The X Files - Memento Mori

 

Yeah, the "Scully has cancer" story arc in the fourth season is pure "Grey's Anatomy" style melodrama that I fully embraced because I was in tears as Scully was at the bedside of a dying woman she befriended in a clinic while investigating the cause of her tumor, seemingly stemming from her abduction. A group of abducted women associated with Scully are all practically dead. Mulder is sure CSM is responsible but, out of desperation, appeals to Skinner for a meeting in order to negotiate with him to save Scully. Where the tumor is positioned in her nasal cavity would appear to be very difficult to remove or dissolve. There is a memory where a drill comes towards Scully who is bathed in a bright light as her face looks on his horror. Mulder pursues evidence of what caused Scully's cancer, who abducted her, and why she is infertile. Alien/human hybrid clones are in a facility, inspired to find a cure for the women whose ova led to their creation, and Mulder seeks to find some cure for Scully. Having ova in a vial of Scully's, Mulder has it in his possession. The colonization arc is significant as Mulder is inspired to work against CSM and anyone else invested in the demise of a lot of humankind at a global scale. But CSM loves lording power, especially in Skinner's face when he secretly goes to him for help in some miracle cure for Scully...Mulder calls up Skinner thanking him for persuading him not to negotiate with CSM. Skinner knows all too well that negotiating with CSM is a deal with the devil. And CSM's sinister smile has plenty of poison. 

Gillian Anderson, I just keep heaping praise on this woman, but, again, Scully's journey is such an emotional ride. Mulder might can tell Scully she was abducted with her ova removed in some devious colonization plot involving human/alien hybrid clones, but her protective barrier of skepticism seems to serve as a defense mechanism. The diary, how beautiful that dialogue is...real props to the writing for this episode. Her feelings for Mulder in that diary are quite heartfelt and full of affection. I gush about that, I know, but they aren't just this investigative duo FBI agent team...X-Files fans know this. But an episode like "Memento Mori" certainly emphasizes their bond, how close they are. They really need each other. I had mentioned how annoyed I was with Mulder while watching "Never Again" last night, but this episode goes a long way to massage that. Mulder acquires the help of the Lone Gunmen to help get in the facility with Scully's ova, while also decrypting a disc that provides information about the abductees. Sadly, the only other survivor not yet dead from cancer eventually worsens, serving as a voice of comfort to Scully, but their doctor seems tied to what happened to the abductees, leaving them behind.

Anderson is such a fantastic actress. I will continue to point that out on this blog over and over. But episodes like "Memento Mori" just further get that across. Her strength is incredible, how Scully won't just accept a dire diagnosis and give up. She tells her mom she'll continue to fight this. Mulder, too, tells Scully they will find some way, somehow. The "so and so character has potential terminal illness" television trope would seem to be some tactic by Carter to drum up easy tears since we love Scully so much. It is a tactic that worked on me, but it is because Anderson acts her ass off. With Scully and Mulder affectionately hugging and holding each other, situations like this are definitely reason why they remained so tethered together...they go through so much together, trusting each other when it seems forces work so absolutely against them. Scully trying to combat draining health, basically falling into Mulder's chest, her eyes revealing a lack of sleep, Anderson's performance gets so much out of the current arc, even if the annals of television have relied on it quite a bit. Granted, most television shows don't include possible alien abduction and removing women's ova. 4.5/5