do have redeeming scenes and that is 💯 due to DD and GA.

also i would love to know what you like about the episode

(babylon isn’t here bcs there was no space and im pretty sure no one would have chosen it)

[milquetoast-on-acid]

They had sex twice! Did they use the handcuffs?

[its-flicked-switch]

Transitive Property of Equality

All of the moments leading up to the COTP, candlelight confessions, and the revelation of miracle baby #2. This work remains canon with the events of S11, filling in the gaps of Mulder and Scully’s relationship and their leap of faith forward for the future. 

SMUT to be found in all the places you would expect.

Rating: Explicit

This story is my baby.

I initially drafted this work to be 10 chapters - one for each of the S11 episodes, but that quickly expanded into 20 chapters. With that being said, posting the full length of this work on Tumblr seems ... excessive, so I’ve made the decision to just post the first chapter and link the rest. In the future, I will post my longer works here just as I publish them on AO3 and ff.net, but with my Tumblr account being new, posting 60k+ all at once would be madness. Should you read this first chapter and be interested in reading the rest, it’s linked here. 

 CH 1: THE PLACE WE CALLED HOME

Post 11x01 - My Struggle III

Mulder takes Scully home.

SCULLY

It's true what they say about doctors being the worst patients, but to be fair, my medical history is extensive and complex. Providing a full and accurate medical history would take hours and most likely result in a psych consult, so I've learned to only ever disclose what is absolutely necessary. Being a neurologist myself, I can appreciate my doctor's concern, but she doesn't have all the of the facts and wouldn't know what to do with them even if I gave them to her. So for the second time today, I sign myself out of the hospital against medical advice.

After reviewing my MRIs, there is little doubt in my mind that the impulses driving my abnormal brain activity were somehow generated by my implant. The dull ache and burning sensation that coursed through the base of my skull and down into my neck just before losing consciousness doesn't fit the etiology of any known medically based seizure.

Eighteen hours later my neck still aches, but for an entirely different reason. One that may or may not be related to the visions I have received from Willam.

The man who entered my hospital room earlier this evening is someone that Mulder recognized as working for the syndicate, but our sources within the FBI have yet to formally identify him. All of this should frighten me more than it does, but at the moment, all I care about is getting out of here and going home to sleep in my own bed.

By the time Mulder and I leave the hospital, it's close to midnight. He hasn't let me out of his sight since he returned from Spartanburg. Under normal circumstances, I would find his zealously overprotective behavior to be suffocating and would insist that he give me space, but tonight I don't have the energy to fight him nor do I think that it would matter even if I did.

The force of my assassin's hands has left me stiff, sore, and hoarse, limiting my responses to brief and very brief. So when he asks me if I'm hungry, I merely nod, settling into the passenger seat and resting my eyes as he merges into traffic.

—

I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have because when I come to we are pulling up to the house.

"Mulder," I croak, "I thought you were going to take me home?"

As soon as I say it, I regret it. Although I haven't lived here in close to four years, the house is still technically mine. I tried to sign it over to him after we separated, but he refused to sign the papers.

"This will always be your home too, Scully," he says softly, not meeting my eyes.

I didn't mean for it come across as a dig, but it clearly has.

Great. As if today wasn't shitty enough.

"I'm sorry Mulder, I didn't mean … I'm just exhausted, and I don't have any clothes here."

"I stopped by the impound lot and cleaned out your car, so I have your keys and overnight bag. They're in the trunk."

I clearly slept through that pit stop.

"Oh … okay … thank you," is all I can manage to say.

"It wasn't a big deal. Common. Let's get inside. I think there might even be something that's eatable in the fridge," he says placing his hand on my thigh and giving it a light squeeze before exiting the car.

We climb the porch stairs together in silence. Once inside, he places my overnight bag at the bottom of the stairs and then makes his way into the kitchen.

"I'm going to start some tea. That should help soothe your throat."

"Mulder, you really don't have to—"

But he cuts me off before I can finish, raising his voice.

"Stop thanking me and telling me that I don't have to take care of you. If I hadn't come in when I did, that man would have killed you … you do realize that right?"

The look on his face stops me cold.

"Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?"

