And then some! -- X-PHILES WORLD-Season 8 Discussion

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Date Posted: 09:34:59 03/05/01 Mon
Author: Sig
Subject:

And then some!
In reply to: detoured 's message, "Sob! Sob! Sob!" on 02:53:43 02/28/01 Wed

I thought that the SUZ/Closure narrative developed beautifully. The story moved from the general to the specific. From the kidnapping of a child that we had little emotional involvment with, to Samantha's head buried in Mulder's chest; a moment that had seven years of emotional resonance for us. The introduction of each element, bringing us closer to Samantha. I have to admit that I found this two-part arc quite poetic.

The suicide of Mrs. Mulder was perhaps overdue. Knowing that Mulder would discover some disturbing truthes in this case & unable to reconcile her feelings of guilt concerning Samantha, she took her own life. She burnt the photos so that her children wouldn't have to bear witness to this final act of abandonment. To have lied to, deceived & abandoned your children, under whatever circumstances, must have finally been too much for her. IMO.

The 'diary' scene was moving, but the 'I hope he get's to read this' line, just overplayed the hand, I think. DD was so subtle & restrained that it made that line sound a bit clunky & obvious. The only other inconsistency I found, was at the seance - why wasn't it Samantha who led Mulder to her diary? I know it would have made the climax less powerful, but I wish they could have found another way. It annoys me a bit when writers have to bend logic to serve a dramatic narrative. These niggles are far outweighed by the emotional satisfaction of the whole piece though.

As far as the final, 'eternal playground' scene, ITA with both of you. It was shot with such simplicity & beauty, yet it resolved so many complex & contradictory threads. The use of the Moby track was also a perfect musical choice. I think that this scene was just an anonymous spiritual moment for Mulder, without religous significance. He was vulnerable & receptive to it, finally surrendering himself to that moment.
And I'm with you det, it reduced me to an absolute wailing wreck & was affecting far beyond the end credits. Just to pick up on one of your points dev, I think returning to inform the LaPierre's on the fate of their daughter would have diffused the emotional charge of this scene. And Amber Lynn's story was just a dramatic catalyst anyway, so in this case I can let the resolution thing slide.

Also, I think the title 'Closure' was sincere dev, like you said - the fate of Samantha was wrapped up and I think that was what we were all looking for. Although, there was an interview with Frank Spotnitz on the 'Closure' video, where he comes out with a cryptic statement, "It's not the only answer, it's not the final answer, but it gives an answer that I don't think people are expecting." That comment still concerns me slightly. If I want deep rooted ambiguity, I'll stick on a Resnais film.

XXX Sig:)

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Replies:

Ambiguity is the 1013 trademark! -- detoured, 00:30:27 03/06/01 Tue
- This was my first -- Stardoe, 00:29:35 03/08/01 Thu
  - Good points--these never even crossed my mind! (NT) -- CW, 13:00:21 03/09/01 Fri