Hallucinations, Hospitals and Happenings
I love that it is the CSM who provides Mulder with the identity of the enemy within the FBI.
As many times as I've seen this episode, I cannot determine whether he does it on purpose.
The CSM likes to see himself as in control, every move he makes he considers strategic, though we know that not to be the case. He is as buffeted by the winds of irony as are the rest of us.
It is not his usual way of operating to be so subtle. He is a blunt instrument looking for a way to force trauma.
It is somehow comforting to know that even one as evil as CSM may be prone to the purely human. We all too often provide our enemies with the means to destroy us.
Mulder's experience of hospitals isn't pleasant. He storms into the hospital in 'One Breath' and a nurse tries to stop him, "Sir… sir, you can't go in there!" Bad scene ensues. In 'Redux II', also, staff seem less than willing to help him. What is it about hospital staff and Mulder? In 'Kill Switch' the hallucination the AI produces for him plays this riff. Damn fun watching Scully kick nurse ass, though!
Ironic, then, that it is in a hospital that the one person who would not willingly help Mulder actually does.
My reading is that, in such a necessarily regimented environment as a hospital, Mulder just stands out as a threat, a disruptive force that cannot be tolerated or all that carefully maintained structure will come tumbling down. While he can charge around life seeking his truth, in hospital it just isn't going to get him the results he desires. They always manage to calm him down. Even Mulder must accept that his approach to life is not always appropriate. Sometimes the system works!
In a very real sense, every time Mulder enters a hospital he enters Scully's world. Hospital is science in action. Mulder's view of life simply doesn't have the air to breathe. The hospital literally turns off his life support system.
And then the CSM comes visiting. As a friend. And there's the key to Mulder's puzzle.
He has no proof. But when did Mulder ever need proof. Ironic really, considering that's what he claims to be searching for. It is one of the major flaws of the X Files - its main character is searching for something he doesn't actually need. It is apparent proof, presented by Kritschgau, that undermines everything Mulder believes.
Mulder knows there is a link to the FBI. Scully comes to believe that link is Skinner. Maybe Mulder does too. Until he is provided the clue that's enough for him to solve the puzzle. It's as good an example of how intuition works as you're gonna see on TV.
It is made obvious but, back in the 90s this was a feature of American TV. In England, we never really understood why there would always be a moment when one character or another would halt the flow of the show in order to explain everything that had happened up to that point. We tended to think it was because Americans lacked the intelligence to follow a story. Has to be said, however, in England we don't constantly interrupt the story for commercial breaks as is the practice in America. When you're heavily invested in a show that must break for Coca Cola or Pampers, it probably is difficult to keep track of what's happening. Especially with something like the X Files.
When Scott Blevins tries to persuade Mulder to hand over Skinner as a scape goat, it is obvious who the bad guy is. When he says that that is what he would recommend "As a friend", Mulder has all the proof he needs. The last person who used those words was the CSM! Gulp! Gasp!
As many times as I've seen this episode, I cannot determine whether he does it on purpose.
The CSM likes to see himself as in control, every move he makes he considers strategic, though we know that not to be the case. He is as buffeted by the winds of irony as are the rest of us.
It is not his usual way of operating to be so subtle. He is a blunt instrument looking for a way to force trauma.
It is somehow comforting to know that even one as evil as CSM may be prone to the purely human. We all too often provide our enemies with the means to destroy us.
Mulder's experience of hospitals isn't pleasant. He storms into the hospital in 'One Breath' and a nurse tries to stop him, "Sir… sir, you can't go in there!" Bad scene ensues. In 'Redux II', also, staff seem less than willing to help him. What is it about hospital staff and Mulder? In 'Kill Switch' the hallucination the AI produces for him plays this riff. Damn fun watching Scully kick nurse ass, though!
Ironic, then, that it is in a hospital that the one person who would not willingly help Mulder actually does.
My reading is that, in such a necessarily regimented environment as a hospital, Mulder just stands out as a threat, a disruptive force that cannot be tolerated or all that carefully maintained structure will come tumbling down. While he can charge around life seeking his truth, in hospital it just isn't going to get him the results he desires. They always manage to calm him down. Even Mulder must accept that his approach to life is not always appropriate. Sometimes the system works!
In a very real sense, every time Mulder enters a hospital he enters Scully's world. Hospital is science in action. Mulder's view of life simply doesn't have the air to breathe. The hospital literally turns off his life support system.
And then the CSM comes visiting. As a friend. And there's the key to Mulder's puzzle.
He has no proof. But when did Mulder ever need proof. Ironic really, considering that's what he claims to be searching for. It is one of the major flaws of the X Files - its main character is searching for something he doesn't actually need. It is apparent proof, presented by Kritschgau, that undermines everything Mulder believes.
Mulder knows there is a link to the FBI. Scully comes to believe that link is Skinner. Maybe Mulder does too. Until he is provided the clue that's enough for him to solve the puzzle. It's as good an example of how intuition works as you're gonna see on TV.
It is made obvious but, back in the 90s this was a feature of American TV. In England, we never really understood why there would always be a moment when one character or another would halt the flow of the show in order to explain everything that had happened up to that point. We tended to think it was because Americans lacked the intelligence to follow a story. Has to be said, however, in England we don't constantly interrupt the story for commercial breaks as is the practice in America. When you're heavily invested in a show that must break for Coca Cola or Pampers, it probably is difficult to keep track of what's happening. Especially with something like the X Files.
When Scott Blevins tries to persuade Mulder to hand over Skinner as a scape goat, it is obvious who the bad guy is. When he says that that is what he would recommend "As a friend", Mulder has all the proof he needs. The last person who used those words was the CSM! Gulp! Gasp!
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