Grabbing the top of the one the kitchen chairs, he shifts his weight and looks down at the table in an attempt to calm himself. At first, I say nothing. Mulder is one of the most controlled people I have ever known. Even with everything we've been through in the last 25 years, I can still count on one hand how many times he has raised his voice at me in anger.

But anger isn't what I see now. What I see now is pure, unadulterated fear.

"I'm sorry Scully, I didn't mean to … I just—"

"It's okay," I say, interrupting him. "I buried you once — so yes, I have an idea." It comes out low and raspy, strained by events of the last 24 hours, but it silences him nonetheless.

As my words register, his eyes return to mine, and the fire in them dissipates.

Loss is something that we are both intimately familiar with.

Sighing, he releases his hold on the kitchen chair.

"I know you can take care of yourself, Scully. You've always been able to do that, but we still don't know for sure who sent him or why. Until we know, more I don't want you staying alone. If something happened you … something that I could have prevented … I would never forgive myself."

I don't know how to respond, so I don't.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" he asks softly. "I have some yogurt in the fridge if you just want something light."

"No, but I will take some tea."

He nods and turns to turn on the stove, filling up the kettle and placing it over the burner.

"Why don't you head upstairs and take a shower. I'll come up in a minute with your tea and change the sheets."

"I'm sure they are fine."

"I haven't washed them in a while. I usually just sleep on the couch."

His tone is soft but final, and his message is clear. He's going to take care of me, and I'm going to let him because he's not taking 'no' for an answer.

—

Mulder wasn't kidding. The bed is made and looks as if it hasn't been used in months, but other than that, the room we once shared has changed very little in my absence.

My eyes are immediately drawn to a picture he has framed and prominently displayed on what was my bedside table. It's a picture of the two of us that I have never seen before. As I take a closer look, I recognize the scenery and the clothes we are wearing. The trip to the Keys had been a surprise anniversary gift. He must have had the film developed after I moved out and had it framed.

The realization causes a lump to form in my throat that is painful to swallow in more ways than one.

"There are some clean towels under the sink," he says, startling me as he enters the room behind me.

Although it's clear that he noted my interest in the picture, he doesn't say or do anything to draw attention to it, and for that I am grateful. I can hear him stripping the bed as I retreat into the bathroom.

It's not until I turn on the water and begin to disrobe that I realize that I have a problem.

Somewhere between the seizure, car accident, and struggle with the mysterious assassin, I have lost the ability to put my arms behind my back. I silently curse at my bra for a few moments before relenting and shutting off the water so that I don't have strain my voice to speak over it.

"Mulder?"

There's a periodic moment of silence before he responds.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come in here for a minute?"

"Um … yeah, sure, Scully, just ... give me a minute."

Within a few seconds, he's at the door.

"What's wrong Scully? Are you OKAY?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I just … I'm having trouble with the clasp, can you undo it for me?"

He steps into the bathroom and freezes.

"Jesus, Scully."

I'm half naked, but that's not why he's cursing.

"Is this from the accident or from …?"

His fingers gently trace over the bruising as he spins me to take a closer look.

"I'm not sure, but I can't quite get the … can you …?"

"Yeah."

He unclips my bra rubbing his hands lightly over my low back and shoulder blades until he reaches the tops of my shoulders. My back is to him, but his eyes meet mine in the mirror.

"I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was this bad. Do you have any pain meds?"

"No … I'm okay … just going to be sore for a couple of days."

He doesn't believe me, but he doesn't press the issue either. Instead, he kisses the top of my head and leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I half expect him to be lingering around when I get out the shower, but he isn't.

The bed is covered with fresh sheets, and the clothes from my overnight bag are laid out at the edge of the bed. If I weren't so tired, I would probably be more embarrassed by the fact that he found one of his old tee shirts in my overnight bag. Although we've been separated for nearly four years now, I still find myself sleeping in his clothes. I silently curse myself for packing something so intimately personal in an overnight bag prepared to use on company time.

"Scully?"

"Just a minute," I say as I gingerly finish dressing.

When I open the door, he's waiting on the other side with a steaming cup of hot tea.

"Thank you."

He smiles.

"Got everything you need?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay. Well … I'll see you in the morning. If you need anything, I'll be down here."

For a moment, we just stand in silence, neither of us knowing quite what to say.

