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sinkwriterThe X-Files: "Terma"
Recap, Part Two
(Part One of the recap found here.)
ACT 2
SCENE 6
Can you say, "Bite me, Senator?"
Annnnnd... we're back to the very first scene as presented at the top of "Tunguska." Scully's standing before the Senate subcommittee in Washington, D.C., swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, yadda yadda.
She tries to read her statement: "I left behind a career in medicine to become an F.B.I. agent four years ago, because I believed in this country, because I wanted to uphold its laws, to punish the guilty and to protect the innocent."
This time as Scully reads her words, a note is seen being passed around from a messenger to Chairman Romine, and then to Senator Sorenson. Do you think it's a note from CSM and WMM, saying, "Stop this ridiculous hearing right now or we'll ensure your political careers end in scandal? Or, you know, your violent deaths? Don't make us come down there!" Maybe not.
Read on...
Skinner watches this note-passing with careful attention. He would have made a great teacher; he catches everything. Plus, he's got that no-nonsense demeanor. Kids would have been quaking in their seats: "You got Skinner for Ethics and Government? Crap! Me, too!"
Anyway, blah blah... we've seen this scene before. Romine interrupts Scully's reading, tells her this is not a forum for soapboxing. Scully wants to finish her statement. Sorenson butts in, asking where Mulder is. Scully respectfully refuses to answer that question, so as not to get Mulder killed. Romine lectures her. Scully butts in and tries to finish her statement: "...that it is no longer possible for me to carry out my duties as an FBI agent..." This gets Skinner's attention. He seems concerned.
Sorenson asks her if she's quitting the F.B.I. Gillian Anderson does a great pause here; she's just wonderful in this scene, really holds the viewer's attention, especially when she says this next part: "What I am saying is that there is a culture of lawlessness that has prevented me from doing my job, that the real target of this committee's investigation should be the men who are beyond prosecution and punishment, the men whose secret policies are behind the crimes that you are investigating." I've said it before and I'll say it again: 'culture of lawlessness' is a really cool phrase. I love it! Such words are delicious.
Skinner, however, does not look like he loves Scully's speech. He's got his hand to his forehead like he thinks Scully is digging her own grave, and that this committee is going to happily dump her in it and start filling in the dirt.
Sorenson reminds Scully that she's got a legal obligation to answer the questions posed to her: "Now, either you tell us what you know about Agent Mulder's whereabouts, or you'll be held in contempt of Congress." Last episode, this moment is where the scene stopped. This time, Scully looks at Sorenson, then looks to Romine. Her mouth is tight, her lips sealed.
Cut to a door buzzing open, and Scully being led down a hallway by a U.S. marshal. Yep, she chose contempt of Congress. She's going to stew in a jail cell for a little while. Poor Scully.
We get an interesting camera shot of Scully as seen through the little window in her cell door -- she stands there and crosses her arms, frustrated.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 7
I hear St. Petersburg is lovely this time of year.
Back in the woods. The driver of the green truck -- the truck that Mulder stole at the camp -- is pacing in the woods. He seems to be searching for something, and apparently, he's more competent than a bunch of cruel gulag guards, because he finds what he's looking for. He reaches down into the dead leaves, digging, and yanks Mulder to his feet, yelling at him in Russian. Mulder looks too tired to fight back.
Cut to a woman reading by lamplight. The door to her rustic home opens, and the driver walks through, pushing Mulder inside and shoving him to the floor at the woman's feet. He curses that "this sonofabitch ruined my truck." However, this woman is more charitable, so she tells the driver to be careful, that Mulder is clearly injured. The driver doesn't really give a damn about that. He says Mulder can't stay in their home because the guards are looking for him.
The woman has already helped Mulder up and settled him into a chair at their dining table. He's so weak, he can barely sit up straight. As she gets him something to drink, she tells the driver (her husband?) that he shouldn't have brought Mulder to her home if he didn't want her to take care of Mulder. The driver grouses, "He's not staying," then storms out of the house. Clearly we see who's boss in this house -- she is. Heh.
Mulder clasps the mug in both hands, draining its contents in large gulps. The Truck Driver's Wife keeps rambling in Russian to him, until he stops drinking and tells her he doesn't speak her language. She checks him over, as Mulder apologizes about the damage he did to her husband's truck. She pulls back the sleeve of his left arm, seeing the inflamed injection site where he received the vaccine. Upset, she asks: "The test?" Mulder rubs his arm, wincing, and confirms her suspicions.
Truck Driver's Wife: "They kill everybody for the test."
Mulder: "Why don't they kill you?"
Truck Driver's Wife: "My husband makes deliveries. They spare our lives. But now, no truck. He is afraid."
Ooops. Nice work, Mulder.
He points out that the guards will come looking for him, and for the truck driver and his wife, so they should all get the hell outta town.
