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"No, that's what's wrong here - it hasn't gone far enough."
There are a few ways to look at "Without". If you look at it from a "mythology" episode standpoint, this episode falls into all the usual traps and trappings that seem to be a mandatory part of the latter season multi-episode rigmarole. We start with a Carteresque voice over in which Scully takes over for Mulder as resident believer and ponders the unknown/truth/meaning/whatever, a lot of fruitless running around ensues, absolutely nothing is revealed or solved, the report of events looks goofy to the powers that be, and someone ends up in the hospital. That could be a synopsis of almost every mytharc episode in the past 3 years including the ones 1013 thinks reveal so much if we only paid more attention to the show. It's all sound and fury with a get well card attached. Clearly the formula needs to be adjusted. Or perhaps the whole problem is the attachment to formula. This is one of the reasons I gave up the mytharc for Lent one year and never went back with no regrets.
There is another way to look at "Without". I think the whole purpose of these first two episodes was not to find Mulder (obviously) or to forward what we know about the grand scheme of things. (Unless you consider it a stunning revelation that GASP there are a bunch of bounty hunters that all look alike). The purpose was to position characters - to establish Scully's shift and to introduce John Doggett. In this sense I think that they succeeded, and it was watching this positioning that made "Within" and "Without" work for me.
Scully is going through a huge perspective change. While she's gotten occasionally less staunch on her stance on aliens over the past few years, she is now in the position of having to explain just who and what the alien bounty hunter is. The irony is not lost on her as she even acknowledges that it should make Mulder happy. He's in for a bit of a shock upon his return I think. Like most things for Scully, this paradigm shift is because of faith. Her faith that in order to find Mulder she must now believe. So now it is she who wants to believe every light in the sky is a UFO because that will bring her closer to her absent half.
There's so much going on emotionally with Scully this season. How pitiful is it to see Scully trying to grab at anything, wandering in the desert at night calling out Mulder's name literally a stone's throw from the ship? One of the things that is easy to forget in the long long summer we've had is that the events of "Requiem", "Within", and "Without" are all happening to Scully in the span of around a week. Gillian Anderson has done a wonderful job of giving us Scully on the edge of breaking throughout. Her starting to crack when Scully explained to Skinner she couldn't take the chance of never seeing Mulder again was very well done. Scully's breakdown in the end as she tried in vain to hide her face from others fearing she may have killed her last chance to finding Mulder as the week's events hit her was heartrending. Mulder may not be here in the flesh for most of the season, but Scully is indeed carrying him within.
The point of this early season exercise was also to establish the character of Doggett. Frankly, the only complaint I really have now about this character or the actor is that I'm tired of hearing "Mulder" said as if the actor has a mouthful of marbles. Maybe I just missed that class on how to say "Mulder" like a guy's guy. Robert Patrick is doing a great job of creating a character that has a unique perspective and a unique relationship with Scully. He's got an intensity that makes you watch.
What I am getting from the interaction between Doggett and Scully is completely different from what has occurred between Mulder and Scully, as it should be. While the watchword key to the Mulder and Scully relationship was always trust, the early indicators seem to point to the key being respect between Doggett and Scully. Give a little get a little. I think it's going to be interesting to see how this develops into an uneasy truce. While Doggett obviously does not always agree with Scully he does not dismiss her. He treats her professionally. He treats her with kindness. Yes, his initial interaction in "Within" was a lie, but Scully has her own secrets. Now Doggett seems determined to move things forward. One of my favorite lines in this episode was "hey don't turn your back on me, I'm asking you a legitimate question" because Doggett was right. I especially liked the ending of this episode - Doggett winning me over further with the simple kindness of a get well card to a woman who looked like hell then reporting to her and trying to do what she would have wanted. There's something to be said for respect.
I also liked the edge of Skinner and Scully as coconspirators with all their past pretenses dropped. Their interplay here is strictly as friends, all edge of the boss/employee is gone, not that Scully ever paid that much heed anyway. Pileggi and Anderson have always worked well together and I like the tone of the relationship between the characters now even if they did play that old Mexican standoff guns pulled game again. Look at it this way, that even though Skinner is obviously a wee bit overprotective about Scully's pregnancy at least the two of them did not need to launch into some idiotic "name the relatives" game to tell if they were who they were. As good as Pileggi has always been at gruff I like him best in his softer moments. The scene between Doggett and Skinner was nicely played by both actors as Patrick conveys Doggett's irritation of being led on a game and Skinner honestly tells Doggett where things stand. There could be some very interesting scenes between these two in the future.
One of the entertaining things about this episode was that almost everyone got to play the bounty hunter. Duchovny certainly had the cold stare down. I winced when he cracked his arm back in place. Anderson's bounty hunter had the most evil glare and the nails to match - digging into a guy's neck until blood squirts out is not a way to make friends with the earthlings. Even the supporting players did a nice somehow off look. To be honest, the only person I had a problem with was Pileggi in this role. Maybe it was because when it inhabited him the bounty hunter became extra chatty all of a sudden, but I missed the cold edge that everyone else had until the end.
