Never Again is not easily defined as an UST ep or a
'shipper ep; not since TFWID (Editor's note: I hated TFWID :P)
have there been such strong like/hate feelings on the
implications of the episode in relation to our beloved M&S.
To those who view fighting and/or tension as a precursor to
UST (or RST As I watched the beginning and the end of NA for the
second time, I remembered Mulder's words in WOTC: "I had a
preying mantis epiphany... The mysteries of the natural world
were revealed to me that day, and instead of being astounded I
was repulsed." Okay, repulsed does not apply to our dear
Scully, but is it safe to say that Mulder had a realization, an
awakening about his partner? One he didn't know how to
deal with?
There is only a small excuse for Mulder's pissy attitude
at the beginning- he was upset Scully walked off in the
middle of questioning, but can we say the pot calling the kettle
black? How many times has she been ditched in *life
threatening* situations? *And here I am thinking of him
running off and leaving her with the MMBH* And yeah, he is
also upset he is being forced to take a vacation, but that is no
reason to take it out on her. In the past Mulder has done quite
a few things to tick me off, (much as I do love him as a whole),
so I can see why Scully is not feeling up to simply ignoring his
attitude, as she has in the past. Her question about the desk is a
valid one (if we ignore past eps where she had one...but I
digress), and here I think back to the words of the note at the
Memorial, "I know you did the right thing." She is questioning
her future here, her life at this moment, maybe even her
motives. And sadly, Mulder's attitude only cements the feeling
of "What am I doing and why am I doing it for you!" I will not
go into the plot details here, since I am really only concerned
the the 'shippyness Mulder makes a few overtures of reconciliation: he tries
to call her out on the road on the way to Graceland, and then
does succeed in reaching her when he is in Memphis and she in
Pennsylvania. Scully here acts much like a defiant schoolgirl,
wanting to make her boyfriend jealous, and after Mulder's
"You're kidding" to her silent confirmation of a date, chooses
to go out with a psycho. (MHO) Mulder's reaction is
not entirely clear- was he doing the karate impersonation to
believe sudden tension at the thought of Scully on a date with a
man? (All agreed say "Aye!") Or did M&W just think it was a
funny thing to do? Obviously he does care a little, because he
tries to call her again from the office the next morning (how if
he drove to Graceland did he make it back so quickly is real
"spooky", but I digress...) But she is *gasp*, not there! Only
a slow blink gives any illusion of inner turmoil on his part, but
at least it is there!! (I tried hard not to make Mulder at this
point a surrogate Voodoo doll for all the men in my life who
have pissed me off lately The last scene is the most significant, and one of the
most intense that has ever been portrayed between M&S. It
begins with a lot of implied 'shippyness- that Mulder raced to
PA to see Scully in the hospital (I doubt she was kept over
night, so he would have had to have been there in a jiffy). He
also knows all about Ed Jerse, (see comments following), and,
as he talks about ergot in Scully's blood, also knows about
THE TATTOO! (And may I go on record saying I feel cheated
at not seeing *that* little revelation?) Of course, this is coming
from my sheer reasoning power, which isn't always accurate,
but unless Scully told him she got poisoned from a bad Reuben,
(cornbeef and sauerkraut on rye, for all you taste-bud deprived
people out there :D), he had to have known she got the
poisoning from her tattoo. Mulder again acts very pissy
towards Scully, but this time, instead of outright condemning
him, we will be missing out on a great 'shipper moment if we
don't contemplate some of the reasoning behind this particular
exchange.
Look at Mulder's body language here- it speaks
emotions that his words do not. He is admittedly a little less
than sensitive about her being in two X-Files :), (which
connection I can only make from the fact that she also had the
poisoned dye in her bloodstream), but the remark was a
lead-in to an explanation, not just a remark, and a lead-in to an
explanation that involved Scully and *another man*. Take it
for what we will, he then moves on the ramble about the tattoo,
and as she picks up the petal, watch his eyes, the slow blink,
looking downward, than back up at her... DD can express more
in one facial expression that Keanu Reeves has in his entire
acting career! (Apologies to KR fans, and I did like Speed...)
