Scully: Time passes in moments… moments which, rushing past define the path of a life just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether the path we take in life is our own making or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed.
But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?
Scully: Look, we’re always running. We’re always chasing the next big thing. Why don’t you ever just stay still?
Mulder: I wouldn’t know what I’d be missing.
Written by: Gillian Anderson
Directed by: Gillian Anderson
Original Air Date: April 9th, 2000
Principal Setting: Georgetown, Maryland
Episode Summary:
Scully is finishing up the autopsy of a person at a hospital. A file mix-up involving the autopsy folder and another patient’s x-ray leads Scully to discover a former lover of hers has been admitted at the hospital. Meeting with him again causes Scully to re-examine the decisions she has made in her life, leading to her where she is to today.
Personal Commentary:
This is the first, and I believe the last, time Gillian Anderson wrote and directed an episode and you can feel a difference with the slower pace and her taking a journey to understand the path she could have taken compared to the path she did take working in the FBI.
I like the rhythm theme throughout that could symbolize the passing of time and the emotions Scully goes through seeing her ex-boyfriend dying and realizing the path she took, although extremely difficult and taxing on her, was the best choice. It’s probably one of the few episodes that there really isn’t an X-File and could be a drama, rather than sci-fi. It has that dramatic feeling of the previous episode “The Field Where I Died”. It’s not my favorite, but it’s an important moment for Scully’s character to get reassurance that this ultimately was the right path to take.
Episode Grade: C+
Favorite Scene:
Fun Facts:
- Rhythm is a recurring theme. Beyond the music these include: 1) Opening scene, sound of water dripping from faucet starts before video starts and continues on. 2) The slide projector changing slides. 3) At the hospital the nurse that hands Scully the medical file is tapping her pencil. 4) The cord on her blinds is tapping the wall. 5) The heart monitor in Dr Waterson’s room. 6) Scully’s turn signal when she’s talking to Mulder on her cell phone. 7) The Apothecary sign squeaking.
- *Spoiler fact* This is the first time that we can see that Mulder and Scully had sex, but later in ninth season, a supelsordier tells Scully some personal details of her, like “on one lonely night you invited Mulder to your bed”. So, we should think that this was not their first time.
Faces You May Recognize:
- Nicolas Surovy has been in several TV shows including Deadwood, The Practice, and All My Children. The movie he is famous playing in is the movie starring Mel Gibson, Forever Young.
201 Days of the X-Files Blog 