Pilot

In our first view of Scully, she's carrying both a bag and a briefcase. How cumbersome! I'm glad she was able to ditch both before long.

No Opening Title Sequence for the Pilot, but simple credits of the two leads while baby Agent Scully arrives in the FBI's building.

Charming, before the unforgettable Opening Sequence to come.

In the first-ever autopsy scene, Mulder drops his facade of confidence and lets Scully know he's seriously looking for answers and has the same doubts she does. He's asking her to trust him, and this moment of honesty and vulnerability is very powerful.

The first encounter between Mulder and Scully is the most powerful scene for me. When you have watched and re-re-...-rewatched the series, it's so emotional to witness their first meet, first smiles, first hand touching, first banter, first gazing etc...

We end the scene with a big smiling Scully, in front of the screen. We are all like her, amazed by this X Files basement and its handsome spooky agent.

Before they even met they knew about each other, and there was respect and admiration from the start. Scully is intrigued by Mulder's reputation for being so good at profiling that it's spooky, and Mulder is impressed with Scully's intellectual audacity. They're excited to work together, even if it's not what either had planned.

Before meeting, they already have insights of each other characters by their curriculum, their reputation, their previous work, and what they have written.

I like the idea that the two have had knowledge of each other's intellectual and professional qualities (BTW we don't know exactly if Scully has read Mulder's monograph).

But they have so many other things to discover!!

In this scene, Mulder knocks on Scully's door late at night. She asks who it is, and he responds "Steven Spielberg." Scully's face breaks out in a huge grin, because she finds him adorable. And who could blame her?

The plane scene is a bit silly, so I find it funny: is there no measure of security precautions? Mulder can lay down like that? All the luggages are falling down?

Scully is lucky, she was about to be knocked down by a suitcase... I love the look she gives to Mulder just after that.

Is it the only time we see them travelling in a plane together? Would we have wanted more MSR plane scenes?

It's the first time we see Mulder listening to music with earbuds, the last time being in Babylon (if I'm right). Are there any other moments?

When they experience a strange phenomenon while driving, Mulder is prepared to mark the location with a spray painted X. We can tell from this moment that he's not just some nut who believes in aliens. He's a thorough investigator with some surprising methods and beliefs.

I'm surprised to see Scully in sport clothes and shoes, sitting and working on her bed. Why didn't she take her shoes off?

So, I'm even more surprised that she doesn't go running with Mulder: she's ready (as she was waiting for that) and she just has to leave the room. But, no...

I would have wanted to watch a MSR running scene!

Maybe it didn't happen because Mulder is so cute at the door that Scully has to back off. She's afraid of what could happen... Yep, I've read some fanfictions, what they could have done during the run...

Americans love true crime stories and shows based on actual events. I believe the network wanted this legend included to make the show more appealing to American viewers. As for me, I'm perfectly willing to believe Mulder and Scully are real...

J Edgar Hoover Buidling, Washington D.C., an american flag, the FBI headquarters: the most american symbols in this picture.

I don't know why the name 'FBI' is so mythic viewed from Europe... Maybe because we don't have an equivalent? Because of J Edgar Hoover? Because of movies and series? Don't know, but for sure, this is the US.

"The answers are there. You just have to know where to look." This quote seems to perfectly combine Mulder's and Scully's beliefs. They both believe the truth is out there, they just have different starting places for where to look. It also seems very hopeful to me. Scully truly believes they will find what they're looking for. Mulder's little smile suggests he agrees.

I'm very classic here, but, well... it's a good one.

'Nobody down here but the FBI's most Unwanted.'

Think of this quote watching Season 9 The Truth... Foreshadowing...

Mulder's first meeting with Scully stands out to me. He is not happy about being assigned a partner, someone whose real purpose is to spy on him and shut down the X-Files, but he handles it with grace and self-deprecating humor. He's completely respectful to Scully (I love that he calls her Scully!) and he's even taken the time to find out about her rather than just dismissing her. We see Mulder as someone focused on finding the truth, who won't be dissuaded from doing so, and who can roll with the punches.

