X-Files S8E21: The light at the end of the tunnel

Sestra Amateur: 

We’re thisclose to the end of the eighth season, so let’s wrap it up. Good news: No Mulder voiceover this time. More good news: Terminator-knockoff Billy Miles is brought to the coroner’s office in a tray. That means he’s definitely dead, right? Dr. Langenhahn leaves his assistant to do the paperwork so he can go back to sleep. Too bad neither sees the suspicious metallic object, the one causing those wicked neck implants, rebuilding itself.

Agents Dana Scully and Monica Reyes have been driving for hours and are on the road somewhere in Georgia. The menfolk – Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Agent John Doggett and former agent Fox Mulder are trying to get answers from former agent Alex Krycek, who reminds them Billy Miles is not their only super-soldier threat. As if on cue, secret super-soldier Agent Gene Crane joins the group with other secret super-soldier Knowle Rohrer. 

Scully and Reyes arrive at Democrat Hot Springs, the most desolate place on the country’s East Coast. (This isn’t a political statement; I swear that’s the name of the town.) Even if it’s part of Doggett’s past, I don’t think an abandoned place without hot water and medical supplies is good for Dana right now. How far away is the nearest 7-11? Does their cell phone reception work out there, because you know there will be some type of emergency? And didn’t they pass literally hundreds of stores on the way down from Virginia to get what they needed? Somehow, Monica has managed to keep cigarettes handy.

Rohrer gives some exposition to Doggett. The super-soldier plan originated during the Cold War. The Nu-Billy Miles version that has been causing so much trouble is the prototype. Scully’s “alien” abduction from Season 2 is also a factor because she was supposed to give birth to the first organic super-soldier (a super-duper super-soldier?) Meanwhile, Mulder’s impatience while waiting for an elevator saves his life because he misses Nu-Nu-Billy by thismuch. Krycek reveals his true colors when he leaves Skinner behind to save himself. Nu-Nu-Billy cuts through the elevator with his Terminator hand and knocks Walter unconscious. Skinner gets hospitalized with a concussion while John reveals Knowle’s identity to Fox. Mulder is beyond hypocritical, based on his inside info histories with Deep Throat, Mr. X, Marita Covarrubias … did I miss anyone?

Vibey Monica picks the cabin marked Exodus 7:16 (“Let my people go”) for Dana and gives it a homey feel. They’re talking about Scully’s deceased sister, Melissa, when Reyes sees someone outside. It’s a female game warden concerned about their birthing plan. But Dana keeps playing the dangerous man card until she agrees to help.

Team Mulett have a frank discussion about the future while waiting for Rohrer in the FBI building’s parking garage. Fox is clearly not comfortable as the “Scully” in this situation, but John makes for a pretty blunt “Mulder.” He’s not blindly following Knowle’s intel and knows his source could be lying to them. But Doggett is right. How long can they protect Scully and the baby from the Future Super Soldiers of America? Meanwhile, Krycek and Rohrer have arrived … together.

Monica feels “off," maybe it’s because they don’t really know if they can trust the game warden. Maybe it’s because there may be complications during the birth. Or maybe it’s because of the “Christmas Star” Reyes keeps seeing in the nighttime sky. I think it’s because Nu-Nu-Billy has found them. Luckily, the game warden slows him down. Monica thinks he’s dead, at least until she sees his wicked neck implants. The game warden wants to go by the book and report the justified shooting, but Dana’s contractions put a pin in everything else.

Fox stays on Alex, while John follows Knowle to a meeting with Gene Crane. Doggett tries to call Mulder from Walter’s office to warn him. Luckily, Skinner is there (way to get back in the action, Walter!) so the good guys get caught up on the three-way phone call. Realizing the bad guys already know where Scully and Reyes are, John gives Fox the Georgia location name. Too bad Mulder forgot he was supposed to be watching Krycek, who gets the upper hand over Fox and destroys his phone. Mulcek (Kryder?) finally have their verbal showdown, but Skinner saves the day -- and Mulder’s butt -- by shooting Alex dead. I don’t think he’s coming back from that head shot, Sestra Pro.

