"Christmas Carol"

"There is no right or wrong; life is just a path. You follow your heart and it'll take you where you're supposed to go."
Originally Aired 12/7/97



I figured a post-cancer Scully Christmas get-together with Dana, Bill, and their mother would obviously lead to a discussion where her family blames all of their grief, sadness, and loss on Dana's career choice of the FBI. Ever since she joined the FBI, The X-Files specifically, they've lost a father (indirectly), a daughter, suffered through Scully's abduction, and now her bout with cancer. This episode of The X-Files did not do that; instead they gave us "their" version of the obvious- mysterious men in cars, needle punctures, and mysterious children all wrapped around an unsolved murder. "It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma."

Scully is my favorite character on the series so its a nice change that she gets an episode all to herself, especially one that reminds us that even though the story arcs about her abduction and cancer may be over, she's still dealing with the fall-out. I'm not totally into this story, but I do recognize and appreciate the effort. I actually wish it would have been more of the supernatural tale that appeared to be at the start with ghostly phone calls, then Scully would be visited by "Ghosts of Christmas Past" (and Future) that cause her to reflect on why she chose the FBI and what would have happened if she didn't. I assume Scully's life would be a lot more mundane without The X-Files, probably even bordering on depressing. Mulder would probably have been a victim of the conspiracy without her. This is what I meant when I said The X-Files didn't go for the obvious and present their version of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Scully doesn't believe it's a suicide, so she uses her FBI contacts to order blood tests, an autopsy, and other sciency things, which made me believe that working with Mulder has rubbed off on her more than she may realize. I like how everything she thinks is a possible lead, like the needle punctures, has a rational explanation to it. The episode appears over, then (cue the ominous music)...the mysterious, suited men in the car appear again! All will be revealed next week; same X-Files time, same X-Files channel.

Honestly, while I do enjoy more of the spotlight on Dana Scully, this episode is just okay. Its a necessary episode to follow up on Scully's past stories and possibly resolve any loose ends, but I still think the "It's A Wonderful Life" episode would be a much more memorable one. I guess I'll have to settle for the flashbacks to younger Danas that are relevant to future Dana, such as the scene where Melissa tells her life is a path and her interactions are what's most important.