Review of Sein Und Zein This was a rather hard ep to review, b/c of course it's part one of two, and it's a mytharc. There actually wasn't that much information disseminated--a lot of this was set up and atmosphere--so, for example, when we see Mulder going through yet another crisis of faith, we can just *tell* he'll return to his original ideas of alien abduction again in part two. I can speak more coherently next week, after Closure airs, but I can say that I thought it was an effective ep for a first parter. In any case, it kept me watching and I wasn't bored, as I have been during 9/10 of the eps this season. It's nice to actually watch an X-FILE. One thing that rather irked me: That hallway in the teaser looked the one used in Triangle, but it was actually from Harsh Realm, along w/ a snippet of dialogue from Hobbes. "This is great," Mr. LaPierre comments. Little bitter there, Chris??? Then when Mulder is interviewing Mr. LaPierre, he asks him what show he was watching and he says, "I never heard of it before. It was good." Um...hello??? Chris, get over it!!! There is, I suppose, the connection w/ Sophie being taken in Harsh Realm and Amber Lynn, Samantha, etal being taken in The X-Files, but this is a stretch, considering that the majority of XF viewers probably never saw Harsh Realm. Nice teaser, though perhaps overly long??? I esp. liked when we see Amber Lynn looking as if she *had* been abducted by aliens (ala The Pilot) in the vision Mr. LaPierre has b/f she actually *is* abducted. We certainly feel Mr. LaPierre's feelings, however. Loved the Mulder!leather jacket. Hair is definitely growing out nicely as well. Scully's hair looked better this week as well. As I said, this ep seemed so much like the old days of TXF that I actually felt sad and nostalgic as I watched. There won't be many more eps like this one. Some profiling, Skinner doubting Mulder, Mulder doubting agents, Scully doubting Mulder, Mulder being right (Santa Claus connection, parents and Miss Tencate not being guilty), Mrs. Mulder's appearance (though not hideous in this case, and obviously very brief...), Mulder breaking down and Scully comforting him. And w/ CSM's return next week, there will be much more of this, I suspect. I can't really believe the LaPierre's would retain the services of a real estate lawyer, but... I liked seeing Mulder back in the office again, looking through files. It's been a while since we've even SEEN the office! "My sister was taken by aliens. Did I say anything about aliens, Scully?" Mulder says w/ a half smile when Scully starts interrogating him. This is interesting, b/c at that point, he still believes it...later in the ep he doubts it...and I bet by next week, he'll believe it again (esp. if he and CSM have an exchange). Blue is a big fashion statement. Must be the new black. Skinner wears it, Mulder wears it, Scully wears, the prison inmate Miss Tencate wears it... Mulder is so earnest in the jail after he has begged Miss Tencate for her help--he looks as if he were about to cry--while Scully looks as if she was about to explode. "Don't go looking for something you don't want to find," Scully says. Very reminiscent of Paper Hearts. And "You're personalizing this case" comes straight from Ouebliette. I liked the continuity of showing Mrs. Mulder burning the same photo that CSM was found on the floor w/ after he was shot in Redux II. I am sure there will be more next week. I love the way The X-Files continues, 7 1/2 years later, saying things like Mrs. Mulder saying on the answering machine, " There is so much I've left unsaid, for reasons I hope one day you'll understand." Will we?! Well, it's good to know it's not all been wrapped up yet, and I *guarantee* you that it won't be next week, ESPECIALLY b/c it's in an ep called "Closure." But that's why I watch the show; if there are no questions, only answers, I am no longer interested. Notice how Scully didn't want to do the autopsy b/c "you're my friend and she's your mother." Made me wonder if there was subtext in 1013 putting that line in there (friends, yes, but more?!). Yep, more than partners, but is that all? However, Scully ends up spending the night w/ Mulder b/f Skinner asks them to return to California, so your theory is as good as mine. "Intensify our search where? The Twilight Zone?" asks Skinner. Yes. This is The X-Files. Of COURSE. And as usual, Mulder's right--this *was* an X-File (unlike, say, The (Un)Amazing Maleeni. Gray t-shirt. Very nice. That scene w/ Mulder doubting his mother's suicide and his own reasons for his sister's abduction for his sister is horribly angst!ridden and touching. DD cried much better here than he has in the past, in particular in Redux II, one of my all time favorite eps but also noteworthy for the scene in which it looks like Mulder is biting Scully's bed . "I've booked two flights for us, " says Skinner. "Well, then you'd better book three," Scully reports. You go, Scully! Not only SHOULD she be there, as Mulder's partner, but she also has to know how affected Mulder will be by whatever the LaPierre's have to tell her. What I really like is that *Scully* makes the connection between the "73" Amber's mom Billie hears the "ghost" say and the highway off of which Santa's Village is located. Great music during the chase scene; very movie-like. And I assume those are all graves at the end? Eerie scene. I guess that's it for this week. Hopefully, I'll have a better handle on things after Closure... It's good to have the show back, if only for a brief (sweeps) period (sayeth the cynic).