The X-Files 2x08: One Breath
Jul. 27th, 2018 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedi_of_urth posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tori_reviewsThe X-Files 2x08: One Breath
This entire mini-arc has been weirdly paced and put together, so it’s quite in keeping that the conclusion is the slowest and most moody episode where very little happens. I love this episode, I’m with everything it’s doing, but anyone expecting an active conclusion didn’t get it at all. The “action” scene at the hospital comes out of nowhere and has basically no explanation; aside from that, you wouldn’t even classify this as ‘X-Files does hospital drama,’ because it’s no kind of medical drama, it’s just people angsting in a hospital.
The big take away is that at this point literally everyone has to be well aware of how Mulder feels about Scully. Melissa doesn’t seem to really understand their relationship, but she seems to have caught on pretty quickly to the depth of it. Maggie has basically adopted him as de facto son-in-law. If Skinner didn’t already suspect (and he probably did) he has to now (btw, Mulder kept on cleaning out his desk after Skinner rejected his resignation, walking out with a box and everything).
It’s interesting to compare Mulder’s scenes with Mr. X and Cancerman, because they’re both kind of demonstrating the same thing: the person Mulder would probably become if Scully had died. X wants Mulder to become a player, and if he becomes that because of Scully’s death it will have been worth it, and he thinks Mulder will be able to live with that course of events. Of course even he realizes by the end of the episode that maybe that isn’t true of Mulder; if he didn’t when he decided to give Mulder his revenge he probably sees it even clearer when Mulder doesn’t take it. The end result for Mulder, without Scully, looks a lot more like Cancerman’s life as presented; empty of anything except the cause he once believed in but even that is fairly hollow now. The position he finds CSM in is basically how we see Mulder at more than one point in this episode, staring blankly at the TV screen, neither sleeping nor awake. And yeah, if Smokey hadn’t already guessed Mulder’s Achilles heel, the gun in his face was pretty telling.
I’ll have to keep an eye on next episode if we finally see Mulder get some sleep, because that has been a running theme in this arc that never quite finishes with him finally resting. I’m not sure how they could have included a scene of Mulder finally going to sleep with a smile on his face, it wouldn’t have really fit in the closing scenes, and we haven’t yet revealed that Mulder has an actual bedroom, but it’s a small missing beat.
This seems to be the first time we get anything on Skinner personally. He’s making it clear to Smokey that his office is becoming less friendly to a smoking man, but in a passive aggressive way. He makes his second move to actively support Mulder (after reopening the X-files). And we finally peek behind the curtain to see who the man that we’ve been watching a lot of so far this season actually is. All season Skinner has been moving from ‘uncertain enemy’ to ‘occasional ally;’ he’s only just started to actually change as a character, but Mulder is learning to understand Skinner better and see that he a decent man trying his best to the best of his abilities. It’s a long way from him being the third member of the team of two, but it’s a start that allows him to become that (and more in the last couple seasons without Mulder as I recall, since the team of two isn’t together).
Do we ever actually meet The Thinker? That’s a very specific reference that I don’t remember going anywhere, for being the newest Lone Gunmen supposedly. Considering I had forgotten a few elements in this one, including that and the fight in the laundry room (shows how little I care about the random action scene of the episode), I thought I had just spaced out on that guy being The Thinker. Of course, I’m also wondering who the woman Skinner used to pass intel to Mulder is; also how they got through that series of events without either of them learning at least an alias to call him besides Cancerman.
I always feel like I should have something to say about the scene with Ahab, but I never do. It’s just really good.
The gang that’s here
Skinner, Smokey, the Lone Gunmen, Mr. X, Maggie; Melissa if she counts as recurring, though on reflection I think she casts a longer shadow after her death, and even that may be more fandom.
Are we saying it’s aliens?
Nobody is super focused on who had Scully in this one. The show is however proposing some kind of guardian angel, a little view at the afterlife waiting room (where your relatives can visit while you’re unconscious), and that Melissa is somehow sensing Scully’s spirit told her not to call Mulder Fox.
Can DD act?