Truck Driver's Wife says no, that there are other ways to avoid being taken to the camp. Mulder is confused, so Truck Driver's Wife calls out to someone named Grisha. A boy enters the room. Mulder stares -- the kid has no left arm. Truck Driver's Wife explains: "No arm. No test."
Understandably, Mulder wants to go back to option A. "You don't understand. These tests... this smallpox scar on your arm is some kind of identification. You have to help me escape. I'll help you escape. You have to help me get to St. Petersburg."
Mulder's eyes plead with hers. Frightened and uncertain, she tightens the shawl around her shoulders.
A thumping is heard at the door. The truck driver enters the house again. This time he's brandishing a very large knife. Mulder looks down at the knife, then back up at the man, then down at the knife again. He looks nervous.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 8
Please tell me when it's okay to uncover my ears and open my eyes.
Close-up on a toasty, crackling campfire. Alex Krycek sleeps curled up on the ground, a woolen blanket cocooned around him and tucked up to his chin. The flames flicker, illuminating his peaceful face amidst the shadows of night. He slumbers quietly for a few moments, until a nearby voice whispers in Russian. The words are not translated, but Krycek's eyes pop open immediately.
He turns his head and rolls over in time to see that the one-armed men have surrounded him. Several men seize him, while others grapple with the struggling Krycek, wrestling the blanket off of him and pushing at his thermal shirt.
Close-up on a knife being pulled from the flames of the campfire. Its blade burns hot orange.
This part is so hideous; there are no good words to express just how horrific it is. The One-Armed Leader holds the knife and makes his way over to the group. Alex continues to thrash, fighting, but there are too many. They hold him down, gripping his arms, and murmur to him in Russian. Face intense, the One-Armed Leader kneels before him, leaning in with the glowing knife.
He begins to make a sawing motion with his arm. Mercifully, we cannot see the damage he is inflicting, but it is clear that he is using the knife to cut off Krycek's left arm.
No arm, no test. Aren't they helpful?
Alex Krycek screams and screams and screams in terrible agony.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 1
Weighty questions. No real answers.
Scully does a little light reading in her jail cell: "VARIOLA VIRUS" by Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre.
Side note: for crying out loud, Bonita, could you have chosen a bigger font? It's enormous! And what's with the boring, to-the-point title? Aren't you supposed to come up with something more pretentious, like "Social and Economic Reasoning for the Proper and Ethical Elimination of the Remaining Stores of Variola Virus"? *ahem* I suppose I shouldn't get sarcastic with a character that's been murdered. That's not very nice of me. Sorry, Doctor. Let's get back to Scully, shall we?
Scully's got a highligher and she's marking up her copy of Charne-Sayre's work.
She looks up as the door to her cell opens. Skinner enters, and Scully stands. Skinner: "You holding up?" Awww, that's sweet. Scully's a little snarky: "I've got plenty to read." Heh. Skinner gets no love. He sighs heavily, and they both sit down.
Skinner: "I can understand you protecting Agent Mulder, but--"
Scully: "It is not just Agent Mulder that I am protecting, sir."
Skinner: "Then what are you doing?"
Scully: "We were called before this committee to answer questions about a murder, about an intercepted diplomatic pouch, a pouch that was to be delivered to a prominent doctor, a woman who is now dead, as is the man who was delivering the said pouch, the contents of which have infected an exobiologist with a paralyzing toxin, yet what are we stuck on here? The whereabouts of Agent Mulder."
The woman's made a superb point. But damn, what a run-on sentence she just spouted! Holy crap. I think she just gave Skinner a run for his money, perhaps even besting his long monologue from Act 1, Scene 6.
Nevertheless, tremendous point. Smart, observant woman, that Scully.
Skinner responds redundantly: "You mean it's the wrong question." Um... yeah.
Scully: "Several of the men on this committee are lawyers. It is my experience that lawyers ask the wrong question only when they don't want the right answer."
Skinner: "Unless Agent Mulder has already found the answers they're looking for."
Scully: "Or someone wants to make sure that he doesn't find them."
Skinner points out that she's hinting at serious allegations about the congressmen who are running this committee hearing. Scully shows a hint of her subtle idealism when she says, "...it is in my natural inclination to believe that they are acting in the best interest of the truth," but she then admits that in this particular case, she is not inclined to follow her own judgment.
Skinner: "So, you're gonna follow Agent Mulder's, is that it?"
Scully declines to answer. She swallows and studies her hands.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 2
Vassily Peskow: The Man Gets Around. (Not like that.)
The lab at NASA Goddard where Dr. Sacks is quarantined.
