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Friday 16 March 2018

The X Files 11.9 "Nothing Lasts Forever" Review

                                           Image result for the x-files nothing lasts forever
"I want To Be Beautiful"

X Files back to its gruesomest, well there had to be one of those in a kind of harkback to Eugene Tooms, [Squeeze and Tooms] and who fed on human livers to sustain himself  an then go into hibernation.  Sounds like this is what Barbara needed to do. This one involved an aging star (in the form of much that is topical about celebrity in their quest to remain forever young - hmm thought that sounded a little Mulder (David Duchovny) there! ha) only Barbara (Fiona Vroom) wasn't actually a star in not amounting to much so can't be put up there with the greats, but aged into obscurity and in her fleeting ambition to be beautiful and forever young; she came across a doctor who believed he found the secret to youth.  Having performed the same procedures on himself.  Juliet (Carlena Britch) mentions her sister, Olivia (Micaela Aguilera) joined a cult, well this appeared to be just that, brainwashing people into believing they were much better than they thought of themselves to be and then harvesting their organs so cruelly and crudely for themselves.  A form of vampire cannibalism.  Almost on Mulder territory there with his line of using the materials that would've been used for Christ including wooden stakes, which gets them onto the case and full jurisdiction from the detectives.  As well as Scully's (Gillian Anderson) line of Mulder having to look forward to gout!

As doctors remove organs from a victim, a woman, Juliet, hides and then attacks then with metal bars and a hammer akin to Jesus on the cross.  A profound action in being religious herself and wants to know where 'they' are.  She leaves the organs outside a hospital with the words "I will repay."  Only the organs can't be used.  Scully attends church and communion service again a kind of parallel could be drawn here in that they are served the body and the blood of Christ, a perversion where Barbara Doctor Luvenis (Jere Burns) are given, correction: forcibly take the organs of innocents in the hopes of remaining young.  A blood fountain of youth.  Also there is Olivia, the missing sister and she willingly partakes in this, as her mother looks at her photo with her deformed face.  Barbara telling them they are loved and not ugly.

Mulder and Scully take on the case as Mulder believes there is an X-File here with Scully later deciding that there isn't.  After their visit to church.  Where they speak of Scully's beliefs and she tells him why she started to believe, when her brother Charlie was taken ill and she prayed.  He had rheumatic fever and later she started praying for a dog.  She believed her prayers worked when she got a dog for Christmas.  But her mother's faith made her strong and that's what she also believes in.  Mulder adding he knows why he's not a Christian cos his parents didn't get a puppy.  He also notices Romans 12:19-21 quoting,  “Vengeance is mine, I will repay" which is about vengeance and repaying.  As Juliet comes to the church and talks with Father Hardy (Cameron McDonald) who tells her to have faith and she will find her sister.  Outside Mulder notices the three missing bars from the fence which were used in the crime and are led to Olivia's mother, Josephine (Fabiola Calmenero) by the Father.

Juliet refuses to let them in and says she's protecting her mother shutting he door on them.  They're led to a building where the resident Barbara hasn't been seen in 7 years by the super and they have a dumb waiter which is used by them.  She's 85 and as Olivia is hooked onto the doctor, they are let into the apartment by Barbara.  She isn't 85 at all and they are attacked by the others with Scully being thrown down the dumb waiter.  As Mulder is pinned down, Juliet arrives and takes out Barbara.  Mulder finds the doctor with Olivia in the basement and kills him.  Scully's fall being broken by the years of rubbish collecting there.  Funnily they found the doctor by tracking a heart.

In church again Scully mentions William and also Mulder talks of how she could've left him in his basement at the FBI years ago, before he even got glasses and married a brain surgeon with lots of children.  But they're here and together and that's what he believes in.  Scully asking "are we together?"  He says he will believe through her and makes a wish, but she says it's not a birthdy cake, they're prayer candles.  She whispers what she wants to him, in a moment that felt like they would kiss!!  As Mulder lights a candle. 
Scully: "that's my leap of faith forward and I'd like to do it together."
Mulder: "I always wondered how this was going to end." 

Perhaps a flash forward to the final episode in this season 11 which could turn out to be the final episode of the X-Files.  But it was an enjoyable run with the exception of a few dud eps.  I can say that can't I? 

Ahh yes Mulder and his glasses which Scully tells him eventually everyone will go through and his having to use them now.  Suddenly he gets glasses when the tagline changes to "I Want To be Beautiful" as opposed to "I want to believe" (generally in aliens which eh does among other things) or "I want to believe I am beautiful."  To my recollection and never forgetful memory, Mulder wore glasses in the Pilot ep when they first met!  Maybe he got contacts afterwards!!


Also the funny throwaway line of Mulder peering at Scully closely in the beginning and asking if she got a haircut?  No it was a new wig so desperately needed two eps ago!   But honestly he appeared to be short sighted than long sighted and should have noticed the wig anyone as he wasn't looking at her face so closely and was able to drive without glasses too.  In the title which could also be an allusion to this show.  As well as Sidney Sheldon's book of the same name, about three female doctors trying to compete in a male world.  Well in some ways it was Barbara here who wanted to remain young and using the doctor but it did seem to be a mutual relationship of give and give some more and blatant take on her part.

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