For as much of the episode as he has to carry he does a pretty good job. I don’t think he’s really given enough time in the beginning to go from ‘Oh my god, Scully’s alive’ to demanding answers and flying off the handle, but I’m not sure that’s his fault and it was the only straight up problem I had.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
Aside from rambling about branch DNA to the point where the doctor tells him to zip it, he’s not really proposing any crazy theories. He is however often dropping random statements that especially Melissa is like ‘what are you talking about?’ even before she yells at him at the end. This is an episode where Mulder’s beliefs in the paranormal seem to have stepped aside, as he would normally be all over Melissa’s new age stuff about spirits; that he isn’t is pretty telling of just how despairing he is of the situation.
Break-ins
Mulder’s place gets broken in to without him there to shoot anyone; Mulder breaks into Cancerman’s place.
People allowed to call Mulder Fox
Maggie, not Melissa, in Scully’s opinion he is not Fox, and I didn’t catch Cancerman calling him Fox this time
Are they in love?
Scully maybe, Mulder absolutely and everyone (except maybe Scully herself) knows it
Who’s your daddy?
Cancerman claims not to have a wife or family. I guess he and Mama Spender are probably divorced and I don’t think he’s seen Spender in a while, so that’s kind of true. But again, considering how down the line he can’t resist calling Mulder his son at every opportunity (sometimes while Mulder’s pointing guns at him), it’s notable to me that he doesn’t now.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
The Gunmen discuss some options for the cause of the branch DNA that all echo a little uncomfortably. Also, Cancerman claims he likes Scully, which causes some minor eww reaction. Although Skinner also claims he likes Scully, and I hope that for now he means professionally, because I do kind of ship it but this is too early.
There are a few different observations in this one, not many but a few things I comments on a couple years ago that I didn’t get into this time.
2x08: One Breath (2016 thoughts)
(Previous status: definitely seen before, I think a few times, at least the significant bits)
I was looking forward to this one, because I remembered it being so good, and it still was. It’s all character stuff, with a dash of relevance to the arc but even that’s just as much as necessary considering what it is; there’s no real threat of the week or anything resolved except Scully’s return. But it’s some really solid character work.
So it turns out I’d forgotten Bill Scully was set up to be an ass even before we met him, I don’t know how much of what the flashback told us about the Scully family as kids carries through but that sure does. I’m also suddenly aware that I have to question how most of the kids in the family ended up with red hair (I don’t know that we really know with Bill, but the rest do) unless Margaret dies hers dark and/or Bill Sr. had some serious red hair before he lost it all.
I remember as a kid being convinced Mulder and Melissa were going to end up hooking up, not in this episode, but I was fairly sure that was part of why she was introduced. I actually can’t remember if I was right about that (I don’t remember it, and I probably would, but I can’t rule it out), but I remember thinking it would happen. I’m not sure what else I was watching in those days to make me think such a soap opera-y thing would happen but it gave me a bad vibe towards Melissa that I probably shouldn’t have had. That said, I can kind of see what teen-me was picking up on, because they do have decent chemistry and while Mulder clearly loves Scully, he can’t really do anything about that so I could still kind of see him making a mistake (that happens repeatedly) with her sister; I actually have a harder time seeing why Melissa would end up in the middle of that mess as long as Dana’s in the picture even if I can see why Mulder would appeal to both Scully sisters for different reasons.
Margaret did seem better acted this time over last, still maybe a little rough of a performance, but it mostly worked alright. Her relationship with Mulder at this point is really interesting, as she basically treats him like he’s...maybe not quite a son-in-law, but filling a similar role in this story. He is the person she turns to because he’s suffering over this as much as she is, but she also gets that he handles it differently; she’s aware of the guilt he feels for what happened even though she doesn’t seem to blame him, and I’m fairly sure she’s aware as Melissa doesn’t always seem to be that his wild arguments through the story are all born of love he’s still unable to really deal with.
