The phrase “Three Words” means different things to different people: “I love you” is probably the most common one we like to hear; “You’ve Got Mail” became popular in the 1990s because of AOL and that awful movie; “I’ll Be There" is often sung by fans of The Four Tops (who think that’s the title instead of "Reach Out") and The Jackson 5. This episode surreally opens with an armed man climbing the fence to illegally enter the White House grounds. People don’t try to stop him, but they sure take lots of pictures. Security detains the man while shouting, “Get the weapon!” (I don’t think those are the three words related to the episode title.) He wants to warn the President about an alien invasion, but shoots himself during the melee. The dying man hands a diskette to a guard that has “Fight the Future” written on it. (Maybe those are the three words.) Maybe this man thinks The X-Files movie was a documentary.
Fox Mulder is in a hospital in full "be careful what you wish for" mode. He’s having flashbacks to his alien imprisonment … or were those images implanted as false memories? That’s a question for another day. Dana Scully arrives with Mulder’s doctor and some miraculous news about Fox’s medical future. It’s a weird moment when Scully takes Mulder home and you realize we haven’t seen his reaction to her pregnant state yet. He seems more concerned about the loss of one of his fish. How about a "thank you" for keeping the apartment fully stocked and still feeding the fish of a dead man? Dana is grateful and emotional that Fox is alive; he, on the other hand, has trouble processing. He should keep pretending he has amnesia, it would be less insensitive.
Back in the West Virginia correctional facility, Absalom has no interest in reading the new Harry Potter. The librarian insists he read The Coming Apocalypse (this "three words" thing is quickly getting old) which contains an article about the man who died on the White House lawn, U.S. census worker Howard Salt. Deputy Director Alvin Kersh is watching a TV news story about the security breach when Assistant Director Walter Skinner and Agent John Doggett enter Kersh’s office. Scully is trying to get Mulder reinstated to the X-files, but her average success rate is higher with Doggett, so Kersh is leaning toward no. John refuses to be the one who tells Fox he can’t return to his own unit. Skinner pulls the trigger during a private meeting with Sculder. Mulder is eager to meet Doggett.
Absalom gets a work detail off grounds, attacks a guard and makes a run for it. He might not have gotten away if the corrections officer used his radio to set up a perimeter, but we’ll file that under Carter’s Contrivances in order to keep the story moving forward. (Remember when he used to do that all the time with his characters’ lack of cell-phone usage?) Absalom hides in John's apartment and holds Doggett at gunpoint until he’s sure the agent doesn't have an implant in the back of his neck. Absalom is convinced “they” killed Howard Salt because of what he knew and thinks he’s next. He wants John to "spread the word." (How many words in that phrase? Oh yeah, three.)
A.D. Skinner is leading the task force briefing to recapture Absalom. It’s probably no coincidence the man he and Scully arrested in Montana became incarcerated in West Virginia, so close to their front door. Doggett is noticeably absent from the meeting. On the upside(?), Mulder is back in his office, ready to work. Blame FBI Human Resources, who either never disabled Fox's ID badge or issued him a new one. Mulder points out Howard Salt’s face in a photograph with Absalom and other alien abductees.
Absalom is rigging a gun to shoot John, if necessary. Sculder invade the FBI evidence room in a way that’s reminiscent of teens trying to sneak a cigarette in the school bathroom; Fox is the rebel while Dana is the hall monitor who goes along with it. Mulder removes Howard Salt’s encrypted hard drive for analysis. Meanwhile, Absalom, who is convinced the proof he needs is hidden in census bureau data, arrives with Doggett at the (fictional) Federal Statistics Center in Virginia. The security guard allows entry and trips the silent alarm when he sees the gun strapped to John’s back. The SWAT team swarms them and abruptly shoots Absalom in the head. During the next morning’s debriefing, Fox finally meets Doggett and confronts him about getting Absalom killed before he can reveal what he knew. And just like that we’re back to the "Everything is a Conspiracy" Mulder show. Can I change the channel?
Fox gets some love from The Lone Gunmen, who are thrilled to see their friend alive. (The Lone Gunmen is three words. Maybe they should have their own show.) Langly comments on Sculder’s bun in Dana’s oven, but of course that gets pushed aside to talk about the Federal Statistics Center data on Howard’s hard drive. Too bad the FSC firewalls and lack of a password prevent their access. John covertly meets with Knowle Rohrer (Adam Baldwin), who we learned not to trust in Season 8, Episode 13: "Per Manum." Maybe Chris Carter named him Knowle because he’s the one with all the knowledge? Doggett is the one lacking in knowledge now, and Rohrer tells John he doesn’t know the three words. Are they "Bring back Firefly?"
