Unsurprisingly for an episode that is far more introspective than any other episode of The X-Files, all things appears to have divided the Internet community in their views. After seven years, we all know that there is no such thing as a typical episode of The X-Files, yet all things still managed to appear less typical than most episodes, it could even be suggested that the episode was less 'typical' than gimmick episodes such as Triangle and X-Cops (both of which I loved). While both the previously mentioned episodes relied on novel methods of presentation, they still remained event focused (even if the events in Triangle were a dream), to some degree this is true of all episodes of the show. For although the series relies heavily on the characters, every episodes centres on an investigation. This is not true of all things, for although events occur which are crucial to the episode we are left with the feeling that the events (for instance the mixing of files and the mysterious woman wearing the baseball cap) are the results of Scully's psyche - or as Scully herself phrased it "...signs along the way to pay attention to."
The fundamental theme of the episode is revealed in the opening monologue "the reasons why all things happen...the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life". On a side note, the monologue itself is the first one that I have enjoyed since Biogenesis, the 'matter and gas' monologue from The Sixth Extinction only served to annoy me, much as did Mulder's voiceover at the beginning of Closure and while I was grateful for Mulder's ending monologue in First Person Shooter, that was not due to the content of the monologue itself but because it reassured me that Mulder was acting out of character throughout the episode due to an excess of testosterone and was now his normal, purple prose spouting, self.

One of the most common criticisms that I have read of this episode is that Scully acted 'out of character'. If this episode was aired during the first season then it would have been a justified complaint, but Scully's character has changed so much that this argument is no longer valid. Take for instance Scully praying in a Buddhist temple. Throughout the last seven years we have seen Scully becoming more receptive to 'extreme possibilities' culminating in her belief in extraterrestrial entities in the Biogenesis trilogy and her acceptance of the dead rising in Millennium. In addition to this, earlier this season we have seen Scully continuing to battle with her faith (most notably in Amor Fati, Orison and Millennium). Scully is becoming more receptive to the idea of God not as a Christian entity, but rather as a personification of a powerful force in the universe (see for instance her praying with Albert Hosteen), therefore it really is no surprise that she was able to pray in a Buddhist temple while wearing her crucifix.
The same is true of her relationship with Daniel Waterston, while the revelation that Scully had a relationship with her married teacher is a shocking one, it is not one that is contradictory to what we know of her character. It reminds us of her relationship with her FBI instructor Jack Willis in Lazarus, her assertion that she is drawn to 'father figures' in Never Again and the Cigarette Smoking Man's comment that Scully is "...drawn to powerful men but...fear their power" in En Ami. The very fact that Scully ostensibly left to prevent the breakdown of her lover's family life (and there is little doubt that she loved him and that this was a great sacrifice to her) speaks volumes about the integrity and strength of the character.

The underlying themes of the episode - the examination of the plethora of choices that we make throughout our lives and the question of whether we make the right choices were handled extremely well. Certainly all of the signs in this episode point to Scully making the right decisions, a fact echoed by Mulder's comment "...all the choices would then lead to this very moment. One wrong turn, and we wouldn't be sitting here together. Well, that says a lot. That says a lot, a lot, a lot."
In my opinion at least, this episode has given far more closure to Scully than Closure gave to Mulder. Throughout the series, we have seen Scully questioning her life and the choices that she has made. all things showed Scully that she had made the right decisions and that her rightful place is with Mulder working on the X-Files and while previously Scully herself has stated that (most notably her conversation with Mulder at the end of the movie), we have always got the impression that she is searching for something more. Now at last she is able to recognise and truly appreciate what she actually has, although the beginning of the episode throws some doubt on this assertion.

Unfortunately, while the episode succeeded on many levels, the direction was not one of them. The use of slow motion to highlight Scully's need to slow down and Colleen's reference to "...moments when everything gets incredibly clear, when time seems to expand" was interesting and if used with restraint, the technique could have added to the story, much as the use of slow motion did in Orison. Regrettably the technique was vastly overused and served to irritate me rather than highlight Scully's ability to open herself up to something that her science could not explain. This taken in conjunction with the surreal sequence where Scully walks down the street complete with music that I am sure is used to advertise a cellphone here in the UK (I think its the Orange: O-2-One package but I'm not sure) served to detract from the episode as a whole and at times I was left with the impression that I was watching a commercial rather than an episode of The X-Files. Perhaps, to some degree, this was the intention - to give us an episode which was not only a world apart from the 'standard' X-File not only in plot but also in feeling. However, in my opinion, this approach did not work at all and disorientated me.

