MSR for life

- Little green men. Morgan & Wong strike again. this episode has everything: covert meetings, the powers that be using Scully as a bloodhound to track Mulder, him recording messages for Scully, "I can only trust you and they've taken you away from me", Scully petting Mulder's head like he's a very good dog, this:

I guess there's even some aliens, whatever. great episode.

- Irresistible. In a surprising move from Chris "Misogyny is a contest and I'm winning" Carter, this episode is very respectful of Scully's post-abduction trauma. I like that Donnie Pflaster is just some guy, not an actual monster or a demon (which is why I hate the sequel), and the narrative makes no attempt to empathize with him. I like the contrast between how Mulder and that other agent perceive the victims (detachedly, with no real concern for who those women were) vs how Scully does (acknowledging just how horrific their deaths were, and fearing a very real possibility of her being in their place). it is one of the very few episodes that handles the subject of gendered violence respectfully.

- War of the coprophages. I won't include Darin Morgan's other episodes because they're obviously iconic and everyone loves them, so there's nothing left to say really. but I have to include at least this one because he is, after all, my favorite xfiles writer. I love the level of codependency in this ep, Mulder constantly calling Scully to ask various cockroach related questions, and her correctly identifying the problem every time while cleaning her gun or washing her dog, or just eating ice cream as she reads up on cockroaches on her little laptop. I love that she's jealous and possessive, and acts like a macho in front of Bambi (her name is Bambi?). my affection for this ep is so strong that unfortunately it makes another fan favorite episode, Syzygy, pale in comparison. i dunno, it feels like Chris Carter's attempt at a Darin Morgan episode, and Mulder and Scully's squabble there feels cheap and forced, unlike when Darin Morgan does it.

- Wetwired. it's Scully's turn to be paranoid and turn a motel room upside down looking for bugs, and Mulder's turn to reassure Scully that he's on her side, and she's the only one he trusts. I actually like the commentary on brainwashing via television, because my grandparents watch the news religiously and blindly trust whatever propaganda gets broadcasted from there. and social media can act similarly towards younger generations, so you are not immune to propaganda etc. anyways, great episode.

- Paper Hears. Vince Gilligan & Rob Bowman combo, very beautiful, very powerful. there's no shortage of episodes exploring Mulder's childhood trauma from losing his sister, but Paper Hears is special because it gives Mulder a reality check. what if his sister wasn't abducted by aliens? what if her disappearance had a simpler, and much more tragic explanation? what if his subconscious constructed a more fantastic narrative to cope with the loss? I also love how supportive Scully is throughout all this. a Mulder centric episode that doesn't completely forget about Scully or turn her into a cardboard cutout of herself is a rare gem. she helps him dig up a grave with her bare hands. a few years ago she would accuse him of running after his sister, but now she's with him every step of the way. she lost a sister too, she knows how he feels. absolutely devastating episode, 10/10

- Demons. can't say this is a very well written episode, but it is one of my favorites nonetheless. the allure of Protective Medical Doctor Scully taking care of Shaking Wet Dog Mulder is too powerful to resist. if you're familiar with The Locked Tomb series (you should be), you know that a character getting a sketchy brain surgery as a trauma response and having false memories as a result... well, it's something that can be so personal.

- Detour. sometimes I can't believe that a 90s show gave us a scene where this 6 ft tall male character takes a nap in his tiny partner's arms in the woods. and she sings him to sleep about Jeremiah who was a bullfrog. and they hadn't even kissed by that point. the x files is peak television.

- Kill Switch. I have so much tenderness in my heart for this episode. Twilight time <3 Scully's bisexual awakening <3 Mulder being a damsel in distress <3 i really enjoy that Scully's first response to Loud Noises and Murderous Robots is to start shooting. also this episode warned us about AI. I'm baffled that some xfiles fans engage with AI "art". it's like they didn't even watch the damn show.

- The Pine Bluff variant. I'm getting tired so I probably won't include more popular episodes because we all already know they're great. I think this one is criminally underrated, it's a very solid story, and despite it being a Mulder centric episode, Scully plays an important part there. I even wrote a fic about this episode, that's how much i love it.

- How the ghosts stole Christmas. it's such an interesting concept for an episode, to only have four actors and the majority of the episode taking place at one location. it feels like watching a play, very fun. love the ghost of Lily Tomlin accusing Scully of intimacy through codependency. also love that Scully just drives over to Mulder's place whenever she can't sleep (she does that again in Hollywood A.D., and Mulder being completely unfazed by her inviting herself in implies that it's a regular thing). i also wrote something about it. I am cringe and I am not even free

- Tithonus. Immortal Scully is a very popular theory in txf fandom because of this episode, but I don't subscribe to it. I like to think that in Clyde Bruckmann's final repose, Clyde telling Scully that she wouldn't die was figurative rather than literal. she's a beloved character from a popular tv show, which no doubt will be watched by generations to come, and so through us she will never die. also, seeing as she is a lead, Scull is protected by plot armor, and so she doesn't die of cancer, and she doesn't die when she is abducted/kidnapped/experimented on. Tithonus expands upon this idea, and doesn't let Scully die when she is bleeding from a gunshot wound in her stomach, it doesn't let her die when she's looking at the grim reaper. she is not immortal, but she will live. it's kinda like that Jon Pertwee quote: if no one is watching, Doctor Who will kill himself. if we're watching, Dana Scully won't be killed. I don't know if I'm making any sense, I'm tireeed. oh and I wrote a fic about this episode too lol