Reviews > Season 8 > Within / Without
by David

Within - Without review

"There is freedom within, there is freedom without, try to catch the deluge in a paper cup." 
Crowded House. "Hey now (don't dream it's over)"

Opening scene: the womb. Hard to guess at first, it's actually highly symbolic. The baby will be an important part of this season 8 mythology, and this highlights this simple fact. Excellent transition to Mulder spitting a tube, a bit like Scully after she was vaccinated in FTF, which would lead us to think that he had been imprisoned in the same visquous liquid as she did. Scully wakes up at this vision, first of many.

First questions: are these just dreams (or rather nightmares), or visions of reality ? Is that baby a link with Mulder, sharing genes with him, as all the shippers out there would like to think?

Credits: music is the same, the rest is details... Who bloody cares if the badges go forward or backwards? DD's credited even though he just merely screams, good for him.

"Scully's Theme"... Nothing to say, it's a beautiful piece of music by Mark Snow. GA expresses all the loneliness and sadness S could feel the day after Mulder's disappearance. The XF office is searched by taskforce agents turning everything upside down, symbolising the changes coming up in the X Files. Kersh is back, nastier than ever. He's more concerned about his new appointment than what happened to his former black sheep. Ironically, he's the first to mention Doggett. Skinner shows straight away his new role of believer. He renews his promise to S. That gives us a hint of the predominant role he will have in the season. Mulder's disappearance is a gift for him as it gives him the importance he deserved in the show.

Doggett is introduced. Not very likeable at first as he plays with Scully's feelings. But we'll learn that that's the way he works, and that's why he's one of the best, one that Kersh is afraid of. The first confrontation between the 2 agents is a masterpiece. No music, no need for it... All is in the intensity of both characters. The cup of water is already part of the X Files history.

Scully looks for info about Doggett, and that's how we learn about his background. The guy is a toughie. Sick!Scully reminds us even more of the fact she's pregnant. So much distress is then shown on the failed phone call to her mother (who we haven't seen for a while), that we barely take notice of the Scully's Theme.

Then things accelerate, the plot starts thickening (the thick plottens as a friend would say...). Scully's laptop is stolen, her landlord says he's seen Mulder, Doggett is accused, but that only deserves the character as we'll see later. At that point it's a bit confusing, but that's the trademark of a nice change of pace...

Then the beautiful scene that make all shippers happy... More Scully's Theme, S goes to Mulder's flat to find out that his computer's been stolen as well. She's obviously looking for the presence of her partner, and she falls asleep in his bed with one of his shirts. Then comes the 1st torture scene. A lot of people say these scenes were useless, merely existing just to show Mulder to the angry Mulder or DD fans. But they'll play their role in the mythology, proving again that nothing's ever forgotten or useless in CC's twisted ways, just like no character ever really dies as he says... And they're part of the new darker, gorier atmosphere of the show as well.

Then the LGM make their first appearance, alongside Skinner. They're all out to try to find Mulder, and that's kind of cool, innit?

Then, as I was saying, when S accused D of having her followed, it actually very cleverly deserves D. He goes to ask Kersh if anyone else is on the case. He starts doubting already the badass Deputy Director, and Kersh is clearly shown as a manipulator. D is just doing his job, and he follows his line, with no bad thoughts.

New confrontation between S and D in M's flat. That scene is full of fantastic lines, basis for the whole season.
"- I just came by to feed the fish...
- And then you got tired and decided to take a nap?"

This has to be one of my favourite quotes ever. Funny thing is that we learn he was really coming by to feed the fish, and besides, he really wants to find M. That's his mission, and that's of primary importance to him. His honour is at stake. The thick plottens even more with M's trips unknown from S (these being developed further in a later episode) and "Mulder at the FBI". Woooo... Another gear up.

Camera on the determined Skinner's face. That just emphasises he's at the front of the action now. Good lad, he covers for his agents, risking his career for them. He's crossed the line he was talking about in "SR819".

The mortuary is another blow in S's face. Now that's a lot happening in one episode. So Mulder was to succumb to a deadly disease, probably the same as the one the CSM was suffering of as he explained in "En Ami". After all, it's as logical as it could be. Why would one be sick after the surgery, and not the other one? And as Daniel Wood said it in his "The Gift" review, it makes you re-watch and re-think the whole of season 7, with a whole new eye (just like the new eye at the end of the credits...).

More angsty!Scully, with more Scully's Theme. G.E.N.I.U.S

Fact is... That disease is THE link everybody was asking for with the mythology started in "The 6th Extinction" arc.

