A normal life. A family. It's the American dream, what everyone wants. Who's to say a demon should be any different? They have the same emotions as anyone else, the same feelings, the same hopes and dreams. They just also happen to have two horns, a pointed tail, and one nasty sunburn. Oh, and a slight obsession with demonic fetal harvest... But hey, no one's perfect!

"Terms of Endearment" was penned by a new edition to the X-Files writing team, David Amann. And like his on-screen creation, he was not without flaw. This episode, while good, was not great. The plot was a tad predictable and not without its share of holes, there wasn't enough of Mulder and Scully in it for my liking, and while scary, it didn't have me hiding under the covers. However, Mr. Amann is no demon either. With "Terms of Endearment," he gave us the first frightening episode in a long time, attempting to fill the gap left by the great scare meisters who have since retired from the show such as Glen Morgan and James Wong. Following a long slew of light, character driven episodes, it was nice to get a little injection of horror. One scene that especially stood out in my mind was that of the baby ("Our precious Wayne Jr.") being extracted from the ground and then incinerated in a pit of flames. The small body wrapped in soiled clothes had an eerie similarity to the deformed child seen in "Home," without a doubt the creepiest X-File ever made. And if I learned anything from this show, it would have to be the dangers of warm milk. I vow never to accept warm milk again. Especially green glowing warm milk... :)

Initially, I thought "Terms of Endearment" was pretty dull - an average show with a few good lines and some interesting characters, that's all. Then I began to think about it in more depth, and discovered it had a fairly interesting theme. "Terms of Endearment" was essentially a story about evil, and its innately human nature. As much as we would love to blame all the troubles of the world on flat, purely evil characters, very few of these people exist. Even Wayne, an admitted demon, showed signs of humaneness. Giving evil a human face and making the horrible seem human is still an effective way to intensify the horror induced by a story. This technique has been used in literature for centuries. Shakespeare used it. Now, so have "The X-Files." Wayne portrayed evil, demonic characteristics, but he also showed many human ones as well. He loved his children (albeit, unborn children), sacrificed his own life for that of his wife, heck, he even used fiber to keep regular. You can't get more human than that. :) His struggle was not for evil, but for normality, for a family. It's kind of pathetic, in the true meaning of the word. This theme nicely paralleled one brought up several episodes earlier. Wayne's desperate want for a normal life echoed the same desire in Scully's life, expressed to Mulder in "Dreamland." (And unlike everything else in that episode, it *wasn't* wiped out by the time reversal.) But once a devil, always a devil. Only a demon could be so charming, suave, and innocent-looking while lying through his teeth. Actually, he was a kind of modern day Henry VIII (not that I'm implying anything...) in that he tried to kill wives who couldn't produce the correct child. ("I just wish you could have been the one.") But the fact that Wayne could be a concurrently sympathetic and evil character is what made him so interesting. Pure evil, while frightening, is boring, and luckily, very rare.

"Whatever happens, you know I love you."

Other than its theme, my favourite part of "Terms of Endearment" was Mulder. As insensitive as it may be to ditch one's partner, Mulder's ardent fervor for his work has always captivated me. He is truly passionate, one of the last great romantic heroes. This was no more obvious than when compared with Spender. Their two very paradoxical takes on this case show how different the two characters are. While Spender would not spare two seconds of his time to work on this case (which begs the question, what exactly *does* he do?), Mulder meticulously pieced it together, after first sneaking into his old office and raiding the garbage can (maybe its time for a new lock on the door, eh Spendy?). Mulder puts his all into his work, even when that means going against the devil. Actually, he seemed to revel in the task. How often do you get to taunt the devil and not get burned? The Mulder seen in "Terms of Endearment" was confident, cocky, and quick on the pedal, basking in his masculinity. I found it kind of funny and really quite entertaining. How did Mulder defeat the devil? Why, he's Mulder! :) (No, but really, how do you kill a demon? I thought they were immortal...)

"Mulder, you're busted."

In the course of this case, Mulder ended up sleeping in his car. Initially, I chuckled at this. Then I realized, "My God, Mulder's sleeping!" And for once, that's more than I could say for Scully. Scully, who in earlier years could be found in bed, fast asleep, as early as 11:21pm, now stays up all night for a case. I swear, these two are becoming more like each other every day. They've come to know each other so well, they've almost fallen into a rhythm. Part I, Mulder finds a case. Part II, he rushes off to investigate. Part III, Scully is left to fend for the two of them at the office. Part IV, Mulder beckons for her to join him. Part V, they conclude the case together. Classic X-File. But in the old days, Scully would get very upset shortly after Part III. Now, though she still protests at his ditches ("We? Mulder?"), she seems resigned to it, as if she almost expects them. And what devotion! First she waits forty-five minutes for Mulder to turn up, then goes without him to do the work of two at her less than exciting new job at the Department of Agriculture doing background checks on somewhat questionable FBI hopefuls. Well, at least she didn't break her New Year's resolution and follow Mulder...oops, I guess she did. I guess she had her reasons, though. She still trusts Mulder, she still cares for him and respects his ideas, no matter how wild they may be. Still, she wouldn't believe him until she arrived in Roanoke and had a chance to talk to Mulder in person, expecting that only a tried and true, "Mulder. It's me," will get her the truth. It's too bad we didn't get more of that kind of interaction. All I want in an X-File is an intelligent, scary, thought-provoking episode where Mulder and Scully work together. Is that too much to ask?

As exciting as it was to see a basic monster of the week episode for the first time in a long time, "Terms of Endearment," like its main character, still failed to achieve normality. At best, it was an average, forgettable show, not unlike "Schizogeny," the episode which aired exactly one year before it. Call it the New Year's bug (Y2K perhaps?) but somehow The X-Files always manages to kick off each new year with a fizzle. And while I know David Amann tried his hardest to make this a frightening tale of evil and humanity, his greenness showed, and on many levels the script fell flat. Now I'm just curious to see what Jeffrey Bell can do with this week's installment of "Rain King." For truthfully, after viewing "Terms of Endearment," I was more interested in the previews than the episode I just watched. And unfortunately, that doesn't say much for this episode. Sorry Dave.

The Path of Thorns (Terms)
By: Sarah McLachlan

I knew you wanted to tell me
In your voice there was something wrong
But if you would turn your face away from me
You cannot tell me you're so strong
Just let me ask of you one small thing
As we have shared so many tears
With fervor our dreams we planned a whole life long
Now are scattered on the wind...

CHORUS
In the terms of endearment
In the terms of the life that you love
In the terms of the years that pass you by
In the terms of the reasons why

Through the years I've grown to love you
Though your commitment to most would offend
But I stuck by you holding on with my foolish pride
Waiting for you to give in...
You never really tried or so it seems
I've had more than myself to blame
I've had enough of trying everything
And this time it is the end...

CHORUS

There's no more coming back this way
The path is overgrown and strewn with thorns
They've torn the life-blood from your naked eyes
Cast aside to be forlorn...

CHORUS

Funny, how it seems that all I've tried to do
Seemed to make no difference to you at all...