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PLOT: Two men are found dead in a locked crate that was supposed to have been transporting an Ancient Chinese dog thought to be extinct.
I really wasn't sure what to make of this episode. The obvious MOW theme harkens back to Season 1 episodes, but the interaction between Mulder and Scully is definitively Season 6. I just think that these type of episodes tend to get lost in the more surreal, compelling, sophisticated and character-revealing episodes of late. It just didn't seem to fit with the rest of this season.
But there were moments. Though we have to endure the stupidity of the two Asians in the teaser, we see a bit of continuity of our characters. Mulder has his dept and office back, and he revels in the irony of it all to Scully. Of course, he has the details of this case, and his casual teasing of Scully is very reminiscent of Season 1, but Scully doesn't show amusement this time. Her interest is piqued to the point that she ignores Mulder's comparisons to the Taco Bell chihuahua and tries to get to the nitty gritty of the case.
Scully's attitude throughout this case is interesting to note. She appears to be curious enough to want to help, but every now and then, she could care less. Scully hints at this with her very expressive face and her obvious unfriendliness to Detweiler and particularly, Karin Berquist. It's as if she tolerates the case, because Mulder is interested in it, which appears to be the only motivation for Scully.
As usual, Mulder is practically euphoric with being back on the X-Files and does not notice his partner's disinterest or obvious discomfort with Berquist's devotion to animals rather than humans. When Mulder buries himself into a case, all outside distractions might as well be an annoying fly to him. He swats it away and gets back to the work at hand.
But it is Mulder's unorthodox relationship with Karin that fuels Scully's fire. She has already developed a dislike of Karin after finding out Mulder knows her from on-line chats (as if a thought bubble came up in Scully's head: "Why would he talk to some stranger on-line when he could talk to me?") and noticing a book titled "Better Than Human" written by Karin. Remember that Scully is a doctor, and although she loved her old dog, Queequeg, she has a duty as a physician to cherish human life over anything else. So before Scully even meets Karin, jealousy and prejudice have already blinded her from any type of clear-headed rational thought.
But "Alpha" is really about dominance and territoriality as the title suggests. The Wanshang Dhole is the obvious monster fighting for dominance and survival, and the sub-plot of Scully fighting to secure her dominance as Mulder's "mate" if you will, harkens back to Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. It doesn't take a cryptozoologist to figure out that Detweiler was the canid desperately trying to hide his secret, but Karin's interest in Mulder wasn't as obvious.
Watching it again, she appeared to be very cold and trite upon first meeting our F.B.I. duo. But it makes sense in the context of her knowledge of animal behavior that she immediately realized the importance of Scully to Mulder. Karin sensed a formidable rival for Mulder's affection and knew she had a snowball's chance in hell to ever take the alpha position away from Scully. She may not have realized that Mulder would bring Scully to meet her, and her presence made Karin feel very "unfeminine." It is so subtle that the other scenes where Karin obviously displays a romantic interest towards Mulder makes more sense.
A jealous Scully seems to be a recurring theme during Season 6, and this episode practically has a sign post blinking at the audience. I usually revel in watching such wanton displays of human emotion from Scully but felt a little sick watching her "attack" Karin. Why in the world would Scully feel so threatened? Karin herself states that she lacks Scully's "feminine wiles." Unlike Bambi Berenbaum, Karin does not have the sexuality to match the intelligence. Mulder obviously respects Karin's expertise, but anything else is purely out of the question. And it certainly doesn't help to find out that Karin is suffering from a debilitating disease with no cure. For a doctor and a cancer survivor, Scully showed absolutely no tact, and that is not something I would readily admit.
In the end, Karin can only do what she thinks is right and sacrifices herself so that Scully would not have to. There is no doubt that Detweiler would have gone after Mulder, because he was the only one besides Karin to realize what has become of Detweiler. Karin knew that Mulder would never show her the interest that he reserves only for Scully, so she "honored" him in her own way by luring Detweiler to his death.
If seeing Scully strongly protecting her alpha status appears so un-Scully like, then seeing her try to console Mulder after Karin's death is very much like Scully. Though I doubt she ever informed Mulder of her "talk" with Karin, she still does not want Mulder to blame himself for Karin's death. As usual, Mulder only realizes other people's feelings after the fact. And isn't it nice that Karin admired Mulder so much that she had the same exact "I Want to Believe" poster? It seems so "convenient" that he was able to get it back up in his office. Sure. Fine. Whatever.
Though this episode can be easily forgettable, it brought about an interesting twist on the "wild dog/wolfman" theme. I also think that Melinda Culea did more than an admirable job playing the enamored Karin Berquist. Unfortunately, *any* female character other than Scully showing an interest in Mulder is going to get the short end of the stick. Some of the younger X-Philes might not remember her little stint as "Amy" on the 80s series, "The A-Team." She was a hottie in her own time, and I have no doubt that if the on-line universe of the internet was affluent then as it is now, Ms. Culea would probably have her own Testosterone Brigade.
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