1. A high powered hose spraying water – this is not a good sign
  2. “In west Philadelphia born and raised…”
  3. The HUD would seriously use high-powered hoses on homeless people just to get them to leave a certain area and go to a different area? Not sure if I believe that or not. Trump isn’t president…
  4. Hey look it’s Sinclair from “The 100”! Yeah for Vancouver actors being in every single show they film in Vancouver!
  5. And then asshat in the tie just chills there eating his ice-cream or soup or whatever the heck that is without a care in the world…
  6. Asshat-Tie and Sinclair can seriously be killed now…
  7. TIMELINE: Sign on the post for ‘cleaning’ is set for Tuesday February 9, 2016 – so obviously the action in these episodes is set when they air which means there are some timeline/continuity discrepancies from “My Struggle” – specifically how long Scully worked at Our Lady of Sorrows
  8. Uh oh…the earth is trembling…and everyone is looking really freaked out…something bad is coming!
  9. Please let it be there to off Sinclair and Asshat-tie … PRETTY PLEASE!
  10. It’s a garbage truck…
  11. They’re hiding from … a garbage truck
  12. There’s a creepy dude behind the garbage truck – I’m guessing THAT’S who they’re all hiding from
  13. He does seem pretty creepy
  14. Sinclair is obviously a germaphobe
  15. And now he’s having a coughing fit or something
  16. I wonder though if this is supposed to be some kind of commentary on the fact that he’s been interacting with the homeless around him all day and he sees them as unclean and so he douses his hands in Purell to try and cleanse himself…not sure but it certainly feels that way and I really want him to die now if that’s the case
  17. UH OH creepy dude from outside is inside now…he’s coming to get you Sinclair! You best run!
  18. Shoot the creeper for crying out loud, Sinclair! What’s the point in having a gun if you don’t fracking USE IT?
  19. WHAT??????
  20. Garbage truck dude just RIPPED Sinclair’s arms off
  21. RIPPED them off his body with ONE JERK
  22. And here I thought James Wong was the writer with the nasty images – Glen Morgan has stepped up his game too
  23. Then creepy dude just climbs into the garbage truck like he’s hoping into bed … gross
  24. I miss Mitch. Where has the SkinMan gone? Not that I don’t LOVE me some Mulder and Scully but come on guys! Vive la Skinner!
  25. Well hello one of the most beautiful shots ever to grace my TV screen:Shot 1
  26. “They said you two have experience with these…spooky cases…” -> Oh buddy you have NO idea!
  27. Mulder it wouldn’t be the majority of the U.S. these days without a certain degree of confrontation
  28. And Scully busts out the rulebook to put this detective in his place…that’s my girl
  29. PLOT: Sinclair was ripped apart by a person who (we know) travels around and likely lives in the garbage truck. This person also left behind a footprint but that print doesn’t have any ridges, which as Mulder points out, is impossible! Sinclair is in pieces in the office – his body was left behind the desk, arms are missing, and his head was placed in the trashcan.
  30. “Not even in the proper recycling bin” -> how I love and have missed classic Mulder one-liners
  31. PLOT: Detective deduces Sinclair’s missing arms were chopped off by a sword or a machete. An idea Scully, in all her medical brilliance, is having none of – the arms (as well as the head) were shredded NOT severed.
  32. Downtown Vancouver really reminds me a lot of downtown Portland these days (or maybe it’s Portland trying to be more like Vancouver, but whatever) – especially with the rad street art:
  33. However, the street art in Portland has never, to my knowledge, looked like something that would go around murdering sleaze bag government employees.
  34. Uh oh Scully’s seeing William’s name popping up on her phone…
  35. There’s a part of me that wishes this had been our second episode of this revival, but at the same time (as Heidi pointed out in her post), I like that we already have the idea of Scully’s desire for her son in our minds from “Founder’s Mutation”. Especially for newer viewers or casual viewers who likely don’t have the knowledge of the William storyline like the obsessives do…
  36. Mulder’s history lesson on Drawing and Quartering someone is awesome. Making sure we all know it would take a lot of horse power to pull a person a part like Sinclair was
  37. Ugh … why did it have to be Bill Jr?
  38. I’m not one that outright hates Bill Jr but I certainly don’t like his undisguised hatred and distrust of Mulder and in the process his distrust of Scully and her abilities to make her own decisions as a grown ass woman
  39. I love that she rolls her eyes when her phone goes off a second time…she doesn’t want to talk to him and it kind of fills my heart with joy that Bill Jr annoys her as much as he annoys us all
  40. I’m guessing she’s told her big brother that she’s back at the FBI because she just casually mentions she’s at a crime scene. The big question is: does Bill know she’s back on The X-Files AND back working with Mulder?
