Case 08, File 14: This is Not Happening

AKA: Holy Shit, Mulder's Off The Spaceship

Although it seems in retrospect that Duchovny's return to The X-Files was as inevitable as the tides, when the Season Seven finale was written, they were trying to thread the needle of creating an exit that would let them bring back Mulder if they could reach an agreement with Duchovny while also keeping him away without having to explain too much if the agreement fell through. But when they managed to get Duchovny secured, they all knew they couldn't keep giving him cameos and flashbacks forever; Eventually they'd have to figure out how to bring him back to the main plot.

Our story opens with a guy, Richie from Requiem driving through the Montana desert, taking pictures of a UFO with a...disposable camera? Okay dude. Anyway, the spaceship stops and drops someone off, which it turns out later is Theresa Hoese, also from Requiem. Since she was abducted from the same place Mulder was and right before him too, our heroes think that might be a good place to start looking for Mulder. So off to Montana go Scully and Doggett. Also Skinner, cause the series keeps forgetting he's involved in the plot too.

But it turns out Theresa is messed up, with a lot of weird injuries (probably from the Hellraiser chairs they kept showing Mulder in) and Scully is pretty upset about the whole thing. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a mysterious man shows up, transforms into Theresa's doctor and requests that she be transferred out of the hospital. No in reality it's not that easy, but roll with it, or we'll be here all day. Anyway, the next day, Scully and Skinner are a little peeved that their victim is missing and Doggett thinks he knows someone who could help.

Specifically, he has a friend named Monica Reyes who is an ritualistic murder specialist and also believes in a lot of weird shit. She has decided that Mulder disappeared because he joined a UFO cult and now the cult is dropping off its members after having fucked them up. Scully thinks that's nonsense so she decides to deal with this on her own, while Doggett goes off to hang out with Reyes. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (literally, there's an actual ranch), Jeremiah Smith (remember him? No? It's okay, it's been like 4 seasons) has Theresa and he heals her. He can do that, remember? Okay.

After some futzing about the hospital, Reyes heads out for a drive and sees the UFO, dropping off another couple bodies. This time she sees Jeremiah's truck picking up the bodies and tries to stop them, but they bolt, leaving one of the bodies behind, which turns out to be Richie's friend. But Reyes saw the license plate on the truck so they head on out to the ranch to raid it. They capture Jeremiah's buddy (his name escaped me) and all of his followers, but also find Theresa alive and well. So they think that's weird.

"Why am I using a disposable camera? This is why we never have good footage of UFOs."

After some interrogation of Jeremiah's buddy (who says that they're helping heal former abductees) and viewing the ranch's surveillance systems, Scully realizes Jeremiah is there, and pulls him, transformed, out of the crowd. He eventually reveals himself and says that Scully has to protect him. Before they can pull on that thread though, Doggett and Skinner pull Scully out of the interrogation to reveal that they found Mulder's body! Dun dun dun! Scully figures Jeremiah can fix him, but before she can grab him, a UFO shows up to steal him (guess he was right he needed protection). And with that, we get our To Be Continued.

This is Not Happening is an episode with some big shifts in it; Reyes shows up in this episode, Mulder returns (well sorta), and we see the return and subsequent exit of some classic(?) characters. Like most of the two parter, cliffhanger episodes, I don't feel totally comfortable judging it alone without seeing how it resolves its dangling plot threads. And since we're deep into the part of the series where my memory is more hazy, I'm not just saying that to stall my conclusion to next episode.

Reyes' arrival is, in an odd way, the big news here (since Mulder's body just sort of lands in the episode 90 seconds before credits) and she's an odd addition at this point. I remembered, correctly, that she arrived this episode but I'd totally forgotten she just appeared out of nowhere between scenes, with no setup or suggestion that Doggett was thinking of bringing in another person. The behind the scenes drama is still seeping into the actual writing and bringing Reyes in was, essentially, just them laying the groundwork to keep the series going in case Gillian Anderson followed Duchovny out the door.

"Look Agent Scully, you're going to have to save the weird, existential dialogue for Hannibal, okay?"

But for all that, Reyes isn't a bad character at all, at least in her first appearance. She's got a nervous, awkward energy that I found very endearing. Doggett isn't an unengaging character, but his personality and background are too close to Skinner's for him to feel unique, while Reyes' at least feels like she's distinct from all of our existing main characters. And she smokes. That's worth noting. It took 8 seasons but The X-Files has finally acknowledged that people other than the Cigarette Smoking Man and that one dude from Brand X smoke.

The actual mystery plot of the episode however is very odd, and I'm not certain I actually like it all that much. It's the decision to include Jeremiah Smith that I think throws everything off, it feels like a decision made by committee. I was 11 when this episode aired, too young to be watching it much less discussing it online, but was the fanbase really clamoring to learn the fate of a dude who showed up in one two parter, 4 years ago? It feels like they just wanted to tie up a random loose end, which didn't really need tying up.

