Autumn Tysko's X-Files Reviews

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Closure

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"I'm fine. I'm free."

Thank God I gave up on the mytharc making any sense anymore. It allowed me to enjoy a pretty damn good dramatic outing on "The X-Files." Mulder finally has "Closure" and we are all finally free of the specter of Samantha over this show. In a series that so often dwells on lack of conclusion, frustration and pain, it was nice to see a bittersweet and freeing end to the issue that started it all so many years ago that rainy night in an Oregon motel room - Mulder's quest for the truth about his sister.

I believe "Closure" to be some of David Duchovny's very best work on the series. (Let alone the fact he managed to get through yet another of Chris Carter's trademark purple and ponderous voiceovers when all of a sudden Mulder waxes eloquent about God with minimal scarring.) He was absolutely wonderful in the end as I actually saw all those years of pain being lifted off of him as Samantha ran towards him. It was a truly beautiful moment for the show and for the actor. I also liked the honesty in the first moments when Mulder admits to Scully that he had hoped to find Samantha dead to end his search. As usual, Duchovny and Anderson shine together. Whether sharing an emotional argument over Samantha's fate in the hotel room or quietly reading her journal in a diner their connection crackles with intensity. While the diner scene is the easier to latch onto, I think I liked the honesty the actors brought to their argument even more. The frustration of Mulder's many years and Scully's seven of dealing with this issue came across as raw and powerful without ever losing the obvious affection between the characters. I'll certainly miss these types of moments when these actors finally go their separate ways.

Given that, I can still do without the divide and conquer snippiness we often get in mytharc outings. Scully is off to D.C., but her "I'm going back to Washington" exit certainly could have had more compassion. Similarly Mulder does his usual "so what" when Scully, still digging and trying to find the answers to help him, calls him with her findings even though he must later tell her "it turns out you were right." I do find it interesting in these last couple of years of the mytharc that it is Scully who is coming up with most of the hard connections - her discovery of the CGB Spender evidence last year and the hospital records that were looking for her here as an example. It gives Gillian Anderson a little more to do during the Mulder focused mytharc and helps to underscore Scully's commitment to helping her friend find the peace he seeks. I thought Scully's offer to talk to the nurse for him was a nice choice by the writers in highlighting this.

The special effects in this episode must be singled out for capturing beautifully the mood, moment, and emotion. The ethereal children lit in smoky blue light shimmering in the dark while Mark Snow struck just the right musical notes gave hope in the tragedy of murdered children. Kudos to Kim Manners and Bill Roe for pulling that off so wonderfully. From the supporting actors, Anthony Heald as Harold Pillar brought an edge to the role that justified both Mulder and Scully's reactions to his character - not an easy task. His last moment as a man who refuses to accept the fate of his son was especially well done. I also really liked Patience Cleveland as the elderly ER nurse with the amazing memory. She did a great job of selling her story to even the most skeptical. She even made us believe that CancerMan was the only man who smoked in 1979.

Writers Carter and Spotnitz of course took a few shortcuts to get to their dramatic moments. Finally, Mulder projecting on a case works even though the whole "Santa Claus" thing had nothing really to do with it. And we never really figure out the walk-ins - I take it they, in effect, kill the children by turning them into that starlight energy before the visions come true thus allowing them to play glow in the dark skip rope without having to actually go through the pain of death. Why they make the innocent parents write incriminating notes so they can face incarceration however escapes me (or perhaps that was just a cool plot device thing to do in "Sein Und Zeit"). Whatever the answer, it was pretty hokey no matter how well it was executed.

What writers Carter and Spotnitz don't address is why we should actually believe them this time. What makes this different? How do we know they aren't just going to turn around and tell us down the road that the evidence was planted and that Mulder's visions were those of a desperate and grieving mind that wants badly to believe? There was no real physical evidence, and certainly no body. No direct proof it really was Samantha. I'm sure a lot of fans who don't believe as Frank "the mytharc makes sense if you study it like I do which of course means forgetting little things like how long Scully was missing any anything else inconvenient" Spotnitz does are going to feel ripped off by "Closure". It's too bad, because getting angry over all the indications that Samantha was alive throughout the years would probably seriously impact your ability to enjoy this episode. You know, those little indicators like the Bounty Hunter telling him and leaving him for dead, Cassandra Spender telling him, Bill Mulder coming all the way back from the dead to say so in "Blessing Way", the thrill of seeing the recent tissue sample in "Paperclip" back when you thought paying attention would pay off, all the CancerMan talk (which is written off by his claims of "kindness" and not needing to protect anything anymore - whatever), and the list goes on. Plus, it seems pretty foolish to me for the Consortium to have allowed Mulder to believe when all it did was cause them grief all those years when they could have nipped his "quest" in the bud so easily. So, mytharc people, I feel your pain, that is unless you've found a way to justify everything and then I say God bless you and I'm happy for you. The problem Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have in all this is after years of misdirection and lies they've left the audience with no reason to trust them that this time they really really - cross their hearts hope to die - are telling the truth about Samantha. They cried wolf one too many times. The audience deserves closure "just like anyone" as well.