A man dressed all in black smoothly enters the contamination cell. We only see him from the chest down. He's not wearing gloves or a contamination suit. Well, that's a little sloppy. If he's a doctor, he's not protecting himself from contaminates, and if he's a criminal working for (or against) the Consortium, he's not hiding his fingerprints very well. Tsk, tsk.
Cut to a close-up of Dr. Sacks' face, still shielded by his contamination suit helmet. The man-in-black's face comes into view, eye level with Dr. Sacks. It's Vassily Peskow.
(Boy, that Comrade Arntzen had quite the mission for him in that thin envelope, didn't he? Kill Dr. Charne-Sayre, go visit Dr. Sacks... what else will he do while he's in town? I bet D.C. has some killer restaurants.)
Peskow reaches into the sleeve of his coat and pulls out a syringe. He sticks the needle into a vial of amber liquid and begins to withdraw some of the solution. He carefully turns Dr. Sacks' head, injecting him with the fluid, depressing it into his neck straight through the material of his protective helmet. So much for safety procedures and security, eh, Dr. Sacks? Then again, if he's been infected with the Black Cancer, and this injection is the vaccine, forcing the organism to exit his body, he may actually survive this ordeal.
Within seconds, black worms begin to exit Dr. Sacks' eyes and nose. Ew.
Next, a hiss of air is heard as Peskow separates a metal tube from Dr. Sacks' protective suit. Uh-oh. Is that cutting off his air supply? Maybe he won't survive this ordeal. Sorry, Dr. Sacks.
Finally, Peskow takes the chunk of black rock, and exits the room.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 3
CSM and WMM -- so entertaining, they should go on the road together.
Daytime. CSM shows a photo of Vassily Peskow to WMM: "He was a KGB line-X stringer working out of Moscow center."
WMM wants to know how the Russians could possibly know that the Consortium has been working on their own inoculation for the Black Cancer. Apparently, only six people knew... Really?
CSM asks if Charne-Sayre knew, but he says her name in a voice that's dripping with speculation. WMM insists that she was a trusted member of the project. "Absolutely." His tone is emphatic.
CSM pulls his ever-present cigarette from his lips and lightly says he doesn't know who could have possibly told the Russians, then. His tone of voice hints that he still doubts Charne-Sayre's innocence and that he thinks WMM's being led by feelings for her, rather than by rational thought.
WMM doesn't appreciate his tone. His mouth draws into that heavy frown of his, and he snaps at CSM: "Find this man! Find him!" Does he want to find the person who betrayed the Consortium, or is he saying he wants CSM to find Vassily Peskow? Perhaps both.
(Isn't it interesting that WMM often seems to give the orders, and CSM is the one to follow them, as if WMM is more in charge than CSM is? Yet, at the same time, CSM always seems like the guy running the whole show, manipulating things from behind the scenes. Who's really in charge? Hmmm.)
CSM: "If my intelligence sources are right, I think there's someone who might save us the trouble."
WMM frowns again. How did things get so complicated?
***
ACT 3
SCENE 4
Can I get a 'Hell, YEAH!'?
Scully's back in the courtroom, taking a seat before the Senate subcommittee, gearing up for round two.
Sorenson wants to step into the ring with her: "Miss Scully, you've had a good long time to think about the question that was asked in our last session. I want to give you the opportunity to answer that question here today, so I can help our good chairman here to get on with this proceeding." Oh, please. He's just so magnanimous.
Scully is awesome. Her face serious, she throws a light swing at him: "I can't answer that, sir."
That stings. Sorenson takes a breath. "I'm going to ask you again. Where is Special Agent Mulder and why is he not here?"
Scully steels herself and dodges his question: "I'd be happy to answer your questions about the man carrying the diplomatic pouch." Jab.
Sorenson doesn't like this and tries to interrupt.
Scully keeps going. "...about his murder, and my opinion about its connection to the death of Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre of the World Health Organization." Left hook.
Sorenson's voice is dripping with contempt. He interrupts again, "Miss Scully, you'll get your chance with all of that--"
Scully's not finished. "...or about the biotoxin being transported within that pouch." Punch.
Angry, Sorenson hits back: "Answer the question, Miss Scully!"
Scully's mouth closes, and she pauses, exhaling, her shoulders slumping slightly. She seems to be backed up against a metaphorical wall here, with nowhere left to go but to answer the question or to keep her mouth shut and go back to her jail cell.
A marvelously welcome voice resonates from the back of the room: "What is the question?"
It's Mulder! WHOO! Everybody cheer!
As the committee mutters and murmurs, Scully whips around in her chair and stares at her partner where he stands in the doorway of the grand room. He's got a ruddy bruise on his forehead (from the truck crash?), but otherwise he looks safe and healthy and with all limbs intact. (Sorry, Krycek. Had to mention it.) He's dressed in a suit and tie (rowr!) and he's smirking ever-so-slightly as he ambles down the aisle, like he quietly knows he just made one hell of an entrance.