He knows she is not here with him, but I think he is unsure
where she is, and how to reach her- as he crosses to the filing
cabinet, watch the head stretch, and then his right hand flying
out in almost an "I don't know" gesture- Mulder (and DD) is
very expressive with his hands, and that says a lot to me. He
sits down again and begins recounting the case; Scully looks up
briefly in an silent "Here we go again" expression, and he falls
off with a "So..." He knows this isn't going anywhere either-
then the famous desk line- I truly believe he *knows* it's not
about the desk, but he doesn't know how to approach her, how
to say what he feels. So he tries for the desk in an effort to
get it out, and yet even that doesn't work- she only rebuffs him,
and after the "But it's m.." and Scully's silent, questioning face,
my heart wrenches at his mouth opening slightly, lips barely
moving to for unsaid feelings, and then shutting again. How
many times have we seen Mulder utterly speechless?? This is a
Scully he does not know how to react to. What powerful
emotions cross in a matter of seconds, and we are left with two
people, even against their will, connected-- one struggling
to understand, and one of them, finally starting to understand
for the first time. Bravo to GA and DD for bringing these
characters to life in such an emotional way. And although I do
not wish to see this kind of introspect every week, it is a very
human thing to question motive, to question
caring, and to sometimes just be a little pissy for no good
reason at all. (I said *sometimes* Mulder!)
by Rebecca Foster
*warning, wrote this listening to some sappy music, so bear
with me if it sounds really sappy* (Editor's note: Laurie *is*
really sappy 4x15
Okay from start to finish this was the greatest episode. Now I
say that because, well to start, Mulder was the sweetest guy; he
never once treated Scully badly, and he was so determined not
to believe that she was going to die. As he stated, "I refuse to
believe..." That line alone put it in perspective for me, made me
feel weepy all over. I was close to tears throughout the whole
episode, it moved me. Maybe it was just the facial expressions.
I mean, they could have done the whole episode in mime and I
would have still loved it:)
To start it all off, we have Scully reading from her journal, one
that she is writing to Mulder. If these journal entries don't say
she loves him, well I don't know what does. She doesn't come
out and say it, but basically the point she is trying to make is
that she doesn't blame him for anything and if she should die,
for him to keep on living. Not to make that journey with her to
the other side. Which we all know, he would want to.
The first scene after the opening credits has Mulder coming
into the hospital with flowers *sigh*, while Scully is in the X-
ray developing room looking at her X-Rays. Mulder, trying to
make light of the situation (not badly, he just wanted to make
her smile), says he stole the flowers from a guy with a broken
leg. She tells him he is the only one she has called. That
statement says so much more than what was intended. For
Scully to call him first, even before her own mother, tells me
that she cares for him very deeply and wants to be the one to
tell him. Not let him find out from anyone else. Mulder is so
adamant in this scene, he refuses to believe that she basically is
going to die. Scully on the other hand seems to believe that she
is. The body language in this scene, all I can say is "Wow". I
find the fact that Mulder's denial she is going to die is a
statement of his belief in her; he has great faith in her that she
can conquer anything. As he says "I don't accept that, there
must be some people that receive treatment for this, we can..." I
wouldn't say this scene has UST so much, but it is very 'shippy.
For Mulder I would say it is like losing her all over again
(Abduction Arc).
Next, we see them in Skinner's office. Scully tells him that she
plans to continue working. Also that she plans to investigate the
case as a justice matter. I don't think Scully wants to get too
close to it. Throughout this scene we see Mulder standing
behind Scully, pacing around like he doesn't want to hear it
again, as she explains to Skinner that she has Cancer. To me it
looks as if it is tearing him up inside, the whole ordeal she is
going through.
At Betsy Hugopian's house they find out she had recently
passed away. Scully, obviously shaken by this, flashes back to
the first time she met the women, who claimed they knew her
from her abduction. Mulder, noticing one of the phone lines is
lit, picks up the receiver and hears a buzzing. (Which, they
deduce is the sound of a modem dialing in.) They go
downstairs and trace the call to an apartment building.
Nothing too 'shippy about this scene.
As Kirk Crawford runs out of his apartment building Mulder
stops him. Scully comes around back and her nose is bleeding.
Mulder notices it and says "Scully" pointing to his nose. A
very sweet way of telling her. Maybe it was just me, but I think
doing it that way was much better than saying "Scully your nose
is bleeding." Mulder looks very concerned, Scully tells him
that she is fine and to quite staring at her. I think Mulder
realizes in this scene just how serious her condition is.
This is one of the more 'shippy scenes in this episode, (not as
'shippy as the hug scene, but I am getting to that Mulder: I want you to listen to me.
Scully: About what?
Mulder: About what you won't admit to yourself. What you're
denying.
Scully: What am I denying?
Mulder: Where your Cancer came from.
Scully: Mulder, it doesn't matter.
Mulder: It does matter, if what you have is a result of your
abduction, and that abduction is something the government
knows about. Then those are facts should be brought to light.
Scully: I don't know what happened to me I have no clear
recollection, and I don't think these abductions are even
abductions.
Mulder: These women are dead.
Scully: No, they are not, one women isn't, Penny Northern
Mulder: Then if you won't listen to me, then I think you should
go talk to her.
Scully: About what? What it feels like to be dying of Cancer?
What its like to know that there is absolutely nothing you can
do about it?
Mulder: If that's to hard for you, then I think you should go as
an investigator. You have one remaining witness, Agent Scully,
I think you'd want to know what her story is.