This is also a really good episode for Skinner, it’s probably his first outright development and placing himself directly on Mulder’s (and Scully’s) side. I think I used to be more bored by his long speech about Vietnam, but I really liked it this time, my appreciation for Skinner has grown a lot since the early time I saw this. It’s probably the strongest ACTING performances of the episode, though this episode doesn’t have many bad notes at acting.
It’s also the breakup of Skinner and Smokey, Skinner letting him know it because he no longer allows smoking in the office. This is also the first time I’ve felt it almost glaring that no one knows Cancerman’s name, because he has to have some kind of ID to keep getting into these high level meetings, even if it’s a fake name they must have something on the books one would think. Maybe he does that’s how Skinner had his address, maybe Mulder just manages to be unobservant for years to come.
The confrontation between Mulder and CSM is also interesting. Because Smokey seems to be living Mulder’s life, falling asleep in front of the TV, living alone and unremarked; he doesn’t seem like a grand mastermind at this stage. Does that just make him more of a mastermind to have staged it like that or is it all just a big retcon later how important he is? Probably a little of column A and little of column B if I had to guess. It’s also a little funny to consider it with all the future twists on things, Mulder’s sticking a gun in his (probably) father’s face and he says he has no children; per s10 he did all of this so that Scully would be saved come the apocalypse and that would bring Mulder into the fold; it is possible to already see that Cancerman ships it if you’re inclined to read it that way.
But taking what we see there at face value, this is another moment Mulder seeing the kind of future he might have in store for him. If Scully had died, wouldn’t Mulder’s life look a lot like Smokey’s empty shell of a life? X proposes an equally soulless path that’s the way to the truth. And I think, although we’ll see how it plays out, that I may well have been right that this is a big one for Mulder, because he is made to confront what he is and isn’t willing to sacrifice for this and what he’s willing to give up for Scully. I kind of want to ruminate on this some more, but it can probably wait and see how some coming episodes support or don’t this notion.
I guess I didn’t do a proper Mulder-check on this one, but I think I’ve covered most everything I might say. Yeah he seems off the rails here, but it is mostly, and would certainly appear to any observers to be ‘my partner/love of my life is fighting for her life’ off the rails desperation rather than just general Mulder crazy.
This entire mini-arc has been weirdly paced and put together, so it’s quite in keeping that the conclusion is the slowest and most moody episode where very little happens. I love this episode, I’m with everything it’s doing, but anyone expecting an active conclusion didn’t get it at all. The “action” scene at the hospital comes out of nowhere and has basically no explanation; aside from that, you wouldn’t even classify this as ‘X-Files does hospital drama,’ because it’s no kind of medical drama, it’s just people angsting in a hospital.
The big take away is that at this point literally everyone has to be well aware of how Mulder feels about Scully. Melissa doesn’t seem to really understand their relationship, but she seems to have caught on pretty quickly to the depth of it. Maggie has basically adopted him as de facto son-in-law. If Skinner didn’t already suspect (and he probably did) he has to now (btw, Mulder kept on cleaning out his desk after Skinner rejected his resignation, walking out with a box and everything).
It’s interesting to compare Mulder’s scenes with Mr. X and Cancerman, because they’re both kind of demonstrating the same thing: the person Mulder would probably become if Scully had died. X wants Mulder to become a player, and if he becomes that because of Scully’s death it will have been worth it, and he thinks Mulder will be able to live with that course of events. Of course even he realizes by the end of the episode that maybe that isn’t true of Mulder; if he didn’t when he decided to give Mulder his revenge he probably sees it even clearer when Mulder doesn’t take it. The end result for Mulder, without Scully, looks a lot more like Cancerman’s life as presented; empty of anything except the cause he once believed in but even that is fairly hollow now. The position he finds CSM in is basically how we see Mulder at more than one point in this episode, staring blankly at the TV screen, neither sleeping nor awake. And yeah, if Smokey hadn’t already guessed Mulder’s Achilles heel, the gun in his face was pretty telling.