As I gaze into his eyes, I realize that what I want more than anything is for him to come to bed and wrap his arms around me, but I have no right to ask that of him. I threw that right away the moment I left him, so instead of asking him to stay, I allow him to kiss my forehead and then watch him walk away.

—

I wake up to hands on my body.

I want to scream, but I can't because there is no air in my lungs.

Panicked, I kick, claw, and fight for my life, but my efforts are fruitless. Everything is moving in slow motion, and I am powerless to stop it. That's when it hits me … I'm dying … this must be what dying feels like. Unable to fight any longer, I surrender to fate and still my body. Just as my field of vision begins to darken into a black blur, I hear a familiar voice. A voice that clears the fog and fills my lungs with air.

He releases me quickly, narrowly avoiding getting headbutted as I bolt up out of bed.

"SCULLY … SCULLY … It's me … It's just a dream. It's me. Mulder."

I'm gasping for breath and unable to speak, but relief floods me as my vision clears.

"It's just a dream, Scully," he repeats softly. "I'm here. You're safe."

Once he sees that I have oriented back to reality, he wraps his arms around me, pulling my head into his chest.

I try to swallow the sob before it leaves my throat, but I can't. The tears quickly follow.

"Shhhhhh … It's OKAY. I'm here. You're safe."

This only makes me cry harder.

He lays us down gently, cradling my head against his chest — taking care to not to apply too much pressure to my bruised and battered body.

Neither of us speaks for quite some time.

When the tears subside, and my breathing normalizes, he's the one to break the silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I sniffle, trying to clear my nose and throat so that I can speak. I've made a mess of the shirt he's wearing. It's so wet in places that it's sticking to his skin, but I don't care, and I doubt he does either.

"I couldn't breathe."

It's likely not the detailed explanation he was looking for, but it's the only explanation that is required.

He takes a deep breath and pulls my body more tightly against his.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Scully."

"You can't promise that, Mulder. No more than I could promise it to you."

"I've gone to the ends of the earth for you … killed for you … and I would give my life for yours in a heartbeat. You know that."

I do know, but this conversation is quickly heading in a direction that I'm not ready to go. Not tonight. So I don't respond with words. Instead, I snuggle into his chest, wrapping my arms around him and intertwining my legs with his. I don't want to live like I'm living on borrowed time. I want to go to sleep in his arms comforted by the fact that I still have tomorrow to say all the things I need to say. So instead of making confessions of heart, I close my eyes and surrender to sleep as I listen to the beat of his heart.

[just-a-girl-and-her-ships]

Husband: So what did you do today?

Me: Umm, ya know. Stuff. 🙄

[lucisevofficial]

On the plus side I've almost finished my physical media collection.... I'm missing one (1) season of the xfiles and that's about it

spent too much money on moveys :(

[anders-hawke]

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.

― Pablo Neruda’s 100 Sonnets

[dunhamhairograpy]

Plus One Script: Scully afterglow ☀️🍆

Scully "You can't steal my sunshine."

[mlobsters]

supernatural s11e16 safe house (w. robbie thompson)

you know the first time i tried to watch the haunting of hill house i noped right out of it because straight out of the gate it was kids in bed and ghosty things and them being scared and hit all the parent of small children alarm bells at once. anyway, similar vibes :p (now all 3 of my kids sleep in the same room [their choosing] and my 5yo told me if he has a bad dream when he wakes up he's not scared because he sees his brothers in the room with him 🥺🥺🥺)

all right. scraped off a sigil, rufus in the thumbnail

SAM Dean we can't just sit around and - and wait for a lead. Plus, it would be nice to get a win, this case seems like a lay-up. DEAN Yeah, when's the last time we had a layup?

we sure never get to see them if they do :p milk run to basketball

RUFUS. Yeah. Well if by backup you mean you do all the heavy lifting while I watch. It's Shabbat! BOBBY Are you serious? RUFUS Deadly! BOBBY You drove over here, ain't that against the rule? RUFUS Ah, ah, ah! Less talkin', more hunting.

little callback to 6x16

DEAN I got to say, I never figured Rufus for the religious type. BOBBY Well, he didn't exactly keep kosher. He always used to pull the old "can't work on the sabbath" card whenever we had to bury a body.

