Trust No 1

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PLOT: With the reluctant help of Doggett and Reyes, a lonely Scully contacts Mulder to return home.

I have VERY mixed feelings after watching this episode. It didn't help that the teaser showed *so* many classic moments in the dynamic years of the Mulder and Scully partnership as well as Scully's own inner voice describing Mulder as her "perfect other." She certainly has never been the type to admit to such personal feelings for her partner. I found it very sweet. Yet, it seemed like this episode was too little too late.

After all these years of Carter and the rest of the Ten-Thirteen gang pulling our chains and swearing up and down that it will "strictly" be a platonic relationship between the leads, they surprise us with this romantic notion straight out of a fanfic story. I would be more upset with that idea if the sequence wasn't so *moving*. In just a mere teaser, the episode shows us the very backbone of what made the series so magical to begin with: Mulder and Scully. No matter how contrived a plot point in the almost 200 episodes of the series, the chemistry and magic of two very poignant characters made us come back for more week after week. Even after Carter and a myriad of various writers literally stripped every plot point of the conspiracies and Samantha mystery to the bare bones, Mulder and Scully made us come back for seconds.

I had mentioned before during the season premiere episodes that from a story point of view it was a major mistake to not have Scully go with Mulder . It just didn't make sense for Mulder to abruptly leave the two most important people in his life for no other reason than being in mortal danger from "super soldiers." After all those years on the X-Files, Mulder is scared of being killed? Funny how it never occurred to him or to Scully before.

It has always been aggravating that the Ten-Thirteen gang have always tried to plug up their plot holes in later episodes through some ridiculous plot device rather than actually showing us the events. The big mystery last season (besides Mulder's absence) was how in the world did Scully become pregnant and by whom? In one small scene in this episode AND with a conveniently contrived mystery "Shadow Man," we find out that Scully and Mulder *did* have a physical relationship as well as a romantic one. Considering how surprised Mulder was upon his return to find his partner pregnant and how seemingly cold he initially reacted towards her, it's almost difficult to believe. Yet, from the way Scully reacted to finding out how much of her privacy has ruthlessly been violated, we have to believe it as true.

Of course, none of this truly explains why these "super soldiers" are so interested in killing Mulder now when he never seemed to be the focus of their attacks last season. If William is the true target, there have been MANY opportunities in the last few episodes to kill the little tyke. Yet, there is no real explanation on how "special" William really is to make him a threat to the super soldiers. I guess we'll have to wait until the end of the season or even the next feature film to find out. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily bet the farm on that one.

Suffice it to say that Doggett and, in particular, Reyes had very little to do in this episode. Doggett's only purpose was to try to reason with Scully over her emotional state. He didn't exactly do a great job. While Reyes is brushed aside to look stunned in every scene she is in and to watch over William while Scully foolishly meets a stranger alone. Poor Monica could have just slept through the events and nothing would have changed.

Considering that there has been no news indicating that David Duchovny has agreed to return in ANY capacity this season, why even bring up this plot line? If the series wants to go in a different direction with Doggett and Reyes, bringing back Mulder in any kind of shape or form would only be going backwards. The producers need to allow them to grow into their roles as X-Files investigators rather than try to artificially bring back the past. Early episodes such as "Daemonicus" and "4-D" certainly show promise. At least Ten Thirteen was smart enough not to put in some Mulder "stand-in" for Scully to get all emotional over.

Also, has Scully easily forgotten all the "informants" in her past? Why was she so willing to trust "Shadow Man" and not Doggett? I was curious to understand why Skinner wasn't in the episode. He seems to be the only other person other than Mulder that Scully remotely trusts. Skinner would have been a much better choice to get Scully into thinking rationally. Considering that Mulder is trying to avoid the very situation that Scully found herself in this episode, it's no small wonder that she didn't get killed. So is the iron ore found in that particular rock quarry the kryptonite for the super soldiers? At least the episode had *some* kind of point to make. Does this mean that Scully, Doggett and Reyes have to lure every one of them to that quarry? I guess they'll just use little William as bait.

Besides the rather weak plot point of luring Mulder out of the fold, what exactly is the point of the episode? All these strangers are telling Scully that they know what is so special about William. They tell her that he needs to be protected. They tell her that Mulder understands why. Yet, we are never *told* why. Instead, we, along with Scully, are tormented into believing that Mulder will come back. In that regard, we see Scully doing some rather unbelieveably stupid things to have Mulder return, such as actually BELIEVING them instead of her own instincts. She stubbornly avoids any of Doggett's rationale, and she meets a mystery man without thinking it through.

We also feel Scully's anguish over the huge hole in her heart. Yet, there is no payoff in the end. Her reactions to the events unfolding around her are only a cruel reminder of how much her separation from Mulder is slowly killing her more than cancer ever did. In the end, Scully is more alone, and the memories of Mulder only remind us that the magic is gone.

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