SEASON 1

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SEASON 4

SEASON 5

FIGHT THE FUTURE

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Scully looks even more worried, shaking her head and saying that he's too weak for thoracic surgery. And besides, he'll get plenty of that, without anesthesia, in just a season! Gah. Her voice cracks a little. Sympathetic, the doctor still insists that he doesn't have any other ideas. Scully is ready to cry but holding herself back as she says she thinks they should just wait, for the time being. The doctor replies comfortingly that that “will definitely kill him, sooner or later.” He leaves, and a very worried Scully turns back to look at Mulder through the room window.

Meanwhile, Skinner knocks at Voss's door. Mrs. Voss lets him in and at the sight of the badge asks what's going on. Skinner says the FBI is offering their family protection ('cause that worked so well for Jim!), but he needs to speak with Dr. Voss. However, the doctor isn't home, despite having said he was heading there. No one can reach him.

So Skinner heads back, apparently alone for some reason, this time, to the research facility. It's dark, and he's walking through rows of 'tobacco plants', gun out. Finally, he comes across Dr. Voss, crouched on the floor. He looks like someone has hit him. Before Skinner can speak, though, Voss warns him, “Behind you.” Sure enough, there's Darryl Weaver. Skinner aims his gun at him. Weaver announces coolly that he was just leaving, since he got what he came for. Voss adds that this means the test cigarettes. Skinner orders him to freeze.

Nonchalant as ever, Weaver asks why, and asks if Skinner is really going to shoot him. Skinner declares he won't let him infect more people, but Weaver knows Skinner needs him to save “your boy.” He takes a cigarette from behind his ear and puts it in his mouth. Skinner yells at him not to do it, and Weaver, emotional for the first time, replies that “they say” cigarettes kill people – any brand, but he thinks Dr. Voss is really onto something with these ones. Voss, of course, says that it's over, but Weaver continues, still looking teary for some reason I can't quite figure out, that the first car probably killed people before they perfected it, “'cause it's all part of the scientific process, you know?” Then he ignites his lighter.

Skinner once more announces that he will shoot, and Weaver calls his bluff again and lights the cigarette. The Music of Tension builds. Weaver rambles about how he's a scientific marvel and they should study him and maybe he's the cure for cancer. Nope, sorry, we already know that it's the alien chips that cure cancer. Are we supposed to feel for him here? Why is he all choked up? Anyway, he ends with, “You ain't gonna shoot me. Toodles,” and turns to leave. Skinner chooses this moment to finally shoot him – in the shoulder, which is what I was yelling for him to do the whole time! He puts out the cigarette and glares at Weaver. Seems like Skinner and Voss already should be infected, but anyway.

We cut to paramedics wheeling Weaver in. Scully joins Skinner, who asks for an update on Mulder. “Not good,” is the response. Very businesslike, Scully calls for bloodwork on Weaver, then notices his yellow-stained fingers. She has a House-like epiphany and then tells the doctor she needs “30 milligrams of methyl pyrrolidinyl pyridine.” Et tu, Scully, with the jargon? The doctor asks, “Nicotine?” in surprise, and she replies that it could save Mulder's life.

FBI Headquarters, Two Weeks Later, the location thingy tells us. Mulder is typing something at a computer in his office, and Scully comes in. She greets him and asks if it's good to be back. His voice is still a little hoarse as he responds that it's better than the alternative. She smiles slightly and says that he'll be interested to know that Morley Tobacco has subpoenaed the case files on him, being very intrigued to know how he recovered. Mulder asks about Darryl Weaver. Scully says he's well enough to be moved to the prison hospital. Mulder asks, expositionally, “It was the nicotine itself that was keeping him alive?”

Scully exposits that it was because he was such a heavy smoker, heavier than any of the other test subjects. She adds that nicotine is extremely poisonous, and that it's “actually one of the oldest known insecticides.” I did not know that. “Good for killing tobacco beetles,” Mulder grins.

Scully continues her exposition that Mulder really wouldn't need to be told by now, that once they loaded Mulder's system with it, it acted as a kind of chemotherapy. She'd know all about that. But, being, y'know, poisonous, it also almost stopped his breathing. Mulder says that's not all it did, and goes over to his desk. He pulls out a pack of Morley's and explains he bought them on the way to work.

Scully, dumbfounded, says disbelievingly (heh), “You're not going to start smoking!” Mulder smells the pack and tells her that the addiction is supposedly stronger than heroin. But under her stare, he throws the pack away. She nods and says Skinner is waiting for them in his office. He says he'll be there in a minute, and she gives him a weird look as she heads out. The episode ends with him looking rather longingly at the cigarettes in the trashcan. As an anti-smoking PSA episode? I think that worked rather well, since it wasn't preachy and was actually interesting. It also worked as a “Geez! I was already terrified enough of secondhand smoke, thank you very much” episode, of course. Heh.