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FIGHT THE FUTURE

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“That you should know my heart, look into it, finding there the memory and experience that belong to you, that are you, is a comfort now as I feel the tethers loose and the prospects darken for the continuance of a journey that began not so long ago and which began again with a faith shaken and strengthened by your convictions.”

I double gulp and a whimper for good measure. The X-ray is of a skull which clearly shows a rectangle in the nasal-pharyngeal area. The light in the dark that we saw in the opening shot looks exactly like the chip in the X-ray.

“If not for which, I might never have been so strong now as I cross to face you, and look at you, incomplete, hoping that you will forgive me for not making the rest of the journey with you."

The camera pans on Scully’s face which reflects so many emotions that I can’t even begin to name them. Gillian Anderson is not going to take any prisoners here either! I may be wrong but I don’t think this show has ever written words that affected me as deeply as the ones Scully voice-overs here. And I would like to imagine that Anderson herself got choked up reciting them. And then there is the added bonus of imagining Mulder’s reactions if and when he reads these words. I suddenly get scared thinking that this is a flashback episode and Scully is already dead. You have no idea how hard it was to type that!

Credits.

There’s something very nostalgic and bittersweet about the credits, because now you’re wondering how much longer you are going to see them while secure in the knowledge that you will see Scully and Mulder doing their thing when they are over. Then I have a vision of Mulder left all alone to continue on his quest for the truth, wondering how much he is to blame for Scully’s death and whether or not he still cares to do this without her. Then I get even sadder, frantic and panicked, thinking that I am Mulder and those words Scully spoke were addressed to me. In a way that is not entirely incorrect, because in this instance, we the audience are Mulder: we too have been through this journey that began four years ago. We too (especially those of us who were unspoiled) freaked out when Scully was abducted two years ago. And we were there right beside Mulder rejoicing when she was returned in One Breath. In conclusion, 1013 you sneaky bastards…well played, well played.

Man these credits seem both longer and shorter than usual: I can’t decide. So I am going to use the credits to wipe my eyes and bestill my hammering heart. Let’s find out what “memento mori” means. I love the information super-highway! According to the Tate Britain’s website, it is a “Latin phrase meaning remember you must die. A memento mori painting or sculpture is one designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the brevity and fragility of human life in the face of God and nature.”

So that’s what the X-ray skull was about! It totally ties in with the popular Renaissance art choice of skulls and skeletons, but who cares? Scully’s got cancer and that’s all that matters. I am not even thinking about symbolism or whatever. There is no time!