I almost forgot Doggett was still dealing with Rohrer and Crane. Way too much action occurred in the meantime. John treats them like normal, human suspects and gives verbal commands. Before long, Doggett is running for his life. He catches up to Skinner and they try to escape in Walter’s car. Crane steps in the way, so Skinner runs him down but Gene manages to hang on for a little while. Then he gets run over by Rohrer, who loses control, crashes and explodes. (I guess super-soldiers aren’t super drivers.) I want to be in the room when Deputy Director Alvin Kersh first watches the footage of everything that happened in his FBI office building that night.

During Dana’s labor, Monica notices some wicked neck implants on our helpful game warden. She’s able to burn the traitor and get her away from Scully. Too bad Nu-Nu-Billy is back in action and the game warden’s group has arrived. And while Dana screams in pain, she still refuses to call Agent Reyes “Monica.” Scully now has an audience while she’s in active labor. (This is what happens when you’re in a town that doesn’t have cable.) Dana gives birth while everyone silently watches. Fox arrives in a helicopter and they scatter. Turns out, they just wanted to watch the “miracle.”

Sometime later, Agents Doggett and Reyes are in Deputy Director Kersh’s office. I really wish we could have seen another side to Alvin, but the writers never give him more than one note to play. Team Johnica (that’s my choice and I’m sticking with it) are able to leave with their dignity and careers intact, thanks to Kersh’s late-night meeting with super-soldiers Crane and Rohrer, both of whom are now listed as “missing.” Mulder arrives at Scully’s apartment while the "Three Wise Men" visit her bearing gifts. (Because of his crush on Dana, I think Frohike would have brought her gold. That leaves Langly with frankincense and Byers with the myrrh.) Fox tells the conspiracy theorists he followed the light to Democrat Hot Springs. Dana decided to name her baby boy William, after Mulder’s father. The baby starts fussing when Fox holds him. I don’t blame him.

Sestra Professional: 

Instead of the laborious voiceover we've come to know and roll our eyes out during mythology two-parters, the season finale starts on a somewhat lighter note as the dudes in the morgue deal with their Nu-Nu Billy burger delivery. Complete with the cool effect of Miles' metallic rebuild, it makes for one of the best openers we've had for the ongoing story in eons.

It's also rather enjoyable to have our action segmented with Scully and Reyes heading south and the boys back home trying to make sense of the Faux Terminator. Mulder-Skinner-Krycek scenes have always popped on the show, and they do likewise here with the show's go-to director, Kim Manners, keeping everything going at a brisk pace.

I probably sound like a goof: Even before it comes up in conversation, it's obvious that Monica's channeling her inner Melissa Scully. Her new-age manner (much like Missy's always was) comes off as clunky in our context, particularly when her need for a nicotine fix is folded in, but it's just show runner Chris Carter's way of separating her from his starter agents. The whole whale song business is a bit much, but it's provided a lot of humor in the ensuing years for X-Philes the world round.

 

Knowle Rohrer breaks up the boys' lovefest. If Rohrer survives his inferno, and there's no reason to suspect Knowle wouldn't unless Adam Baldwin wasn't available the following season, he's been set up as a wiser version of Krycek. Rohrer not only knows everything, but he's been able to avoid the beatdowns Alex used to get with regularity.

Skinner's bot threat appears to be over. If you ask me, they never utilized the potential of that plot development to as good effect as it seemed like they were going to when the D.O.A. sequence got underway in "S.R. 819" (Season 6, Episode 9). Even before the final shot, Walter thinks he has the upper hand over Krycek (pun intended). But as we found out, Billy Miles really had the upper hand, as once again, FBI Headquarters wound up as the setting for an exciting action sequence. With a somehow freshly pressed shirt, Billy Miles induces fear in characters who we thought had seen everything.

As Sestra Am pointed out, Fox seemed to be conveniently forgetting that his most trusted resources -- Deep Throat and X -- lied to him on a regular basis. He was a little less gullible when Marita Covarrubias rolled around. Maybe Mulder's just trying to give Doggett the benefit of his years of experience? I'm going to go with that one.

You look amazingly beautiful, Dana: Now we know the genesis of the small but dedicated fan base that ships Dana and Monica. By the way, if the FBI thing doesn't work out, Reyes definitely has some hidden cleaning talents. Maybe she used to do crime-scene cleanup when she was earning her stripes. Is she available for private jobs? Probably not, since we also see she has a lot of grit when she stands directly in front of an SUV barreling toward her.

Then we get to the stuff Carter has been working toward all season. The midnight clear ... the small-town delivery ... the star in the sky ... the allusions to the birth of Jesus would seem overly oppressive if we didn't know Scully's baby was its own miracle.