ugh, i missed him. and he makes me more fond of bobby too (who i don't dislike, i just never really fully connected with). their bickering is top notch

possible ghost hunt with jackass, i love it

RUFUS What what, my turn? Yo - yo, Bobby. Read my lips, Bobby. I cannot help you. Alright, it is Sabbath. BOBBY It is after sundown, so get to diggin'. RUFUS (Looking around at the darkness around them) Good catch.

so cute. the direct parallels to the boys -> amara / apocalypse are a little much but i'm not gonna complain with all this good food from robbie

BOBBY Been burning the midnight oil. Last couple of weeks. Up for days. Lookin' for ways to stop the apocalypse. Lookin' for - anything. Sam and Dean are right in the middle of this thing. I'm worried about my boys, Rufus. RUFUS Your boys? [BOBBY gives him a look.] RUFUS Hey, hey. Alright, okay, Papa bear. But you know more than anyone, Bobby. Even if we find a way to keep the world spinning, not everyone's going to be on that bus ride home. Sacrifice, greater good. All that jazz.

makin me cry

BOBBY Yeah, I know. RUFUS Oldest rule of hunting, Bobby. You can't save everyone.

rufus 😢

nosy neighbor / the x-files s2e5 duane berry

this lady was in the duane berry episode of the xfiles which i can't find her in the episode but it was the one with mulder in the red speedo :p

i like sam's shirt. this back and forth brainstorming is nice (could you pick a more uncomfortable place to perch your ass, sam). also another break from the main plot is a relief

RUFUS What happens to the remains of the souls in the nest? BOBBY Well they wither too, but they stay with the Soul Eater, keeping it fed in lean times. Sorta like a cud. RUFUS Ew.

cosigned

SAM You know it's too bad Bobby and Rufus aren't around to see this stuff. They'd have been great Men of Letters. DEAN Yeah, grumpy old Men of Letters, but yeah.

💔 yeah. thinking about how they don't have that more experienced hunter backup in a person anymore, someone who is gonna be on their side no matter what, just the bunker files and flaky celestial beings. sad trombone

DEAN Which means one of us has to go on there. SAM Yeah. DEAN Not it. SAM Uh, dude.

children, lol

years or winning with one blip, i don't think sammy's worried

DEAN We are never settling anything with that stupid game again. Ever.

BOBBY If memory serves, things are about to get hairy. RUFUS You wanna hold my hand?

cute cute. is dean gonna see bobby in the nest?

ah, a fake dead sam, that's surely a good choice for making his soul vulnerable

aw, and a fake dead sam and dean for bobby. catch me wondering if those are era-accurate sideburns on sam :p

bobby and rufus are the slowest painters to paint. come on boys, pick up the pace! good grief. stressin me out :p

THE SOUL EATER You know your brother wants to go to The Darkness. He needs to go. But I can keep you safe. Both of you. Forever.

seems very trustworthy

(from earlier in the episode) SAM The Soul Eaters aren't really here or there, but apparently they can muster enough strength to yank their vic's souls out of this world, and into their nest. And then as soon as the vic's in the nest, they're outside of our space and time.

had to go back and see if he said something about the nests not being bound to time, i will admit to sort of zoning out during the details of the monstery stuff. so sam and dean saved bobby from the future, make me cry again

❤️

BOBBY My boys. Both of 'em. Both of 'em dead. And I saw… well I don't know what the hell I saw. RUFUS Yeah well. Forget the oldest rule, Bobby. BOBBY Are you gettin' soft on me, Rufus? RUFUS Yeah, soft this.

s11e16 / s7e12 (forgot what jody looked like with longer hair!)

SAM Hey, you said the Soul Eater made you see things. Plural. So… what else did you see? DEAN I saw you. Dead on the floor. SAM Hmm. DEAN What? SAM How messed up are our lives that you seeing a vision of dead me is actually kind of comforting?

indeed it is, on both accounts. also comforting that dean just tells him, doesn't brush it off. is this growth?

thank you again, robbie. giving the people (me) what they like/want/need

[enigmaticxbee]

✖️✖️✖️ 11x03 Plus One

The one where... there’s only one room at the motel and Scully can’t sleep... and murderous doppelgängers, whatever.