I’ll have to keep an eye on next episode if we finally see Mulder get some sleep, because that has been a running theme in this arc that never quite finishes with him finally resting. I’m not sure how they could have included a scene of Mulder finally going to sleep with a smile on his face, it wouldn’t have really fit in the closing scenes, and we haven’t yet revealed that Mulder has an actual bedroom, but it’s a small missing beat.
This seems to be the first time we get anything on Skinner personally. He’s making it clear to Smokey that his office is becoming less friendly to a smoking man, but in a passive aggressive way. He makes his second move to actively support Mulder (after reopening the X-files). And we finally peek behind the curtain to see who the man that we’ve been watching a lot of so far this season actually is. All season Skinner has been moving from ‘uncertain enemy’ to ‘occasional ally;’ he’s only just started to actually change as a character, but Mulder is learning to understand Skinner better and see that he a decent man trying his best to the best of his abilities. It’s a long way from him being the third member of the team of two, but it’s a start that allows him to become that (and more in the last couple seasons without Mulder as I recall, since the team of two isn’t together).
Do we ever actually meet The Thinker? That’s a very specific reference that I don’t remember going anywhere, for being the newest Lone Gunmen supposedly. Considering I had forgotten a few elements in this one, including that and the fight in the laundry room (shows how little I care about the random action scene of the episode), I thought I had just spaced out on that guy being The Thinker. Of course, I’m also wondering who the woman Skinner used to pass intel to Mulder is; also how they got through that series of events without either of them learning at least an alias to call him besides Cancerman.
I always feel like I should have something to say about the scene with Ahab, but I never do. It’s just really good.
The gang that’s here
Skinner, Smokey, the Lone Gunmen, Mr. X, Maggie; Melissa if she counts as recurring, though on reflection I think she casts a longer shadow after her death, and even that may be more fandom.
Are we saying it’s aliens?
Nobody is super focused on who had Scully in this one. The show is however proposing some kind of guardian angel, a little view at the afterlife waiting room (where your relatives can visit while you’re unconscious), and that Melissa is somehow sensing Scully’s spirit told her not to call Mulder Fox.
Can DD act?
For as much of the episode as he has to carry he does a pretty good job. I don’t think he’s really given enough time in the beginning to go from ‘Oh my god, Scully’s alive’ to demanding answers and flying off the handle, but I’m not sure that’s his fault and it was the only straight up problem I had.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
Aside from rambling about branch DNA to the point where the doctor tells him to zip it, he’s not really proposing any crazy theories. He is however often dropping random statements that especially Melissa is like ‘what are you talking about?’ even before she yells at him at the end. This is an episode where Mulder’s beliefs in the paranormal seem to have stepped aside, as he would normally be all over Melissa’s new age stuff about spirits; that he isn’t is pretty telling of just how despairing he is of the situation.
Break-ins
Mulder’s place gets broken in to without him there to shoot anyone; Mulder breaks into Cancerman’s place.
People allowed to call Mulder Fox
Maggie, not Melissa, in Scully’s opinion he is not Fox, and I didn’t catch Cancerman calling him Fox this time
Are they in love?
Scully maybe, Mulder absolutely and everyone (except maybe Scully herself) knows it
Who’s your daddy?
Cancerman claims not to have a wife or family. I guess he and Mama Spender are probably divorced and I don’t think he’s seen Spender in a while, so that’s kind of true. But again, considering how down the line he can’t resist calling Mulder his son at every opportunity (sometimes while Mulder’s pointing guns at him), it’s notable to me that he doesn’t now.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
The Gunmen discuss some options for the cause of the branch DNA that all echo a little uncomfortably. Also, Cancerman claims he likes Scully, which causes some minor eww reaction. Although Skinner also claims he likes Scully, and I hope that for now he means professionally, because I do kind of ship it but this is too early.
There are a few different observations in this one, not many but a few things I comments on a couple years ago that I didn’t get into this time.
2x08: One Breath (2016 thoughts)
(Previous status: definitely seen before, I think a few times, at least the significant bits)
I was looking forward to this one, because I remembered it being so good, and it still was. It’s all character stuff, with a dash of relevance to the arc but even that’s just as much as necessary considering what it is; there’s no real threat of the week or anything resolved except Scully’s return. But it’s some really solid character work.