Scully looks so stunned and relieved to see him. Mulder glances about the courtroom before settling his gaze upon his partner, the hint of a smile on his face. She looks like she wants to stand up and hug him, but instead she simply stares at him, wide-eyed, and watches as he sits, taking his place at the conference table.
Well. I guess she doesn't have to answer that question anymore. Whew.
Chairman Romine takes over, asking Scully to continue with what she was saying. She's always strong and brave but where before Scully looked stiff and tight-lipped (not to mention all alone), she now looks more relaxed, comfortable and confident: "Yes, sir, if I may, I would like to finish making my point." Go, Scully, go.
Romine says with seemingly genuine politeness and interest to his voice: "What is your point, Miss Scully?"
Scully leans in to the microphone. "That the death of Dr. Charne-Sayre, given her field of expertise, strongly suggests that she knew something about the toxin, about its origins... and that knowledge may be directly linked to the murder of the man in Assistant Director Skinner's apartment building."
We now pause for a moment of hilarity, as Skinner enters the conference room, makes his way down the aisle, and lays eyes on Mulder for the first time. Mulder looks up at him expectantly, like, "Hi, Boss." Heeeee.
Instead of throttling Mulder, he gives him a glance of nicely covered surprise as he walks past. He goes straight for Scully, bending to her ear, whispering to her as she places a protective hand over the microphone.
Sorenson is not a patient man. His big melodramatic interrogation was pretty much ruined by the object of his inquest walking through the door at that moment, so it stands to reason that he's feeling a little pissy. He says warningly, "Miss Scully..."
Scully informs him what Skinner just told her: "There has been an accident directly related--"
Sorenson interrupts, the expression on his face suspicious and alert: "An accident?" Damn, man. Will you let the woman get a full sentence out? Meanwhile, Skinner has joined Mulder at the table, and he's muttering to him. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that brief conversation. Heh.
Scully continues: "A doctor infected with the toxin has died under suspicious circumstances..." Aw, man. I'm sorry, Dr. Sacks. Rest in peace, you enthusiastic scientist, you.
Oops! Now I'm interrupting Scully! Shame on me. Please continue.
Scully: "...involving a theft of evidence, of the contents of the diplomatic pouch."
Romine says, "Well, we've gotten off to a real fine start here." I snort at that comment, unable to tell if he's being sarcastic or if he actually thinks this hearing is going well.
Romine wants to recess until the new matter can be explained, so that they can then move the hearing along in a forward direction. Okay, that statement definitely came out snarky. He's not happy.
He slams his gavel down -- do they actually use those in courtrooms anymore? -- thus ending the session. Scully immediately turns to face her partner, standing up to greet him. He's standing too, smiling at her, and it's such a beautiful reunion.
All Scully has to do is say, "Mulder..." and he's already hugging her. He jokes, "I get to put my arms around you. Both of them." She has no idea just how wonderful and amazing that is. Looks like the good truck driver's wife may have helped him get home, after all. I hope he helped them escape, too.
He smiles broadly, holding her, rubbing her back.
(Come on, you know I've got to recap that. Okay, okay, moving on.)
Before I move on, let me just say one thing. He looks so tall as he hugs her, it's almost comical. Her head barely reaches his shoulders. It's so cute. I love it.
Guess Gillian didn't stand on a box during this moment of filming. Heh.
(Okay, okay, I'm done now. Truly moving on with the recap.)
Scully: "When did you get back here?"
Mulder: "It's been a long, strange trip."
Well, that's the understatement of the week.
Skinner, on the other hand, is not in the mood for hugs and kisses. He butts in with a reprimanding, "Some other time. I think there's been enough strangeness here to sort through."
Scully tells Mulder that she's made some connections about the toxin, what it might be. He grossly understates in reply: "So have I." Oh, darling Scully, you have no idea just how closely Mulder has gotten to know that toxin.
Scully requests Skinner's permission for two airline tickets to Boca Raton, Florida. Hey, that's where Auntie Janet lives in the convalescent home! Scully promises she and Mulder won't be gone longer than twelve, maybe fifteen hours at the most. But, she says, if they are delayed, Skinner may have to stall the committee in the morning when the hearing reconvenes. Skinner's jaw tightens. Poor guy. He's always covering Mulder and Scully's asses. The work of an assistant director is seldom acknowledged.
Scully tries to explain what they'll be doing and why, but Skinner cuts her off, irritated. "If you explain it to me, Agent Scully, I'm going to have to explain it to them. I suggest you do everything in your power to make it back for tomorrow's session... or I can't help you." Ooooooooh. Tough love!
But you know what? He says that every time, yet every time he manages to find it in himself to begrudgingly help them anyway. As Mulder once said, he's their "beacon in the night." Heee. Everybody give Skinner some love. I think he's feeling underappreciated.