It's going to take more bullets than you can ever fire to win this game: If Krycek had to go, that was one helluva final scene for Nicholas Lea and had to be great fun for his good friend Mitch Pileggi as well. We couldn't have expected him to delineate his motivations so quickly and effectively, but I felt for Alex saying Fox was kept alive because he wanted him to win. Krycek comes off like a younger brother trying to impress his older sibling. Mulder may not have been swayed, but I was. Not that Alex's last ditch effort to get Skinner to shoot Fox in exchange for power and riches ever would have worked.

 

But, and I've raised this concept ad nauseum in chat groups and on podcasts, I think everyone's sort of overlooked the obvious when it comes to Krycek. What if Alex had become a super-soldier? He was allied with Rohrer after all. So he certainly could come back from a little headache if that was the case. And I didn't see Skinner do any cleanup. I'm just saying...

  

Our new heroes -- Doggett and Reyes -- look perfectly poised to take over in Sculder's stead. Sestra Am's correct about Kersh consistently coming off very one-note, but his failing gives them strength. John isn't the same man he was when he started Season 8, but he's just as smart and strong as when he joined the fold. And Monica's only had a few episodes to show her toughness and wisdom, but she has been able to do so.

 

The truth we both know: So Mulder and Scully's story could have wrapped up here. The X-Files might have continued on with the new charges steering the ship, with maybe an occasional appearance by David Duchovny and/or Gillian Anderson. That's not the way it turned out, largely because the majority of the fan base considers it the Mulder and Scully Show. The fans, and I understand it, equate the business of investigating X-files with the two who chased down cases for the bulk of eight seasons. But I find the concept malleable enough to go with Doggett and Reyes ... and the super-soldiers ... and whatever other truths are out there.

Guest star of the week: It was amazing the way meek Billy Miles from the pilot transformed into the formidable Faux Terminator. With a dizzying array of bad guys of the extraterrestrial or man-made variety coming at us each week, it's something of a challenge to ratchet up tension. But Zachary Ansley -- with the help of Mark Snow's striking score -- felt like a true threat.

X-Files S8E20: Four men, a super soldier and a baby

Sestra Amateur: 

You know how to tell when The X-Files is wrapping up a season? They circle back to previous mythology and someone – usually Fox Mulder – does an allegedly deep but often meandering voice-over. This time, we begin with the opening credits scene from Look Who’s Talking but without the frivolous Beach Boys soundtrack. Of course, while narrating the act of conception, growth and birth, Fox manages to make it about himself. It almost makes you look forward to that rude awakening and rewritten history in Season 11. Almost.

Margaret Scully is throwing a baby shower for Dana and correctly guesses her daughter is carrying a boy. Lizzy Gill (Frances Fisher) is hired by Margaret help Scully, but she’s snooping in medicine cabinets and being filmed at sinister angles so we shouldn’t trust her. She’s also replacing Dana’s medication. Meanwhile, at Zeus Genetics in Germantown, Maryland (a place we first visited back in Season 8, Episode 13 “Per Manum”). Dr. Lev, who is holding an “alien” baby, gets murdered by the current version of Billy Miles, who we last saw in “Deadalive” (S8E15). Nu-Billy burns down the building because murder isn’t enough.

Agent John Doggett is enjoying a relaxing day off watching NASCAR and cleaning his gun when former Agent Fox Mulder ruins the mood with the Zeus Genetics story. Doggett requests the FBI Crime Lab peeps secure the evidence. Agent Gene Crane is not happy to be called into work and he’s even more annoyed that John is entertaining Fox’s theories. Mulder thinks they’ll find Lev’s remains in the fire. He tells Doggett the other founder of Zeus Genetics, Dr. James Parenti, used to be Scully’s OB-GYN (which stands for Oh Boy…). Team Mulett break into Parenti’s office. He takes umbrage and claims his work is to prevent non-survivable birth defects in infants. Fox plays the Dana card, which doesn’t work to support his argument.

Back at Scully’s place, Lizzy is brazen enough to get picked up outside the apartment building in broad daylight by Duffy Haskell, who we also last saw in “Per Manum.” She thinks Dana trusts her. Agent Crane believes they found Dr. Lev’s remains and then some. John reminds Mulder that “unidentifiable” doesn’t always mean “alien.” Team Mulett heads to Dr. Parenti’s office. Too bad Nu-Billy gets there first. 

