Rewatch Extra: 3x23 Wetwired
Before we get down to it, a very happy belated birthday to the lovely
adinfinitum!
Mulder's random/not-random contact is weird. Scully must’ve really complicated things for people who wanted to meet and manipulate Mulder clandestinely. With a partner, let alone with one as close as Scully, it would be so much more difficult to arrange for meetings without someone else knowing or getting, as Mulder will say in PBV, “seriously suspicious.”
Whenever I see this scene, all I can think of is the blooper. “To try and develop a clear…something for the court.” It must suck to botch your lines when you’re a random, non-famous guest actor.
Mulder tells her he got the information from “an outside source,” but he won’t elaborate. Scully suggests that they're being used, which they are. They really do a nice job of setting her paranoia up right from the start. Because even though we know that Mulder isn’t betraying her, you start to feel like…well, maybe.
As I was saying last night to
coastand
meatfight, I find it incredibly romantic that he lifts up the police tape for her to duck under. Fellas, if you want to win my heart, take me to a crime scene and lift up the yellow tape! It’s that easy!
I don’t buy that those kids would be hanging out in that empty house. And the “woman screaming” fake out isn’t good enough for me to say, yeah, okay. But I do love Mulder’s “serious” nod yes when the kid asks, “Are we in trouble now?”
Scully would never say "wiggy."
Why does Scully continue obsessively watching the tapes? Once she watches one with the signal, does that somehow trigger a desire to compulsively keep watching? All of the people affected had tons of tapes; does it manifest itself in that particular habit?
Mulder, lounging on her couch, head propped up with his hand, wearing an undershirt. GUH. How can she resist? Seriously, he is, like, offering himself to you, Scully. Wait, here's one more chance! Take it!
Their conversation about TV violence causing actual violence manages to be subtle, interesting, and open-ended. I'm reminded of an impassioned position paper I wrote sophomore year, incensed by the impending TV ratings system. I clearly hadn't seen this episode yet at the time, because I definitely would've quoted it.
God, that quick flare as CSM lights up in the car with Mulder. It’s kind of amazing. It's a tense scene, Scully crouching behind the ice machine.
Look how cagey she is in the morning, like she’s sat up all night in her suit, crunching ice, her mind racing over Mulder’s potential betrayal.
The shot of Mulder as he turns to go is eerie. The cap doesn't really do it justice, but you're really in Scully's shoes at that moment. Something as innocuous as Mulder turning around to go chase down a lead seems ominous.
Question: why are they in a motel if the case is in Maryland? Mulder goes to see the Gunmen, so they’re obviously not that far from DC. No wonder the Bureau is displeased with their expense reports. I checked Google Maps, and it says Braddock Heights is about an hour from DC. Worth it to stay in a motel? I guess it works for the story, but still slightly odd. Maybe with terrible traffic it would take much longer, so it's easier to get a motel? I'm thinking about this too much.
Oh man, her call to Mulder, sitting in the dark motel room, hearing clicks on the phone. And then she tears her room apart looking for bugs. It’s all very Mulderish of her.
Oh Lord, Mulder’s call to Mrs. Scully. Possibly the best scene of the episode. As soon as she hears “Fox Mulder,” she’s like, oh shit, what’s wrong? Not panicky, just resigned. Then way he sort of crinkles his eyes, steeling himself, before he says, “Um…we-we’re looking for her as best we can.” He wants to die because he’s calling up her mother, AGAIN, to be the bearer of bad news.
Why would the government or the Syndicate or anyone, really, want random people to kill randomly? What good is it for the government for that man to kill his wife, or the babysitter to attack the kids? Why use these signals in such a downright stupid way? I’d understand it if they were making people do something specific that furthered a larger cause, but it doesn’t.
The colorblindness works nicely for this episode, but it’s never touched on again, sort of like Mulder’s alleged fear of fire. I don’t like it when character things are introduced solely because it’s convenient to the story. However, I love how Mulder offers his tie as proof that he’s colorblind. Like, see? I can’t even dress myself properly! (And
jademg, you can tell T he has something in common with Mulder!)
After Mulder gets the call and tells the Gunmen he has to go down to “ID the body,” he won’t even look at them as he leaves.
He takes this moment in the car at the parking garage of the morgue, like he's simultaneously preparing himself, and taking one more minute where she might possibly still be alive.
He chooses Scully, dead or alive (dead or aliiiiiive), over continuing to pursue the case. The informant tells him the evidence is being destroyed while he's "chasing his partner," and that if he doesn't get on it, the "responsible parties" will be gone by tomorrow. Then, nowhere to go with his anger, he kicks at the car door and clenches his jaw!
Oh, God. This scene. The way he closes his eyes for a minute, and then tells the doctor he’ll do the blinds himself. His performance here is great, and the shot composition is lovely, too.
Mrs. Scully is as bad a liar as Scully. And Sheila Larken manages, somehow, to do it in the exact same way as Gillian.
