AIR DATE:  May 18, 1997
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by R.W. Goodwin

	Season Finales are kind of funny in a way because we know as
viewers that this is going to be an important episode where things are
going to happen.  Sure we had other episodes this season where important
things happen to Scully and Mulder, such as Scully being diagnosed with
cancer which has been the underlying driving force of the show ever since
it was discovered.  Boy, what a season finale it was covering everything
from her cancer to Mulder's never ending search for proof of alien
visitation.  The one thing X-Files has never failed in is providing an
excellent season finale to have us wondering all summer long. "Gethsemane"
has carried on that tradition that started way back with "The Erlenmeyer
Flask".  Let's hope the premiere can live up to the build up.  That's
something that didn't happen with this past season's premiere
"Herrenvolk".

	Now having written all that it is hard to judge "Gethsemane" as it
always is with two or three parter episodes because we don't know where we
are being led.  "Gethsemane" gave us a lot to ponder with the further
knowledge that Scully's cancer has only worsened, and we really don't know
whose lie to believe, the alien body found in the Yukon or Michael
Kritschgau's story of how this has all been a setup from the beginning
with Mulder.  "Gethsemane", also, gave us a look at the Scully family and
how they work together.  Mrs. Scully invites Scully over for dinner for I
suspect Bill, Jr. returning from sea, but it can be seen it was really to
allow Scully to talk to their family priest.  How awkward the situation
must have been for Scully, who believes in God but is unable to fall back
onto her faith, to give her support at this dire time in her life.  It
must have hurt even more when Mulder questioned her belief in God without
proof while at the same time dismissing his own belief of aliens existence
because he doesn't have solid proof. Scully's brother made a telling
comment to Scully about where she was turning to for support because to
him it didn't appear to be her family who would be there if she would let
them, instead it appeared to him she was looking for support from Mulder
who wasn't there for her.  Of course, he'll never understand what they
have been through with each other in the past four years to allow this
deep devotion to develop between them.  In "Gethsemane" I think even
Scully is questioning this deep devotion when she decided not to go with
him to the Yukon since she believed Mulder was once again being taken for
a ride by this doctor, and the fact is she is sick and doesn't want to
waste her remaining time running around looking for Mulder's little green
men.

	The real ironic thing about "Gethsemane" is Scully who easily
accuses Mulder of wanting to believe in aliens so much he is willing to
believe anyone while at the same time Scully is willing to believe
Kritschgau's story.  For all she knows it could have been setup from the
start for her to track him down so his story would be more believable. 
Just like in "Nisei/731" she easily believed the Chunky Italian Guy's
story about her being taken aboard a train where experiments were done on
her.  In a way she too is willing to go to any length to have her beliefs
justified as Mulder does in his quest for proof of aliens.  The only
difference is she tells Mulder this is his Holy Grail and not her dying
quest even though in Mulder's mind it now goes beyond just finding proof
of his sister's abduction, it now includes Scully's abduction and cancer. 

	Now some miscellaneous comments on "Gethsemane":

- Alright I'm stating right now if anyone honestly believes Mulder killed
himself then I've got this bridge in Brooklyn I can sell to you real
cheap.  Now having said that I can't wait see how they either explain
Scully lying about that body being Mulder or how Mulder faked his own
death.  Maybe this time they are working a big lie for the conspiracy
guys.

- Why do I feel like Carl Sagan is rolling in his grave from the X-Files
people using an old video of him discussing the possible existence of life
on other planets.  We all know how fond Carl Sagan was of the X-Files. 

- Oh my god, Scully really does have a brother.  Now we know why he was
never there during family emergencies he was out to sea.  After years of
mystery one of them finally appears though there was no mention of the
other mystery no name brother.  Just look at the conversation between
Scully and her brother in the hospital room, you would almost think there
was only Scully, her brother and their mother still left alive in the
family.  Hmm, talking about people who are still living we all know in the
X-Files for the past two seasons premieres someone has been killed so
Bill, Jr.  better watch it.  Maybe we should start making bets on who we
think is going to get killed off in the season premiere.  Knowing X-Files,
it could be almost anyone except the two stars.

- Anyone notice even after Mulder confronted Scully about holding back
from him in "Elegy" she still didn't tell him the cancer had spread into
her blood stream.  This is quite interesting because even though it
appears she is looking for support from Mulder she only told her mother
this fact about her cancer.  Does she fear Mulder would only feel more
guilty or is she worried he would be so overconcerned about her safety
he'd do something rash?  Her last statement to him about Kritschgau
telling her they only gave her the cancer in order to make him believe
even more in alien abductions must have hurt him deeply because he knows
this is the kind of thing the Conspiracy people would do.

- I would like to know how Mulder and his doctor friend explained to the
Canadian authorities about the six dead bodies.  I would hate to think
they would be so cold hearted and not report the bodies because they
thought getting the alien body out of Canada was a lot more important than
reporting these deaths.  It would be hard to believe if they did report it
that it wouldn't be on the news throughout Canada and the United States. 
It isn't every day six people get murdered in their camp.  Is it just me
or are the conspiracy guys getting a little sloppy in doing whatever they
are doing?  We still don't know if this is all an elaborate setup for
Mulder's sake, but either way I think murdering all those men would have
brought unwanted attention.

- Bathrooms and staircases are always bad news for anyone in the X-Files
as Skinner found out in "Paper Clip" (it could have been "The Blessing
Way"), and now Scully finds out in "Gethsemane".  She sure did slide down
those stairs nicely.

- Somehow I don't think Michael Kritschgau had to worry too much about
going to jail since the way the investigation was done it wouldn't have
led to even a trial.  Scully sees a picture of the man without identifying
him while looking at other pictures which is typical police procedure. Of
course, getting a conviction wasn't the top priority in Scully's mind so
it isn't surprising she didn't go the police.  Why bother, the time she
caught her sister's killer he conveniently kills himself in jail.

-  Do I see another Alien Autopsy video for FOX to show this summer?

- I think Scully must have studied the layout of the parking garage as she
was waiting for Kritschgau to get out of work since she knew exactly where
to go in the garage when he drove off.

- Okay, can someone explain how the oily aliens and the killer bees will
be connected with this episode? 

- All right I have to admit I can't wait to see what miracle cure they are
going to use to explain Scully being cure of her cancer since they
couldn't put her any closer to her deathbed.  I still get a kick out of
how they explained Mulder getting out of the boxcar. 

- "Gethsemane" has to be the episode where it appears they has reused the
most actors.  The actor who played Kritschgau I swear was the same actor
who played the autopsy doctor in last week's "Demon" which doesn't make
sense to reuse an actor so close to a previous episode.  As I was flipping
through the episode guide I see the name Matthew Walker as one of the
actors in "Roland" though I can't figure out who he was in "Gethsemane" 
since I was unable to find a cast listing anywhere.  The actor who played
Scully's brother is bugging me because I can't figure out what I've seen
him in before, either another X-Files episode or another show. 

	"Gethsemane" continued the tradition of good season finales for
X-Files.  It will keep us guessing on what the real story is or at least
what the real story is this week since with X-Files nothing is quite as it
appears.  How all this affects Scully and Mulder's relationship is going
to be the interesting part for next season's premiere.  Once again their
different viewpoints on alien abductions has affected how they react to
each other.  In the end they are both too willing to believe someone's
story as long it supports their beliefs, and it is this willingness on
their part that is continually being used against them. 


Claudia
E-Mail:  Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu

5/19/97

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