The X-Files: Terms of Endearment Rewatch

June 30, 2020 8:38 PM - Season 6, Episode 7

After a pregnant woman in Hollins, Virginia has a nightmare in which a demon takes her baby from her, she wakes to find she is no longer pregnant, and is accused of infanticide. Her sheriff brother turns to Jeffrey Spender, who discards the case, but Mulder rescues it from the garbage and goes to Virginia to investigate.
posted by orange swan (2 comments total)

This was a so-so episode. Can't say I cared for the misogyny -- Wayne's smarmy manipulations, his murdering of women who get in the way of his agenda, or the fact that we're supposed to see him as sympathetic. EVER HEARD OF ADOPTION, WAYNE? And what is it with this show and problematic conceptions/pregnancies?

Laura's brother should not have been working this case. He was way too close to it. One sees this sort of situation a lot in TV/movies, but if there aren't rules about this sort of thing in actual law enforcement, there ought to be.

Mulder fucking with Wayne is a lot of fun. He's on to him from the very beginning.

Betsy Monroe drives away with the baby and the convertible. You can't say she's not a shrewd operator.

It's in this episode that Mulder says he's "no psychologist", despite Scully having described him as a psychologist in the pilot. It seems to be canon that Mulder has a degree in psychology from Oxford University, and that does indeed make a lot of sense given that his analytical approach to criminal profiling/casework is very much that of someone who has that background. It doesn't make sense that he'd say to Scully that he's no psychologist given that Scully would know (by this point, if not in the pilot) what his credentials are.

My goodness, Grace Phillips ("Betsy Monroe") is one striking-looking woman. According to her IMDB page, she has left the acting business and become an eco-landscaper.
posted by orange swan at 4:05 PM on July 1, 2020

How Mulder still has a job in the FBI is getting ever more ridiculous (as is his continued access to that office and Spender's waste bin). There's got to be an anti-Syndicate force keeping him around.

Aaand that's why we have cross cut shredders, although there's software for reconstructing that now.

Scully interviewing the candidate for the US Dept. Ag. for marihuana use/ association was cute/ sad. Even the Canadian government used the racist spelling into the mid-2010's until finally standardizing on cannabis.

Mulder only has a BA/ BSc in psychology. Depending on jurisdiction, it might take a terminal masters or a PhD to declare oneself a professional psychologist. I had a bunch of friends who studied psych in undergrad but they'd never call themselves psychologists, so Scully (or more likely, the writers) might have misinterpreted Mulder's file. I think this has come up in at least another episode before.

That is not how one takes a blood draw.

I have a soft spot for this episode, being a fan of both Bruce Campbell and 'Only Happy When It Rains' by Garbage. Another casting coup, Campbell's (albeit limited) range was perfect for the character.

But yeah, the writers of this show and reproductive assault. Again. Wayne getting played big time nor giving up his "essence" doesn't absolve him.

Anderson's depiction of a too-weary Scully digging up the babies was first rate.

Grace Phillips

She rather resembles you quite a bit.
posted by porpoise at 5:26 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]