Anyway, Skinner walks away, and Mulder pulls Scully aside. He's been a little busy with his trip through the forests of Tunguska; he doesn't know anything about Boca Raton. Scully explains, "Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre is a board member and chief physician for a chain of elder-care convalescent hospitals around the country." So she's a virologist who's worked with presidents and then there's that thing with the smallpox vials, and now this, too? Wow, she does all that, and still has time to ride horses? That's impressive.
Annnnd, I'm interrupting the lovely Miss Scully again. Apologies!
Scully informs us all, "Guess what one of her patients died of in Boca Raton?" Um... I'll take toxins for $1000, Alex?
Mulder nods, his eyes intrigued.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 5
Remind me never, ever to allow anyone to put me into a nursing home.
HARROW CONVALESCENT HOME
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
8:15 PM
A nurse places headphones over the ears of an elderly patient, and pushes a button on the box, adjusting the volume. She smiles and makes her exit, as a man enters the room. Surprise, surprise! It's Vassily Peskow. Wow... Virginia, Maryland, and now Florida. He is definitely cleaning up before Mulder and Scully can get there and capture any sort of physical proof to help their strange case.
He makes a beeline for the cabinet where all the meds are stored, searches for a specific bottle of pills, and switches it for a bottle from his pocket, one that looks the same. He takes the original bottle and tucks it into his pocket.
Cut to the same location, at 9:32 PM.
The nurse from before opens the door to the convalescent home, greeting Mulder and Scully, who flash their badges. Scully requests permission to speak with the nurse, or with any of the patients.
Cut to the nurse leading Mulder and Scully into the infirmary. She tells them that she last checked on the patients an hour ago.
Mulder and Scully move from bed to bed, feeling for pulses in each of the patients.
Scully: "This man's dead."
The nurse is stunned and joins Scully at the patient's bedside to double-check her findings. Mulder checks a patient, then turns to the bedside of the woman who received the headphones from the nurse an hour ago. Her eyes are closed; there are black oil worms crawling around her face, out of her eyes, ears and nose. Mulder recoils slightly, then looks down and sees a small paper cup tucked in her hand (the kind in which medications are usually provided). He pulls the cup from her grasp -- it's empty.
Mulder: "Scully, these people are test subjects. I think they've been poisoned."
I'm amazed that Scully isn't more stunned to see the black worms twitching on the woman's skin. Then again, after four years working with Agent Mulder, what hasn't the woman seen?
Scully wants to know who gave the patients their medications. The nurse says she did; the poor woman's voice sounds (understandably) a bit freaked.
Scully takes charge: "Okay, I need you to call 911. Tell them you've got an emergency quarantine of a biohazardous material. I need you to show us all of the entrances of the hospital. We've got to seal this building immediately."
As Mulder, Scully and the nurse exit the room in a hurry, the camera closes in on a patient tucked in a bed at the end of the room. It's Vassily Peskow, pretending to be a patient, pretending to be asleep. As soon as he hears the door to the infirmary close, he pulls back the blankets and gets up. He quietly makes his exit. His work at the convalescent hospital is complete.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 6
Eating a bomb that size must give you terrible heartburn.
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
NEW YORK CITY
A door opens. Mulder and Scully enter a section of the prison.
Scully: "I still don't understand what it is you hope to learn here."
Mulder: "Everything that's happened, every death we've seen can be traced back to one man."
Scully: "But according to you, that man is in Russia, or possibly even dead."
Mulder: "Well, he isn't working alone."
A guard unlocks a series of doors for them; at last, the two agents enter the appropriate cell.
A man is stretched out on a cot, his back to them. He rolls over as Mulder addresses him: "Terry Edward Mayhew? Can we talk with you? Have a little off the record chat?"
It's the blonde crew-cut guy from the militia bust, the one who looked so angry as he was being arrested. He wants to know what they want to discuss.
Mulder: "Alex Krycek."
Mayhew: "Who?"
Mulder: "The man who set you up. You and the members of your militia."
Mayhew: "Name wasn't Krycek. It was Arntzen, or something like that."
Oh, reeeeeally? Alex Krycek = Comrade Arntzen? Fascinating. That adds a whole new level to what's going on and who's planning what and who's screwing whom over. Through his actions in this two-episode arc, he seems to be sabotaging the Consortium's entire vaccine project. Perhaps he wasn't completely lying when he told Mulder and Scully that he wanted to go after CSM, bring him down. Intriguing.
Mulder continues his line of questioning: "You came into contact with him in North Dakota, salvaging material from a missile silo." Mayhew half-sits up, casually leaning on his elbow as he denies ever being in any missile silos.