Doggett finds a head in a jar while Fox runs into Nu-Billy, who throws Mulder through a glass wall. Nu-Billy has neck implants just like John’s former contact Knowle Rohrer in “Three Words” (S8E16). Doggett shoots Nu-Billy, who doesn’t go down but doesn’t stick around either. Luckily, Scully is still a medical doctor, so she is able to stitch up Fox’s forehead. He’s short-sighted enough to complain about pain to a woman who soon will be expelling a human being through the birth canal.

Mulder claims Billy is not Billy anymore, but John uses Fox’s own reports against him to show Miles is not an alien. Fox agrees Billy is in a category all his own as an abductee who was tortured by aliens and survived only after shedding his skin. Mulder tells Dana he’s concerned about “this baby of yours.” Does he really think he isn’t the father?! Lizzy arrives unexpectedly and updates Duffy by phone. Luckily, Nu-Billy dispatches Haskell fairly quickly. Mid-sentence, in fact. 

The next morning, Doggett meets with Assistant Director Walter Skinner at the latest crime scene. Considering how involved he was in “Per Manum,” I’m surprised John didn’t involve Walter in the Team Mulett weekend investigations sooner. Skinner points out the connections between Dr. Lev, Dr. Parenti, Duffy Haskell and Scully. Fox joins the conversation and Walter demands to know who the father of Dana’s baby is. Mulder doesn’t give him answers but calls Scully to arrange a meeting. Knowing Fox’s narcissistic tendencies, I’m surprised he hasn’t announced to the world he impregnated a barren woman.

Dana catches Lizzy switching out her meds and immediately goes to her current OB-GYN Dr. Mary Speake, who we met briefly in “Empedocles” (S8E17). Margaret and Mulder are there for moral support. Dr. Speake claims Lizzy was giving Scully vitamin supplements and the baby is fine. Skinner brings Fox to Lizzy’s interview. Ms. Gill says she was a research scientist who worked with human eggs and alien DNA. They used the infants’ tissue and stem cells for other experiments. Lizzy claims they’re trying to protect Dana, whose unborn baby is very special. Mulder bails on the interview to take Scully away and keep her safe.

Doggett learns Billy Miles wants to surrender. He and the FBI SWAT team storm Parenti’s office to take Miles into custody, but it’s a distraction; Nu-Billy is after Dana at her apartment. Just when it looks like Team Sculder are trapped, Alex Krycek saves the day by running down Nu-Billy. (I’ll bet Sestra Pro cheered at the TV when she first saw Krycek’s face during the original run.) The three of them go to FBI Headquarters to meet with Walter and John, who barely knows Alex but rightly doesn’t trust him. Of course, if Doggett really has read every report, then he knows about Krycek’s convoluted history with the FBI. 

Alex claims the super soldiers (replacements, replicants, pick a noun) want the child because they are afraid of the miracle baby's implications. Krycek wanted to prevent the birth because he was trying to destroy the truth that a higher power is involved. Yeah, Dana won’t forget that anytime soon, Krycek. She doesn’t even get an “I told you so” moment when the others believe God might exist. And do they even know neck implants are a way to tell who the replicants are?

OK, same goal but new plan for getting Scully to a safe place. John reaches out to Agent Monica Reyes, who joins them in the FBI office garage. (Boy, that taxi driver has no idea how lucky he is.) Nu-Billy enters the garage so Skinner, Mulder and Scully head back upstairs. Fox trusts Alex to protect Dana while Team Skinder (Mulner?) leads Nu-Billy on a wild goose chase to the roof. Krycek safely gets Scully to Reyes in the garage. Team Scules (Reyly?) head toward the exit while Mulder shoves Nu-Billy off the roof. It looks like Agent Crane helps Dana and Monica escape by catching Nu-Billy in a garbage truck, but he also has those wicked neck implants… 

Sestra Professional: 

This episode -- penned by show runner Chris Carter, of course -- feels like a two-parter in and of itself. There's the setup surrounding the miracle baby and then the action/adventure of getting Scully and her bundle to safety. The first part is pretty dry, for Pete's sake, there's a baby shower in it and discussion of the baby's sex that feels like it should be in a thirtysomething episode. But after the proverbial bases are covered, the second part really kicks into overdrive.

