Providence: Off the Top of My Head (SPOILERS) (March 10, 2002) Caution: spoiler for next week's ep (based on the trailer) is in the "Etc." section. There's also a mention of the Star Wars trailer, but no spoilers. PROVIDENCE (9ABX11): In a nutshell: Many people die, mostly by being barbecued. The alien ship flies away. Scully cries a lot and gets William back. There's another supersoldier in the FBI. What I liked: - I like Scully basically telling Skinner to go to hell without actually saying the words. :) - I also liked Scully's line about taking the pillow from under Comer's head and making his breaths his last. *g* - I just like Take!No!Prisoners!Scully in general. *g* - Oooh, Skinner covered for Scully and Monica! Woo hoo! OK, I'm still pissed about him not telling her stuff, but at least this was a step in the right direction. What I didn't like: - Is it just me, or did that opening teaser go on forever? And is showing US soldiers getting killed in Iraq in 1991 just a wee bit tacky to show while US soldiers are getting killed in Afghanistan? Especially when tomorrow is the 6-month anniversary of September 11. :-PPPP - Raise your hand if you're getting tired of the "visions" and the "God is speaking to me" and all that on this show. - If one more person tries to "protect" Scully by withholding information from her, I want her to start taking hostages. - So apparently we're not going to find out how that woman managed to get William away from the Gunmen? :-PPPP I can't believe that they (OK, Byers; I think the other two were unconscious at the time) would have just let her take him without a struggle. How could he face Scully after handing over her defenseless (well, maybe not *g*) son just to keep from getting a bullet in his brain? OK, I didn't want him to die, but really. If you were entrusted with a dear friend's infant -- and you already *knew* that he was a target -- and someone put a gun to your head to kidnap him, would *you* just hand him over? He could at least have had a nasty gash on the side of his head, suggesting that he got bashed. - Sorry for the ramble; that just really bugged me. Moving right along... - Scully to Monica about searching for William alone: "What alternative do I have?" HOW ABOUT CALLING FOR MULDER? What happened to that pre-arranged plan they had for him returning? Yeah, I know they used it in "Trust No 1." You mean they didn't formulate a Plan B? Puh-leeze. - Why do the characters on this show not answer direct questions? Scully asked Reyes where she got the piece of paper with the word "Jacket" and Monica never answered. Fine, Scully figured it out, but that's not the point. - Hey Scully? Monica? Next time you want some private time with the bad guy, LOCK THE FREAKIN' DOOR. Or maybe hospital rooms never have door locks? In that case, at least shove a chair under the doorknob. ::sigh:: - Somebody explain this theory to me again? William and Mulder must die so the aliens don't take over? Huh? Or one of them has to live? But Comer tried to kill William? WTF? Excuse me while I rewind and watch that scene again, 'cause I'm lost. ::zip zip zip:: OK...the FBI sent Comer undercover to the cult that thought an alien race would rule the world. One day God told the Canada guy (Josepho, according to the closed captioning) to go to Canada to find the ship. The ship is supposed to house the physical manifestation of God, and the artifact is part of that ship. William is supposed to be a miracle child, a future savior, coveted by forces of good and evil. Josepho wants to protect him. William will grow up and follow in his father's path and try to stop the alien's return, unless his father is killed... that is the prophecy. So since Mulder is supposed to be dead, Comer had to kill William, otherwise all of mankind will perish from Earth. Umm, OK. So obviously Comer bought the cult's story. *g* And how is this cult related to the supersoldiers (AUGH! They used that word again!)? Or are they? Who or what really told Josepho about the ship in Canada? And how did he know about Mulder and William? How do the cult and the ship in Canada have any connection to what we saw in Biogenesis/T6E/AF? That ship healed; this one killed. Was the ship trying to protect William? What am I missing? Or, is it what I fear it is: just another tangential reference to a past episode, similar to the return (and subsequent re-disappearance) of Jeremiah Smith? Can someone make sense of all this? I want to understand and like this storyline. Really, I do. But I just can't make it fit into the big picture. ::sigh:; - Bad guy barbecue. Been there, done that. - I am really, really, really tired of seeing Scully cry. If this is supposed to be a build-up, if she's going to fall apart completely, let's do it already. I'm just getting frustrated with the same ol' tears. - Oh, good. Mulder may not be dead after all. I was so worried. ::snort:: - So. Since all the cult people have been barbecued, does that mean that it's safe for Mulder to return and that Scully will chat with him on the phone next week, planning his homecoming? - No, I didn't so. What's got me puzzled: - How did Follmer know that the same woman who kidnapped William hit Doggett with her car? - Er... where's the artifact now? I mean, I guess the New!FBI!SuperSoldier! guy has it, but why isn't anyone looking for it? - So who was talking to Doggett? Me, I like to think it was Mulder. :) (Don't burst my bubble, guys, OK?) - Why did Follmer sign that report if there was evidence (vague though it was) that Comer was murdered? Did he get that information after he signed it? And why does he suddenly have a conscience? Oh, never mind. I know that scene was just to lead up to showing us the new supersoldier dude. - BTW, why do these supersoldiers never have long hair? You'd think they'd want to hide that bump. Etc.: - Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones. I never saw Episode I (although I saw the original trilogy), but I have to say that the dialogue in the coming attraction didn't impress me. The special effects looked cool, though. :) - Oooh! Monica was holding Doggett's hand. How sweet. I guess he's not pining for Scully any more. - If you were standing inside an alien craft, and it started to move... wouldn't you climb the hell out? - Have I mentioned before that I hate that sniveling Brad Follmer? I was never thrilled with the character of Jeffrey Spender, but I'd far prefer him. You don't know what ya got until you lose it... - Did anyone besides me want Scully to start ripping out Comer's tubes and wires (without using the artifact, I mean *g*) to get him to talk? Yeah, I know it would have been completely ineffective. I'm just sayin'. *g* - OK, I'm glad the aliens left William behind. (I would have been royally pissed if that ship had taken him away.) But when did this show stop being TXF and start being ET? - Next week's ep: Looks like it will be the Monica Reyes version of "One Breath." C'mon 1013, you can do better than this. ***