Again, I say, oh, reeeeeeally? Is he deliberately denying everything, trying not to help the government agents he likely despises on principle, or do you think this is the proof we need that Alex Krycek got out of the silo by some other means, for some other reason?
Scully asks how Krycek came into contact with Mayhew, then. Good question, Scully! Mayhew merely smiles, all sarcastic and shark-like, until Scully promises, "Off the record." Mayhew says Krycek came to them with his own building materials and big ideas. He says Krycek was aiming to build two devices.
Mulder's stuck on his horrific experience, after being led to Tunguska by Alex Krycek, so he asks, "Did he ever mention Black Cancer?"
Surprisingly, Mayhew says yes. He says Krycek told them it was developed by the Soviets, that Saddam used it in the Gulf as bio-warfare. Mayhew says that the U.S. government knew about the Black Cancer. "They lied. Didn't have no cure, no inoculation."
(Gotta love this; it seems like Krycek told them exactly what they wanted to hear, anything that would feed the militia group's anger toward the government, so that they would do what he wanted. But to what end?)
Mulder and Scully exchange a knowing look. (Heh. I love when they do that. They don't even need to speak; each one seems to already know what the other is thinking. Such a marvelous aspect of their partnership.)
Mayhew's got nothing more to say to them. Scully moves to leave the cell, but Mulder isn't finished with this guy: "You said there were two devices. What happened to the other bomb?"
Mayhew gets cocky. "I ate it."
After everything he's been through, Mulder's not in the mood for fooling around. He grabs Mayhew and pulls him into a headlock. Mulder sneers, "You want to know about anarchy? You don't tell me where that other bomb is, then I'll make sure you spend your prison time on your bigoted hands and knees, putting a big smile on some convict's face."
Whoa. Yikes. Okay, then.
Mayhew seems to believe Mulder capable of this, so he coughs up the info: "Son of a bitch stole it, truck and all. Some storage garage." In Terma, North Dakota.
(And now we have our episode title. You know, I've seen this episode many times, but I'm not sure I ever caught that line before. I always knew where the title "Tunguska" came from, but never recalled them mentioning "Terma." Now I know. It's Terma, North Dakota. Thanks,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
trustno1_redux! I learned something today!)
Mulder whispers "Thank you," into Mayhew's ear in a sarcastically sweet manner; it's kind of hilarious. He and Scully exit Mayhew's cell, spurred into action. Mulder wants Scully to get the license numbers for any two-ton trucks stolen in North Dakota in the last six months, then to call the Canadian border authorities to stop any vehicle matching that description. "Tell them they're looking for a bomb."
Scully wants to know what Mulder's going to be doing. Excellent question. Why should she do all the grunt work? (Heh.)
Mulder says something interesting: "This has been a big setup from the beginning, almost perfectly executed."
Almost. I bet Alex Krycek didn't plan on Mulder going kamikaze on him and busting out of the gulag before Krycek could finish whatever he had planned. And I'm very certain Krycek didn't plan on losing his arm like he did. But beyond that, yes, it seems like a fascinatingly flawless plan that accomplished quite a bit:
Wrecking the Consortium's vaccine project, taking out one of their most prominent virologists, destroying their research, and taking them all down a peg. Gaining Mulder's trust enough to lure him to Tunguska, in order to get him inoculated from the Black Oil. Perhaps setting some protective measures in motion to ensure Mulder would survive, gaining in Mulder a trustworthy ally in the fight against alien colonization attempts.
I confess I was never fond of Alex Krycek, never trusted him, truly loathed how he messed with Mulder and Scully, but in cataloging everything he's done in these two episodes, in realizing all the planning and timing and patience this plan must have taken, I have to admit... it's pretty impressive for one man to accomplish. Kudos, Krycek.
Mulder continues to intrigue me: "Someone used Krycek, then Krycek used us."
Okay, I totally see that Krycek used Mulder, but who used Krycek? That's the question.
Mulder keeps going: "Someone who didn't want that rock in American hands."
Scully: "But what's in Canada?"
Mulder: "Where would you put this rock if you didn't want it to be found?"
Scully thinks long and hard before responding, "Back in the ground."
These two... they're such a good team. They play harmoniously like finely tuned instruments. I just love watching them work together.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 7
It's nice that an ex-KGB operative can find a hobby.
BORDER CROSSING
ALBERTA, CANADA
Night.
Seems Mulder and Scully are always one step behind what's happening. Here at the border crossing, Vassily Peskow stands with a border guard, pointing out the contents of his two-ton truck: "Fertilizer. Fertilizer for my hothouse tomatoes. Beautiful tomatoes, all year, eh?" Peskow's trying to pull off a Canadian accent? Heeee. Bizarre.
The guard seems to think his papers are in order, for he nods and gives them back to Peskow, allowing him to get back into his truck and cross the border.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 8
Fire bad. Trees pretty.