  41. I’m gonna go with NO because I can see Bill Jr flying to DC from Germany immediately to try and kick the crap out of Mulder
  42. And probably failing miserably
  43. Mostly because Scully would intervene and kick Bill’s ass
  44. The moment her face shifts from a casual conversation with her brother to the dawning realization something bad has happened is so heartbreaking. Gillian Anderson does such amazing things with her face. It is such a subtle difference but wow:
  45. Scully’s about to cry and about to cry and damn you Glen Morgan!
  46. Mulder feels the disturbance in the force and knows something’s not right here
  47. What is it with killing off the Scully parents with heart attacks???? Her father died from one, why take her mom out the same way?
  48. Though I guess it’s better than being killed by people involved in a covert government conspiracy and Maggie is definitely at the right age for health issues such as a heart attack – but WHY????
  49. Mulder in all his wonderfulness doesn’t even hesitate to tell her to leave that crime scene and go to her mother
  50. Then he looks like he just wants to touch her and comfort her and I’m having a serious “Beyond the Sea” flashback here where he goes to touch her face:
  51. I think I’m going to be a serious mess by the time this episode is over and it’s only 6.5 mins in
  52. His face as he watches her leave the office…UGH
  53. And then she grabs onto the door jamb as she walks out like she’s just trying to stay upright and now I’m thinking Mulder shouldn’t let her drive herself anywhere
  54. Little bit of PLOT thrown into your dose of heartache: Mulder notices there is a camera above Sinclair’s door, but it’s turned up toward the ceiling
  55. There’s been some division about the use of the camera attached to Gillian’s body as she goes down the stairs in this scene but I actually like it – it’s so claustrophobic and jarring which I’d bet is exactly what Scully must be feeling at this moment so it works for me on a storytelling level
  56. I gasped and actually had to take a breath when the visual hit
  57. I think this works for me because it’s so rare to see Scully lose control and just FEEL. Plus it’s not the weepy, I’m going to be on the verge of tears every episode” Scully we got in seasons 8/9 – this is someone who is normally SO composed and so in control losing it. She’s already basically ‘lost’ Mulder in the intervening years since they left the FBI, she doesn’t seem on great terms with Bill Jr if she’s rolling her eyes when he calls, and now she’s losing her mother…
  58. It makes my heart ache for her
  59. In fact if they had had this kind of technology in 1995, I’d bet they would have used the same technique when she initially ran down the stairs out of the Gunman’s office when Frohike told her Melissa had been shot
  60. Anyways, back to the PLOT: Mulder and Detective (I don’t even care to learn his name right now), pull up all the surveillance cameras from the HUD office that show all the lights going out in the hallways and offices, then each of the cameras being knocked off one after another. The last shot in Sinclair’s office is of him on the phone, raising the gun toward an intruder. Mulder deduces that since Sinclair’s eye line is trained about the door, the person they are looking for is about “Tim Duncan height” [I googled: he’s 6 feet 11 inches…DAMN! And he’s a Spur so I automatically don’t like him].
  61. “We can eliminate any 76ers, cause those guys can’t find the rim” -> It’s good to know Mulder’s basketball love is still intact and someone cares about character continuity – GO GLEN MORGAN!
