[Filling the Space is a flexible column where our writers could vent, deconstruct, and work their way around the emotions brought on by TV, films, books, music, and key moments in pop culture. This isn’t meant to be analytical, but instead, a way for us to explore our feelings.]
I did it. I finally started watching The X-Files. And every single person who has ever begged me to do this cheered. But okay, here’s the story, and it matters. By now, many readers know that I’m a certified scaredy-cat, so that was one of the main reasons why I hadn’t started long ago.
In addition, for some reason, I had it etched in my brain as a fact that, despite being romance icons, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s Mulder and Scully never actually got together. (Imagine my shock when I learned that they actually do?!!) This whole time, I thought I was saving myself from a slow burn heartache when I could’ve been rewarding myself with one of the greatest slow burns instead?! (Insert Jennifer Lawrence’s “What do you mean?” GIF here.)
So, I pressed play on the pilot episode, and even that is exemplary? So utterly swoon-worthy right from the start that I was basically watching the entire episode while standing up because I couldn’t for the life of me chill out and sit?
As a critic, I know that a pilot episode isn’t always going to hit, and we owe it to creators to give the series a fair chance to find its momentum. But every so often, a pilot episode is so outstanding that it’s near impossible not to fall headfirst. The X-Files pilot is one of those rare gems, and so is everything about the show. But, Gissane, you’ve only watched one episode, how can you tell? Because if a single episode can deliver this much vulnerability in its premiere, then it can deliver magic later on.
And that’s the thing, when it comes to properties from the ’90s, vulnerability isn’t as prevalent. We get softness and displays of intimacy, but they’re often so short and closer to the end. But the sheer fact that the pilot allows characters to open up right from the start is a really promising display of how much sincerity lies in these characters. The hug? Every detail about the motel scene? I could write essays about the tenderness present in every moment.
Related Content: Scene Breakdown: Scully and Mulder’s First Kiss in The X-Files
The setup!? Just, genuinely. I have no notes—only way too many feelings that I keep texting my friends about in random caps, and I’m not quite sure that’s appropriate for an article. All of this is really to say that if you were also somehow living in the dark, piled under the biggest and most ridiculous rock, please join me in rectifying wrongs. We can go on this journey together.
The X-Files is currently streaming on Disney+.
First Featured Image Credit: ©20th Century Fox