Day. A helicopter flies over an oil refinery.
Mulder and Scully are aboard the chopper. They look out over the gorgeous Canadian scenery as the vehicle comes in for a landing in a spacious clearing. There is a blue truck -- the one Vassily Peskow was driving over the border last night? -- already parked nearby.
Mulder climbs down, then instructs Scully to take the chopper back to the refinery to see if anyone knows anything about the truck. He ducks out of the way, and the helicopter pulls up, back into the sky.
Mulder jogs over to the truck and peers inside. Nothing particularly interesting. He makes his way around to the back of the truck and tries the handle. It's locked. He climbs up on the bumper and peeks through the tiny window. I imagine all he sees are the bags of fertilizer that Peskow used to obscure the bomb he transported over the border.
Mulder walks across the yard to an old contraption, something to do with oil refineries, I'm sure, but I have no idea what it is. It looks like an old water pump, only it has many wheel valves. Mulder circles the apparatus, clearly not knowing much more than I do about it. He then sees a metal cylinder in the ground nearby and goes to check that out.
Cut to Scully's helicopter landing in the parking lot of the refinery. She gets out, and the chopper takes off again. Wait -- how will she get back to Mulder? And how will the two of them get home? (Sigh. I guess that's going to be unexplained for now. Let's get back to our heroine.)
Scully climbs up and over a fence. As she looks around the ground level of the refinery, we see that Vassily Peskow is standing several levels up, watching her. He's got a mission to complete so he quickly backs away and heads into the Valve Room. Scully looks up when she hears the metal door squeak closed.
Cut back to Mulder as he opens the grate that sits atop the metal tube. He stretches an arm down into the cylinder, straining to reach something inside. Unable to reach it, he sticks his head inside the tube. Mulder, seriously, what the hell? Have you learned nothing?
As he does this, in the background we can see oil suddenly shoot in a heavy burst from that pump contraption, spraying straight up into the sky like a water fountain. Since the laws of gravity state that what goes up must come down, Mulder gets a nightmare of black oil spraying all over him, pelting him like rain. Thankfully, it seems to be regular black oil, not the Black Oil. Ignoring the spewing oil, Mulder continues to try to reach whatever's in the cylinder. It's difficult to see, but I think it's the black rock that Peskow stole from NASA Goddard. I think Peskow's going to blow it up, destroying the remaining shreds of evidence Mulder and Scully once had.
As Mulder tries to reach the rock, he hears an alarm beeping. He looks up, stares over at the pump mechanism, realizes there's something timed to blow, and starts running as quickly as he can. He's completely covered in oil. Flammable. Yeah, not really something you want to be bathed in when near fire.
He runs across the yard like a mad sprinter, trying to get as far away as possible from the pump. As everything shifts to slow motion, the force of a gigantic explosion knocks Mulder to the ground. The rock is sucked down into the cylinder, engulfed in the blaze. Flames shoot high, up and out, filling the sky with fire. Molten orange clouds swell in a magnificent burst, billowing out before turning completely black.
Cut to Scully running along a metal ramp on an upper level of the refinery, her gaze glued to the inferno of fire that burns higher than the treetops. Her mouth agape, she's completely distracted by the frightening sight, worried for her partner's safety, which is how Vassily Peskow manages to come up behind her unannounced, wrap his arm around her neck, and steal the weapon right off her hip. Crap.
Eyes wide, she freezes in place, gripping his arm where it presses against her throat. The man unlocks the safety and holds the weapon by her neck.
Peskow says, "I would just as soon kill you, but please don't make me. My work is done." He murmurs something in Russian that is not translated -- according to Inside the X transcripts, he said "At last" -- and slowly lets go of her.
As she turns around to look at him, he backs up carefully, pointing her own weapon at her. When he has moved a safe distance away from her, he lowers the gun and walks away.
Scully's got more important issues on her mind, though. For instance, her partner. She whips her head around to stare at the fireball in the sky. After a moment, she takes off in a different direction than Peskow, heading down the stairs.
Apparently, that helicopter really did leave, because she had to run across the fields from the refinery to the area where they left Mulder.
As she makes her way through the trees and brush, trying to get to the clearing, we can see the black oil is still shooting up at great heights in a forceful jet stream of thick liquid, powerful flames rolling up the sides of it; the sound of it all, an enormous roar.
Scully sprints across the rocky terrain, heading straight for her partner. Seeing his lanky frame sprawled facedown on the ground, she screams, "Mulder!" in a terrified voice. He shifts and rolls over onto his back, his hair plastered to his muddy, oil-streaked face. He's a mess.
Poor Mulder. This has not been his best week ever.