  62. Also, my father is a BBall fan and he cracked up at that line
  63. PLOT: When the camera in the office was knocked off it got a perfect shot out the window. Mulder notices the street art from before was not on the wall at the time of Sinclair’s unfortunate demise. Therefore the street art was placed there AFTER the murder
  64. I don’t like the way Mulder tells the detective he’s going to go check out if the art is signed – it’s WAY too “here’s what I’m doing and why” and almost robotic instead of being natural
  65. What the hell did he just step in????
  66. Ewwwwwwwww Mulder don’t touch it!!!!!!!
  67. And then SAVE IT??? Ugh what the hell, man?
  68. I mean, I understand ‘likely evidence’ and all but my gag reflex is gonna kick in here any moment
  69. Well at least they didn’t take Maggie Scully to Our Lady of Sorrows
  70. The fact that the ICU is basically completely dark except for the brighter light above Maggie’s bed is so beautiful and tragic – shout out to the lighting department
  71. I want to take a screen capture of every single facial expression of GA’s from this episode. Her face is amazingly expressive and the pain and sadness conveyed when she gets that first glimpse of Maggie all hooked up to the machines radiates off the screen
  72. Why did you say your last name so weird there, Scully?
  73. It’s not like you have to expound your statement – by saying you’re her daughter Dana it’s likely assumed you’re a Scully
  74. CHARLIE????????? Holy crap someone on this show remembered that Scully has a little brother! HOLY FRACKING HELL!!!!!!!
  75. Kudos Glen Morgan…Kudos to you sir!
  76. “They’re estranged” -> WHHHHHYYYY? Man now there’s so many questions as to WHY he and Maggie would be estranged
  77. I mean, in all of our dealings with Maggie she’s seemed like a pretty kickass mom – so why in the world would she be estranged from her youngest?
  78. I NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS!
  79. “…or her grandchildren?” -> now I’m wondering if Scully’s thinking about William which she likely is. Though I am also curious if Bill and Tara ever had any other kids aside from Matthew and ALSO I would assume Charlie has kids as well
  80. I SERIOUSLY WANT ANSWERS!
  81. I’m not kidding this woman’s face is killing me
  82. Her expression as she’s talking to Maggie and stroking her face is just beautiful
  83. Then Scully starts talking about her own near-death experience and I’m crying cause I was prepared for Maggie to bite it in the revival but not for the trip down heartache memory lane…
  84. “I know that Ahab is there, and Melissa” -> KILL ME NOW
  85. “Bill Jr’s here” -> No one cares … he can go away
  86. “And William … William’s here” -> DEAD
  87. Mulder I don’t know if you should go wandering around on roofs…you’re not exactly the most coordinated and you don’t have the best track record when it comes to being knocked off of/falling off things…maybe you should take someone with you? Or just let someone else go look and take pictures for you or something?
  88. Hey it’s Asshat Tie from the teaser … I knew then I wouldn’t like you and it looks like I’m completely justified. You’re an Asshat, dude.
  89. The conversation between these two dregs of society actually starts off like it could be them fighting for the homeless’ rights and being upset by what’s been done to them…but that SO quickly devolves
  90. Being from a city that has a very high homeless population I want to smack these two in the face and HARD!
  91. “Who are these two fine representatives of the city of brotherly love” -> that was said with just enough sass that I want to hug Mulder
  92. It was like a southerner saying “bless your heart”
  93. Nice, not so subtle, way of showing us all that Mulder is not a fan of marriage…makes sense for those of us who have watched and debated over each and every episode but it’s an easy way of showing his mindset to newer/casual viewers
  94. Effing gentrification…
  95. Now I’m all about wanting to have a safe and secure place where people who have lost their jobs and homes can go – I am a supporter of shelters and I love this idea of using an old abandoned hospital that NO ONE else is using and allowing the homeless population to have a roof over their heads. Of course, that only works when you’re doing it for the right reasons and not just because having all these homeless people around is killing your profit margins and ability to build more high-rise apartments with astronomical rent that no real person can afford
  96. I’m really bitter because this is starting to happen here in Portland (not to the level of spraying homeless people with high powered water hoses and putting them up in dilapidated old buildings that could be infested with God knows what…but still), it’s completely ridiculous
  97. “Oh! But…?” -> HAHAHA that’s right, Mulder. Call out her self-righteous, egotistical bullshit!
  98. So the hospital is near a high school…big fracking deal
  99. My father used to teach at a university that was right across the street from a state prison
  100. I REALLY want these two to be killed now … PLEASE tell me they’re next on the hit list
  101. “What I don’t hear is who speaks for them…” -> and that right there is such a commentary on our times that I cannot even get into it here because I will rant and gripe for WAY too long and I don’t want this post to get too out of control
  102. “The Band-Aid Nose Man” -> ok…Glen Morgan…I’ve been really impressed with you so far…but…THAT’S what you’re going with here? “the Band-Aid nose man”?
