Just as you think Carter would give you answers, more questions come up. Like why would the Alien Bounty Hunter (Brian Thompson) help the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William Davis) considering he's been on a tear taking out all the human/alien hybrid clones in a path of total destruction? CSM answering to the Syndicate (through Don S Williams) about a "leak", with the exit of the great Steven Williams as X, Mulder's source after Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin) was killed. What a way to kill X and how he goes out, leaving a trail of blood after being shot by a hitman sent by the Syndicate, dying right at the door of Mulder, with a final clue of SRSG (Laurie Holden is Marita Covarrubias, another source to help a despondent Mulder, seemingly at his wit's end due to his dying mother) left behind before breathing his last breath. Special Representative of the Secretary General...Laurie's Marita is an assistant to that office, leaving Mulder a clue in a file on what he has seen. Clones tending to "ginseng" pollinated by particular bees with a sting that will kill you if you are simply human...the telephone lineman learned that unfortunately. X departing did sadden me, but so did the loss of Hardin. I just get used to seeing them, leaving behind clues that often help but also hinder Mulder. The "need to know" nature of these tidbits too often answered a little but not a lot. But considering Williams died leaving behind a clue to Mulder, his intentions more often than not were to help Mulder on his quest for the truth.
Now the "everything dies" is a strong emotional punch the episode continues on. Seeing Mulder's weeping, desperate face cradled in Scully's arms in this much-needed hug at the hospital at his mother's bedside isn't fun at all. It is something sons and daughters at bedsides never enjoy experiencing unless their parents were a living hell. Since I have a very close relationship with my mother, I felt every ounce of Mulder's pain, with tears coming down my face as they did his. Scully and Mulder's relationship -- a blog standard that will remain so as long as I continue it -- is once again so vital to the emotional resonance of the show and this particular episode. Scully's journey regarding the small pox vaccination record and special protein, information compiled by the Jeremiah Smith scientist clones, and reporting to Skinner and his team of "professional responsibility"; this seemed like a big deal to me because so often what Scully and Mulder know is concealed out of concern that sinister forces would learn and take advantage. Skinner and the team look as nonplussed as Scully appears, as they all try to determine why records would be kept about those with small pox vaccinations. Even a fellow FBI agent scanning over the records got himself tested with similar results as Scully regarding a particular protein, but there were slight differences.
Carter, up to his old tricks, kept us distanced from the whole truth, pulling us in and then like a yo-yo, pushing us back again. If we, the viewers, are that way, imagine how Mulder and Scully feel! Mulder begging Alien Bounty Hunter to let Jeremiah live to save his mother, only for the response to be, "Everything dies": that's heavy! But CSM seems to know how to push the right buttons! Granted, Mulder stabbing ABH in the neck with the protracting clone kill pin didn't help his cause...but who could blame Mulder for doing so?!
One of the constants of this show is CSM's concerns about Mulder's "crusade". You get lines like, "The fiercest enemy is the man who has nothing left to lose". That was enough for CSM to urge the Alien Bounty Hunter to place his hand on Mulder's mother's forehead and "revive" her. But you also have the conversations between Mulder and Scully about how science can help uncover even the most incredible truths about what they have seen. Seeing Samantha at such a young age would rock the psyches of any of us, especially if she favors the very age of when she was abducted. Much less clones of her in rural Canada with lots of blonde-haired boys, "drones" tending to the work they are assigned. CSM talks about the work that must continue until it is finished, the great colonization discussed between Mulder and Jeremiah Smith.
Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what we know of it. And that's a place to start. That's where the hope is. - Scully to a weary Mulder at his comatose mother's bedside.
4/5
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