"You're in on it. You're one of them. You're one of the people who abducted me. You put that thing in my neck. You killed my sister!"
This is seriously heavy stuff, because even though it’s the signal bringing it out, at least the seed of these fears has to be somewhere, deep down, in Scully. Mulder’s generally a reticent guy (how many times does she have to say to him, “Mulder, what aren’t you telling me?”), and even though it’s been three years, the X-Files were his world first. She came into that world with nothing but blind faith in the FBI (which has, I think we can say, been broken by this point) and then, a growing faith and trust in Mulder. Despite all that, like I said the other day, I think they're still at a point where they trust each other, they do, but it's like they need to continually reassure themselves of that fact. I trust you, I do, I do, I do. They want to trust each other perfectly.
“Scully, you are the ONLY one I trust.”
I love that Maggie clearly likes Mulder, even though it would be easy not to, you know? But I get the sense that she knows his heart’s in the right place and that he cares about Scully, and that’s enough for her.
This is sweet. I also love how matter of fact Scully is when she says that her worst fear is being betrayed by Mulder. That's kind of huge, for her to say so simply that nothing scares her more than Mulder not being there for her, than Mulder betraying her trust.
Okay. After the hospital scene, this train goes off the tracks. How would you use a signal like this to tap into different fears? I get it if you’re trying to make people buy your beer or vote for your candidate. That’s an action that’s the same for every person. But it’s not like there’s a special place in your brain labeled “greatest fear” and the signal can just hit that spot. Right? Different fears would make different people behave differently.
X: "You think they'll stop at commerce and politics?"
But what else is there to use this for? To make some kind of army of random killing machines? (But the Army is totally already developing Super Soldiers, right, guys? And it's gonna work out GREAT!) Seriously, though, maybe I just don’t have a devious enough brain, but I fail to see how domestic violence would further any sort of agenda. Maybe they were just preliminary tests?
X kills the cable guy and the doctor because…they knew about the project and now that it’s being shut down, they have to be silenced, too? And X wanted Mulder to do…what? To expose the program to the world? Yes, because clearly people listen to Mulder all the time, X. Was there some kind of time table that Mulder missed by going to find Scully rather than pursuing the secret source’s other leads? The informant seems to suggest that they were cleaning up the evidence so Mulder couldn't get to it, so I guess that's the ticking clock. In the end, though, Mulder's investigation does get the project shut down, although he's not able to expose any of its perpetrators. So shouldn't X be kind of pleased with that?
adinfinitum!
Mulder's random/not-random contact is weird. Scully must’ve really complicated things for people who wanted to meet and manipulate Mulder clandestinely. With a partner, let alone with one as close as Scully, it would be so much more difficult to arrange for meetings without someone else knowing or getting, as Mulder will say in PBV, “seriously suspicious.”
Whenever I see this scene, all I can think of is the blooper. “To try and develop a clear…something for the court.” It must suck to botch your lines when you’re a random, non-famous guest actor.
Mulder tells her he got the information from “an outside source,” but he won’t elaborate. Scully suggests that they're being used, which they are. They really do a nice job of setting her paranoia up right from the start. Because even though we know that Mulder isn’t betraying her, you start to feel like…well, maybe.
As I was saying last night to
coastand
meatfight, I find it incredibly romantic that he lifts up the police tape for her to duck under. Fellas, if you want to win my heart, take me to a crime scene and lift up the yellow tape! It’s that easy!
I don’t buy that those kids would be hanging out in that empty house. And the “woman screaming” fake out isn’t good enough for me to say, yeah, okay. But I do love Mulder’s “serious” nod yes when the kid asks, “Are we in trouble now?”
Scully would never say "wiggy."
Why does Scully continue obsessively watching the tapes? Once she watches one with the signal, does that somehow trigger a desire to compulsively keep watching? All of the people affected had tons of tapes; does it manifest itself in that particular habit?
Mulder, lounging on her couch, head propped up with his hand, wearing an undershirt. GUH. How can she resist? Seriously, he is, like, offering himself to you, Scully. Wait, here's one more chance! Take it!
Their conversation about TV violence causing actual violence manages to be subtle, interesting, and open-ended. I'm reminded of an impassioned position paper I wrote sophomore year, incensed by the impending TV ratings system. I clearly hadn't seen this episode yet at the time, because I definitely would've quoted it.
God, that quick flare as CSM lights up in the car with Mulder. It’s kind of amazing. It's a tense scene, Scully crouching behind the ice machine.
Look how cagey she is in the morning, like she’s sat up all night in her suit, crunching ice, her mind racing over Mulder’s potential betrayal.
The shot of Mulder as he turns to go is eerie. The cap doesn't really do it justice, but you're really in Scully's shoes at that moment. Something as innocuous as Mulder turning around to go chase down a lead seems ominous.