The first autopsy scene...

I choose it for the best Mulder moment because of the change of Mulder's tone just in the end.

From the beginning of the episode, Mulder is showing off, he's very boyish, playful, challenging Scully.

At the beginning of this autopsy scene he's of course very excited, turning around Scully with his camera (BTW I love when she says 'Could you point that flash away from me'), amazed by what they have found. But in the last seconds of the scene, he's more himself, serious and reasonable, sharing his doubts with Scully in a softer voice, looking at her with his puppy eyes. You can truly feel here his inner soul. Duchovny acting here is great!

It's how I like my Mulder.

Scully is nobody's fool. She understands that the higher ups have an agenda and are seeking to use her to further it. She calls them out on it, asking if they want her to debunk the X-Files. She does the same with Mulder later when she thinks he's keeping information from her. She won't let either Blevins or Mulder use her. She's going to give all she's got to solve the case, with no agenda.

This is the first moment that we are witnessing that Scully is an independant person, a badass, that she's as equal as Mulder, and that nobody will dictate her behavior.

Go, G-woman!

I like that she says "cut the crap", "I want the truth", "it's crazy", "there's has got to be an explanation".

It's how I like my Scully.

When Scully is assigned to work with Mulder, she tells Blevins she stepped away from a career in medicine because saw the FBI as a place where she could distinguish herself. She's full of confidence, even naivete. I can't help but think of the scene in Fight the Future, where OPR is splitting Mulder and Scully up. Scully tells Mulder she left behind a career in medicine because she thought she could make a difference in the FBI. She realizes at this point what the stakes are and what they're up against. It's no longer about what she can achieve on her own, and she's not willing to continue fighting without Mulder by her side. This revision in her self-narrative speaks volumes about what Scully has been through and how far she has come.

There's so many links we could make between The Pilot and other episodes!

As the Pilot is the starting point of the series, I want to make a link with the last season, season 11. And as we are first introduced to the X Files by an indirect presentation of Fox Mulder, told by Agent Scully, I make a connection with another description of him, decades later, by another FBI Agent. It happens in The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat, written by the genius Darin Morgan, who is prompt to mock our beloved Mulder.

And, indeed, the scene is sooo funny. The FBI rebel has become fat. 'Spooky' Mulder has become 'Fox freaking Mulder', you punks!!

But, truly, I adore Season 11 Mulder! He's so freaking gorgeous.

Where do I even begin? The Pilot is a phenomenal start to this series. It grabs you from the very beginning, presenting a pair of opposing but complementary characters, both extremely credible and likeable. You feel the conflict between these agents and an unknown opposition from above in the very first scene at the Hoover Building. The ominous presence of the cigarette smoking man lets you know there's more to this assignment than a simple monitoring of FBI resources. And the chemistry between Mulder and Scully is there from the moment they meet. The episode makes me excited about what's to come, which is the best thing a pilot can do.

I like all things being a first time in this episode: first smiles, first hand touching, first motel, first trip in the forest, first flashlights, first banter, first autopsy, first case, first X, first Mulder's jokes, first seeds, first rental car, first gazes, first conspiracies, first aliens/hybrids/whatever, first slides, first crazy theories, first scientific explanations, first rain, etc...

And well, it's a gift to witness the first meeting between Mulder and Scully. Because, later in the series, we would want to witness some other first stuff between them, and we won't!

Mmm...no, David Duchovny just can't pull off this line. I think what I dislike is that he hasn't fully settled into the Mulder I know and love. It doesn't really bother me, though. It makes me smile fondly when I see it, because I know how good the show gets, and how good Duchovny gets as Mulder, from here on out.

What I dislike? Nothing in particular...

Nevertheless, as I have to choose one thing: I hate people who smoke in a room (yep, it was allowed back in the days...), especially when it's a shadowy figure looking upon Scully. We already foreshadow all his evil potential in this scene!