 

The mythology once was at the center of our known universe, but the pretentious voiceovers heralding these episodes have put a damper on that excitement. They've become more akin to vocabulary tests. Class, today's words are extract, implant and inseminate. Granted, we're used to these particular terms from the ongoing story, but the lead-ins are constructed with such a heavy hand that they feel oppressive from the jumping-off point because they're not put together with Mulder's normal nomenclature. Now they got me doing it too, I'm starting to see the attraction.

He is a type of alien: Conversely, and as previously stated the last time we saw Billy Miles in "Deadalive," bringing him back into the fold has provided a jolt for the ongoing story, as well as a viable reason for having Krycek back in the mix. Alex has been the perfect foil for Fox and the good guys as long as he's been around. And Billy's change from mild-mannered victim to hard-charging terminator feels strangely organic in terms of our story structure. Plus, he's a threat at a level Krycek never could attain.

I think it also benefits the story greatly to have Doggett in the middle of the proceedings. We're ahead of him on the mythology learning curve, that's strangely comforting. We've seen fetuses in jars before, he hasn't ... although he should have read about them while poring over the old cases. It feels right to have his face in the middle of this -- Robert Patrick is particularly fabulous at aiming his gun while conducting searches -- and he's a real shot in the arm for the ongoing saga. 

You have to keep a cool head: Although the show seems to be lumbering to a possible finale, the super soldiers deliver another sign that it could move in a new direction with John at the forefront. The super soldiers provide the strange dual effect of making me nostalgic for aliens with green blood and inconsistent toxicity, while eager to move on with Doggett and Reyes. Luckily Skinner's also in tow to help balance things out.

From the moment we learned of the pregnancy in "Requiem" at the end of Season 7, we knew it was only a matter of time before Scully's baby became the center of attention. Dana perfectly hits the nail on the head when she says she can't live as the object of some unending X-file. I don't particularly want that either, but that's where we seem to be heading. 

Hey, look who's back: Still, Carter has this one really well plotted out. For every piece of business that needs to be done, he gives us something unexpected. Like Alex as Mulder and Scully's savior. I say that not only because Krycek is my favorite character in the series, but because the idea of Fox and Dana being beholden to him is another fine stroke in an episode with a bunch of them. Ever notice how Alex always knows what's going on? He doesn't react to the proceedings like our heroes would, but he always knows the dealio. If only he used his powers for good.

So the effort to get Scully and her bundle to safety winds up being as much fun as we've had with the mythology in years. It also reminded me a lot of the sensational sequence in "Triangle" (S6E3) -- also by Carter -- that found Dana, or at least Mulder's idealized version of her, racing around FBI Headquarters trying to get information that would help her save him in the Bermuda Triangle. I never would have foreseen Fox leaving Scully in Krycek's care, let alone having Alex and Dana holding hands while trying to avoid Billy Miles.

Nicholas Lea addressed Krycek's turnaround in The Complete X-Files: "Toward the end, he realizes that it's possible that the world could completely go down the tubes -- then he's got a stake in trying to keep that from happening. That's when he starts giving the information to Mulder so that he can use it."

By the way, time has been kind to Doggett and Monica Reyes. They weren't given much wiggle room by the fan base at large during the original run for fear they would be replacing the stars who turned the show into a juggernaut. Now they're downright beloved by X-Philes who are keeping the spirit of the program alive, and I think it's -- in large part -- because in rewatching these episodes, the quality of their respective characters is evident. Another point for Carter. I'm having a real push-pull thing with him in "Essence."

 

Guest star of the week: Frances Fisher. This was great timing for me, a day earlier, I watched a Zoom chat with Frances and two best friends from her earliest days on the daytime soap opera Edge of Night. Fisher only gets a couple of scenes to put up a front we know to be false as Lizzy. She's strong enough to handle those kinda clunky moments and the total turnaround that follows it flawlessly.

X-Files S8E19: Leyla, you got me on my knees

Sestra Amateur: 

In Ellicott, New York, located south of Buffalo, an old and infirmed man named Arlen Sacks is living in fear. His caretaker son, Gary, seems fed up, mainly because it’s chilly outside when he checks the house locks. (In his son’s defense, it’s a nippy 16 degrees Fahrenheit that day in Ellicott. But this episode aired on May 6, 2001, when the Buffalo temperature ranged from 42 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Suck it up, Gary.) The old man knows someone (something?) is coming for him and it looks like his fear comes true. Gary finally gets with the program, but only after he is attacked by the same creature.

