Amor Fati

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PLOT: Scully is frustrated that the UFO has disappeared along with all the scientific information that came with it, while Mulder imagines a life on a road that he chose not to follow.

I play golf on my days off. One day, I'm a legend in my own mind. The very next day on the same course, I want to give up the game and throw my clubs away. Yet, there are always certain shots in that bad round that I had a choice to make. Should I go for it or lay up? Being impetuous and overestimating my own skill level, I, of course, crash and burn because of a bad decision. In essence, life is very much like that. And in this particular episode, Mulder imagines a life that he has forsaken to pursue a truth that is both intangible and probably unattainable.

Amor Fati is Latin for "Love of Fate." This episode definitely symbolizes that aspect. Though there are obvious similarities to the Redux trilogy and the feature film, Amor Fati further develops the character study shown in The Sixth Extinction of not just our main heroes, Mulder and Scully, but also of Diana Fowley and Smoking Man. Though a majority of fans hate Diana (which follows the rule of *any* woman in Scully's way for Mulder's affection), she showed that she is more complex than any of her previous episodes have indicated. And it was her, not Scully, who saved Mulder's life. Even Scully admitted that. As for Smoking Man, is he really Mulder's father? Diana seems to think so. I'm going to hold my comments on that one until the season pans out more. Each mytharc episode always gives us more clues to help tie in every other mytharc episode shown before it. At least, that's the theory.

Since Scully was more central to the story in Sixth Extinction, it is not surprising to see Mulder (epecially when the episode was co-written by Duchovny) is more central in this episode. The glimpse into his dreams was beyond fascinating. It revealed that Mulder is the way he is. In essence, Mulder *needs* to be who he is, because of his strong commitment to duty and his immense loyalty to Scully. So even though I heard countless hisses at Diana wooing her way into Mulder's heart, it was not real! To explain why Diana was his soulmate in his dream rather than Scully is simple. His existence centers around the X-Files and Scully. It would not make sense for her to show up in this alternate universe, because it is not the kind of life that Mulder would come to expect from the enigmatic one. Also, some of the dialogue in these past two episodes suggest that Diana and Mulder were not as intimate in their past as first let on. Diana mentions to Mulder that they can "be together now." And notice Mulder blushing after one night of passion with Diana. Those type of scenarios certainly would not make sense if they were ex-lovers. Maybe the fantasy was something Mulder had been longing to fulfill and always wondered "what if...?" I thought it was rather clever that in just very brief scenes, their relationship was almost reinvented and completed without any true consummation between them.

I found it fascinating that Mulder went through what appears to be the next 50 years of this alternative life only to be longing for the life that will most likely kill him sooner. Two distinct meanings in this segment of his dream: a mundane normal existence is predictable thus the events were all linear and chronological i.e. marriage, baby, rugrats, death. It represents events in a life that has done nothing extraordinary but still fulfilling to most people. But the life is tempting for him as Smoking Man comments to Diana. "The most extraordinary men are tempted by the most ordinary things." That had to be the line of the episode! I also loved the cameo appearance of Samantha. The way Mulder was so happy to see her made this new life all the more attractive to him. Too bad it was all in Mulder's head. Ironically, at the end of this "life," Mulder feels lost in realizing that his entire life has just sped by, and he still longs for the life and the people he left behind, particularly Scully. When she does appear to him, he is shocked to find that she loathes him for living what is basically a lie. Being the more emotional one of the duo, this lashing by the one person he truly trusts on the entire planet affects him deeply enough to escape this existence as quickly as possible. He acknowledges that he is lost without her and later tells her so.

Though this alternative life may have been Smoking Man influenced, the beach scenes with Mulder and the little boy were not. As I mentioned earlier, symbolism plays a key role in this episode. In the very first beach scene, we see Mulder watching a young boy and his parents playing. It is the kind of idealic existence that most people want. Yet, as we all know, Mulder isn't "most people." That one vision may have been the major impetus for his alternative life. The later scenes with the boy and the "sand castle UFO" have a little bit more meaning to them. What is the one word that describes children? Innocence. The boy may represent an innocence Mulder lost many years ago. But the boy can also represent Mulder's child-like qualities of naivete, playfulness and imagination. When the boy is destroying the UFO, Mulder asks why. The boy replies that Mulder is really destroying it, because he is not helping. If that isn't a huge nod to Mulder's need to return to his life-long quest, I don't know what is. In the end, Mulder helps the boy and also himself. Very heady stuff but not surprising coming from Duchovny and Carter.

While Mulder is living in another reality, Scully is frustrated that she does not make any kind of breakthrough with the alien craft, which has disappeared. Her frustration escalates when Mulder is found to be missing. Skinner does not appear to want to help, and Kritschgau is only concerned with the alien craft and the information it holds. Seemingly defeated, she again witnesses a paranormal experience when Albert Hosteen appears before her in her apartment. If you remember from Biogenesis, he was suffering terminal effects of cancer. Scully knows that but still believes that she is interacting with Albert though Mulder verifies later that she could not have been.Yet, Albert's presence definitely reaffirms the faith and determination in Scully to find Mulder by any means possible even praying. Compared to Sixth Extinction, Scully does not seem to have much to do in this one. In most of the episode, she has a very confused and frustrated look on her face. The last 15 minutes was where she really shined. Her need to find Mulder outweighed any other in her mind.

The most telling scene was when she confronted Diana in the hallway. After over a year of trying to just tolerate her, it takes a worried Scully over Mulder's whereabouts to finally confront Diana. There certainly was no love lost between the two women, but it became clear that they had the same goal: Mulder's well-being. It was Diana who clued Scully in on the significance of the alien ship's symbols and Mulder's part in the entire scheme of things. And it was Diana who lead Scully to Mulder by simply giving her a security card. These little acts of helpfulness shows that Diana is much more complex a character than she lets on. She can see the strong bond between Mulder and Scully. There is a purity between them that Diana no longer possesses after dancing with the devil. Her demise at the end was surprising to say the least.

Just like the previous episode, no interaction between the two leads until the very end. But oh what an ending! The emotions running between them is so reminiscent of classic episodes like Memento Mori, Redux II and the feature film. While Mulder easily confesses to Scully that she is his constant, she, in turn, affirms that Mulder is the same to her. Their hug and Scully kissing Mulder on the forehead was very appropriate for the scene. And her lingering look at his face and touching his lips with her fingers had to have been the closest thing to sex these two have shown! Mulder's hallway certainly sees a lot of action!

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. The pacing was excellent, and the character revelations are always welcome. I enjoy episodes like this where there is more told than what is actually shown. With the demise of the Syndicate last season, the mytharc episodes have certainly veered towards much more intangible, spiritual stuff that can only be admired for their ingenuity as well as the "intestinal fortitude" (aka guts) of the writers to wade through those very controversial waters. Some of the comments I've read from the mailing lists have amazed me with their surface interpretations of many of the scenes in the episode. I understand that the show can be confusing at times but for those that seem to enjoy complaining about a certain character or what Scully is wearing in a particular scene are watching something *totally* different from what is intended. I just hope the show continues to challenge our way of thinking throughout the rest of this highly possible last season. Then, we can all brag to our grandchildren that we saw a legend in the making.

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