Unnaturally Fine! -- X-Philes World-The Old Episodes

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Date Posted: 12:48:22 08/10/00 Thu
Author: devlin
Subject: Unnaturally Fine!

So, to confess straight away - first impressions were not that great actually but by the time I had watched it again having digested both the surface action and the underlying themes, I had completely changed my mind. I now think this episode was exceptional in the XF grand scheme of things!

First, to get the baseball thing out of the way: although I might have started out with the same view that Scully had (hitting a piece of hide with a stick) by the end, I think I began to understand the very deep seated love of the game. The baseball theme was nicely used as a backdrop to the whole, particularly with reference to Exley�s colour. The basic point about alienation and being an outsider in a very real sense, was a good one. But this was of course just as much about Mulder as it was about Exley. It was the story of Mulder�s own life of being a kind of alien in his own life, one who is on the outside of normal every day society. And Scully brought this up right at the beginning, with her teasing him about going into the sunshine and going out to play.

He, on the other hand, thought a lot about what she had to say and by the end he was explaining to her in the highly charged �teaching� scene, just what was wrong with her life too and how things look from where he is standing. He explained how sport transports people out of every day mundanity, to a new energetic level. The interaction between Mulder and Scully's in their final scene was truly complex and all credit to DD for addressing in a very involving way the Mulder and Scully relationship. So, what about all the things he said to her when they were hitting the ball!?. It was like Mulder was showing her how she could loose herself from all her worries and the things that hold her back � and it even suggested (IMO) that he was inviting her to move into a different place with him, a place where she could feel free! Am I reading too much into it?

It was both sexy and unsexual at the same time. I think Scully seemed quite in awe as she settled down to try and hit the ball. And if ever there was a metaphor for letting go together, it was those shared swings at the ball. I think it worked very well, but it took me a couple of viewings before I knew why. Now, I feel really proud of DD, because he didn�t balk from taking on the relationship which he had been playing one half of for six years, and pushing slightly into new territory.

The only niggle I had was the alien version of Exley, who moved like a man! He shouldn�t have retained human gestures, surely. It was not how I imagine the greys to behave. And � to ask the question � who believes this was a true story that Dales told? It was similar to CSM�s �Musings� story in that it was filtered through the telling, so we don�t really know if this was true or just a wild interpretation of events during those strange 1947 days around Roswell.

It was well worth the wait, this ep and I feel really good that in a mediocre sequence of shows, we finally get back to one which all fans can revel in (shipper, no-romo, fencesitter and Mulder-lovers alike!).

devlin

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Replies:

Re: Unnaturally Fine! -- Islandgirl, 14:30:18 08/10/00 Thu
Re: Unnaturally Fine! -- CW, 19:54:41 08/10/00 Thu
- Pinnochio parallel -- detoured, 04:29:26 08/11/00 Fri
- A niggle is... -- devlin, 10:46:07 08/12/00 Sat
Re: Unnaturally Fine! -- detoured, 04:23:08 08/11/00 Fri
- My appreciation was touch and go there, for a while -- devlin, 11:12:02 08/12/00 Sat
  - Baseball and that alien green blood -- detoured, 01:56:08 08/14/00 Mon
    - Toxic or non-toxic? -- devlin, 16:19:10 08/15/00 Tue
      - I am surprised! Which baseball players do you know? -- detoured, 19:45:14 08/20/00 Sun
        OK, my list of baseball players (don't laugh) -- devlin, 10:44:53 08/21/00 Mon
        Well that's impressive! -- detoured, 20:07:39 08/22/00 Tue
        You think there's a 'generic' Bounty Hunter?? -- devlin, 16:11:04 08/23/00 Wed
        Like a bridge over troubled water... -- detoured, 02:55:41 08/25/00 Fri
        Oh go on - put the picture up!!! -- devlin, 14:19:30 08/25/00 Fri
        Yes, det! Put the picture up! -- Scully'sMyHero, 19:12:34 08/25/00 Fri
        OK Devlin and SMH. I put the picture up!... -- detoured, 01:45:09 08/29/00 Tue
        See, I've already embarrassed myself! -- devlin, 11:33:04 08/29/00 Tue
        I forgot about Gone with the Wind! -- detoured, 00:54:58 08/31/00 Thu
        Coinciding on the boards? Can it be true? -- devlin, 00:59:35 08/31/00 Thu
        It's 10 after 1 here! -- detoured, 01:14:28 08/31/00 Thu
        A sense of history is one thing -- devlin, 01:24:56 08/31/00 Thu
        DD really did a good job with this ep -- detoured, 00:23:05 09/01/00 Fri
        This is *really* off topic, but... -- Scully'sMyHero, 07:07:02 09/01/00 Fri
        Perfectly good topic, SMH! -- devlin, 09:20:22 09/01/00 Fri
        Well then, while we're on a good off-topic... -- Scully'sMyHero, 13:58:27 09/01/00 Fri