-Okay the UST was flowing in this scene the body language
again was great. As they are having this conversation their
faces are about 2 inches away from each other. Mulder is
basically pleading with her not to give up so easily, to go find
out answers that are there. I love the way he calls her Agent
Scully; he does this I think to remind her she still has a job to
do. Or maybe to just tell her not to give up.
Scully then goes to the hospital and finds Penny. Penny is being
treated by a Dr. Scanlon, who it turns out treated all the other
women. Mulder meanwhile is back at Betsy's house going
through hard files with Kirk Crawford. Scully phones him up
and asks him to bring her overnight bag from the car. Mulder
hesitantly asks her (it's as if he doesn't want to hear the answer)
if there is anything he should know. She tells him she must find
the answers within herself. Mulder, obviously very upset by
this, chokes out the words "I will be right there." He hangs up
the phone, slams the filing cabinet door shut and walks out
of the room.
The scene that shows just how far Mulder will go for Scully is
when he is in Skinner's office asking him to set up a meeting
with the Cancerman for him. Mulder is willing to risk
everything, to basically be owned by the Cancerman for her.
Never let it be said that Mulder won't do anything for Scully.
Skinner: You've come to me before.
Mulder: This is different, I'm willing to deal now.
Skinner: Find another way.
Mulder: No, I need that meeting.
Skinner: You deal with this man, you offer him anything, and he
will own you forever.
Mulder: He knows what they did to Agent Scully, he may very
well know how to save her.
Skinner: If he knows, you can know too. But you can't ask the
truth of a man who trades in lies. I won't let you.
Mulder: We are talking about Agent Scully's life.
The final scene, *sigh*. What can I say? This is what I
personally have been waiting for since the van scene in Pusher.
Mulder (after checking out the fertility clinic with the Lone
Gunmen, and finding the clones) rushes to the hospital, entering
Scully's hospital room only to find it empty. He reads over her
last journal entry and gets scared because she is not there. I love
his facial expressions as he is reading it, it's almost as if he is
discovering just how much she cares for him. He runs out of
the room and asks the Nurse where she is. Much Mulder angst
in this scene. Byers comes up and tells him he got to Scully
and that she is in Penny's room; Mulder runs to her room and
looks in. Again, great facial expressions when he realizes she is
all right. He waits all night outside Penny's room for Scully to
come out. As nurses run into the room Scully exits, and Mulder
gets up and cautiously approaches her, not really knowing what
to say to her. He asks her if she is gone, Scully crying nods her
head yes. He tells her he's sorry and I know what she meant to
her. I think he says this in a way to make it clear to Scully how
much she means to him. He tells her that he came to find her
and when he saw that she wasn't in her room he got scared that
something had happened to her. *sigh, I love that line* He
tells her that he read some of what she wrote, she tells him she
didn't want him to read that, she was going to throw it away.
Facial expressions play a big part in this scene, I know I have
obsessed enough about the Facial Expressions, but there are so
strong throughout this whole episode, it has to be mentioned.
Mulder tells Scully that something was done to her, and that
there is an answer she just has to find it. Scully tells him she
can't kid herself, people live with cancer every day. But she
has things to finish, things to prove. Mulder says very quietly
come on back and embraces her. This hug was *gasp, should I
say it* better than the one in Irresistible *Beck please forgive
me*. I say that because this was a hug was meant to comfort
both of them, not just Mulder comforting Scully. As Mulder
hugs her he says "I believe the truth will save you Scully, I think
it will save both of us." Getting back to what I have always
said, it's Mulder and Scully against the world, and this line
proves it. *smiles* He kisses the top of her head, then pulls
apart from her and kisses her forehead. I think the kiss on the
forehead says so much more than a kiss on the lips would have,
as a guy friend of mine stated after he watched it. "I can't
believe it, he truly does love her." When I asked him why, he
replied, "because he kissed her on the forehead, that's how I
kiss my fiance." ::Shrugs:: I love this scene for many reasons,
the music, the lighting, the contrast between both of them,
Mulder in all black and Scully in all white, but most of all, just
how they are with each other. Mulder just holds her, and in
doing that it just seems that everything will be okay again. She
draws from his strength and gets stronger in the process.
**Things to Watch For**
-All the journal entries, Scully is writing from her heart, and you
can tell if you listen to the words that are spoken.
-Mulder putting his job on the line for Scully, he breaks into the
Fertility clinic, looking for information.
-In the Lone Gunmen's office, my favorite Mulder line in this
Episode:
"Well pick out something black and sexy and prepare to do
some funky poaching."
-as someone on the Romantics list pointed out, look how they
hug at the end. Scully's arms are under Mulders jacket, as they
wrap around his body, a very intimate hug if you ask me.
By Laurie Sarnacki
Click