Case 08, File 21: Existence

 AKA: No, Not The Cronenberg Film, That Has A Z In The Title

One of the things about a TV show this late in the game that's trying to hold itself together, is that you basically get to see them working stuff out in real time. Watching the writing shift around Doggett as they try to get a handle on his character and Robert Patrick's strengths as an actor was entertaining but awkward. And as the series enters its final stretch (or its final original stretch), the series seized in on a concept that no show, trying to hold itself together has ever thought of; Why not just add in a whole new character?

Our story kicks off where the previous episode ended. Billy is brought into the morgue in a little metal box, which is generally how you want to transport a mushed up pile of meat. That seems like a pretty definitive exit for his character, but instead his metal vertebrae starts spinning and replicating Billy right back up. So that's a kick in the teeth. But on the plus side, Scully and Reyes have driven all the way down to some place in the middle of nowhere, Georgia, so they're out of harm's way right?

Back in DC, Skinner, Mulder, Doggett and Krycek are all pretty upset about Billy Miles being alive, and Knowle Rohrer shows up to tell Doggett that Billy is actually a government super soldier and that's why they kidnapped Scully a ways back in Season 2. This turns out to be a lie, but it sure ate some space talking about it. Anyway, Billy shows up to try and find out where Scully has gone and attacks Skinner and Krycek, giving Skinner a concussion.

At this point Doggett and Mulder start butting heads because Mulder doesn't trust Knowle as a source of information, while in Georgia, Reyes and Scully are prepping for Scully to give birth when a park ranger shows up and agrees to help them deliver the baby. Back in DC, Mulder and Doggett stalk Knowle and, after a quick heart to heart, realize that he's working with Krycek. Which means Krycek has betrayed them because of course he has.

Hokay, so, Knowle and his replicant buddy in the FBI (remember from the end of the last episode) and attack Doggett, while Krycek pulls a gun on Mulder, only for Skinner to show up and shoot Krycek in the head because everyone is sick of dealing with his bullshit. Down in George, Billy Miles shows up and attacks Reyes, but the park ranger lady shotguns him in the chest. At this point, Mulder has realized how fucked everything is and demands that Doggett tell him where to find Scully and heads off to find her, while Doggett leads Knowle and his buddy into an explosive car crash.

This is a fun shot, I like Billy appearing in the background.

In Georgia, Reyes notices that park ranger lady is a replicant too and throws boiling water on her, but then a bunch of them, show up and surround them as Scully gives birth. But despite all that, once Scully gives birth and Mulder shows up, they all just leave. And so, after a scene where Kersh yells at Reyes and Doggett, the episode and season end with Mulder and Scully kissing over their child.

Existence is an exciting and action packed season finale for a season that was extremely uneven but got better as it went on. More than even the Season 7 finale, it seems like it's intended to upend the existing status quo of the series, killing off Krycek, making Mulder and Scully's relationship officially romantic and bringing Reyes into the X-Files as a full time character. It seems like the series was poised to actually properly navigate Mulder's full exit from the series and keep rolling without him. Not that that actually worked out for more than a season.

Reyes working with Scully one on one is the big new feature on the character front, and it kind of makes me realize that the premise of one boy, one girl on the X-Files was holding this season back. I've already talked about how Mulder works much better with Doggett than Scully did and on that note, Reyes and Scully actually work pretty well together, once again, better than Doggett and Scully. Reyes' nervous, kinda dorky energy bounces off Scully well and Scully seems to connect with her pretty well. Bringing up Melissa seems kind of cheap but it makes sense, since they do have similar personalities.

"Hey Knowle you're gonna stop right? Right!?"

The rest of the episode is strong on the direction, but frequently weak on the story. The writing isn't bad mind, there's lots of strong character beats, like Krycek being prepared to let Skinner die for being a jerk, or the beat in the car where Mulder and Doggett discuss what Mulder's long term plans are. But the plot itself isn't very tight, probably as the result of the dual episode, and they have to keep ramping up everything to keep the tension up. I like the scene in concept, but there's no reason why the ranger lady showing up had to be that dramatically shot.

But the episode manages to pull it off for the most part, mostly because it is pretty exciting overall. The big car chase blowout, the sudden arrival of the super soldiers, Krycek holding Mulder at gunpoint, it's all very exciting, and the direction is extremely solid throughout. There's a lot of very nice shots and edits in this episode and even if they are ramping up scenes that don't need ramping up, at least they're doing it competently.

