Christmas Carol

The DNA report was sent to Scully from John Gillnitz. This name is an amalgamation of the writers' names: John Shiban, Vince Gilligan, and Frank Spotnitz. The name often appears in episodes these three write together.

A gift from Charles, the mysterious brother ! He's not yet completely out of the family, but not present.

The scene where Scully talks to the social worker when she tries to adopt Emily is so moving. Scully opens up about how her cancer has affected her and what changes she's willing to make in her life to be a mother to this sick little girl.

Of course, Scully is not OK. She confesses to her mother that she can't have children as a consequence of her abduction. The emotional scenes with her mom are always very powerful. Gillian Anderson and Sheila Larken are two great actresses ! Margaret Scully is the ideal mom, it's too much feelings for me...

In Scully's flashback, she's talking to her sister about her decision to join the FBI. Melissa encourages her, saying "You don't know who you're going to meet when you join the FBI." We know. Scully is reflecting on her relationship with Mulder and what that means to her.

As there is only one scene related to Mulder, the MSR moment(s) is(are) very noticeable ! So, I cheat...

I like the relation with the nice cop. He's a good guy, prompt to listen to and follow Scully's theories, very supportive, and, look at the picture, already adopted by Scully's mom. A good point for him. An ersatz for MSR.

Bill and Tara have these goofy grins on their faces, but Scully is clearly not amused.

It's not a funny episode, especially without Mulder. But, I like seeing little badass Scully, already fighting with Bill ! It reminds me my own childhood... with two older brothers.

Scully finds a picture of Melissa as a child which bears a very strong resemblance to the picture of Emily. This is an episode full of surprises, but this one stands out to me. It leads Scully to a conclusion that isn't correct, which in turn leads her to the biggest surprise of all.

It's always a surprise to recognize Melissa's voice. The true X Files of the episode.

Great to hear and see Melissa again, she has been killed too soon in the series.

As a preteen Scully was hoping to get The Eagles Hotel California album for Christmas. I remember hoping for that same gift at her age.

Really, "what's up ?". I don't know if it is typical american, but I'm surprised by this "big" party before Christmas. For me, this period is just a moment with the family. Is there a tradition to make parties with the neighbourhood ? Maybe in naval bases ?

"Scully FBI." I like Detective Kresge. I enjoyed this scene where he repeats Scully's words back to her in a bantering way. Since we got no banter with Mulder in this episode, I'll settle for this.

"We're still connected to them, Dana. Even after they're gone."

It means a lot to me. I don't believe that there's anything after death, but I believe this quote, in a certain sense.

This is the only Mulder moment, hence the best. But really, that long stocking cap is hilarious/ridiculous. I guess maybe he's supposed to be one of Santa's elves?

No other choice but this scene, of course. It could have been also for the funniest moment (what is this thing on his head ? what he was doing ?), or for the MSR moment.

Mulder was surely waiting for a phone call from Scully... Poor Mulder, Scully, after an hesitation, wants to manage the case alone. But not for long !

Scully, true to her nature, doesn't ignore a call for help and continues the investigation, even when everyone else says there's nothing to investigate. And she finds things that others have overlooked, like the discrepancy with the phone being off the hook and the needle mark on the victim's foot.

I like this moment of Scully's childhood. She won't be afraid by any autopsies, after that !

I chose this link because I need more Mulder! Bill criticizes Scully's theory that Emily is Melissa's child, saying it sounds like one of her crackpot partner's theories. In Dreamland Mulder tries to convince Scully he's Mulder and not Morris Fletcher, telling her "your brother's name is Bill Jr., he's in the Navy, and he hates me."

I choose a light-hearted link, and let you guess the episode I think of. A clue: buck teeth ?

I was surprised that I found so much to like about this episode. It's not one I ever choose to watch, so I typically only see it during a complete rewatch of the series. But I love how strong, compassionate, and determined Scully is. Gillian Anderson is brilliant in the emotional scenes as always, and I especially enjoyed the scenes between Scully and Maggie. I found them to be very realistic. Maggie wants Scully to be happy and is just trying to help her through her pain the best she can.

Even if there's a huge lack of Mulder and MSR in this episode, I like the mysterious case, Scully's investigation and involvement on a Christmas time, how she ditches all the family duties, her whole emotional journey, and the music of Mark Snow.

There's another mystery in the episode: look at the picture above, how can Scully be so perfect when she awakes ?

I dislike the lack of continuity about the origin of Scully's cross necklace. In Ascension Maggie tells Mulder she gave the cross to Scully on her 15th birthday, and in this episode we see Scully receiving it as a Christmas present.

I don't like this argumentation, Mrs Chambliss... Scully deserves better. This scene is harsh.