The X-Files Review: This (Season 11 Episode 2)
Mulder briefly reminds us all that the word “adorbs” is something we as a society still use in our daily vocabulary on The X-Files Season 11 Episode 2, “This.”
There’s a certain novelty that still remains in seeing Mulder and Scully around modern technology.
We’re used to see them tote around gigantic cell phones and rely on actual maps for guidance (which usually results in the pair getting stranded in random, ominous forests) that it’s still a little weird to witness Mulder using a smart phone.
“This” is like a fresh reboot of Season 1’s “Ghost in the Machine” or Season 5’s “Kill Switch.” This modern version is less about a single entity rebelling and more about what human lives may be destined for inside an AI.
There’s so much to love about this episode that it almost feels unreal. The season opener (Season 11 Episode 1, “My Struggle III) was a polarizing episode for many viewers, falling mostly on the negative side. “This” is a nostalgic reinvention of what The X-Files could be with the right direction: fun, campy, scary, and downright delightful.
DR. HAMBY: We wanted a life eternal together.
While the plot is mostly straightforward, the implication of the AI plot still remains. Scully was once told that she never dies — is this how that prophecy comes about? Scully lives forever inside a computer program, alongside Langly and Steve Jobs?
Knowing Scully and her deep connection to her faith, she may not be on board this train. As a scientist, she may have some curiosity about how the AI works, but as a mother, I very much doubt Scully would want to live forever anywhere without William — or Mulder, for that matter.
SCULLY: Why do you operate so well with your hands cuffed behind your back?
MULDER: As if you don’t know.
Let’s just say it: the eternal question of just what Mulder and Scully are to each other will probably go unanswered for the rest of time. However, with episodes like this, maybe that’s okay.
Mulder and Scully clearly both live in Mulder’s house (adorable), have done something involving handcuffs (there’s a Fifty Shades of Grey joke that could go here, but we’re all better than that), and are so in sync with one another that they can take out assassins breaking into their house without uttering a word (badass).
So, like…what are they?
Honestly, who knows. If the rest of the season continues with this level of domesticity, however, it won’t really matter. Maybe there isn’t a label for what Mulder and Scully are to each other.
What there is a label for is how incredible it is to see two people on the other side of 40 that are not only action heroes, but also openly enjoy each other and their relationship. That label is “awesome,” by the way.
MULDER: Scully, you looked so adorbs just there. All curled up in a ball of a skanky bar with your fingers wrapped around the grip of an assassin’s glock.
So rarely to we get to see women over 40 in Hollywood that aren’t stereotyped into passive mothers, straight-laced bosses, or divas — that is to say, secondary characters who take a backseat to younger characters.
Scully gets to run around, kick ass, flirt with Mulder, and solve puzzles, all while constantly on the search for her son. She can do it all, and so she does. She has and will always be one of the most well-rounded characters of all time.
It’s nice to see The X-Files go back to its roots and then twist them into something new. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make a good episode — you just have to know your characters and throw them into situations where they thrive.
Mulder and Scully truly shine when they’re a team, facing off against the government, or Skinner, or, you know, aliens. The core of The X-Files has always Mulder and Scully against the world, and “This” gives us the very best of that.
STRAY THOUGHTS:
- The Lone Gunmen have been dead for 16 years and I feel old.
- 16. Years. (16!)
- I don’t know why it’s called “This” either.
- Mulder and Scully going to IKEA is easily an episode’s worth of content and I’d like to see that immediately.
- #TheLoneGunmenAreAlive2K18
- Mulder is really bad at handling evidence for a guy who has spent his entire adult life in law enforcement. He would probably imprison himself for a crime he didn’t commit if Scully wasn’t around to stop him. (Sorry, Mulder.)
What did you think of this episode of The X-Files? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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The X-Files airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on FOX.
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Brittany Rae
Brittany is a writer and avid TV blogger hailing the infamous year of 1989. She trained at Vancouver Film School in screenwriting for television and film, and has gone on to become a graphic designer and blogger in her free time. When she’s not watching the Food Network, she’s trying to consume every bit of sci-fi television she can get her hands on (current favorites include The 100, Person of Interest, and Doctor Who). She’s always up for female-led dramas and, of course, a literal interpretation of the phrase “Netflix and chill."