what does Amor Fati mean? Is it Latin?

Research reveals that yes, it is Latin. It's a Nietzschean phrase meaning "love of destiny", the acceptance of an uncertain situation qualified by the possibility of changing it by one's will. Describes Mulder in this ep pretty well, actually.

Part 2 was a mess, but Part 3 worked very well. "The Last Temptation of Mulder", of course. Kudos to Chris Carter for killing the most hated character on the show, and working it well into the plot.

My attention flagged for a moment - could somebody explain to me what Krycek was doing there?

Oh, for Pete's sake! I was kidding when I said this would be a dream or something! Next time I'll keep my big mouth shut. At least they didn't have anybody telling Mulder in VR that he was "The One."

CSM has come a long way from the guy who sneered at John Smith about the peasants who needed a God, so he supplied them one.

They continue to toy with us. I thought for sure they were building up to The Big Kiss there at the end. Psyche...

Man, if I were Mulder, I'd be having a serious talk with Mom right about now.

Next week: Monster of the Week returns! Yay! I've been asked to think too much these last two episodes.

Is it only me or does the X-Files simply seem
to get weirder and weirder season by season?

Too bad they can't clone it..FOX certainly could
use the ratings!

Murray--he was controlling Skinner with that little PDA thingie.

It Happened in Mulder's Head Only (IHIMHO): CSM said the Syndicate would kill Mulder, if the FBI didn't. But wasn't the Syndicate destroyed last season?

IHIMHO: One wonders what Mulder's new nickname was. Abandon the X-Files Man?

IHIMHO: All that time, and Mulder never asked Deep Throat what his real name was?

Is CSM *REALLY* Mulder's dad? Are we sure? At what point does the IHIMHO start? I found this ep to be a bit disappointing. I was expecting more...

-12-

Oh, yes... Next week... Night of the Living Dead!

-12-

If Mulder never looked out the window, then how did CSM (IHIMHO) look out the window and see the aliens nuking earth? If IHIMHO, then everything is a figment of Mulder's imagination, so he DID look out the window...

-12-

"Amor Fati" represented something to me: everything that I have come to not like about the X-Files in its later seasons--to wit,

(1) An overuse of fantasy and dream sequences to state character motivations. This was one of the better ones, but the sixth season had way, way too many ("Triangle", "Field Trip", even "Dreamland", a little).

(2) Bad acting from the guest stars--remember Dr. Barnes last episode? Well, Krischgau wasn't that much better...

(3) Pretentious dialogue to the max--Why do I fear every episode that bears the credit "Written by Chris Carter"? And why is it that I could probably easily discern what scenes were written by Duchovny or Carter? (the ending is obviously Duchovny, in my opinion)

(4) A silly plot--the CSM from the first three seasons would never have been that direct or obvious, never would have said the dialogue he said in this episode, and was not a camp villain. The good part about the CSM was that it was remembered he is a bad guy.

That said, I enjoyed "Amor Fati" somewhat, but thought it did not gel very well with "The Sixth Extinction" or "Biogenesis". And for some reason, I was not very concerned about Mulder's plight--I wanted to see more or Krycek and Skinner! What happened to the spaceship? The dream sequence was interesting, but I wish they could have used it for a different episode, so it could be better developed. The rapid aging was very moving, as was the scenes on the beach, especially the destruction of the spaceship.

The regulars' acting was pitch-perfect. Jerry Hardin said "Scully's mysterious illness" just right, and William B. Davis as the "happy" CSM was magnificent.

And finally, so either Mulder is indeed CSM's son (that guy gets around), or he is lying to Fowley. He is not his father.

This might be a nit, but Cancerman's (CSM, or as I like to call him Raul) placement of the needle when he injected Mulder is way off. He injects it in to th side of Mulder's head. It should go into a more fleshy area, like his arm or his butt.

I also liked the bit with the 24 bags of sunflower seeds.

I was wondering how long it would take for X-Files to resort to the revelation that Darth Vader is Mulder's dad. (NOTE: I am not saying that it was ripped off of Star Wars, just that I saw it coming for years... not that I could ever prove it).

so does mulder still have his amazing carnac powers? did the surgeons remove it and give it to CSM? if they did then why isnt he a screaming basket case right now?

How strong was Mulder's telepathic ability, anyway? Strong enough that he would have known whether CSM was his father the moment he walked in? (Or was even that scene just in his mind?)

And yes, it was Fox's fantasy, but does he *really* keep his sunflower seeds in the refrigerator?

