"Without"

"This reads like a piece of pot-boiled science fiction."
Originally Aired 11/12/00

Before this episode resumed the cliffhanger from last week which was literally on top of a cliff, we're treated to another Chris Carter-penned narration with fancy prose like "flights of fancy." At least this one was quick. We then resume the stand-off between Agent Dick Doggett and what appeared to be Mulder, who took Gibson Praise with him. Mulder released Gibson and then toppled over the edge of the cliff, recreating the scene from the recently re-edited X-Files opening credits.

After watching "Within" a second time, I realized the integral moment of this episode is a scene involving a phone call between Kersh and Doggett. Kersh phoned Doggett for a progress report, which Skinner overheard and told Doggett he's just being used as Kersh's pawn. That's basically what I assumed last week, that Doggett was being used and it would be Carter's way of building sympathy for the character. I really liked Doggett's dialog in this scene too, with lines like, "Alright, you've painted me the picture, now put it in a frame." This is what separates Agent Doggett from Agent Spender back when he first arrived on the scene. Doggett is not a believer but he's determined enough to get answers, while Spender's disbelief led him to just blindly dismiss everything. In fact, this conversation with Doggett and Skinner is actually a complete reversal on Scully's hallway scene with Skinner in last week's episode. That time it was Scully telling Skinner that the truth could ruin his career, and now Doggett realizes it's his career which is really in jeopardy.

While last week's episode was mostly exposition to reintroduce Kersh and bring Robert Partrick's Agent Doggett into the fold, "Without" is a little more action packed. The real purpose, however, is to reposition the characters of Doggett and Skinner. Doggett is being moved onto the X-Files division, whether he likes it or not, and Skinner is finally becoming a believer. Although he became a conspiracy victim in Season 6's "S.R. 819" and played the role of the Cancer Man's stooge in "Zero Sum" further back in Season 4, now he finally comes face to face with an alien- the Alien Bounty Hunter. In the past Skinner always walked the line, he was Mulder's boss but would occasionally step out from behind the desk. Now he's all the way out in the desert, tracking down Mulder and assisting Scully as a full-fledged member of "Team Mulder." I guess that's why Kersh was brought back since Skinner is no longer a neutral character. Doggett slides into the role previously filled by Scully in the previous seven years of The X-Files. Rather than using science to find answers, Doggett will use his police academy intuition, one can assume.

That leaves Gibson Praise to be used as another MacGuffin. He's really a non-factor in this episode and was mostly an excuse to get everyone out in the desert and chase shapeshifters. In fact, even his superhuman mind-reading skills were wasted, since you'd think he could have read the Bounty Hunter's mind and warned them, "hey you guys! This ain't Mulder!" That's alright though, because it wasn't the first time this show wasted Gibson and it won't be the last either. The most notable moment in the episode might be that this is the first time the Bounty Hunter has been killed. We know the weapon to dispose of them is the ice pick to the neck, yet Scully must be a crack shot since a single bullet must've hit that sweet spot on the Bounty Hunter's neck. Last season Cancer Man used his neck to smoke a cigarette, and now the Bounty Hunter's neck hole is oozing green goo. Man, I love these creepy visuals on The X-Files.

While this whole season is no longer offering new episodes for me to discover, I'm able to see them all in a new light and I'm still enjoying it. I guess that's what counts.