These X-Files leave me in disbelief
The show: The X-Files, Season 11, Episode 1 (Fox) The moment: Scully’s struggle
FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) lies in a hospital bed, beset by unnatural brain patterns. Her female doctor tells FBI agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) that Scully needs quiet. He replies, “I’m sure that’s what she needs, but I’m going to see her.”
Scully wakes. She tells Mulder that the Smoking Man is alive, he’s going to cause a plague, and Mulder has to find him. He replies, “The Smoking Man is dead, your brain is abnormal and I’m not going anywhere.”
She begs him to listen to her. He says, “I’m gonna talk to your doctor first.”
Finally Mulder gets in his car. “If I caused this,” he ponders in voiceover, “how can I make it stop?”
I’ll tell you how, you idiot: LISTEN TO YOUR PARTNER. I’m sure this episode was written before “listen to women” became something that society is starting to see the value of, but this is such an example of not listening to women, it’s frankly hilarious.
This series is now 25 years old. These partners have seen that liter- ally anything is possible. By now, if Scully says, “This is true,” you’d think Muller would say, “25 years of evidence suggests you’re likely correct.” And let’s not even get into the plot holes here — so many conveniently unlocked doors! So many unsecured hospitals!
The episode’s tag line is, “I want to believe . . . I don’t want to lie.” Critics say Episode 4 is great. I want to believe that. I want to believe this show hasn’t become a parody of itself . . . but I don’t want to lie. The X-Files airs on Wednesday on Fox and CTV. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on popculture moments. She usually appears Tuesday and Thursday.