Shades of 2001. Everything in the refrigerator (from the novel at the end in the hotel suite)... Mulder ages in spurts and rapid scenes (from the movie at the end in the hotel suite)...

-12-

Of the three-parter as a whole:

Good acting, nice FX...

...but what does it mean?

I was in and out of the room while the show was on so like Murray, I don't understand the Krycek/Fowley connection. Was Scully mistaken when she said Diana gave her the pass card, or did I miss a scene between Fowley & Krycek?

Scully found Mulder awfully fast. *Excuse me, can you direct me to the alien hybrid research center? Thanks!* Oh, and I doubt DOD passcards have the agency name helpfully printed on them.

I think Mulder should be a little insulted. He can drag Scully from Antartica, but she can't find a guerney (in an operating room!) to wheel him down the hall.

Duchovney's aging make-up made him look like an alien. Intentional, or just bad cosmetics?

Of Note: Notice how nearly every Conspiracy aide on the show always redeems himself before dying?

EXAMPLES
Deep Throat
Mr. X
Well Manicured Man
Bill Mulder
Jeffrey Spender
Diana Fowley

MikeC: I think that "their redemption" is the reason why they are killed. (Because it is seen as betrayal by CSM or whatever syndicate guys are left.)

Okay, so I've watched all the way through part 3 and I still don't get how a paper rubbing of the ship hieroglyphics triggered Mulder's telepathy or how CSM turned it off. Is it going to come back?

I think X-Files is getting weirder and weirder and answer fewer and fewer questions. And I'm not sure I even care anymore whether Mulder and Scully kiss.

Krycheck is a surviving member of the Syndicate (there ain't many). Fowley has been in the Syndicate since at least last season, when CSM recruited her. Krycheck also has a little control box that can kill Skinner by remote (I haven't seen that episode, so I'm a little fuzzy on how it the nano-death thingie works).

So, Krycheck keeps Skinner in line, pretty much on behalf of CSM, who worked with Fowley, until her untimely demise this episode.

It's all one big, happy, murderous, psychotic conspiracy.

The chimerically (def.: imaginatively) fabricated Special Agent Dana Scully attempts to aggressively convince Special Agent Fox Mulder to "fight the fight." Why not "fight the future," which was the tag line to the movie and one of Well-Manicured Man's final words? Aside from this, I could not help but feel slightly gypped with this episode. They neither explained to where the extraterrestrial spacecraft had gone nor the connotation of the apparent extraterrestrial inscriptions, the latter in reference to the nascency of the humankind and the imminent invasion/colonization of the "black oil" entities. On a related note, Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek) truly had a minor role. Was it worth even listing him in the credits? I bet Alex Krycek was not only responsible for Michael Kritschgau's death--this much is obvious--but Special Agent Diana Fowley's death as well.

My sole nitpick is this: this episode's version of an elderly Special Agent Fox Mulder is much different from that of the episode in which the protagonists were trapped aboard a sailing vessel that provided water which accelerated senescence (def.: the aging process). I realize a majority of this episode was in Fox's head, but it is a nitpick nonetheless.

By the way, I arrived at the conclusion that Special Agent Fox Mulder was in his head as soon as Deep Throat came into the picture. For starters, Deep Throat appeared to Special Agent Fox Mulder during the season premiere of the third or forth season in which his body was salvaged from the subterranean train car containing extraterrestrial entities which were ordered to be incinerated by Cigarette-Smoking Man/Cancer Man/Raul Bloodworth/C.G.B. Spender and Navajo Indians were conducting ceremonial acts so that Fox could communicate with the deceased, one of whom was Deep Throat. And secondly, Deep Throat's children, according to his photograph, are too young to be his own, excluding the fact of course that they ought not have even been returned to him by the alien colonists due to reasons described in the episode "One Son."

I almost forgot this one! It's now obvious that after seven years, Scully does not have an office of her own. She leaves a message for Mulder's mom to "Call me back at your son's office." Especially after all she went through these two episodes, she should get her name on the door! She bloody well saved the X-Files this time around!

To D.Stuart: Just a small nit about your nit--
The Navajo Indians weren't performing ceremonial rituals so that Mulder could communicate with the dead, the rituals were to save his life. Communicating with the dead was just a byproduct of him hanging between life and death.

I could accept Deep Throat being alive. Why not? Aside from the funeral...but funerals can be faked. The one major reason why I could accept it is because if you take the plotline from the film (aliens invading--colonization, virus, etc.), then you must realize that Deep Throat was:

(a) giving Mulder very little information
(b) just plain lying to Mulder
(c) was working with the CSM to lead Mulder on wild goose chases, so he could do his little virus tests

This actually makes sense! Mulder really only began getting closer to the real "Truth" with the "help" of X, Marita Covarrubias, or Unknown Informant of the Day.

