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"I saw something, and I don't know what to trust."
Well, despite the numerous rewrites, this episode did say "Written By John Shiban", so I suppose I will have to trust that. Let me be the first to congratulate Mr. Shiban on his dramatic and marked improvement over his last two outings. He has finally realized that Mulder and Scully are more important than the supporting players in The X-Files, and has written them with the intriguing emotional baggage that is at the core of the better episodes. Unfortunately, the actual "X-File" part of the story is still pretty weak (psycho nurse driven mad by either her failed marriage, bad wig, drugs or bad teeth - jealous for some reason of girls a mental patient likes - "she is me" - sure, fine, whatever). Still, big points on character development Mr. Shiban, big points. Plus, no subtitles, cats, rats, or goats - Yea!
Things do not look good on the health front for our Scully. Setting a new episode record for "I'm fine" (one wonders at the rate we are going if, as her condition worsens, this will be her only dialogue), each utterance of the phrase becomes less and less convincing. We are to the point where it has become her touchstone, her mantra - she even whispers it to herself now - Mulder is not the only one she is trying to convince anymore. With every nosebleed the otherwise luminous Agent Scully (for a woman supposedly getting so close to death damn if she doesn't look good - perhaps the most healthy looking cancer victim in television history) grows more and more afraid. The strength and determination we saw at the end of "Memento Mori" is being funneled away drop by drop. We are told she is visiting the a doctor weekly and keeping a close watch, but the Scully we see getting her blood drawn is clearly shaken by her own mortality. Could she have looked more depressed? Doubtful.
How could I possibly not like any episode that takes Dana Scully back to the office of EAP counselor Karen Kosseff? It was, after all, that therapy scene in "Irresistible" that made me the Phile I am today. Gillian Anderson, of course, not only does not disappoint us, but blows me away once again as she gives that right eyebrow of hers a workout and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is the best actress working on television. Instead of the hysterical showy scenes we are "treated" to by other actresses in dramatic television, we consistently see her mastery of the craft by the quiet, true, understated honesty she delivers week in and week out. This is why we are wrecked and filled with empathy for Scully as her eyes fill with tears and we see her defeat through dialogue delivered with swallowing and shaky breaths and why we mutter to ourselves "poor Scully" as we see her strength crumble alone in her car.
While the Scully Psychic Moment (SPM) returns for all the wrong reasons, her own imminent death as a catalyst for a vision, this isn't the first occurrence for her of this phenomena. Her connection to spirits beyond this life is also highlighted in "Beyond the Sea" and "One Breath". The scene where she sees the ghost was expertly done, the fear we see in Scully making it all the scarier for the audience as she can barely get out the word "yeah" in answer to Mulder's query.
On the whole though, "Elegy" does give us further insight into the Mulder/Scully dynamic. Scully still has fits and starts in admitting any weakness to Mulder when she tells him she wants to go to the doctor, and in a wonderful bit of acting we see the moment of realization she experiences when she sees the truth in her fear of failing Mulder. A lot of speculation has always been bandied about concerning why Scully stays with the X-Files, and she shares a bit with us here - the importance of the work - especially now - and how much she relies on Mulder for strength and support. It's too bad we don't always see that support as Sensitive!Mulder couldn't seem to get with the program all the way. While he is obviously concerned, his one track mind causes him to barge in, all business, on a praying Scully (which really tells us something about her state of mind) in her "Blessing Way" bathrobe before realizing he's been a bit of a cad. Oh, that's right she went to the doctor - Duh! At least he's back by the very end as he sets aside his frustration at Scully's belated confession and confronts the fear they both have about the state of her health. "Why can't you be honest with me?" Heck Mulder, she's having a hard time being honest with herself.
Here's hoping "Elegy" wasn't an anomaly and if we have another Shiban outing in the future it will be as rich in character development.
-A retread festival. Mr. Bowling Alley Pintero was Dr. Bugger in "War of the Coprophages". The doctor at the hospital was last seen as the train conductor in "731". The black female attorney was a nurse in "One Breath" and a doctor in "Shadows."
-The bowling alley lanes were using computerized scoring systems which means that the hand written score cards featured so prominently in this episode would not have existed.
-Speaking of bowling, someone on this show has *no clue* how it is scored. In the pivotal "have Harold recite the score" scene the numbers they have him give and the closeup of the score sheet is impossible. He says "122 131 166 178 201". First off, you can't get more than 30 points a frame so you can't go from 131 to 166 - second, the math in the closeup was wrong wrong wrong.
-Well, I can honestly say I never expected to see Scully putting on bowling shoes, but the look she gave the squealing bowlers pretty much tells us what she thinks of the sport.
-Wish I could have better made out the back of that bowling team's shirts - looked like a pale woman's face with short red hair on them...
-Scully may not bowl, but apparently basketball isn't Mulder's only forte - and even Scully was impressed. Wonder how many shots that strike took Mr. Duchovny.
-Action!Scully paid us a visit, though she did let that nurse toss her around a bit more than I would have liked. Scully sure has become proficient at that shoulder shot - thank God Mulder gave her the practice.
-A bit of dialogue I really enjoyed: "What is that look Scully?" "I would have thought that after four years you'd know exactly what that look was." She's right Mulder - we all knew what it meant.
Autumn
"The Doctor said I was fine."