There are two words that drive Fox William Mulder: confusion and paranoia. Basically all his present actions and personality lead back to those two words because of what happened to him at a younger age. His sister, Samantha, was abducted and his father, ever the secretive recluse, divorced from his mother shortly after Samantha's abduction. Mulder's need to understand his sister's disappearance and his distant father, whom he secretly admired but was afraid of, propelled him into his current emotional and mental state.

Just so we get it out of the way, Mulder's attitude and personality is not entirely his fault. He grew up in a very dysfunctional family where secrets were a way of life. This lack of nurturing, particularly after Samantha's disappearance, made him socially handicapped and more likely to display abnormal behavior to satisfy his confusion and paranoia. With his family not providing him answers, he ended up analyzing the situation himself. Thus, psychology became second nature to him by the time he went to Oxford University. Figuring people out attracted him like a beautiful woman. Yet, it came at a price to his own self-esteem. His immense single-minded drive to satisfy his understanding of the world around him alienated his peers. That was why he had been such an excellent profiler, because he didn't let outside distractions bother him from his task. Mulder ended up as a recluse and antagonistic towards others, particularly those in authority. An underlying way for him to get back at his father.

But Mulder is very passionate about his work. His thoughts are multi-layered. He is analytic, perceptive, observant and insightful. Mulder doesn't miss the details and often catches things other people overlook. Many people do not fully grasp the ideas that come out of him as well as he does not have the patience to explain them. He often breaks out in elaborate explanations that confuse people more often than not. Scully is the lone exception. Though she may not necessarily agree with many of his theories, she does appreciate his alternative way of thinking. In many of their cases, Mulder's explanation is the only one that makes sense. Yet, she can also fall victim to his impatience and as Season 3 illustrated, he often "ditched" her rather than stick around and try to explain himself.

For the most part, Mulder speculates on a theory based on observations but is open to alternative explanations outside of known science or fact for a solution. He is often concerned with collecting proof to support his own ideas while ignoring others that may discount those ideas. In his initial partnership with Scully, Mulder often did not care if any of his theories had any scientific merit. They were usually accurate, so he did not give it any thought particularly when Scully could not scientifically disprove his theories. However, as time went on, many of his earlier beliefs regarding extraterrestrial existence became much more blurred. After what he witnessed in Season 5's "Redux," Mulder questioned whether many of his beliefs were real or part of an elaborate hoax. He has grown to realize that without undeniable scientific proof, any true meaning for his work in the X-Files would never be seriously considered by many within the Bureau. Scully is a big reason for his change in attitude. With her scientific expertise and logical mind, she keeps him grounded to further define the line between fact and hoax.

Even with all this investigative brilliance that Mulder possesses, he has yet to figure out the biggest mystery of them all: women. Of all the episodes showing Mulder attracted to a woman, there seems to be a persistent pattern. He likes strong, intelligent women. Phoebe Green, Diana Fowley, Kristen Kilar, and Bambi Berenbaum all fall in this category. Each one of them possesses a strength and intelligence that literally stimulates Mulder's libido. As they say, "Brainy is sexy," and that is so true in Mulder's case. An intelligent debate is a sort of foreplay for Mulder. Since he does not often "get lucky" or places himself in positions where his Saturday evenings are full of social events with females, this is about as sexual as Mulder gets. And they certainly are eye candy material for him as well!

Now, his "situation" with Scully is a little different. She easily fits the category with any of the females above, but she gets most of his attention on a daily basis so that's already a big advantage for her. However, Mulder secretly hides the fact that even though it is obvious how much he cares for Scully, he is wary of her unpredictable mood swings. As mentioned before, Mulder is a very passionate person and not just at his job. The feature film showcased just how passionate he can be when the floodgates open. Yet, he fears losing control and have *anyone*, including Scully, gain some kind of control over him. That relates back to his father's influence and also explains why he is such a recluse. He would rather bury himself into his work than know that someone may hold something over him.

Mulder's penchant for pornography stems from his low self-esteem. He grew up in a broken home, had failed relationships, and often criticized by Scully or other agents. Though he hides his disappointment well, Mulder retreats to this world of carnal delights as a way to "lick his wounds" and regroup. It is also his form of self-indulgence. Many of us might treat ourselves to a chocolate shake or nice dinner if we're feeling down in the dumps. Mulder cheers himself up with porn films. Remember "One Breath"? After months of searching for Scully, the opening scene shows him sprawled on his living room couch with Scully's file all over the coffee table and his eyes glued to the TV screen with distinctive moans heard in the background. Everyone knows that sex helps relieve tension. Mulder does the next best thing.

Even after six years, Mulder is still trying to understand the world around him. Though he has helped solve many strange cases and uncovered a global conspiracy, he has yet to solve the one mystery that propelled him into this world of confusion and paranoia: finding Samantha. She is his holy grail and also his greatest disappointment. His protective nature over Scully is one aspect of Samantha's abduction but his extreme loneliness and obsessive nature are also attributed to his sister. Maybe one day, Mulder will be able to finally solve this great mystery. Hopefully, that will finally bring him some inner peace. Otherwise, he could be committed or worse yet: Remember "autoerotic asphyxiation"?

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