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The writing is definitely on the wall. It's pretty obvious that David looks less and less interested in doing the series, while the torch is clearly being passed on to Doggett and Reyes for another season. I knew that this would happen in the back of my mind, but I held out hope that it may not be true. Oh well...
For the most part, it was a solid episode. The teaser was definitely an eye popper, and the X-File itself is very intriguing. I was surprised that the just-fired Jeb Dukes wasn't a postal employee or a high school kid with all the recent shootings going on in the U.S. The mystery surrounding the demon fire creature actually involves Doggett. And with his reluctant involvement, we get more info regarding the son that he lost. However, I find it hard to believe that this evil fire creature goes from one body to another. If you look at the picture above, little Luke Doggett was missing at age 7, roughly around 1997. If this "demon" was in that Harvey guy, who was supposedly involved with Doggett's son's disappearance, what has Harvey done all this time? Because if you watch everything Jeb did in the small amount of time in this episode after he was possessed, Bob Harvey must have been on one hell of a crime spree in the past few years.
I can see why Reyes' character is being pushed into the limelight. Our veterans, Mulder and Scully, are starting to fade into the sunset, and we need to understand what drives Monica so much. There is something about her that grows on you, but it's kind of tough to understand her motives. It's obvious that she truly shows empathy for victims in general. Remember her concern for Scully's emotional well-being in "This Is Not Happening"? She does the same here in asking for Mulder's help rather than Doggett's in her latest case. I always thought there would be some kind of tension between Reyes and Doggett, but I don't see it at the moment. To be honest, I saw more chemistry between Mulder and Reyes in their few brief scenes than I have in two episodes between Doggett and Reyes. That doesn't bode well if this is the direction that the series wants to take for another season.
It's interesting to note that Mulder was willing to help out at all. He doesn't know Reyes, and he is still weary about Doggett. Yet, he was intrigued enough about the case to pursue it. With Scully voicing her own thoughts about the two agents, Mulder wasn't as hesitant to help out. I was also glad to hear that Scully liked Reyes. Their initial meeting wasn't exactly amicable, but Reyes had no problem empathizing with Scully's pain. Though she still has that nicotine fetish that she's still trying to fight, I think Monica is trustworthy.
I was a bit surprised that Doggett was so hostile towards Mulder. How in the world did he even know that Mulder was looking at his file? He must have lots of friends at the Bureau to watch out for him or something. Even though he is much smaller than Mulder, I think he could beat the crap out of him without breaking a sweat. Remember that Doggett was in the Marines and the NYPD. Those are two tough organizations to work in. Mulder has had his share of fights but training at Oxford University and Quantico just doesn't seem to compare.
The scenes between Mulder and Scully were well done and only a sad reminder of how much we miss their magic chemistry for most of Season 8. I like Doggett as a character, but he never truly meshed well with Scully. Mulder's presence has only made Scully feel whole, and we see her look and act happy for the first time this season. Do you honestly remember any other time with Doggett as Scully's partner that she has smiled and giggled so freely in an episode? Don't bother thinking about it, because there hasn't been one.
Of course, there is that irritating paternity issue that Carter and gang just want to skirt around for the rest of the season it seems. What's even worse is that Mulder is the audience's voice in questioning the paternity of Scully's baby. He jokes by implying the pizza delivery man is not above suspicion in such matters. Then, the writer does a cruel trick after Scully opens up her present and tells Mulder that the doll isn't the only gift he gave her. For just the *briefest* of seconds, I just thought... Hey, even Mulder's face mimicked mine!
Though the pace of the story was well done, this was definitely a Doggett episode even though Reyes initiated the case. He has more character growth as we realize that he is afraid to believe in the paranormal. That would explain why he seems much more comfortable talking to Scully about his skepticism than to Reyes, whom he has more history with. He feels a kinship to Scully, since she was originally assigned to the X-Files as a skeptic scientist. But she reveals her fear of believing to Doggett as the main reason she was a skeptic. Mulder gave her the strength to believe, which is something that Reyes will have to work on with Doggett.
As for Reyes, she definitely shows a conviction in her beliefs, even accusing Mulder of not being as open as Scully. The smile on his face only hinted at his amusement. There is an openness about Reyes that even Mulder didn't have in the early stages of the series. How that will play in the long run is yet to be determined.
Setting aside the plot, there are some interesting comparisons between the two duos. Mulder was a devout believer in the paranormal when Scully first met him. Doggett is a devout skeptic when Reyes met him. Mulder lost someone close to him. Doggett lost someone close to him. With Scully's help, Mulder understands that his beliefs need to be tempered with plausibility and logic. With Reyes help, Doggett is slowly understanding that he has a kind of psychic ability that may be closely tied with his son's death and Reyes' own abilities. We see that Mulder and Scully are like words and music. At the moment, Doggett and Reyes are more like oil and water. Hopefully, the writers and producers have the nice layout that Mulder and Scully left them to help with some better bonding moments. Also, I like that John and Monica call each other by their first names. Doggett and Reyes just sound weird to say all the time, and first names already show a kind of intimacy.
This episode along with Mulder's full-time status only show how much Season 8 has been astray in focus. Too many MOTW eps that show very little character growth or interaction. Chemistry also helps, and noone does it better than Mulder and Scully. I'm curious as to what Mulder will be doing now in the remaining episodes. "Vienen" which was supposed to be before this one, already hints at Mulder's dismissal from the Bureau. Hopefully, that didn't surprise anyone reading. I'm hoping that Duchovny still wants to do movies. I can stand an X-Files show without Mulder as long as he does movies. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
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