Ode on an old TV set
The X-Fileshas a history of ending more than once a season.
Its a messy hour.
But I loved it.
Credit: Shane Harvey/FOX
I loved its wry sense of humor (Did you get your hair cut?)
and the sad glamour of Mark Snows piano-heavy score.
I loved the way the madness tapered into such an intimate ending.
Call it the Post-Post-Modern Prometheus.
(The church is named St. Josephs, after another man with a miracle son.)
Margaret Scully found it in faith.
Where does Mulder find it?
I need what you have, Scully says.
You always bear north, Mulder.
Our Catholic Avenger is proof of that.
In every line she quotes from the Bible, Juliet puts herself in Gods place.
She literally fashions the church (its fence) into her weapon.
It isnt clear if were meant to feel bad for her.
Theres nothing appealing about Juliets single-mindedness; shes never made to question herself or suffer for her choices.
Her last words are the righteous claim that shell be rewarded for her actions in Heaven.
Juliets hope doesnt inherently make her choices right.
(I did repay, she declares seconds after killing someone, like a short-circuiting computer program.)
Whats so monstrous about this family?
Not to endorse this cult, but it makes for better television.
These are the ways to aim for eternity as defined byThe X-Files.
But theres also TV: the eternity of life in reruns and the hope of a revival.
When she meets Scully, Barbara passes judgment on her skin like shes doing her a favor.
It isnt enough to recall the glory days Barbara wants to bring them back.
Nothing Lasts Forever, the title reminds us, and in most cases, thats for our own good.
Still, Barbara presses on.
(Barbaras delighted response, Did you know Jack Webb?
leads to a great David Duchovny deadpan: I did not.)
The jig is up.
(Next: Oh, Juliets still in this?)
But there are other consequences.
How refreshing is it to hear Scully finally ask, Are we together?
exactly the question Ive been asking of them for the past nine episodes?
Mulders home was our home, and then Scully had a smart home because it was cool.
How can we know what Mulder and Scully are if they dont?
I believed we could protect our son and I failed, Scully admits.
I believed that we could live together and I fled.
I gave up on that too.
(He was wearing glasses when they met, but hes being poetic.)
Youd have your health, your dog, your sister, Mulder envisions.
Thats not my 4-year-old self looking for a miracle, she says.
Thats my leap of faith forward, and Id like to do it together.
Scully doesnt know if she believes in miracles, but she believes in this two-person prayer.
Theres no way to tell what Scully whispers to Mulder.
But Mulders response adds intriguing tension: Ive always wondered how this was going to end.
This forward leap, whatever it is, is final.
The end is beginning.