Inside the X-files office, Dana Scully reminisces while preparing for maternity leave. She bonds with John Doggett, who will need a new partner for the foreseeable future, if not longer. Luckily, someone strolls right into his office. Agent Leyla Harrison (Jolie Jenkins, who currently can be seen on several Netflix comedy series), arrives with the Sacks case. They fly to the crime scene, where Arlen’s body is found in the woods. Son Gary is missing and presumed guilty. Harrison seems giddy when Doggett finds slime at the crime scene. She’s quite the X-files groupie. Even though she’s new to field work, Leyla worked in the FBI’s accounting division and marveled over Sculder’s travel expenses for years.

Back in the normal world, Scully and Fox Mulder are preparing for a Lamaze class. Dana is worried about Doggett working alone, but Fox blows it off, claiming John can take care of himself. That’s an awfully flippant attitude for someone who knows most X-files cases shouldn’t be worked alone. How many times did Scully have to save his butt? And Fox came to her rescue quite a few times, as well. In fact, Doggett already died once in “The Gift” (Season 8, Episode 11)! You’re not gaining any points with me, Mulder.

John is searching the Sacks home and finds a book titled The Sixth Extinction. (Maybe it’s a summary of the Season 7 opening two-parter of The X-Files.) Doggett senses something in the house and tells Harrison to wait outside the front door. After taking her post, she hears a rattling and shoots at something above her head. John realizes she’s been dragged into the woods and follows until he falls into an obscured oubliette. (OK, it’s just a trap door, but how often do we get to use the word oubliette in our daily lives? My last one was a follow-up reference in “731” (S3E10) about “Oubliette” (S3E8) so it’s been 3½ years for me.)

Since two FBI agents are missing, Assistant Director Walter Skinner arrives to lead the local law enforcement search party. Dana, who feels helpless, calls Skinner. Doggett regains consciousness underground but has no cell phone service (gasp!) and can’t find the exit door. Scully puts herself to use by autopsying Arlen Sacks. (Many thanks to Agent Harrison for having enough foresight to ship the body back to Washington, D.C.) Dana finds slime on Arlen’s eyes and realizes venom blinded him. He then died of heart failure. Mulder, who  separated himself from a tour group to get access to Scully, mentions how Team Dogison -- Team Harriett? I kinda like that -- sent similar slime samples to be analyzed.

Doggett encounters the slime creature, which resembles a giant salamander. John shoots but misses, mainly because he’s been temporarily blinded. Agent Harrison finds John and brings him to Gary Sacks, who’s not looking well. Mulder throws caution to the wind and heads to the scene. Walter reveals they’re going to check a new search location (based on a false lead), so Mulder heads into the woods alone. While searching for clues, he encounters biologist Herman Stites. Herman, played by familiar face Zach Grenier, is the one who gave Arlen Sacks a copy of The Sixth Extinction. He also owns the house and property. Fox introduces himself as Alvin Kersh. (The assistant director is going to love hearing about this. Maybe he’ll file charges against Mulder for impersonating a federal agent.)  

Below them, Doggett is slowly crawling his way to the surface. He makes it to the top after Mulder walks away from Herman. Of course, Stites prevents John’s escape by crushing his hand so Doggett falls back into the pit. While Team Harriett discuss their options, Gary disappears.

Scully updates Mulder about the effect his presence is having on the FBI higher-ups. He seems delighted with it, but annoyed that Dana regifted his Apollo 11 medallion to Doggett when she packed up her office for maternity leave. Luckily, Fox found it on the Stites property and believes John is still there somewhere. Back underground, Leyla is now completely blind. Doggett shoots at Salamander Man, who’s been feasting on Gary’s body. Unfortunately he misses again and it gets away again.

Dana calls to tell Fox that Herman Stites is a cryptobiologist who tried to create a new reptile species. Mulder sees the man-sized creature and chases it toward the house, where it crawls up the wall to gain entry upstairs. But Herman is Salamander Man and he morphs back into his human form before he opens the front door for Fox. They head underground to help Agents Doggett and Harrison, but Leyla realizes Stites is the creature. Herman transforms into Salamander Man and Mulder guides a blind Doggett who is able to kill the threat which is now back in human form. Later in the hospital, Sculder visit John, who is no longer visually challenged. Harrison is improving, but decides life as an FBI agent is not for her. At least she has the Apollo 11 medallion as a keepsake. 