Tagline: The Truth Is Out There - The Truth Is Out There

Best: What is happening, are my fanfic daydreams somehow coming to life on my screen? Scully coming to Mulder in the middle of the night and asking him to hold her? Mulder getting up from their bed and grinning at himself in the bathroom mirror? Scully sleepily whispering for him to come back to bed? Mulder hurriedly dressing while telling a naked Scully in his bed to put a dimmer on that afterglow because they have to rush off to solve a case? Scully sauntering towards their adjoining motel room door to find Mulder leaning there giving her that look? GA’s ATTHS. Twice. 😏 tweet - what a time to be alive!

Worst: Don’t even get me started on their conversation about having more kids. They’ve had 16 years to have this conversation! Scully’s in her mid-50s!! This might have made sense 10 years earlier in the IWTB era - it feels like a classic tv revival case of an idea a writer had years earlier that makes its way into a revival like no time has passed and these characters haven’t been living their lives - together! - for years. We all know they’re terrible at communicating but give me a fucking break. And the fact that they only have this conversation and sleep together - at the St Rachel motel 🙄 - to set up the finale pregnancy twist 😑

❌ Flashlights

❌ Woods/Desert

❌ Slideshow

❌ Autopsy

❌ Evidence Disappears

❌ Scully Misses It

❌ Mulder Ditch

❌ Sunflower Seeds

❌ Voiceover

❌ Catch Phrase

❌ Scully is a Medical Doctor

❌ Mulder is Spooky

❌ Scuuullllaaaaayy! Muullllderrrr!

❌ Fox/Dana

✔️ Inappropriate Touching (that I am here for)

❌ Casual Scully

✔️ Casual Mulder

❌ Trench Coats

❌ Bad Tie Watch

✔️ Glasses Watch 😎

✔️ Taking! It! Personally!: Scully

50 States: Virginia x21 (44/50)

Investigate: Together & Apart

Solve Rate: 67%

✔️ Bechdel Test

MSR: 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Goriness: 👽👽👽

Creepiness: 👽👽👽

Humor: 👽👽👽

Rewatch Thoughts:

William check-in: They somehow have a whole conversation about having more kids without mentioning him directly… Isn’t the issue less that William was a miracle and more that they had to give him up for his own protection and what would make another kid any safer?? Although with Mulder around it would be different than in season 9. More to say, I don’t think Scully’s issue with having another kid was who to have it with.

Break-up check-in: All their maybe you’ll find someone else stuff just feels ridiculous to me... Mulder’s face when Scully says that she can’t imagine that she’ll need him 🥺 - but also he knows her, that she’ll protest and try to deny herself what she really wants, but that she wants him, and he’ll be there waiting when she opens the door.

The opening scene is very unpleasant - not my type of music and crowded mosh pits are my nightmare

The site of the bear bts video!

Scully’s little smile says she thinks he’s handsome too

Only one room huh? My favorite trope brought to life?? Never mind, there’s a pullout sofa. They could have just been in adjoining rooms (like every fanfic ever).

Karin Konoval (the memorable Mrs. Peacock) plays both Judy and Chucky - I don’t think I realized that the first time I saw this episode because I am very unobservant

Wtf is Dookie?

CC trying to write about a middle aged woman’s insecurities about being past her child-bearing years is so cringey - all dried up?? Would Scully have complicated feelings about aging and motherhood? Of course! But letting Judy get to her like that just does not feel authentic.

Mulder and Scully could argue about ghosts in their sleep - and probably have.

Mulder: You still got some scoot in your boot. Is that a saying? 😂

Scully’s hair looks great this episode - especially in the parking lot scene.

They are very blasé about the death of a man who came to them for help hours earlier and they sent home, telling him it was all in his head…

Things I do like about their bedtime chat:

- Scully asking to be held 🥺

- Mulder: I’ll come push your wheelchair with my wheelchair.

- Mulder’s arm around her

- Scully: Sometimes I think the world is going to hell and that we’re the only two people who can save it. This is why it took them 7 years to get together the first time.

- Scully: We’ll think of something. That smirk!

Chuck and Judy being unable to kill Mulder and Scully because they’re fighting over who’s more in love with them, relatable.

Scully rationalizing her evil doppelgänger away - after she’s eaten magic bread pills.

That final scene!! I may have watched the gif of this a few (hundred) times.