So it turns out I’d forgotten Bill Scully was set up to be an ass even before we met him, I don’t know how much of what the flashback told us about the Scully family as kids carries through but that sure does. I’m also suddenly aware that I have to question how most of the kids in the family ended up with red hair (I don’t know that we really know with Bill, but the rest do) unless Margaret dies hers dark and/or Bill Sr. had some serious red hair before he lost it all.
I remember as a kid being convinced Mulder and Melissa were going to end up hooking up, not in this episode, but I was fairly sure that was part of why she was introduced. I actually can’t remember if I was right about that (I don’t remember it, and I probably would, but I can’t rule it out), but I remember thinking it would happen. I’m not sure what else I was watching in those days to make me think such a soap opera-y thing would happen but it gave me a bad vibe towards Melissa that I probably shouldn’t have had. That said, I can kind of see what teen-me was picking up on, because they do have decent chemistry and while Mulder clearly loves Scully, he can’t really do anything about that so I could still kind of see him making a mistake (that happens repeatedly) with her sister; I actually have a harder time seeing why Melissa would end up in the middle of that mess as long as Dana’s in the picture even if I can see why Mulder would appeal to both Scully sisters for different reasons.
Margaret did seem better acted this time over last, still maybe a little rough of a performance, but it mostly worked alright. Her relationship with Mulder at this point is really interesting, as she basically treats him like he’s...maybe not quite a son-in-law, but filling a similar role in this story. He is the person she turns to because he’s suffering over this as much as she is, but she also gets that he handles it differently; she’s aware of the guilt he feels for what happened even though she doesn’t seem to blame him, and I’m fairly sure she’s aware as Melissa doesn’t always seem to be that his wild arguments through the story are all born of love he’s still unable to really deal with.
This is also a really good episode for Skinner, it’s probably his first outright development and placing himself directly on Mulder’s (and Scully’s) side. I think I used to be more bored by his long speech about Vietnam, but I really liked it this time, my appreciation for Skinner has grown a lot since the early time I saw this. It’s probably the strongest ACTING performances of the episode, though this episode doesn’t have many bad notes at acting.
It’s also the breakup of Skinner and Smokey, Skinner letting him know it because he no longer allows smoking in the office. This is also the first time I’ve felt it almost glaring that no one knows Cancerman’s name, because he has to have some kind of ID to keep getting into these high level meetings, even if it’s a fake name they must have something on the books one would think. Maybe he does that’s how Skinner had his address, maybe Mulder just manages to be unobservant for years to come.
The confrontation between Mulder and CSM is also interesting. Because Smokey seems to be living Mulder’s life, falling asleep in front of the TV, living alone and unremarked; he doesn’t seem like a grand mastermind at this stage. Does that just make him more of a mastermind to have staged it like that or is it all just a big retcon later how important he is? Probably a little of column A and little of column B if I had to guess. It’s also a little funny to consider it with all the future twists on things, Mulder’s sticking a gun in his (probably) father’s face and he says he has no children; per s10 he did all of this so that Scully would be saved come the apocalypse and that would bring Mulder into the fold; it is possible to already see that Cancerman ships it if you’re inclined to read it that way.
But taking what we see there at face value, this is another moment Mulder seeing the kind of future he might have in store for him. If Scully had died, wouldn’t Mulder’s life look a lot like Smokey’s empty shell of a life? X proposes an equally soulless path that’s the way to the truth. And I think, although we’ll see how it plays out, that I may well have been right that this is a big one for Mulder, because he is made to confront what he is and isn’t willing to sacrifice for this and what he’s willing to give up for Scully. I kind of want to ruminate on this some more, but it can probably wait and see how some coming episodes support or don’t this notion.
I guess I didn’t do a proper Mulder-check on this one, but I think I’ve covered most everything I might say. Yeah he seems off the rails here, but it is mostly, and would certainly appear to any observers to be ‘my partner/love of my life is fighting for her life’ off the rails desperation rather than just general Mulder crazy.