Sestra Professional: 

 

I'll just say straight off that this is one of my favorite episodes of Season 8 and it's also one of my favorites for repeated viewings from the entire series. And that's mainly due to fresh-faced Leyla Harrison, perfectly played by the sparkling Guest Star of the Week, Jolie Jenkins. (There really wasn't any suspense to be had in saving that for the end.)

Right off the bat, Leyla comes off as a well-meaning fan, the kind we all probably would be if we were on an X-files case. In fact, the character was named after an early X-Files fan-fiction writer who passed away of cancer in 2001. In our case, Harrison represents the viewers who, after watching nearly eight seasons of this show, think we would have the procedure down pat if initiated into the department. But then we'd come face to face with the reality of the situation, just like Leyla does in "Alone."

 

Harrison comes complete with that questioning nature endemic to the fan base. All those nagging questions mulled over endlessly on message boards and in chat groups. One of those examples is in this story. If Scully had the fused coins in her desk because everything not in the path when time snapped back was not altered in the "Dreamland" two-parter (S6E3-4), then Deputy Director Kersh still would have known they weren't where they were supposed to be.

 

This ep features one of the creepier monsters from the back end of the series. Remember the Vancouver years, when the cases Mulder and Scully investigated had a real eerie vibe to them -- be they liver-eating mutants in "Squeeze" (S1E3) and "Tooms" (S1E21) or more of the hair-obsessed fetishist (S2E13's "Irresistible") variety? Salamander Man certainly fits that bill.

 

It means no one gets there alone: Oh wow, I just got that. No one gets there "Alone." All the times I just said I've watched this episode and I never connected the title to Scully's (and later Doggett's) sentence full of meaning. So there's one vote for needing repeated viewings.

 

There are a lot of sweet bonding moments in this monster-of-the-week episode. Dana and John in the office together seemed to be a well-deserved payoff to the strong work they did together before what's-his-name came back. Mulder guiding Doggett to shoot the Salamander had real suspense to it, while the regifting of the regifting's regifting added the final perfect touch.

What is that, slime? But before that, we get a look at an agent in the field for the first time. Decked out in her little Scully suit, Agent Harrison isn't the least bit qualified, but she does know the X-files inside and out on paper. She's so beyond green that she has to be told to take the safety off her gun and she thinks the case they're on could be connected to an array of previous culprits. But as Sestra Am said, at least she did have the wherewithal to send the body to D.C. and the slime samples in for analysis.

 

In his first directorial effort, Chris Carter's right-hand man Frank Spotnitz -- who also penned the episode -- gives a nod to David Fincher's underappreciated camera work on Alien 3. There's the added bonus of the haze that shows us what it would be like with venom squirted in our eyes. Doesn't look like a good time.

 

Talk about the blind leading the blind: Of course, our Faux Kersh figures things out a lot faster than real Kersh ever could. In fact, Alvin probably would sweep the whole thing under the rug. The cool thing is that Fox's prowess doesn't make John's contribution any less important. Doggett works doggedly to get them out of there. And he's pretty gentle about dealing with his newbie tagalong. Here's a guy who spent a whole year getting railroaded and being denigrated by people he works for, but John still keeps his cool with her. And it pays off, because eventually she does put her years of X-files knowledge together with the facts to figure out Stites is his own test subject.

 

In the end, Harrison gets to ask one of the fandom's biggest questions about how Mulder and Scully got back to the mainland at the end of Fight the Future. But we never do get a resolution on that. Instead, the executive producer casts doubt on something we thought we had worked out. In the closed captioning of the feature film, Scully says she saw the spaceship. But now, Dana says she never did. That darn Spotzy.

I recently enjoyed a Cameo video message from Jolie Jenkins, who wasn't an avid fan when she booked the role, but had a lot of reverence for the show because family members were into it. "Isn't it the best ever? It was such fun getting that job and then even more fun doing that job. Sometimes the best part is like getting the job and doing the job is like 'eh,'" she said. But Jenkins did have to overcome one hurdle due to her pre-existing eye conditions. "Going into the job, I had all these eye fears," she said. "I had to wear these crazy contacts you can't really see. ... I really had to face all my eye fears doing X-Files. ... I had a great time."