But as long as we're here, all the interesting stuff about this episode and Jeremiah's involvement are left in the background or unexplored. Who are these people who are involved in Jeremiah's compound? Are they all former abductees? How did Jeremiah know where to find where the UFO was leaving people? Were they nearby or was he trekking all over the country to pick up former abductees? The weird UFO cult is honestly the most interesting part of this episode, so seeing it relegated to a backseat is kind of weird. Why not start with the cult and gradually reveal that they're saving people from the ship Mulder was taken on?

"John I know we're supposed to have romantic tension but...I'm sorry, I've decided to have it with Scully instead, have you seen her?"

The degree to which the main plot, about finding Mulder, works is because the acting sells it. The script itself is kind of awkward (I have no idea why they decided "This is not happening" is the line they needed to repeat. Jose Chung callback maybe?) but Gillian Anderson is swinging for the fences in this episode, and she elevates the whole proceedings, putting genuine fear and sadness into her dialogue about Mulder possibly being dead. It's not surprising that they were worried that Gillian Anderson might bolt when the season was over; Anyone who can make an actual skyward "NO!" feel real as opposed to cartoonish is someone who is destined for great things (and she's certainly had the best post-X-Files career of all involved, except maybe Vince Gilligan).

I mentioned earlier that the behind the scenes drama of the show was bleeding into the actual writing, but that's more common than you might think among TV shows, and it's not necessarily something that'll sink a show. Hell, it's not even the first time it's happened to The X-Files; Scully's absence in Season 2 was built around her giving birth. But that was when the series was still at its peak and could absorb issues like that better. A series in its late stages is much less capable of deflecting what could otherwise be minor problems like this. Still, I guess we'll see how the follow up episode does.

Maybe not in our next review though...

Case Notes:

• I gotta admit, I love that the UFO chaser in the cold open using a disposable camera to take pictures of it.
• On that note, the fact that he can't get a picture of the stalled UFO because he has to wind his camera is hilarious.
• "This is not happening" is a weird choice of recurring words for this episode.
• Doggett pulling Mulder's nameplate out of the drawer is a little heavy handed.
• Doggett and Skinner are being incredibly mysterious about the kid seeing the UFO.
• The bit at the hospital where we learn what happened to Theresa is rough, and I like the various reactions the characters have to the information they're getting.
• Seeing Doggett badger Riche is kind of solid, I wish we got more opportunities to see him interact with people who believe in UFOs, he's got an approach that's unique to both Mulder and Scully.
• Back to random shots of Mulder in the Hellraiser chair.
• Scully's talk with Skinner is good character work for both of them (and I think I heard a callback Closure in their dialogue).
• The shapeshifting alien starting out looking like a dude and then switching to the doctor mid-shot is really good, since we're used to them looking like a specific guy when they're not actively in disguise, so it's sudden.
• Reyes shows up and immediately starts trying to push the idea that Mulder joined a UFO cult. Honestly, I always gave even odds Mulder would join a cult.
• Doggett and Scully deciding they're not gonna work this case together almost lands. I wish they'd spent more time establishing their relationship.
• Holy shit it's the old dude from all the way back in Talitha Cumi.
• They're trying to do a lot of character work for Reyes all at once, positioning her as kind of Mulder-ish (she believes in UFOs and in spiritual energy and all that jazz) but it feels a little rushed. I still feel they needed a cutaway of Doggett calling her, or maybe introduce her an episode or two ago.
• Okay, I'll admit, Reyes going "No frickin' way" upon seeing the spaceship is solid.
• Reyes just happening to see Jeremiah Smith grabbing the body in the field is proof she's the true inheritor of Mulder's role, IE randomly stumbling on clues.
• Scully is very clearly having a rough time during the autopsy and Doggett is feeling very bad for her. Both actors sell it, but it's undercut a bit by having Reyes wander up and go "You're sad, right?" to Doggett.
• Hey, a brief reference to Doggett's son. It's been a while since we remembered he has a backstory.
• Reyes runs the plates on the truck and Doggett jumps straight to a full on raid.
• I know that he's (sort of) right, but the cult leader saying that he predicted there would be an alien invasion and claiming more violent abductions means he's right is pretty accurate cult shit.
• The interrogation scene is kind of a dead-end scene, at least for now, but goddamn if Anderson doesn't sell the shit out of it. Same with her seeing phantom-Mulder in her hotel room.
• I'm impressed Scully can recognize Jeremiah Smith, seeing him on blurry surveillance video and having not seen him in 5 years.
• As always, these reviews are supported by my Patreon. Next month is going to be a little different, so check it out so you're the first to hear about it.

Current Celebrity Watch:

This episode features the first appearance of Annabeth Gish as Reyes. She already had some notoriety before getting this role, most notably the lead in Mystic Pizza and Nixon's daughter in...well Nixon. She'd never get a role as big as a lead in The X-Files after this but she's remained around in shows like The Bridge or Halt and Catch Fire. She was apparently in The Haunting of Hill House, which I haven't watched yet. Hey, did you know she met her husband on The X-Files? That's always nice.