On the technical side probably the coolest effect for me was that nasty looking broken arm that gets crunched back into place - nice work by the makeup folk on that one. I thought Director Manners could have spent perhaps a little less time featuring the girl in the earlier shots. It was a bit too much drumming it into our brain that yes, she is somehow important later - we should watch her!
Now that we have finally gotten the requisite mythology opener over, I looking forward to the end of the season when Duchovny will have more to do that yell "Scully" and jump off a cliff. Until then we move into the real tests of the season. Will the initial interest in Doggett holds as he and Scully continue in investigations? Can they carry off monster of the week episodes and still maintain enough undercurrent of Mulder's presence to make them remotely plausible? If we as the audience can continue to see Scully carry Mulder within her they've got at least a shot.
-If the bounty hunter can morph himself into Mulder's favorite grey T-shirt that in no way resembled the outfit that Mulder was abducted in (and I can't even remember a time he even wore that around him), why in the world couldn't he have at least morphed a pair of sunglasses too? Does he think that squinty face makes him look more Mulderlike?
-For that matter, why in the world would the bounty hunter toss himself off the cliff besides the writer thinking it would be cool? He's never had any problems hurting anyone before. Heck as Scully he practically rips out a guy's larynx for no reason. Why spare Doggett and let Gibson escape? What good does it do to have Doggett think Mulder jumped off a cliff and then ran away in the grand scheme of things?
-I do find it mighty amusing just how impatient Scully now is with a skeptic. You'd think she'd have just a little patience with someone who has only seen his first alien.
-Frank's Fashion Spot: We got one outfit. And it's the same thing she wore at the end of "Within". Still, while fetching for desert wear, it is perhaps not the best choice with those trademark heels to be running through the sand with. Then again Scully has never been known for sensible shoes. Maybe she's just wearing a tight little tank because those days she can get away with it will be gone soon enough.
-Speaking of the jog through the desert, it did not even look like she broke a sweat until she actually got into the hideaway. Then she glowed.
-Why does Scully even bother pulling her gun on Skinner? He's disarmed her both times she's done it. Interestingly enough this seems to be a phenomena that happens when Mulder is missing.
-How did those kids even find that odd little getaway place? Did Gibson read someone's mind about it and just adopt it as his special super-secret hideout for those days when a deaf school in the middle of nowhere doesn't work anymore?
-Our Little Sailor: "I think it is true, and possible, and wherever Mulder is right now, he damn well better be smiling."
-So does Gibson having the same dream as Scully in which Mulder is attached to what looks like some sort of medieval milking machine validate that yes, Scully is indeed psychic? At least when it comes to Mulder.
-I really enjoyed the sequence of Scully chasing herself around yelling "hey!" especially the way it ended up with her face to face with a mirror.
-Anyone think that that Agent who met up with Scully's bad bounty hunter self just might be avoiding her in the halls in the future?
-Chris Carter's nod to continuity: actually remembering that Scully said she would protect Gibson before and it not exactly working out. Nice reaction by Gillian Anderson to that little shot as well.
-Manly Man Meter: Oh we get pluses this week for Skinner calling Doggett "the best of the best" which is another one of those man's man guy's guy types of things. Also Doggett's snapping back at an Assistant Director "I amuse you?" in that cranky but manly way. Plus His Manliness did tell us "I'm not afraid of anything" though we will see how long that lasts on the X-Files. However, I must ask, would a manly man pick out a get well card that was that hearts and flowers? I'm afraid we must deduct 2 points for that. And did you see how very very small his flashlight was? -1 for that as well. This week's score on the bigballomatic reads a 7.
-You know, no wonder Scully has so many problems with home security and the like. She always seems surprised that the keys to a vehicle are not left in the ignition or in that oh-so-stealthy spot under the floor mat. My bet is she has a key to her apartment under the doormat outside her apartment building too.
-I'm not quite sure why everyone was so darn excited about the pointy plam weapon all this time when apparently anyone with good aim can take out a bounty hunter. Kudos to sure shot Scully for having a spectacular kill shot after being slammed that hard when so, so many have failed to off the big boy before.
-My favorite Scullyism: "In case something tries to rip your throat out I've got you covered."
-This episode seems to give credence to the theory that once you kill an alien their blood is no longer toxic (also backed up by "Memento Mori" and when Krycek plammed the guy for Spender). It seems to me that after death is the only time no one seems to get those evil eyesores from the oozing green.
-Speaking of the oozing green, Doggett's gonna need a new pair of shoes after stepping in that stuff. Scully could at least have told him that after her favorite ugly pumps got ruined oh so many moons ago.
Autumn
"What does that tell you? That I'm crazy or that I'm right?"