  103. Mulder agrees with me
  104. Mulder be careful about wandering around after a creature with the homeless the last time you did that you got your ass handed to you by that Beast Woman in New Jersey
  105. Now the street art is gone!!!! DUN DUN DUN!!!!!
  106. No, but really, how did someone in that little amount of time from when Mulder left that office and had that mind-numbing conversation with these people, get up on that roof and remove the panels where that art was? Seems hinky to me
  107. Scully sitting at her mother’s bedside fiddling with the cross around her neck
  108. OK I was in NO WAY ready for the “One Breath” flashback!!!!! DAMN YOU GLEN MORGAN! As if my heart wasn’t breaking enough as it was…
  109. The hell? Why would you frame a quarter and put it on a chain to wear around your neck?
  110. What’s with the quarter, Glen Morgan?
  111. You’d better tell us!
  112. Who wants to bet we will NEVER know the significance of this damn quarter?
  113. And its Bill fracking Jr again and now I’m rolling my eyes
  114. The juxtaposition in this scene as Scully is talking with Bill as they hospital employees are removing the other body from the bed across the way is interesting and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Is it like she’s looking into the future and it’s disturbing – because those people are bit rough with that body – or is it something else? I can’t quite put my finger on it…
  115. It is also intriguing to me that Maggie would want to be saved by any means necessary…even after what happened with Scully in her coma. I wouldn’t be surprised if Maggie had actually meant to add a caveat to her will that stated she was to be saved if she was in the hospital because of some nefarious government testing…
  116. Though it also makes sense after what Scully AND Mulder have been through to make sure that she gives anything and everything a try because lord knows what may have caused her to be in the ICU in the first place…not like she knew it would be a heart attack
  117. That last sigh Scully gives while just holding the phone to her ear…Bill’s probably being a jackass and she just can’t even speak anymore
  118. Whoa it’s another actor from The 100 playing this Tech guy! And he’s a doctor (named Jackson) in The 100 too…I feel like these people are really being type cast
  119. I really like him in both roles though so I’m fine with that
  120. PLOT: Jackson tells Mulder that the Band-Aid he brought in is completely clean. Mulder wants to know if there are no pathogenic agents to which Jackson replies that there is NOTHING on the Band-Aid. Though some material ‘appears’ to be there it is neither organic or in-organic, not alive and not dead, meaning it doesn’t exist
  121. Methinks Mulder is enjoying this case now
  122. Doctor Scully not-so-subtly wondering why the nurse is giving her mom the wrong saline solution. Stop being a doctor and be a daughter for a moment Scully
  123. Though it does seem weird that the nurse/doctors wouldn’t have informed Scully of the change to Maggie’s will BEFORE they changed whatever course of treatment she was being given. It would be one thing if Scully wasn’t there right at Maggie’s bedside but she has been…why would they not have told her about the change in Maggie’s advance directive beforehand?
  124. Also – Maggie changed her advanced directive without telling Scully???????
  125. WHY MAGGIE WHY??????
  126. Seriously though, these art thieves don’t look like body-builders or anything and that slab the art is on that they stole doesn’t look like it’s light! So how in the world did they get this thing down from a building so quickly? By themselves?
  127. “Whoever knew you could make so much money off the homeless” -> oh yeah yuck it up chuckles
  128. You’re friend just left you alone and that thing’s been killing off people who were doing wrong by the homeless…I wouldn’t turn my back on it if I were you
  129. UH OH and now the art is gone!!!!
  130. See ya
  131. Wouldn’t wanna be ya
  132. Don’t go wandering around looking for it you moron … RUN! RUN FAST!
  133. Yeah he’s not responding to you…he’s dead
  134. I’m not a physics person or anything – but wouldn’t that slab have fallen over when that gargantuan of a man pushed it aside that quickly?