Cigarette-Smoking Man/Cancer Man/Raul Bloodworth/C.G.B. Spender is in fact Special Agent Fox Mulder's father since the scene in Fox's hospital room in the commencement of the episode had indeed occurred. How do I know this, you ask? Surveillance cameras in the hospital were masked with black spray paint, and the videocassettes recorded by each camera were viewed by Special Agent Dana Scully. Unless Special Agent Dana Scully was part of Fox's mental journey, my theory is true.

Yes, Cancerman went into the room, but anything after that could be a figment of Mulder's imagination. Especially since the shot allegedly removed the brain overload, but later he seems to still be in overload.

Further, the videotape show Mulder's mom in the room, and she wasn't there when the now-dippy CSM made his confession. Who's to say?

I'm thinking Scully's name will get added to Mulder's office at the end of the last episode, so we'll all be touched and smile and wait for the next movie. I hope this is not the plan, though...just give her the office!

I thought the tape of Mulder's Mom and Cancerman was from an outside securitycam.

The outside securitycam was the only one with any images at all from the last time Mulder was seen in the hospital until he was discovered missing but checked out by his mom. I was arguing that we can't say when Mulder's mental journey began, because clearly CSM was in the hospital for some time without Mulder knowing about it. And how do we know Mulder didn't know? Because his point of view during the story didn't include his mom.

Here, for example is a possible sequence of events:

1. Mulder is sedated. CSM and his minions black out the cameras.
2. CSM convinces Mulder's mom to let him have Mulder. She signs him out.
3. They put Mulder in the VR crown of thorns.

BEGIN ILLUSION:
---Mulder thinks he is still in the hospital. CSM says "I am your father."

---Mulder lives, grows old, and almost dies in the fantasy.
END ILLUSION

Scully saves Mulder. THEY DON'T KISS! Sighs of exasperation sound everywhere.

See? Cancerman's revelation could have easily been part of Mulder's trip down the rabbit hole. The videotape proves nadda. In fact, it argues in favor of the confession being part of the fantasy, as Mulder's mom was not present when the confession was made, but was present in reality.

Cancerman is Mulder's father, because during the pre-operation stages, Fowley was talking to him, saying things like "How can you let your son die?" and because that was not part of Mulder's fantasy, Cancerman is his father.

In the final scene, Didn't one of them kiss the other on the forehead?

Yes. Scully kissed Mulder on the forehead. Bummer. I'm an anti-shipper, because I remember Moonlighting.

Fox's mother could have also been out of the room during the scene in the hospital room, during which time Cigarette-Smoking Man/Cancer Man/Raul Bloodworth/C.G.B. Spender confesses to being Fox's biological father. Putting that aside, though, let us keep one thing in mind: why would Special Agent Fox Mulder imagine Cigarette-Smoking Man/Cancer Man/Raul Bloodworth/C.G.B. Spender to be his father? Perhaps it is just me, but it does seem rather preposterous to imagine your worst enemy to be your parent, unless of course you suspect such a biological relationship to be true. Happy Thanksgiving!

Special Agent Fox Mulder refuses a cigarette from Cigarette-Smoking Man/Cancer Man/Raul Bloodworth/C.G.B. Spender during their car trip to Fox's "witness protection program." In fact, he states, "I never touch them." Yet, Special Agent Fox Mulder subtly smoked in the episode "Travelers" prior to former Special Agent Arthur Dales's narration. Happy holidays!

But that bit is in Mulder's mind. So while he *thinks* he never touches them, he might forget he occasionally does. Set something in a mind and you can get away with all sorts of nits.

Scott: Is it only me or does the X-Files simply seem to get weirder and weirder season by season?
No it isn't. I would guess everybody is in agreement on that, especially after this arch.

D. Stuart: By the way, I arrived at the conclusion that Special Agent Fox Mulder was in his head as soon as Deep Throat came into the picture.
It was well before that. It was at least when CSM started talking about giving up and settling down while driving him around.

All three eps of this arch were lame and didn't go anywhere. Where they just to kill off a few more guest stars and bring a couple more back? What good would putting somebody else's brain matter into yours do, even if you were related? I know it was in his head but why would the alien colonists destroy everything once they got here? Killing all the humans, or turning them in Greys, except for the hybrids sure but besides the house Mulder and CSM were in everything was on fire. Mulder sure recovered quickly.