These "cultists" would seem to have a real good case against the government for false arrest and detainment. I can't figure out what the Feds would accuse all of them of doing that they would have evidence for.

I'm confused over whether the aliens wanted the abductees healed or not. If they did, they sure had a funny way of showing it.

The abductees were dropped off to two hicks in a pickup truck. I found that funny.

What happened to the funny "shake 'em up" cloaking/force field from when Mulder was abducted? Is that only for long term use, or was this model ufo not equipped with it?

I don't think the cult would have much of a case. Our new agent friend said the guys take off in a truck with a 'body' in the back. They didn't stop when she told them to. The truck was registered to the ranch. And they had a warrent. I think it would hold up in court.

What happened to the funny "shake 'em up" cloaking/force field from when Mulder was abducted? Is that only for long term use, or was this model ufo not equipped with it? -- Spockania

I thought that was for abducting people, not returning them.

Okay, I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this, but honestly, I think we have a Troi/Riker pair here in Reyes and Doggett! "Let's leave the past in the past"? "I can sense your fear"? This had me cracking up!

No one seems to answer questions in this ep. Examples: Scully, Doggett, and Skinner come up to the doc. "Are you doctor so and so?" "I heard you just flew in from . . ." Mulder is found: "Is it Mulder?" "I think you better come out here." They're getting the don't-give-______-a-straight-answer syndrome.

I gotta say, it's so nice to have mytharc eps again! Within and Without were okay, but I was getting a "mytharc withdrawl" myself.

Reyes says implants are usually found in the nasal cavity and are disguised as bone and cartiledge. First off, I can't remember seeing any nasal implants since the pilot episode, and those were metal. Okay, maybe the aliens have upped their technology. (Wouldn't it be hard, though, to make a *metal implant* look like *cartiledge*?) But all implants I remember seeing since then were at the base of the neck, were tiny, and were definitely metal. Where did Reyes get her information?

I was cracking up again when Scully said that even after the horrible mutilations of Teresa Hoese and the others, Doggett still thought "men" had done it. As I recall, for years after her own abduction, Scully too believed "men" had tested on her!

How did Jeremiah Smith change his appearence? Is he ABH's cousin or something? I recall him being a clone, I don't recall him being able to change his appearence. Am I not remembering correctly?

Thank you, Amos, for getting this board back up! It's so nice to be able to nitpick again . . . Thanks a lot!!

Doesn't anybody in the X Files universe smoke anything but Morley's?

Everybody probably already knows this, but I'll point it out anyway. The head cult guy was Khan's sidekick.

Hans, I think the Morleys are a clue that Agent Reyes is Evil--though not as evil as the Cigarette Smoking Man, since she smokes Morley Lights. No, I'm not kidding. The second I saw her snuffing out a butt, I was convinced she was a bad guy. The future will tell.

I was rather surprised to hear a doctor say Hoese was "circling the drain". Is this the sensitive and respectful terminology they teach in medical school these days? I wonder whether he would have used that description before family members.

We are told that X-rays show damage to the soft palate of Hoese. Do X-rays show soft tissue well enough to tell?

Doggett apparently took his sensitivity clues from that doctor, when he refers to "when you found that woman's body" in regard to Hoese, who was still alive and was about to get markedly better.

Interesting that the FBI gets 46 of Absalom's followers in custody. Add him, and you get the famous '47' we all know from the Trek boards.

So, any bets on how long Mulder stays dead? ;-)

Hans, I think the Morleys are a clue that Agent Reyes is Evil--though not as evil as the Cigarette Smoking Man, since she smokes Morley Lights. No, I'm not kidding. The second I saw her snuffing out a butt, I was convinced she was a bad guy. The future will tell.

The second I saw the Morley Lights I let out a big appreciative "woo hoo". I definitely interpreted it the same way. Very nice touch!

And was I the only one screaming at the TV for Scully to take Jeremiah Smith with her to see Mulder?

So, any bets on how long Mulder stays dead? ;-) -maybe he'll pull an Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Just a comment, but it is an interesting sign of the times when a smoking character it automatically labeled evil. (Although I can understand it. Interesting the syndicated episode I saw over the weekend was the tobacco beetle episode.)