  135. Yeah running never works at this point…you should have run a while ago. Now you’re gonna be dead, dead, dead
  136. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
  137. Was that his spine? Shot 8
  138. Yup…that’s his spine…NASTY
  139. BANM just painted a Jackson Polluck with the art thieves…I’d call that justice
  140. Then he drags them to the garbage truck leaving a nice, long, juicy blood trail
  141. The slab is signed “TrashMan”
  142. This whole scene of Scully with the Doctor is such a throwback to “One Breath” – only it’s so much more heartbreaking because at least then it was Mulder and Maggie with Scully’s Doctor telling them they would need to extubate Scully because it was her advanced directive. Now here Scully is, 22 years later and she’s sitting there all alone with the Doctor telling her Scully’s mother wants to die…
  143. Then her phone rings and she hesitates and I do too because ugh if it’s Bill Jr again I swear I’m gonna smack someone
  144. The screen said William again…
  145. But this time it’s Mulder calling and OH SWEET JESUS that’s even better and also worse because of course William is so much more connected to Mulder than to her brother
  146. That’s right answer the phone Scully – you need your man
  147. All he has to say is “I’m here” and Scully looks like she’s going to cry and I’m crying because OF COURSE HE’S THERE!!!!!! She didn’t have to call, she didn’t have to ask, he KNOWS that she’s going to need someone and specifically she’s going to need HIM to be there. She was there for him when his dad was killed, when his mom died, when he found out about Samantha’s fate. He was there for her when her dad died and when Melissa was killed…so OF COURSE he would just show up and make sure she didn’t have to face losing her mother all by herself
  148. You can tell she’s so darn grateful he’s there too: Shot 9
  149. These dang characters!
  150. This dang show!
  151. What you do to me!
  152. Also STOP BEING BROKEN UP YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN LOVE SO JUST STOP BEING STUPID! Okay, thanks
  153. Well at least they’re using school buses to move the homeless and not some nefarious form of transport … like a garbage truck …
  154. Seriously woman walk away and be killed, you’re ridiculously irritating
  155. I don’t think I’ve ever actually wanted to see someone on this show die before (save Donnie Pfaster)
  156. Uh oh … the BANM art is chilling out on that building!
  157. It’s the Conversation on the Bench, ladies and gents
  158. Mulder’s chilling talking about the case, keeping Scully apprised of the goings-on, and she’s twirling around that quarter from her mother’s affects in her fingers
  159. PLOT: Mulder tells Scully about the artwork that appeared after the Sinclair’s murder, that the homeless believe the man depicted in the art protects them. The artist of the piece goes by ‘TrashMan’ but no one knows his real name or has ever seen him. Mulder suspects the artist may have killed Sinclair and is on a mission to take out anyone else involved in removing the homeless from the streets of West Philly
  160. Oh Mulder it’s adorable that you think you’re actually NOT going to stay
  161. I get why he said it – cause he really does think he’s going to go back out there and stop this thing but of course we all know something’s going to happen to keep him right there by Scully’s side. Because as much as Mulder wants to help people, his first priority is Scully
  162. “He hasn’t bothered with her or with us for years” -> I really want to know what Glen Morgan’s thoughts are in regards to Charlie Scully now! I’m immensely intrigued as to why in the world he would be so removed from his family
  163. I know that Scully and Melissa weren’t exactly the best of friends and you could see the tension in their interactions just like you could between Bill Jr and Scully. Of course there was also some tension in Maggie’s interactions with Melissa in “One Breath” – makes me wonder if Charlie made some unconventional decisions in his life
  164. BUT it wouldn’t make sense because it’s obvious through their interactions that Maggie really liked Mulder and if anyone has made some dumb ass decisions with their life it is Fox Mulder! PLUS the fact that Maggie was the one who told Scully in “Beyond the Sea” that of course Bill Sr was proud of her because he was her father…
  165. So this whole estrangement is fascinating to me because I REALLY want more answers
  166. And my shipper heart explodes and simultaneously breaks because of this dang scene:
  167. Yeah that’s not what iPhone graphics look like when listening to voice mails
  168. What is with this woman and the trash compactor?
  169. Here comes the garbage truck…
  170. Yeah you’re all concerned about the homeless population corrupting the nearby high schoolers but you have NO concern over the fact that your Keurig is killing the environment … you can go away now