D thinks he understands M at this point, but it's not all that easy. Try again. Skinner steps even further beyond his line. Wonderful chemistry between him and S. D definitely proves he's not a bad guy on that occasion.

More LGM: woohoooo !!!! S, Skinner and the LGM on one side, D on the other (with the help of a mysterious informant) find their way to the next evidence. Funnily enough, completely independently. Some take leaps, some follow hard evidence. They end up at the same place, but they're not looking for the same things. See a pattern?

And there we go to find Gibson Praise. A character a lot of people expected to appear again at some point in the mythology, because of its importance, as so much highlighted in "The End" and "The Beginning".

Then more Mulder!Torture. The difference is that this time we see more blood, and we see it before to see S asleep in the car.

We step in the desert at this point. As much desert as in S's heart... It all turns into a race, as symbolised by the helicopter's shadow taking over the car. The total relocation of the set in the desert explains the cost of these 2 episodes, making them the most expensive in the show's history at that point.

Scully scrutinizes the horizon. She's probably seeing the energy field of the spaceship. So close...

Gibson's appearance is delayed as much as possible, feeding the suspense ("what is he gonna look like after all those years ?!"). You got to admit D's taskforce logistics is pretty impressive. That's an awful lot of agents !!

Footprints... Who's Gibson with? Geeee! Mulder !!!! Is it the real M? Of course not, but the poor Doggett can't guess, and that's what it's all about. He falls, woooo, FX... Broken arm, woooo, ugly. Gibson runs: where?

Mulder wakes up? Predictable some might say. Yep, but what else would you expect from an ABH? Come on... Even S knows that !

WASAAAA !!!! Woops, sorry, that's still the adverts...

S is not fooled, good girl !! D's confused, but he does try to understand. The hunt is on to find the ABH, unless it's for Gibson. After all, who's the hunter, who's the prey? More thick plottening.

The girl leads to her friend. For the first time, she's unwillingly threatening him. Another big symbol: Scully's "traversée du désert".

Gibson really speaks for the first time, pouring more water into the mythology ocean. And what about that "You've already said that to me before.", if not a big refreshing reference to "The End".

D is criticised by Kersh, and he's apparently not really used to critics. Kersh is definitely the bad guy, and Skinner explains it well to D. That piece of dialogue shows what the chemistry between these 2 characters is to become. Kersh put D on the case, hoping he would fail, thus preventing him from stepping over his own career. Now that's a cunniiiing plaaaan. But Skinman figured it all out.

Now there are 2 Scully's. A lot of guys out there wouldn't even have dreamt of it... ;°)) Poor agent, that must be painful. The pursuit ends up cleverly in front of a mirror. D's beliefs (or disbeliefs) are tested for the first time.

Another vision of M in the spaceship, but this time by Gibson. Could he be the link with Mulder? A tool to find him? Who knows?

An ambulance, familiar image in the XF. But once again, it can be used against the good.

New gun pointing scene between S and Skinner. The latter shows how much he trusts her. A lot of intensity in that scene... S wants to find M, and she clearly shows it.

The girl is once again unwillingly a threat for her friend as the ABH takes her appearance. Gibson feels M, and tells S how close she is from him. That's what convinces her in going out there in the desert, on her own. Her, a pregnant woman. If that's not devotion, what is it ?!

The mighty ABH comes to get Gibson. Skinner risks his life this time.

The Scully's Theme is back in that beautiful scene. S walks alone in the desert, at night. A bright light appears. A UFO? No, just D's chopper... They rush to the hospital. D is to realise how big a mistake he did. But how could he know? On the other hand, S will never realise how close she was from M.

Very quickly, D finds how they escaped the room, and Skinner's body. S finds Gibson... And the ABH.

The rest... Big fight. S does the ABH. S is injured and bursts into tears. D arrives a bit late and tries to comfort her while she suffers a very natural breakdown. A nice emotional scene overall. He doesn't really know what to do with her, but he knows how to command his agents.

Kersh gets what he wants in the end. D failed, and is (oh surprise) assigned to the X Files. S is shocked at these news. S's baby is alright, as well as Skinner. Gibson is under special protection. Will we see him again?

After Skinner, it's D's turn to make his vow of finding Mulder, whatever it takes. What a lucky woman, isn't she?

Last image, Mulder surrounded by ABHs. Colonising aliens, or rebels? Which faction of aliens abducted Mulder? Why did they abduct all these people? To prepare colonisation of earth, or to help fighting against it? Did Mulder let himself being abducted because he couldn't help it, or because he thought it was the only way against his disease?

In a pure XF way, we still get more questions.

David.

Contact the author: dpostel30@hotmail.com 

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