#atths

Poor Scully lugging the giant books. She complains about being inside on a sunny day, but you’ll notice she frames it as a question towards Mulder: “Mulder, it is such a gorgeous day outside. Have you ever entertained the idea of trying to find life on this planet?”

She’s saying, in essence, I’M HERE, HELLO?!

Also I love the connection to the ending. Scully wanting to be outdoors and to enjoy time away from work, then Mulder inviting her outdoors later specifically separate from their work.

Her cute face when eating her dreamsicle. She is in SUCH a different place here than the last scene we saw her in - the ending of “Milagro”. This is one of the main reasons I see the shift in their relationship happening around this time rather than in season 7. Scully is playful, very smiley, joking around. She has a lightness about her that we have so VERY rarely seen. Something’s different - I think she’s ready and that she’s just waiting for him to be ready as well. She is super flirty with him.

Mulder’s “Ugh. Bet the air in my mouth tastes better than that. You sure know how to live it up, Scully.”

Why don’t you test that theory? 

Also, WHO exactly is the one pouring over records in the office, calling her in over a weekend? WHO exactly needs to learn to “live it up”? 

Scully’s throwing all the hints Mulder’s way but he’s still SO FOCUSED on the work. I think he intended to invite Scully to the office to just spend time with her, because he doesn’t know how to spend time with her otherwise. He feels he doesn’t have the right, or that she wouldn’t want to, or that he can’t have her and his quest at the same time. 

The picture of them is now ON THE WALL instead of sitting on the desk. I guess Mulder is done his feathering. I’m wondering at the symbolism of that, though. No longer just placed on a counter, with the lamp pointing at it, but attached to the wall WITH PERMANENCE. 

How apt is it that Mulder leaves on a case, distracted by it, forgetting that he called Scully here for a different purpose (just to have her near)? VERY.

Scully’s face when he tears out the page in the book, contrasted with her very turned on face and saying “Rebel”. She’s generally a rule follower, but… she’s willing to break them under very particular circumstances. And enjoys it when doing so. 

***

I really enjoyed the Exley story. It was a wonderful tale that I seem to forget about because it’s sandwiched between some of the best MSR we’ve ever gotten in the show. But, this analysis is about the MSR so that’s what I’m going to focus on.

“What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will.” - Arthur Dales

All of Mulder’s questions can be answered by baseball. So what does he do at the end with Scully? He shares baseball with her.

“Agent Mulder, do you believe that love can make a man shape-shift?” - Dales “I guess… women change men all the time.” - Mulder

Dales goes on to say he’s not talking about women, and Mulder is being non-specific about being changed - but it is 100% the case that he’s changed since Scully has come into his life. It doesn't really have to do with the fact that she’s a woman, but that she’s SCULLY. He’s learned to only trust the right people, that she loves him and he might even be worthy of it, but he still has some ways to go.

Dales’ “heart of the mystery/mystery of the heart” comment. Just… !!!!! He encourages Mulder to think about things other than his obsession with the X-Files. That there is more to life than his endless pursuit of the Truth.

Dales calls his baseball figure “Pete Rosebud”. A reference to Citizen Kane? A name spoken on a deathbed that doesn’t get solved, but it’s related to the last happy moments of the character in the movie. The suggestion that trying to solve the mystery on its own is doomed to failure, that there is something else worth pursuing.

Mulder’s love for baseball brings him back to his childhood, when he was happy (see “Home”) and his thoughts about settling down and having a family, remembering his childhood by the smell of the baseball. He wants to give that to Scully.

The love Exley has for baseball - it changes him. Mulder changes, or vows to change, by the end. This is the awakening he needed. He doesn’t HAVE to have a singular, obsessive focus on his quest in order to be successful. In fact, the suggestion that he CANNOT be successful if he pursues his Truth above all else in his life.

Just because something is mundane, like love, doesn’t mean it isn’t the purpose, the reason behind it all. This doesn’t mean he should discount all the complicated stuff, that he should “get out of the car” like Scully seems to want, but that he should INCLUDE it in his life alongside all the rest. His focus has been solely his work. He lives there, considers it his home, and was lost when it was taken away. He needs to round out his life to give it a stronger purpose.

After hearing how baseball changed Exley, whether he believes it or not, the message is there. Mulder thinks more about simple things - love, baseball. Perhaps he can change too?

For a while now Scully has been questioning her priorities and trying to get Mulder to leave the X-Files, to abandon the quest that she sees as never ending and having no hope of a satisfying conclusion. She feels she has no chance for a relationship with him as long as he is so focused on his quest - and she is partially correct. Dales’ words, and Mulder’s reminder of happier times, gets him to take that next step, showing Scully he’s ready to expand his universe to include more than his quest.

So, he invites Scully to play baseball with him.

And not just… tossing balls at her and giving her a few tips. Wrapping himself around her, speaking closely into her ear, making her laugh, his hand lingering on her hip. It’s SO MULDER, and so very intimate and romantic.

“Hips before hands.”  ❤️   

“I’m in the middle.”  ❤️ 

And Scully’s giggle.  ❤️ 

Not to mention baseball metaphors/idioms. They are literally hitting home runs. Hitting it out of the park. Together, they write their future in the stars.

I can’t imagine them waiting minutes, never mind months, to release all the pent-up passion they’re been withholding for years after this moment. Scully’s ready, and Mulder decides to take a chance, to expand his world to include a relationship with her. Not abandoning his quest, but making it stronger by including Scully, by having her closer at his side for it. 

By focusing on the mysteries of the heart as well as the heart of the mystery.