  171. Glen Morgan and James Wong have been learning from each other apparently
  172. Serious flashes of “Home” with Downtown playing while BANM attacks this stupid woman
  173. RUN!
  174. For crying out loud!
  175. Oh wow she actually gets a shot in at him…but of course it doesn’t work because apparently he’s made of trash (so we’re also pulling in an “Arcadia” reference as well…nice)
  176. Seriously woman! Learn how to work a damn door!
  177. I know I shouldn’t WANT people to be killed … but at this point I’m all, eh … thin the herd
  178. DUDE now the BANM is outside the house! WHAT THE WHAT?
  179. And he’s just grinning like “hahaha I’m about to kill you and you can’t stop me”
  180. OOOOOOOOO poetic justice putting part of her in her own trash compactor! NICE MOVE GLEN MORGAN!
  181. So PLOT-wise: BANM has now killed a man who was helping to forcibly evict the homeless from the streets of West Philly, two art thieves who were profiting off the homeless, and now the woman who refused to let the homeless be moved because she didn’t want them corrupting local high schoolers. Who’s gonna be next? [As if we don’t already know…]
  182. Ah man…of course Mulder is right there in a chair by Maggie Scully’s bedside
  183. Though I do wish they were actually sitting next to each other
  184. I get why they likely set this up the way they did – camera angles and such as the scene progresses but you couldn’t have had their chairs on the same side of the bed?
  185. “Back in the day, did we ever come across the ability to just wish someone back to life?” / “I invented it. When you were in the hospital…” -> which time, Mulder?
  186. “…like this” -> Ahhhhhh so after her abduction thank you for specifying
  187. UGH their interaction and their expressions here are killing me … you are so in love with each other
  188. Her phone’s ringing again and I think I’m having a panic attack – please don’t be Bill Jr… please don’t be Bill Jr
  189. CHARLIE!!!!!!!!
  190. When she says “Do what I can’t do”, the look on Mulder’s face is so sad
  191. “So here I am…for once” -> SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MAKE THEM ESTRANGED?????????
  192. There was so much animosity in that ONE dang sentence – I don’t even know who did Charlie’s voice here but dang!
  193. Scully’s looking at Mulder for confirmation that Maggie had shown some reaction to Charlie’s voice….have to admit I love that Scully initially doesn’t even realize that Maggie woke up. She only realizes it because Mulder sees it and gets up from his chair prompting Scully to look to her mom
  194. Then Maggie reaches out to Mulder and takes his hand and he has this look on his face that is like equal parts sad and also happy to be there. He never got to say goodbye to his mother – she killed herself without leaving a note or anything but an exceptionally vague message on his answering machine. I wonder how close Maggie and Mulder ended up getting over these intervening years. It’s possible they never really connected but I seriously doubt it…I wonder if the connection they had continued into those years of forced isolation for Mulder. So getting to be there at this moment is as much for him as it is for Scully and Maggie
  195. “My son is named William, too” -> Why Maggie Why?????? Why kill us all?
  196. Don’t look at him like that, he can’t bring her back… Shot 13
  197. Well … thanks for coming back to The X-Files, Sheila Larken
  198. Damn
  199. The screen goes black while Scully is still crying and you can hear the sound of it carrying over into the break and I’m now a mess
  200. I think I need a hug…
  201. Scully going off on the orderlies coming with the gurney to wrap up her mom is SO spot on with her character … I love the way Glen Morgan writes Scully here! It’s so saddening but so good
  202. Mulder just gently grabbing her and moving her away
  203. The moment I saw this scene in the promo materials and I heard that Sheila was coming back I knew they were going to kill Maggie, but oh Lord, that still didn’t not prepare me for this
  204. I can’t even talk/type about it without crying
  205. However, hallelujah for the mention of “our” child … but Scully, I would like to remind you that YOU gave away William in season 9. It wasn’t a “we” that gave him up…it was YOU!
