Spoilers

“Memento Mori”

I think I have said this before, but there has never been a villain/antagonist that I wanted to see get a bullet in the head more than the Cigarette Smoking Man.

That is intended as a huge compliment for actor William B. Davis, who plays CSM with such a smug, arrogant demeanor, manipulating the characters of The X-Files into the exact place that he wanted them. He maximized every second of screen time creating such a hateable character that called upon the worst possible instincts. His performance has always been exceptional, but his inclusion in this Scully cancer story makes him even more contestable.

Gillian Anderson won an Emmy for her work as Dana Scully for season four, and this was the main episode submitted to the panel. I can understand why because there was so much here for the actor to sink her teeth into, tearing down the character of Dana Scully before coming out the other side with the strength needed to move forward. The emotional scene between Scully and Mulder after Penny died was powerful and totally compelling.

The wild drama with the discovery of Scully harvested ova was exciting, keeping a balance between the emotional cancer story and the mythological X-Files aspect. The use of the Lone Gunmen in this episode was great, bringing the boys out of their usual locale and into the field.

This was another example of Skinner “taking the bullet” for Mulder and Scully, as he approached CSM for answers about Scully’s cancer, instead of allowing Mulder to do the same. Skinner truly was Mulder’s patron, as CSM referred to him during the episode.

This made Mulder’s reactions last episode standout all the more, as this feels like the relationship that has been built after nearly four seasons and last episode’s was an exception.