Random Musings

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-The tag line was changed this episode: "BELIEVE TO UNDERSTAND" though what exactly that means is open to interpretation. Could be Carter helping to plug his pal Cher's hit "Believe" in the Grammys for all we know.

-Oopsie for the props gang: Samantha's missing person's report lists her age as 14, instead of 8.

-If Mulder's Mom knew all along about April Air Force Base and what happened to Samantha, then let me just say here and now: good riddance.

-I'm unsure what, if anything, this episode was trying to say about the alien abduction angle. We still know Samantha was "abducted" though by whom is never said. Are we to believe the aliens gave her back to CGB, or was that whole Scully and the older agent watching the tape scene thrown in there just to show Mulder could have imagined the alien abduction angle? And if that's the case, is it just bizarre coincidence that his search for his sister got him mixed up in aliens anyway? -Scully drags out that look we all know in the "you're a police psychic" line, but what is even more amusing is how Gillian Anderson manages to make that skeptical Scully face with her eyes closed in the séance sequence.

-I thought it was a cool idea that as Mulder is led away during the séance, Scully never feels his hand leave - her hand still grasping air as if it were Mulder's hand.

-Subtext Moment: When Mulder and Piller first find the house on April Base where Samantha was held it is on "Albatross" street, reminding one of Samuel Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" from which we get the phrase "albatross around one's neck." Samantha has long been Mulder's heavy burden of guilt.

-Frank's Fashion Spot: The good news is Scully's hair actually moved this episode! (I guess they finally decided that perhaps half a tube of gel was sufficient instead of the whole thing.) Plus, while she still unbuttoned that blue untucked blouse almost to her navel in one scene, we did get to see her in that new lovely light blue turtleneck. And the black leather jacket looked great when it wasn't buttoned up to show it was a little too small. Baby steps, fashion friends, baby steps.

-While I'm on hair, I bet Mulder wishes he had stuck to audio regression tapes if this is the result. It's almost as bad as that wig they slapped on Gillian for her "Christmas Carol" flashback scene. I guess both Mulder and Scully were having hair issues around that time.

-I was actually quite surprised to see that video since we'd never known of its existence in all the Samantha brouhaha throughout the years. Apparently both a video and audio record were taken.

-Subtext Moment Part Two: The hospital where Samantha was taken is named after St. Dominic Savio the patron saint of youth and of the falsely accused, both of which feature prominently in this two parter.

-In all the years of the X-Files Scully has always worn minimal jewelry - her cross, of course, the "Squeeze" plot device necklace, small earrings - which is why it surprised me considerably to see a large ring on her right hand when she answered the phone at her apartment.

-Speaking of her apartment, a moment of silence please for the blue striped couch. My favorite piece of Scully furniture seems to have been replaced.

-I find it amusing that so many people break into Scully's apartment that she's not even surprised anymore when someone makes their presence known. I guess she knows she's not the only one handy with a lock pick.

-Old CancerMan is not quite as quick at recovering from surgery as Mulder is under the expert attention of his personal doctor. I see we are also leaving whether or not CGBS can read minds up in the air as well, but if I were to venture a guess it looks like the experiment was not the success he might have wished.

-Subtext Moment Part Three: This one is too over the top obvious for my tastes but the "Planet of the Apes" video segment about "you may not like what you find" was obviously thrown in for effect.

-My favorite "yeah right" line was when CancerMan tells Scully he let Mulder believe "out of kindness". That "Redux 2" here's your sister but she wants nothing to do with you was especially kind.

-Jeffrey? Ugh. Now he was tested on too? Or he just hung out with Samantha and got the ever popular air force base mind wipe to forget the whole thing?

-I really liked the idea of both the father and his son taking turns leading Mulder to the truth. That had a simple beauty to it. As did that moment when Amber Lynne's walk-in self smiled up at Mulder. What a cutie they found in that little actress.

-Speaking of, they did an especially nice job in casting Samantha Mulder. It was a simple, but extremely pivotal part. She looked like Samantha at 14 and did a great job in a role that had no lines.

Autumn
"Oh yea, a séance. I haven't done that since high school."

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