  206. But I digress
  207. I absolutely LOVE that they didn’t show Maggie being wrapped up by the orderlies – we got to sit with Mulder comforting Scully as she cried and wondered about her mother’s last words. Then we get that beautiful shot of her watching the gurney with her mother’s body in it being wheeled out of the ICU while still wrapped up in Mulder’s arms: Shot 16
  208. Then in true Scully fashion she throws herself back into work and Mulder keeps trying to get her not to. His face as he watches her walk out of the ICU is painful: Shot 17
  209. But alas … it’s Dana Scully and off they go …
  210. To Jackson the Tech guy with the nasty Band-Aid Mulder stepped on .. yeah …
  211. PLOT: Jackson analyzed the paint from TrashMan’s signature (I’m guessing on the slab they found where the art thieves were killed) to define the components used in spray paint. Jackson tells them the binders in this specific sample of spray paint was manufactured by the brand Canons and used only in high-end spray paints. Scully uses the magic of the smart phone to determine that there is only one store in the area that carries this particular brand of spray paint
  212. Mulder is so impressed by his woman and her skills Shot 18
  213. Off we go to try and find TrashMan!
  214. Mulder goes in to the store to try and stalk people while Scully sits out in the car alone and gets lost in her thoughts because DUH she just lost her mother
  215. Then she gets mad at herself when Mulder whistles for her and I giggle
  216. Follow that kid into the run down old building…
  217. SCULLAY TAKES HIM DOWN!!!!!!!!!
  218. GO GIRL!
  219. Total Badass … Scully is the best
  220. This kid takes them down those stairs and then pushes past Mulder to run away and I laugh again because Mulder is really not too great at this job right now
  221. “Back in the day I used to do stairs, and in three inch heels” -> BECAUSE SCULLY IS THE BEST. EVER.
  222. I know a lot of people have issue with the whole ‘women running/whatever in heels’ in TV shows and movies and such (yes I’m looking at you Jurassic World) but I think it’s freaking awesome! I for one LOVE a good heel (especially over 3 inches) and I think it makes that woman even more of a badass running around and taking down suspects while wearing those heels. That’s my two cents.
  223. You like her flashlight a lot don’t you, Mulder?

    Shot 19
    You’ve got a dirty mind
  224. Mulder and Scully are wandering around a dark hallway with only flashlights for illumination –> I am done for – Good day!
  225. They still look at each other in perfect sync
  226. Mwahaha even with the heels adding a couple inches to her height their height difference is still so much so that when he’s walking down that hallway normally she has to almost jog a bit to keep up … that’s really cute
  227. HI random ass clay thing popping out from the walls
  228. “The hell?” -> I feel you, Scully
  229. It’s a good thing you’re not trying to be stealthy because you’re both being kind of loud
  230. “I am in danger. Now go away” -> I like whoever this is already
  231. KICK THE DOOR IN!!! YAAAAAASSSSSSS!!!!
  232. THE HELL? Shot 20
  233. PLOT: Guys screaming for M/S to put their guns down cause they don’t work on ‘him’ (cryptic) and he knows because he’s tried to shoot him. Mulder correctly guesses this guy is the elusive “TrashMan” of street art fame. He believes that if he can’t see them, they can’t see him and therefore cannot hurt him (whoever/whatever ‘they’ are)
  234. I really like TrashMan’s dialogue here: “The people in the streets, the homeless, the street people; they ain’t got no voice, right? They get treated like trash, I mean actual trash / But if you don’t see a problem, there’s no problem, right? People treat people like trash”
  235. Mulder stop touching things!
  236. I’m a big fan of the show Castle and the main reason why is because the lead characters remind me SO much of Mulder and Scully. I think it would be hilarious to combine them and watch Scully and Beckett roll their eyes over Mulder and Castle acting like children at crime scenes
  237. PLOT: Mulder asks if TrashMan killed the four victims but he says no, he was just trying to give the street people a voice in the only way he knew how – through art, not violence. Something to “put around town, to not be forgotten”. Something that would be a reminder to those trying to exploit them. Mulder rightly wonders WHY TrashMan would put up the art after Sinclair’s murder, but TrashMan says it wasn’t him. That he only thought up the BANM.