I think she's probably going to be evil too. Since she's comming in and telling both Scully and Dogget what they want to hear she's probably going to be another one like Kyrchek (sp), remember that he started out kissing Mulder's @$$ to gain his trust so that he could double-cross him. As long as she tells Scully that she believes in aliens but tells Dogget that she thinks is was cultists both of them will trust her with sensitive information that she can use aginst them later.

It would be a bit convenient for her to be evil though since she's an old friend of Doggett's. Also her "no freaking way" remark to seeing the UFO doesn't say 'she's in on it' to me. Personally I think everyone is way to pananoid after Kyrchek and Fowly.

Maybe she's not Conspiracy evil, but just evil evil.

Ah. Evil, Evil. I got ya.

No wait I don't. I just don't see the signs here, other than her cult theory, which wasn't entirely wrong.

As I recall, for years after her own abduction, Scully too believed "men" had tested on her!

Wasn't it men who tested on her? Sure she had an implant that made her go to that mountain where the rebels killed a bunch of people but that doesn't mean that it wasn't men who tested on her. Her ova was in a government facility in "Memento Mori". She remembered that a Japanese man looked over her in the two episodes with the alien in the train.

How did Jeremiah Smith change his appearence? Is he ABH's cousin or something? I recall him being a clone, I don't recall him being able to change his appearence. Am I not remembering correctly?

That's how he originally escaped from the police in the episode where he healed the man at the restaurant, the first episode he appeared in. Mulder and Scully watch a tape where he transforms into another man. It's funny how he always knows when there is a person between him and the camera so he can shape shift.

What ever happened to the rebels? Did they lose the war?

Yes! Krycek will be back soon! No! Not until April 1.

::Everybody probably already knows this, but I'll point it out anyway. The head cult guy was Khan's sidekick.:: -- Ben Cohen

Thank you so much! It was driving me crazy, where I'd seen him before. It annoyed me, usually I'm much better with actors' faces. Guess it's been too long since I saw ST II.

::As I recall, for years after her own abduction, Scully too believed "men" had tested on her!::

::Wasn't it men who tested on her? Sure she had an implant that made her go to that mountain where the rebels
killed a bunch of people but that doesn't mean that it wasn't men who tested on her. Her ova was in a
government facility in "Memento Mori". She remembered that a Japanese man looked over her in the two
episodes with the alien in the train.:: -- Josh M

Okay, you're right, I'd forgotten. (the shame! I loved those episodes, too!) Men tested on her, sounds good to me! Only reason I brought it up was that she gets furious and indignant when Doggett suggests men conducted tests on Teresa. She seems positively convinced that it was extraterrestrial. Mulder rubbing off on her, maybe?

I didn't get the impression Reyes was automatically "evil," either conspiracy-evil or evil-evil. I think it brings up an interesting twist to her character that she's trying to quit smoking Morley Lights. An extra bit of depth, we know there's going to be more to her character and her place in the mythology than what we were shown. I think it was a lovely touch. She's still too ditzy for me to entirely like, though.

Just thought of something: not really a nit, Scully and Skinner were distracted, so we can excuse them. But if they're worried about Reyes, is there a deep, logical reason they didn't get on the telephone with the Lone Gunmen and ask them to do a background check? Chalk it off to ScullyAngst, but an option nonetheless.

Hmmmmm I guess maybe I'm wrong but I saw Reyes as a charecter that their setting up to be a replacment if the x files goes on to a ninth season and GA doesn't come back.

It's possible. Personally I hope that's not true. I wouldn't want to watch The X-Files with two replacement characters. It would effectively just a be a gender switch (skeptical male, believer female).

Also I say if neither of the main leads want to return, then maybe it's time to end the show.

Amos--Amen to that! Heck, if Duchovney sticks to his no-season-nine decision, I want the show to end this year! It's been an okay season, but Mulder is too much a part of the show to have him permanently gone! [which is one reason this ep has me pulling my hair out...!]

trekkerxphile--Yes, I too thought there was something important in the fact that Reyes is trying to *quit*; as opposed to being a chain-smoker like the late-but-hardly-lamented CSM. I'll be interested to see what they do with her now that the mythology has kicked back on at full power. [actually, Reyes reminded me a little of Melissa Scully..."cosmic"]

May I nominate Gillian Anderson for an Emmy? If she doesn't win one for her performance in this episode, there is *no* justice in the world! Very few actresses could pull of that ending without sounding cheesy, and Gillian did it just right! Also, her facial expressions when Skinner told her "It's Mulder," were incredibly revealing.