Question: why are they in a motel if the case is in Maryland? Mulder goes to see the Gunmen, so they’re obviously not that far from DC. No wonder the Bureau is displeased with their expense reports. I checked Google Maps, and it says Braddock Heights is about an hour from DC. Worth it to stay in a motel? I guess it works for the story, but still slightly odd. Maybe with terrible traffic it would take much longer, so it's easier to get a motel? I'm thinking about this too much.
Oh man, her call to Mulder, sitting in the dark motel room, hearing clicks on the phone. And then she tears her room apart looking for bugs. It’s all very Mulderish of her.
Oh Lord, Mulder’s call to Mrs. Scully. Possibly the best scene of the episode. As soon as she hears “Fox Mulder,” she’s like, oh shit, what’s wrong? Not panicky, just resigned. Then way he sort of crinkles his eyes, steeling himself, before he says, “Um…we-we’re looking for her as best we can.” He wants to die because he’s calling up her mother, AGAIN, to be the bearer of bad news.
Why would the government or the Syndicate or anyone, really, want random people to kill randomly? What good is it for the government for that man to kill his wife, or the babysitter to attack the kids? Why use these signals in such a downright stupid way? I’d understand it if they were making people do something specific that furthered a larger cause, but it doesn’t.
The colorblindness works nicely for this episode, but it’s never touched on again, sort of like Mulder’s alleged fear of fire. I don’t like it when character things are introduced solely because it’s convenient to the story. However, I love how Mulder offers his tie as proof that he’s colorblind. Like, see? I can’t even dress myself properly! (And
jademg, you can tell T he has something in common with Mulder!)
After Mulder gets the call and tells the Gunmen he has to go down to “ID the body,” he won’t even look at them as he leaves.
He takes this moment in the car at the parking garage of the morgue, like he's simultaneously preparing himself, and taking one more minute where she might possibly still be alive.
He chooses Scully, dead or alive (dead or aliiiiiive), over continuing to pursue the case. The informant tells him the evidence is being destroyed while he's "chasing his partner," and that if he doesn't get on it, the "responsible parties" will be gone by tomorrow. Then, nowhere to go with his anger, he kicks at the car door and clenches his jaw!
Oh, God. This scene. The way he closes his eyes for a minute, and then tells the doctor he’ll do the blinds himself. His performance here is great, and the shot composition is lovely, too.
Mrs. Scully is as bad a liar as Scully. And Sheila Larken manages, somehow, to do it in the exact same way as Gillian.
"You're in on it. You're one of them. You're one of the people who abducted me. You put that thing in my neck. You killed my sister!"
This is seriously heavy stuff, because even though it’s the signal bringing it out, at least the seed of these fears has to be somewhere, deep down, in Scully. Mulder’s generally a reticent guy (how many times does she have to say to him, “Mulder, what aren’t you telling me?”), and even though it’s been three years, the X-Files were his world first. She came into that world with nothing but blind faith in the FBI (which has, I think we can say, been broken by this point) and then, a growing faith and trust in Mulder. Despite all that, like I said the other day, I think they're still at a point where they trust each other, they do, but it's like they need to continually reassure themselves of that fact. I trust you, I do, I do, I do. They want to trust each other perfectly.
“Scully, you are the ONLY one I trust.”
I love that Maggie clearly likes Mulder, even though it would be easy not to, you know? But I get the sense that she knows his heart’s in the right place and that he cares about Scully, and that’s enough for her.
This is sweet. I also love how matter of fact Scully is when she says that her worst fear is being betrayed by Mulder. That's kind of huge, for her to say so simply that nothing scares her more than Mulder not being there for her, than Mulder betraying her trust.
Okay. After the hospital scene, this train goes off the tracks. How would you use a signal like this to tap into different fears? I get it if you’re trying to make people buy your beer or vote for your candidate. That’s an action that’s the same for every person. But it’s not like there’s a special place in your brain labeled “greatest fear” and the signal can just hit that spot. Right? Different fears would make different people behave differently.
X: "You think they'll stop at commerce and politics?"
But what else is there to use this for? To make some kind of army of random killing machines? (But the Army is totally already developing Super Soldiers, right, guys? And it's gonna work out GREAT!) Seriously, though, maybe I just don’t have a devious enough brain, but I fail to see how domestic violence would further any sort of agenda. Maybe they were just preliminary tests?
X kills the cable guy and the doctor because…they knew about the project and now that it’s being shut down, they have to be silenced, too? And X wanted Mulder to do…what? To expose the program to the world? Yes, because clearly people listen to Mulder all the time, X. Was there some kind of time table that Mulder missed by going to find Scully rather than pursuing the secret source’s other leads? The informant seems to suggest that they were cleaning up the evidence so Mulder couldn't get to it, so I guess that's the ticking clock. In the end, though, Mulder's investigation does get the project shut down, although he's not able to expose any of its perpetrators. So shouldn't X be kind of pleased with that?