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Though I'm not usually big on Chris Carter's narratives at beginnings of episodes, this latest one for "Essence" was not only rather poetic, but it was simple and to the point. In fact, in just a few lines, Mulder's words were basically the plotline of the episode. For those who might not have caught it, I think this is a good time to repeat it, since it grapples the points I want to make in this review.
Mulder's voice:
"We call it the miracle of life - conception - the union of perfect opposites. Essence transforming into existence. An act without which mankind would not exist, and humanity cease to exist. Or is this just nostalgia now? An act of biology commandeered by modern science and technology…Godlike, we extract, implant, inseminate, and we clone. But has our ingenuity rendered the miracle into a simple trick? In the artifice of replicating life, can we become the creator? Then what of the soul? Can it too be replicated? Does it live in this matter we call DNA or is its placement the opposite of artifice capable only by God? How did this child come to be? What set its heart beating? Is it a product of a union or the work of a Divine Hand, an answered prayer, a true miracle? Or is it a wonder of technology, the intervention of other hands? What do I tell this child about to be born? What do I tell Scully? What do I tell myself?"
I must have rewound that narration five or six times. It was read perfectly by David. Not only does it state the point of most of Season 8: How did Scully become pregnant and who's the father? But it also is the impetus of Mulder's focus for finding out the truth to that question. For now, Scully and her baby is his life, not the X-Files. He does not want her to suffer as she did in "Emily." While Scully seems quite satisfied to be surprised as to what sex her baby is or who actually fathered this miracle baby, Mulder is not. He is again on a personal quest. And this time, it is as important (if not more) to him as Samantha's abduction.
As usual with all mytharc episodes, "Essence" gave us more questions than answers. The few things that we knew for sure prior to finding out that Scully was pregnant were that her abduction made her barren; Mulder donated his "little guys" for possible fertilization of her ova; her obstetrician who performed the procedure was part of a conspiracy; and that the procedure did not work. These facts are not disputed by Scully or Mulder. Yet, she found out that she was pregnant shortly after Mulder was abducted in "Requiem." The main question there is how?
The main focus for most of Season 8 was finding Mulder. Scully's pregnancy was kept in the background with only Skinner knowing the truth for awhile. Now that Mulder is found and alive and well, the focus is straight on Scully's baby. It is interesting to note that Scully has kept information about her baby from her own mother. Since she has not informed either Mulder or her mother, two of the most important people in her life, regarding the baby's paternity or the sex, is it possible that Scully does not know either? Possibly the sex is a moot point due to the fact that Scully could easily find out through reviewing any of her ultrasound scans, but I'm beginning to wonder if she even knows how she became pregnant. As Mulder states in his narrative, "How did this child come to be?"
The tone of the first half of the episode was rather sublime. We knew that Billy Miles was slowly going around to the main doctors of Zeus Genetics and destroying them and their work. In the meantime, Mulder and Doggett are going around wondering why these doctors, one of whom was Scully's obstetrician, were being killed. Then, the tone shifted rather abruptly with Mulder fearing for the safety of Scully and her baby.
I had mentioned in my review of "DeadAlive" that we were left with questions regarding Billy Miles. He came back to life after being horribly decomposed for several months. I was amazed that after this incredible recovery, he was never heard from again! How is that possible? Then, he shows up at Zeus Genetics and burns the place down. That little plot hole of several episodes between appearances is rather troubling. What was he doing all that time? Why start attacking now? What is the main purpose of his destructive spree? Also, how did he find out about Scully's baby in regards to how "special" it supposedly may be?
I'm also curious about Lizzy. It's highly suspicious that she replace Scully's meds with vitamins. What would be the point of changing them anyway? She could have just as easily recommended the vitamins to her as a supplement. For someone who is supposed to be paying attention, she was rather negligent in not answering the phone while Scully was in the shower. Another mystery is Mrs. Scully. If she really felt that her daughter needed help as the birth date gets closer, why didn't she just stay with Scully until then rather than hire Lizzy? What on earth would preoccupy Mrs. Scully's time to not be with her only living daughter at such a special occasion?
It is interesting to note just how clueless Scully is to whatever is going on around her. Mulder is more than curious as to how Scully became pregnant and is trying to find out the truth. Meanwhile, Scully appears not the least bit concerned when hearing the news that Zeus Genetics was burned down. Even after Lizzy is caught changing the pills, and she sees Mulder and Skinner looking upon her with concern, she doesn't even ask her own mother to stay with her for awhile. Later, Mulder catches her home...alone. How odd is that?
Another odd thing to see was Krycek helping out our intrepid duo. What in the world is his motive in helping Scully come to term? Even though it is difficult to trust whatever comes out of his mouth, I have to admit that a lot of what he said made sense. Billy Miles and the other "replacement aliens" are highly concerned about the experiments regarding cloning and combining alien and human DNA to form some kind of "hybrid" human that would be able to resist the supposedly upcoming invasion.
I found it rather intriguing that much of the latter half of the episode reminded me of the Terminator movies. Did anyone else get that feeling as well? Think about it...Sarah Connor is being hunted down by an indestructible alien-built machine whose sole purpose is to kill her and her (as yet) unborn child. Scully is being hunted down by an invincible alien replicant whose sole purpose is to kill her and her (as yet) unborn child. Also, do you remember why the Terminator was sent to kill Sarah Connor? Because she was the mother of the chief resistance fighter in the future, John Connor. In a parallel scenario, Mulder makes the comment that the aliens are afraid of Scully's baby after Krycek mentions that it is "special." Could it be possible that Scully's baby is even more powerful than these aliens? Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?
I like the teamwork atmosphere as Mulder, Skinner, Doggett, Reyes and even Krycek all did their part to ensure that Scully got away safely. These characters are some of the bravest I've ever seen, yet, Billy Miles literally scared the hell out of them. Just check the look on the faces of Mulder, Skinner and Doggett when they realize that Miles is in the building. If they didn't work together, none of them would have survived to live another day.
On a side note, I loved Reyes' little cheerful "I guess I don't have time for the little ladies' room, huh?" comment. Even though the situation was incredibly dire, I had to chuckle at that remark. Even Doggett paused for a second when Reyes said it. I have to admit, Monica is growing on me every minute.
It will be hard pressed for the finale, "Existence," to top this episode in pure nail-biting suspense and action, but the previews look very promising. It's hard to believe that the season is almost over. Just one thing: Will we finally find out who fathered Scully's baby?
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