Post: Well, I've tried to hold off long enough to let the wash of excitement subside so I can see a little of WHAT exactly made this episode work so well. It was definitely a tour de force from CC and company, a story presented with unflagging momentum, a piece from a team that was definitely 'in the groove'.

From the first slow pan beneath the boat and over to Mulder, this story tugged at my curiosity. Why was he there? What would he find on the ship? Would Scully be able, after knocking on all those doors, to find someone--anyone--who would help? The real-time filming technique added to the urgency of the searches, Mulder being shoved down hallway after hallway on the ship, Scully racing through hallway after hallway (and office and the occasional elevator) in search of help for Mulder. Mark Snow's music also heightened the mood as the searches progressed, some of it bits from FTF, some just a basic beat that twisted the dial a bit higher. 

I liked the fact that the German was not translated; it put us in Mulder's position, wondering what was going on. I only had one quarter of German in college (too busy with Spanish and French), but while William Davis' German sounded a little unnatural to me, I realize he also had a heck of a lot to remember, since he didn't get any of those convenient cutaways that would allow him to go back and polish a few more lines. I thought Chris Owens' accent (the German speaking English to Mulder in the ballroom) was wonderful, along with the tilt of the head; it added a touch of authenticity to his role (Chris really has done a great job with every role they've given him, even though most of the time he's in our love-to-hate box.) Gillian, who can play so many widely varying characters so convincingly (go see The Mighty if you want to see the total antithesis of Scully--and completely convincing, too) did a great job with the spunky thirties Scully clone. BTW, what happened to Krycek in all this? Couldn't they have found a role for Rat Boy amongst all these baddies? Everyone else seemed to be there.

Other technical points that helped this episode along were the big band music playing during the ballroom brawl (even my 'little boys', 11 and 13, were really into this), the flashing lights on Mulder when he was first pulled up onto the ship that made you peer into the darkness to figure out who it was and just what was going on. Some of the crewmen's dialog was unintelligible to me--muffled--but even that, in the end, made me more invested in finding out what was happening. The split shots, especially the one where the Scullys cross and look back briefly, as if recognizing something they can't put their finger on, were great fun, too. As were all the references to The Wizard of Oz. CC not only iced this cake, he added a couple of really intriguing fillings as well. 

Scully's escalation/growth/tearing-out-of-the-cocoon to emerge as a feisty rebel, begun at the end of FTF, continued with a vengeance in 6x03. I must admit to some suspension-of-disbelief squirmies here (would she REALLY go to Spender, thinking he would get what she asked for, or Kersh?) Nevertheless, Scully springs into action as soon as she hears the word that Mulder is in trouble, in much the same way that the 1939 Scully steps in to speak for him in the ballroom, or throws the life preserver overboard the minute she realizes Mulder has jumped ship. AGAINST THEIR BETTER JUDGMENT where both Scullies are concerned, they nonetheless react automatically to go to Mulder's aid. Scully's (the 1998 version) slide into disrepute is chronicled in the elevator, where other women give her the look formerly reserved for her crazy partner. And her closing of Skinner's door and talking back to him are something we would never have imagined from her a few seasons ago.

It could be argued forever whether the events we see really happened to Mulder or not. He was floating in the sea when we first saw him, and he was floating in relatively the same position when Scully and the LGM pull him out. Scully does admit to seeing the ship with power (lights) when it first appears. She and the LGM go through lighted, well-maintained hallways before emerging into the ghost ship's dusty ballroom. But they obviously don't find Mulder on board. Of course, CC has succeeded in leaving the laces deliberately untied here (yet again), and we don't really expect the ends to be neatly tied by now, do we? Still, no matter what theory you subscribe to, it seems obvious that Mulder's subjective consciousness has had a big hand in shaping the characters he sees on board the Queen Anne. The Scully character does show a definite flash of recognition (which she seems instinctively to want to bury) when she first sees Mulder, and she intervenes to protect him when he is put on the spot about the identity of the scientist. She is perhaps feistier than her 1998 version (although not by much, judging from the Scully we see charging through offices and pressuring associates). CSM and Spender, of course, appear as SS men, and Skinner is the double agent who appears to be with the wrong side until a crucial moment occurs. Interestingly, the 1939 Kersh is not playing along with the bad guys but has his own agenda. My guess is that this is Mulder's impression of AD Kersh, and will play out in future episodes.

The most human moments of this story revolve around what Mulder thinks he has learned about his partner. His biggest joy, upon awaking in the hospital, is that his partner BELIEVED him. If seen in the context of Wetwired, where Scully's greatest fear is that Mulder might betray her, here we are shown Mulder's greatest hope: that Scully will believe him. But there is more. Mulder, always the one to learn through gut instincts, dreams, and regressions, has taken the chance to find out something more about his partner. He seizes the opportunity to kiss her, knowing full well the reaction he will get ("I was expecting the left"), and he keeps at it until finally she succumbs to the kiss and her body melts against him. While his contemporary partner is oblivious in the hospital scene, overtaken with the responsibility a mother would feel for an errant child, Mulder will still take this as a sign. There is hope here and he will nurture it. Even the bruise on his cheek can only make him smile. 

All in all, a great episode, easily equal in creativity to Post-Modern Prometheus from Season 5.