The X-Files
"Requiem"

"Requiem"
Airdate: May 21, 2000

Such stuff as perverse fan fic dreams are made of.

In general, it is a bad sign for a series when one is forced to construct a story arc based on the unpredictable actions of the actor behind a certain character. Who, after all, did not mourn when Brenda was suddenly shipped "to London"? Who, more recently (and genre-y), did not cry when Doyle's face painfully melted away? Only one show has smoothly, almost flawlessly, managed to use an actor's backstage situation in a way that not only failed to mar the series, but actually served to benefit it. And that show is The X-Files.

I'm talking about, of course, season two. Gillian Anderson's pregnancy could have easily ruined a less creative, resourceful series. Already suffering in the ratings, the show could have been axed by the network, or worse, fabricated some cheesy storyline in which Scully actually gets pregnant. Instead, the producers went for something which, at the time, was risky -- Scully was abducted by aliens, thus fostering several excellent storylines (the chip, the missing ovaries, the lots and lots of files) that would dominate the next two seasons.

My, how things come full circle. "Requiem", a fairly good episode overall, is basically ruined by the inanity of its conclusion, which finds Scully mysteriously (and cheesily) pregnant and Mulder not-so-mysteriously abducted by aliens. Duchovny's up-to-the-last-minute negotiations surrounding his contract was obviously hell on Carter, who, for this episode at least, I'll cut some slack. Abduction had worked once before, he must have reasoned, so let's go two for two. If he returns, so will Mulder. If not, he's lost in space. And we'll just ignore the fact that Dale Cooper of Twin Peaks was taken in exactly this manner in their series finale, and that, really, the simplest way to avoid this dilemma would be to end the series altogether. It's a tough situation when you think with your wallet. This sort of outcome, it seems, was only natural.

"But -- but I love him!" "Well, you can't have him Mulder. Not until sweeps."

There were many worthy aspects of "Requiem" which made me wish this had been the series finale. While not coming close to the heights the series reached in its first four years out, it was, nonetheless, remarkably restrained for a Chris Carter-penned episode. Nary a pretentious monologue was to be found, and "Requiem" also featured dominant appearances by Krycek and Marita, two much-missed (yes, I missed the Unablonder -- don't know what you've got till it's gone, I guess) characters who haven't shown up all season. Like a doppelganger of Mulder and Scully, the two proceeded to engage in all sorts of interesting activities; together they killed the Cancer Man, and, alone... Krycek took a shower. Okay, the view was only from the shoulder up but... Krycek had a shower scene. I'll take what I can get.

The absence of Duchovny for half of next season poses the obvious question of who is going to replace him. While I'd actually like to see Scully take on a female partner (which, given the ever more idiotic portrayals of female characters, is not going to happen), I think the best thing they could do is make Nick Lea a dominant presence, for good or evil. With the increasingly uninteresting Cancer Man seemingly departed (one hopes, anyway -- there's one character who's had all his mystery sucked dry), they definitely need a new villain, and they definitely need a hunky male lead. Who takes lots of showers.

"You must have tripped on a plot hole, Scully." "Again?"

"Requiem" also featured guest appearances by other supporting characters -- Skinner, the Lone Gunman, the Bounty Hunter -- all of which were much appreciated. Best of all, the episode abandoned the "walk-in spirits from the twilight" crap that had dominated "Closure" and got back to the aliens and green slime. It also got back to the pilot, which was a bit of a mistake -- the return to the scene of their initial case did little but invoke nostalgia for superior episodes; the characters weren't particularly intriguing, and the plot was fairly basic. Still, the dialogue was decent, it moved along nicely, and on the late-season X-Files scale -- the one measured with Diminished Expectations -- this was a good effort.

Until the end. It's no secret that when a show is lagging in the ratings, the female lead -- whether Mrs. Keaten, Mrs. Seaver, Jamie Buchman, or the myriad of other TV moms -- gets knocked up. While this tactic is usually reserved for family comedy matrons with ovaries intact, The X-Files seemingly knows no such restraint, and so now Scully -- who had already had a child with those removed ovaries -- will know again the joys of motherhood. The potential for this storyline to suck is great, as it can and will likely lead to 1) a Christ-like "miracle birth" 2) many a long-winded and terrible monologues from Scully about said miracle birth 3) a limitation on what the character can do next season, at a time when the series needs Scully to be at her most active and 4) another senseless tragedy that everyone will forget about by the end of the season. That is, of course, if there are any viewers left. "Requiem" went a little ways towards redeeming season seven, and then managed to botch it all up in about five minutes.

-- Sarah Kendzior

The X-Files airs at 9pm EST, Sundays on Fox.

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