John meets with Scully to tell Mulder about the diskette Howard Salt was trying to get to the President. The passcode to access the encrypted information is "Fight the Future." Or is it "fIGHT tHE fUTURE?" Some other combination? Passwords are case-sensitive, you know. She relays it to Fox, who learns the government has been tracking people with certain genetic profiles. Scully calls Skinner and he confronts Doggett. John still thinks he’s being used, but leaves to handle it. Meanwhile, hall monitor Dana is outside the FSC waiting for Fox the rebel when Doggett startles her. He sends her away for her own protection and takes over hall monitor duties. The Lone Gunmen are inside facility walls trying to disable the cameras while Mulder waits outside the security office. The Gunmen deactivate the locks so Fox can get into the computer room. John tries to help, but he’s locked out of the room. Mulder ignores him so Doggett shoots through the glass door. Conspiracy buff Fox is convinced he can’t trust John, who’s trying to save both of their lives. Scully warns The Lone Gunmen about the setup. Since their data upload is blocked, they’re inclined to believe her. Team Mulett (I’ve been waiting for weeks to use that one!) escape through the ceiling.
The next morning, Knowle seems surprised to see a still-alive Doggett at their meeting place. Skinner is there to back up John, who threatens to burn the Knowle Rohrer bridge. Knowle claims he’s there to help John. Too bad the implant in his neck indicates otherwise.
Sestra Professional:
Truer words were never spoken, Sestra. The teaser of "Three Words" is downright eerie when juxtaposed with the news story of the week -- insurrection at The Capitol. Imagine if all those people with cameras had access to social media back in the day. We've had fiction mirroring real life a few times during the rewatch, the one that sticks out in my mind was when a hurricane threatened Sestra Am's home state of Florida during "Agua Mala" (S6E13).
I got a kick out of having the words "Fight the Future" on the disc the ill-fated White House fence jumper wanted to get to the President. Trivia buffs might remember the first film was never meant to be called Fight the Future, but people assumed the tag line on the movie posters was the name of the film, and so instead of merely being named after the series, it became more widely known as that.
Who says you can't go home again? And now more than three words about Mulder. Executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, who penned this episode, knew the X-Philes would hang with Fox no matter what he does out of gratitude for having David Duchovny back in the fold. We've been programmed to give Mulder time and space and put up with him being a butthead for a while because we're more than merely sympathetic to his cause. Save Kersh ... and probably Sestra Am.
So it's easy for us to take his abrasiveness just to have him on the canvas. But the real benefit here is more subtle. Giving Fox a pass on his 'tude also keeps us in Doggett's corner. We've got our original hero back, but we're not brushing aside the guy tabbed to fill in for him. In fact, when Mulder questions his fortitude, Scully stands up for him and we can fall in line right behind her. That's a smart way for Carter and Spotnitz to be going about their ongoing business.
People are so rarely what they seem: Nevertheless, it's a rather unceremonious first meeting between our two male leads. Poor John's been hearing for months about the fortitude of Fox Mulder. And he might have already earned the respect of Scully, but that doesn't carry any weight at all with Mulder. It would have been nice for Fox to show some respect for Dana -- everything she's been through and the person she went through it with -- but he's got months of self-righteousness to catch up on.
Everything's not perfect in Doggett's world either. As Sestra Am pointed out, it's a little dubious that John would put stock into anything Knowle has to say following the events of "Per Manum." But the contrivance puts Doggett into all kinds of juicy trouble, so the manipulation seems worth it to make sure he's still front and center. When John tells Kersh that he's just trying to keep up with the job and can't take credit for the successes, he's speaking the plain truth as he knows it and we see it. And while he doesn't have the confidence of Mulder, at least Scully and Skinner don't question the character of the man.
By the way, how pat is it that a guy who was deceased at the start of last week's episode is being restored to his factory settings? Fox won't even have any scars on his handsome body. (In fact, Doggett looks a little worse for wear than Mulder.) And should we be taking out stock in Dana's prayers? Between the baby and pristine Fox, she seems to be in the good graces of someone very high up.
Just a fly buzzing around the window: By the time we get to the break-in, Mulder's stance is getting to be a little too much, even with the free pass. We know he wants to help all the people being profiled and that's admirable and reflective of everything we know about him. But Fox shouldn't do it at the expense of his life, even with his "get out of death free" card. He certainly shouldn't let Scully be hanging around outside the location in her condition. And Mulder should be smart enough to realize that Doggett coming to the location to warn him at the risk of John's own life means he can be trusted.
Over the years, the X-files informants increasingly have come with more and more strings. Remember when it was just Deep Throat and the only thing he did was occasionally throw our heroes off track verbally? Then there was X and Marita Covarrubias, and their motivations came into question even more often. Now we have this mutated dude who could occasionally provide information of some use, but each and every one of his morsels will have to be carefully sussed out and sifted through to determine its impetus and validity.
Guest star of the week: Judson Scott was resolute during this arc as Absalom. It's a little strange for me to see him in this role, since I remember him as generic baddie Peter Harrell from General Hospital in the mid-'80s. Perhaps I should consider his role as Lt. James on V instead. Either way, he was strong in a role that needed to be bought into to keep the concept afloat. Scott did a yeoman's job.
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