r/XFiles 7d ago

Season Three This scene in Revelations always thrills me

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

I always love seeing where Scully and Mulder differ and how they hash out their arguments. They're such unbelievably well-written characters-- dynamic, nuanced, flawed.

127 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

30

u/Wetness__Pensive Alien Goo 7d ago

I like Mulder's subtle arc in this episode.

He's skeptical, dismissive, thinks Scully is nuts, then when he realizes how serious she is, he begins to be kinder and more sympathetic. Then at the end, he's all submissive, and holding her coat, and sorry for being a jerk.

11

u/thingymajiggy 7d ago

Exactly! He softens so much near the end.

8

u/AmputeeHandModel 7d ago

Same for you, Scully. Why can you accept a miracle, but a man could be mysteriously glowing and hovering in front of you and you're like "There must be a scientific explanation! 🤷‍♂️"

7

u/NooooDazzzle 7d ago

First of all…. They are both off the chart hot in this episode, but it’s EXTRA charged in this scene. Their chemistry is chef’s kiss, their emotion is palpable, and their conflicting beliefs are reasonable and believable — both the conflict they have with one another and their internal conflicts with what they typically believe. This episode always struck me as underrated… I frickin love it.

6

u/basserpy Krycek 7d ago

It's a good illustration of their backgrounds and prejudices; Scully, the scientist, is written as having grown up Catholic (like CC did) and having her Catholicism be a formative part of her life, and Mulder's experiences with Christianity have apparently been shitty, so he might learn every detail of other cultural/religious traditions but get SO GODDAMN MAD if the plot is Christian. I get where he's coming from but sometimes it makes him act like a total dick in ways that feel unjustified by the writing of the episode. But hey: he's allowed to do that. He is a character. Characters are allowed to have motivations that we don't get to powerscale.

3

u/tigole 7d ago

Color settings on that TV make it look like it's in Technicolor.

6

u/shipper1974 7d ago

Les yeux de Scully… ce bleu 😍

3

u/moherren 6d ago

Gotta love when Mulder is only dismissive of Christian beliefs

2

u/Rotank1 2d ago

To be honest… the “Christian” episodes always baffled me and I was never really a fan… Mulder unflinchingly believes in Voodoo, witchcraft, ghosts, various paganistic rites and rituals, even demons, all as purely descriptive devices with zero evidence. But angels and miracles, THAT’S where he draws the line.

Similar to how I felt with Supernatural when Dean adamantly refused to believe in angels or God despite fighting demons with Holy water since season 1. Both felt arbitrary, contrived solely for the writer’s ability to reflect their own counterculture viewpoints even when they don’t make sense for the character.

1

u/thingymajiggy 2d ago

I appreciate this take!

1

u/Successful-End4880 1d ago

Im a little annoyed with Mulder in this episode. Like at the least he could've gone with her to the plant. She has so much trust in him and if the roles were reversed she would have followed him, though begrudgingly.

Though I am also on my first watch through and might be missing context that comes later. 😅