"Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati"

"And even though my world was unrecognizable and upside down, there was one thing that remained the same. You were my friend and you told me the truth."
Originally Aired 11/14/99

While I felt last week's episode was excellently paced, giving equal time to both parts of the story, this episode was written by two writers and it feels just that; one story smashed around another. The bulk of the episode was written by David Duchovny, which explores more of Mulder's brain activity and is spent in a dream world where he succumbed to temptation by the Cigarette Smoking Man, finally leaving the X-Files behind. This topic was visited in the past, when Mulder was tempted to leave The X-Files behind in order to cure Scully of her cancer, during Season 5's epic "Redux" story arc. Even Mulder's sister Samantha was used as bait by the Cigarette Smoking Man in that story, too. While it may have the feeling of deja vu, or Carter recycling old plots, there's enough new ground to keep it interesting. I love the return of Deep Throat and the revelation that he faked his death to escape the Syndicate. The dream world was filmed convincingly too, because Mulder turns up missing in the real world as he's released from the hospital by his mother, the same time as CSM leads him by the hand in the dream world. Even the scene where all of the security camera footage has been blacked out, save for a single circle that revealed CSM and Mrs. Mulder's conversation, was a nice touch of filmmaking.

While David brought his A-game both on and off-screen, Chris Carter's script packed a few punches as well. For years it seemed that the Syndicate could've easily done away with Mulder, and a character once questioned why they've kept him around, well this time CSM lucked into Mulder's brain activity/cancer/trauma. Had they killed him years earlier, the CSM never would've been able to reach the point where Mulder's become the science experiment he's longed for all these years; Mulder is now another "alien-human hybrid" due to the black oil being activated. I also loved Kritschgau going full "heel" as he threatened Scully in her office, "you destroy this and I'll destroy you." He doesn't live long enough to make good on his threat, as he's killed off in typical X-Files-fashion. Just as Carter did last season with Jeffrey Spender, I felt Kritschgau was killed off prematurely, which is where Carter's half of the episode falters. Not only is Kritschgau killed, but two other characters also exit the series; Agent Diana Fowley and Albert Hosteen. Fowley's exit is much like I figured would happen, as she does go "soft" on Mulder and pays for it at the hands of CSM (though it is off-screen.) Hosteen's death also makes sense as he appears in spirit form to guide Scully, much in the same way he guided Mulder and Scully in "The Blessing Way." Before we know he's a spirit, it is slightly creepy to think he was actually there in Scully's apartment; did he watch her sleep or something? Although I do question his appearance at all since we learn it was actually Fowley who helped Scully, by leaving both a book and a key card. Something I even noticed is that the book which explains the Sixth Extinction was actually on Scully's desk when she's woken by Kritschgau, long before Fowley covertly leaves it for her. OOPS! The brief screen time used for Hosteen might've been better served adding to Krycek's role in this since he's barely seen for more than 30 seconds. These character deaths make sense in the long run (well, minus Kritschgau), but watching it for the first time, it just seems that Carter was trigger happy with his 3-in-1 death spree.

That's something Carter has always failed to do properly, is to make Krycek more than just a plot device, who should probably be referred to as "Deus Ex Krychina." Every episode must end with the slate being wiped clean and all evidence vanishing, making Krycek the ideal foil. But there comes a time when there must be some explanation. What is he doing with this surplus of government files that he's collected? Who is he and why is he always a villain? CSM has had a clearly defined role, and I loved the revelation that he actually is Mulder's father, though it's left open to whether that was within the dream world or before.

Despite the mishandling of Krycek and Kritschgau, Carter did luck into a great escape for the alien spaceship. Ever since Season 4, I've loved the personal character moments more than the alien/monster/creepy crawler tales. That's why "Redux" worked so well, because it was about the bond between Mulder and Scully more than it was about abductions and bounty hunters. While Carter does weave a grand tapestry with the ancient ancestors/alien architect theory, tying that to the alien colonization, he convincingly brings it back to that bond without betraying all I've seen for the last 120 minutes. The Native American lore book reveals that the writings on the spaceship are proof positive of ancient alien visitors known as "Anasazi", tying that back into Season Two's finale, which first introduced Albert Hosteen and the Syndicate's experiments.

The episode's closing moments with Scully and Mulder at his apartment is another fine moment between these characters. I did anticipate the "constant" line coming from Mulder seconds before he told Scully she was there for him in both his dream and the real world, which means that one of the biggest moments in the TV series LOST may have been borrowed from The X-Files. We really have no idea just what cured Mulder of this brain activity that was either killing him or making him more human than human, and how it all affected the Smoking Man's noggin too, but using that heart to heart moment isn't something I see as a "cop out." I thought it was well-executed when Scully was simultaneously snapping him out of his dream and also coming to his aid at the Syndicate hospital/lab.

While I do think this episode may have worked better had it been split into two separate episodes, turning it into a 4-part arc, "The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati" was more satisfying than it was a let-down. Perhaps I'm also viewing it too much in hind-sight, as this was still produced in the era before the great serial "boom", where every TV series is now given a two-hour season premiere and finale. Chris Carter, and even David Duchovny, had to make do with the 44 minutes that The X-Files was allotted this week.