One of the things that I have to take issue with, is not the lesbian relationship in the episode, but rather other fans reactions to it. I got the impression that many fans had a 'knee jerk' reaction to that scene. If the kiss had been completely gratuitous then I could understand the objections to it, but in my opinion Colleen's discussion of her lesbian relationship, "I was in a relationship with Carol, who you met but I was so afraid of what the world and my family and my fellow scientists would think that I told no one" serves as a mirror for Scully's decision to join the FBI (against her father's and her lover's wishes) and her work on The X-Files which earned her the contempt of her peers and the nickname 'Mrs Spooky' (Squeeze). The parallels between Colleen and Scully do not end there, both are trained scientists who have come to accept that science does not hold all of the answers to the universe (consider Scully's statement in Herrenvolk "Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only in contradiction to what we know", to see how Scully has been able to use science to try and analyse the paranormal). An even more striking connection between the two women is that they have both suffered from cancer, which forced them to re-evaluate their lives, and which mysteriously went into remission. Scully is able to use her science and medical training to save Daniel, yet it is Colleen's belief in faith healing that encourages Scully to use the same method to attempt to wake him from a coma. This puts us in mind of the ambiguous nature of Scully's cure in Redux II - was it a miracle or the result of the chip implanted in her neck? Similarly we are left to ponder whether Daniel recovered due to the faith healer. Scully's angry assertion to Daniel "...that "crap" may have just saved your life whether you're open to it or not." shows us just how far Scully has progressed from the woman in the pilot episode who believed that science held all of the answers, confidently remarking "the answers are there, you just have to know where to look."

Despite the fascinating nature of the episode as a whole, it is the teaser and closing scenes which understandably seemed to generate the most interest from X Philes. When the series first started I was a staunch 'Noromo', convinced that a relationship between Mulder and Scully would destroy the show. However the sensitive manner in which the writers handled the relationship between Mulder and Scully (especially from the movie onwards) convinced me to change my status. Now I am a 'fencer', not wholly supportive of a relationship between Mulder and Scully but not adverse to one either as long as the subject was handled correctly. The view of many fans during the early days of The X-Files was that if a relationship was allowed to occur the series would suffer as Mulder and Scully would spend more time gazing into each others eyes rather than solving cases. With hindsight we can see that this judgement was patently wrong. Mulder and Scully's focus will always be the cases that they are confronted with. Their current relationship is one based on mutual respect, trust and also a respect for the work and each others methods of solving X-Files. Mulder may not agree with Scully and Scully may not agree with Mulder but their different methods complement each other. In EBE, Scully remarked that she respected Mulder's passion regarding the X-Files and in the movie Mulder told Scully that her science had kept him honest and made him a whole person. In an increasing hostile world, Mulder and Scully can ultimately only trust one another, their mutual respect and trust in each other could easily blossom into a relationship at this stage but it will never supersede the reason for the relationship itself - seven years working together on the X-Files. Mulder and Scully will never settle down together, this episode made it clear that Scully is unsuited to that type of life, and episodes such as the Dreamland two-parter and Theef make it clear that Mulder too is unsuited to a normal family life. Even if Mulder and Scully did embark upon a relationship, I have no doubt that Mulder would keep abandoning Scully at the first signs of a X-File and similarly they are not going to start referring to each other as 'Fox' and 'Dana' and suddenly losing all of their inhibitions around the other. A relationship would be more about respect and companionship than love. Of course that is not to say that Mulder and Scully do not love one another, or even that they are not in love with one another, merely that (if they are in love with one another) their love is borne of their mutual respect. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the closing scenes of all things. For once Scully opens up to Mulder, she tells him about her past and her relationship with a married man as well as confessing her anxiety at the thought that she may have chosen the wrong path. Mulder reassures Scully, telling her that all of their choices have led to this moment with the two of them being together and Scully falls asleep against his shoulder. Mulder tenderly brushes a strand of hair away from his partner's face and wraps his blanket around her. In my opinion at least, it is plausible that Mulder and Scully later slept together, something that was hinted at in the teaser sequence. If they did indeed sleep together, I think this episode handled the matter in the best way possible. We were shown the love (be in platonic or romantic) that exists between Mulder and Scully and their utmost trust in each other and I think at this stage it is clear that both Mulder and Scully believe that their future is together (although again in what context 'together' should be taken is open for debate). I for one do not see anything implausible about the idea that they did sleep together, in the same way as I did not see anything implausible about the movie 'near kiss'. In both cases the lead up to the events made the suggestion that the characters were going to progress to a new level of intimacy believable. One thing that I particularly liked was Scully's reaction he next morning - if indeed Mulder and Scully did spend the night together, then by leaving without a word, Scully herself is admitting that she may have made a mistake. This infuses the scene with realism and shows us that even if Scully and Mulder did make love the event could have serious repercussions for their relationship and could cause more harm than good.

Despite my lengthy commentary on the possibility of Mulder and Scully sleeping together and any implications that t might have, this does not mean that I necessarily believe that they did sleep together - just that I believe that they could have, frankly I can take the scenes either way. Perhaps this is one of the advantages of being a 'fencer' - as long as the situation is handled well I have no objections to Mulder and Scully entering into a romantic relationship but will not feel any disappointment if they decided not to.

Interestingly the first and last scenes represent the episode as a whole, Scully find herself moving closer to Mulder and is finally able to open up to him about her past and her life changing experiences. She believed that she could have spent her life with Waterston and now perhaps she believes that she could spend her life with Mulder (in a romantic context) but who is to say that this will not be a mistake too? At the very least I can see Scully having extreme difficulty in adjusting to being in a relationship with Mulder (much more difficulty than Mulder would have who, in my opinion at least, has obviously been in love with Scully since at least season four) as her discomfort at the beginning of the episode shows.

In conclusion, this episode while not being a 'typical' X-File ,all things is an episode that manages to deal with some extremely complicated issues that all of us have had to confront at one time or another. While the episode falls short of the mark on a number of counts (most notably some of the direction), overall the episode is ambitious, insightful and of excellent quality - a worthy addition to an excellent season.