The downside is that the overarching plot stuff is not anything I really want. I don't have super fond memories of the super soldier plotline and this episode sort of reminded me why. The fact that Billy can get crushed into mulch and just get back up just kind of makes them dull villains, without even the fun of being able to disguise themselves like the alien bounty hunters. The plot is very clearly flailing to keep their story going, to the point where the super soldiers all show up for Scully's birth, because it's a dramatic moment but then just leave without explanation because they don't have any idea what to do with that moment.

I have very important reasons for picking this as my last pic.

Season 8 may be an example of a series desperately trying to hold itself together, but that at least makes it entertainingly messy, with episodes careening back and forth in quality. As the series brought itself in for the final stretch they brought Duchovny back for a few episodes and managed to get a better handle on Doggett. Season 8's finale does mark a demarcation that the series will never get back; It's the last finale of the show which knew it had a follow up coming. From here on out, every finale had to at least expect to never have another episode coming.

Case Results:

• Best episode: Redrum
• Worst episode: Badlaa

Case Notes:

• Them actually bringing in Billy's mashed up body to the morgue is really funny to me for some reason.
• Billy being able to get back up after getting mashed up in a garbage compactor actually makes him less interesting as a villain, but the visual of the vertebrae spinning and multiplying is cool.
• Annabeth Gish and Gillian Anderson on a romantic road trip is a movie I'd watch.
• Reyes drove them from DC to Georgia, which is like 9 hours, without stopping. Hot damn girl.
• Everyone is pissed that Billy Miles is back and they decide to yell at Krycek about it, which is fun.
• I like how Adam Baldwin's character showing up as a fear moment, cause that's how I feel about Adam Baldwin in real life.
• It looks distressingly like they drove Scully to the tiny village from Roadrunners.
• I love Krycek about to let Skinner die just for being a dick to him, it's so wonderfully petty.
• The bit with Billy punching through the elevator feels like an especially shameless T2 ripoff, but it kicks so much ass, what do I care?
• Doggett saying that Knowle tells him stuff he's not supposed to know made me realize that he's basically the informant character for this season huh?
• Doggett and Mulder butting heads over how to protect Scully and whether to trust Knowle is pretty good. Again, I like Doggett and Mulder as a double act a lot more now that they have some trust and a little chemistry.
• Reyes makes Scully an entire nursery overnight and now I'm starting to see why people ship them.
• Reyes has been hanging around with Scully for 10 minutes and already she's got more chemistry with Scully than Doggett ever did.
• Holy shit, when was the last time someone brought up Scully's sister? Reyes is kind of like her, isn't she?
• Some random forest ranger lady wanders onto the spot where Scully is having her kid to provide some hashtag Drama and also to help out with the birthing.
• I really dig the scene in the car with Doggett and Mulder, using this time to hash out how Mulder feels about being constantly on the run is good stuff.
• Krycek working with Knowle just makes sense, he is pathologically drawn to play both sides against the middle.
• Okay Reyes is straight up hitting on Scully.
• We've got some nice shooting going on in the plotline with Reyes and Scully. I really dig the shot of Reyes getting water and Billy just appearing behind her.
• I like that when they have to divide up the labor, Mulder decides he wants to watch Krycek because kicking Krycek's ass is basically his hobby.
• Doggett is pretty stealthy for a dude who's six feet tall.
• I like Krycek's little monologue to Mulder. Krycek is pretty inconsistent as a character, but Nicolas Lea sells his monologue here and has always put in the work to make him feel like a whole character
• Skinner is the one to put Krycek down finally, good stuff.
• Reyes is the first one who makes the connection that they need to start looking at the back of people's necks for that metal vertebrae thing.
• I like that Doggett pulls his gun on Knowle and his FBI buddy and just realizes he's wasting his time and bolts.
• The big reveal, that the alien super soldiers knew where Scully was and are there to make sure her baby is born is really intense, even if ends on an anti-climax.
• Intercutting between Scully giving birth and the action beat in the car park fucking rules.
• Knowle seeing his buddy (he has a name but I missed it) fall off and just straight running him over is hilariously timed.
• Peep that practical explosion in the car park.
• God Kersh fucking sucks. I love Doggett and Reyes telling him off.
• I like the Lone Gunmen just being at Scully's apartment, it's so weirdly awkward but so much like them.
• The scene of Scully and Mulder in her apartment is the note the episode has to end on and it's a damn fine note to end on.
• Scully and Mulder kissing is a great final shot to the season.
• As always, these reviews are supported by my Patreon. Check it out so I can afford my own super soldier project.