Also, I liked Doggett more in this episode than any to date (except perhaps "Per Manum"). You can see that he recognizes the pain she's going through, and it's killing him to have to watch her grieve like that.
Am I imagining things, or does Doggett have a mild crush on our Agent Scully? I could point you as far back as "Via Negativa", but especially "Per Manum" and "TINH". IMHO.

WARNING: THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF THIS POSTING CONTAINS POSSIBLE ***SPOILERS****!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS, DON'T READ IT!

Sarah and Amos - *possible spoiler alert* - I haven't heard if there's a definite yes or no on season nine, but I have heard that if there is one, both Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick have agreed to it, as has Annabeth Gish (Reyes). Last time I checked, Duchovny was considering another "partial" season similar to this one. (That part is a rumor; the info on the other three came from more reliable sources.) I don't know if CC has agreed to do a season nine. *Spoiler alert! SPOILER ALERT!!!* There is a rumor that *another* new agent will be introduced in a later episode; I don't know if he/she is on for season nine or not. *END SPOILER ALERTS*

Sarah - yes! That description's great . . . she does remind me of Melissa, now that you bring it up. (It's like she's a cross between Melissa, Troi [from TNG] and . . . something else.)

You're right . . . GA should definitely get recognition for this ep . . . she took a bad script and brought it together and made it work.

got to agree on the Gillian issue. Her chin winkling and sobby eyes stole the show.

I agree with you guys about if no one comes back maybe it's time to end, but lately I'm slighty unsure if Chris Carter really knows what he's doing anymore...

When I saw Reyes throw the cigarette down and then saw how Scully and Skinner were looking at her, I started to laugh. It made me wonder what was going through their minds.

Now that Mulder's dead (yeah right) does this mean that his religion has turned into a crusade?

If DD and GA are both gone, it's really not worth watching anymore, IMHO.

Personally, I like the opionion of Reyes: She is open to the general case of UFO/alien abduction, but does not believe it happened in this specific case. (at least that's how I understood her statement to scully looking at the x-rays for implants). It's a position scully could have adopted too :-)

I guess scully is (once again) severly rattled and therefore does not do the obvious, logical things like taking smith with her immediately to mulder... But it was terrible bad luck that the ufo abducted Smith right at this moment, not all the time before or 1 hour later ;-)
How did the ufo find smith so quickly?

Is it possible that the ufo which dropped the bodies belongs to the rebels? Maybe they are trying to help by returning abductees? After all, first experimenting almost torturing people, then releasing them in a field halfdead without proper care, but having them collected by a healer ... doesn't make much sense to me unless different people are involved. Well, I have to wait and see what happens in the next episode...

I found Scully's attitude towards Doggett slightly unusual. After leaving Richie Salazay's place, Scully angrily confronts Doggett because he refuses to open his mind to other possibilities. Wait a minute: isn't this the same Scully who did this for six or seven years?? Even after holding an alien fetus in her hands in "The Erlenmeyer Flask" way back in season 1, she still struggled for terrestrial explanations for what she saw. The problem is, with Mulder gone, someone has to carry the believer's torch, so she takes it over and adopt's Mulder's credulity while Doggett becomes the sceptic.

Another thing that really bothered me was Doggett as the skeptic. (Sorry about my misspelling in the last post!) Scully's skepticism played a vital role early on because aliens had never been proven to exist. Her skepticism provided a "second explanation" for every alien theory that Mulder posited. The problem is, after the movie, there was no longer ANY doubt as to whether or not aliens exist. Therefore, Doggett's skepticism and "second theories" were not useful storytelling tools but annoyances. I found myself thinking, "Oh come on, Doggett, we KNOW that aliens exist and that Mulder was abducted." Even AD Skinner believes at this point!