  238. As an artist myself (though in a very different medium), I LOVE this. I am not a painter or a sculptor – I’m a theatre maker and a writer. I have been in love with the medium of live theatre my entire life and am in awe the way that through theatre we can learn about experiences other than our own. I’m a huge proponent of new works and wanting more theatre and more art that gives a voice to those that are normally underrepresented in the medium – women and minorities, especially. I really like the way Glen Morgan brings this character in – TrashMan isn’t about ‘speaking for the homeless while speaking for himself’ like the others we’ve encountered so far, he just genuinely wants to try to give them a way to have their voices heard
  239. Granted it would have been better if he hadn’t created a creature that was going around murdering people…but whatever
  240. PLOT: So TrashMan has ‘made’ other creatures like the BANM and apparently they are the things M/S ran into in the hallway. Those however are slowly degrading. The BANM is different, TrashMan says he’s a Tulpa. Mulder soon rights this thinking by saying that iteration of the word isn’t actually correct and there is no idea in Tibet or Buddhism of a ‘thought form’. He goes on to say that a realized form would never harm anyone, let alone kill
  241. So obviously no one did this research before “Arcadia” back in season 6 … good to know
  242. This scene is SO well done – the dialogue, the flashbacks, the flashes of TrashMan as he draws out the BANM mixed with the shots of Scully as his words hit her is gorgeous
  243. PLOT: “But I’m telling you. I put a lot of energy in my art. I, uh, meditated on it. I willed it. What I wanted him to look like, what I wanted him to be, and why I wanted him. I didn’t bring him here, he came to me. But in the end, he told me what he wanted to be. All we do is hold the pencil, all we do is hold the clay. I think there must be spirits and souls floating all around us, and if you think real hard how you want them so bad, they come to you. And then they become alive with a life of their own. This is what came to me in my dreams from some other place, yeah? But now it’s alive and it’s out there. Down to the Band-Aid I used to hold the clay in place. Who would copy this? And did you smell that? It smells like nothing on this earth. It has its own life, it does what it wants … an idea is dangerous, even a small one…”
  244. Well at least that explains the dang Band-Aid
  245. “You were responsible. If you made the problem, if it was your idea, then you’re responsible. You put it out of sight so that it wouldn’t be your problem, but you’re just as bad as the people that you hate” -> me to Chris Carter regarding William
  246. Mulder finally realizes the next victim is going to be Asshat Tie … nice of you to finally hop on the train, Mulder. I’ll give you a pass this time considering you were being all loving and consoling your woman on the passing of her mother so I accept your thoughts were elsewhere
  247. Now you’re separating someone from his dog!!!!!!! ASSHAT!!! Go be killed now…
  248. Seriously, this guy is completely repulsive
  249. YES he’s smelling something nasty just like Sinclair did before he got ripped to shreds
  250. There’s the sound of the flies milling about and the lights flickering … YES ….
  251. Normally I’d be screaming at my TV screen to NOT go down the creepy, dimly lit hallway with the flickering lights but I REALLY want this guy to go away
  252. KEEP WALKING DUDE … MEET YOUR FATE!
  253. YES!!!!!!!
  254. In the bathroom no less! NICE! At least the clean up will be easy
  255. “How did we not see whoever did this to him leave the room?” -> Scully, are you new here?
  256. NOOOOOOOOO ah man … it’s Conversation on the Log time
  257. So does this conversation mean that they’re going to try and find William? At least to make sure he’s alright?
  258. Please let that be what it means!
  259. “As parents we made a difficult sacrifice to keep him safe” -> once again, Scully, I love you but YOU made the decision. It wasn’t a “we” thing! Mulder wasn’t there … this one is ALLLLLLL yours, hon
  260. Don’t call him Fox like that … it’s making me cry!
  261. “You will find the answers to the biggest mysteries, and I will be there when you do” -> HELL YES Shot 21
  262. Oh Scully, YOU didn’t treat him like trash…that’s on Chris CarterScreen Shot 2016-02-22 at 5.40.49 PM

Parting Thoughts

There’s not really much to say after this one. I am one that has never been a huge fan of Glen Morgan, but I can now call myself one after this episode. I knew from the promo materials that Maggie Scully was not going to survive beyond this revival and I am so saddened that I was right – but I think Glen Morgan did an amazing job here.

Continuity wise – praise the LORD that someone remembered Scully has a younger brother.

There’s a part of me that wishes THIS episode had been the second in line because it feels SO much like The X-Files again that I’m saddened we had to wait through three episodes for this. However, as I mentioned earlier in this post, it works because at least there is context for Scully’s mindset in regards to William for those who may be new to the show or who are simply casual viewers.

I hope they’ll actually pay off the whole idea of Scully mentioning finding William to know if he’s ok, but I seriously doubt that’s going to happen…ever.