Scully reaches his side and pulls at him gently, helping him to his unsteady feet. She wraps one of his arms around her shoulder, and they stumble away together, as the fire continues to burn in the distance until its golden flames fill the screen.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 9
How many times does he have to tell you? It's little grey men, not green.
Back to the Senate subcommittee hearing. Looks like Mulder and Scully made it back in time, though I marvel at how. Florida, New York, and Canada in fifteen hours? Maybe Skinner did stall for them.
Romine instructs Scully to present her evidence.
Scully: "Yes, sir, uh... evidence linking a number of deaths, a great number, to a biotoxin that was transported to U.S. soil by a courier who was also killed."
Sorenson notes that this courier was the man pushed from Skinner's balcony. Cut to Skinner shifting in his seat, looking at his hands, his jaw clenched as always. Scully interjects that the courier's identification has yet to be determined.
Sorenson: "Do we have the name of the individual who pushed him?"
Scully: "Yes, sir. Alex Krycek, who is missing and possibly deceased."
Cut to Mulder, who straightens stiffly, jaw clenching a little at the mention of Krycek's name.
Sorenson: "And are you then in possession of the pouch or its contents?"
Scully: "No, sir."
Sorenson: (all smarmy) "What evidence are you then presenting us with today?"
Scully: "Documents and interviews in support of a wide-ranging conspiracy to control a lethal biotoxin that is, in fact, extraterrestrial."
Mulder gets up from his seat and brings Scully an official-looking folder. I kind of love how she's in charge as the spokeswoman here, and Mulder's her little assistant. Hee. It's just so cool how wonderfully well-spoken she is.
However, Sorenson chooses to mock her comments. "What are we talking about, little green men here?" He laughs incredulously.
As Scully tries to explain, Mulder pipes up. (Oh, nooo.) He stands and stares down the committee: "Why is this so hard to believe, when the accepted discovery of life off this planet is on the front page of every newspaper around the world? When even the most conservative scientists and science journals are calling for the exploration of Mars and Jupiter? With every reason to believe that life and the persistence of it is thriving outside our own terrestrial sphere? If you cannot get past this, then I suggest that this whole committee be held in contempt... for ignoring evidence that cannot be refuted."
Scully looks to the committee. Romine looks mildly baffled. Sorenson, however, gets huffy: "This is not why we are here today."
Mulder echoes Scully's words from earlier in this episode as well from the top of "Tunguska": Then why are we here today?"
Sorenson looks away from Mulder's challenging gaze. Romine, on the other hand, speaks up, deciding to recess the hearing until the evidence Scully brought can be "properly evaluated."
Mulder looks disgusted, turning away. As he moves to pick up his folders, we see CSM stand up from where he's been sitting in the far back of the room. He looks thoughtful as he pulls a pack of Morleys from his pocket and moves to exit the premises.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 10
Tea and sympathy.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Home, sweet home, at last.
After a long journey, Vassily Peskow lets himself into his apartment. Before he can even shut the door, he sees he has a visitor, one we cannot see yet. Peskow stops where he stands, hand on the door, and says in Russian, "Please, if you are here to ask another favor, I am retired..." He closes the door and steps forward, continuing, "...Comrade Krycek."
Whoa. I know the guy has nine lives or something, like a cat, but wow, it still amazes me that he managed to survive such horrific violence.
Cut to a very much alive Alex Krycek sitting at Peskow's tea table. He speaks softly, his voice a low, gravelly murmur of Russian: "I am only here, Comrade, to congratulate you on a fine job."
Peskow says something that I'm going to assume means, "Thank you."
Krycek says nothing, simply looks the man straight in the eye for a moment before glancing down at the table. We see an altered mirroring of the first Peskow-having-tea scene: the camera pans down to where Krycek's right hand rests on the table next to his teacup, his waxy-looking artificial left hand carefully pinching the delicate chain between its fingers as he slowly dips and bobs the metal tea infuser into the water.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 11
Evidence lost, once again.
Sorenson's office. It's late evening. He sits at his desk, reading through the documents that Scully and Mulder presented into evidence at the hearing. When he reaches a particular section, he turns the folder around and hands it to the man sitting across from him on the other side of his desk.
CSM takes the proffered folder, his face expressionless, his ever-present Morley dangling from his tightly-pressed lips. He pulls the cigarette from his mouth and holds it aloft, exhaling as ash falls onto the pages of the file. He reads in silence, then sticks the cigarette between his lips as he casually tosses the file into the garbage can beside him. The receptacle is already overflowing with discarded file folders. Vassily Peskow isn't the only man who knows how to clean up loose ends.
The screen goes black.
End of episode.
***
I love "Tunguska" and "Terma." Both so exciting and intense, both wonderfully illuminating intriguing answers to some of the shadowy questions created by the enigmatic mytharc. Thank you so much for reading my take on these episodes.
Recap, Part Two
(Part One of the recap found here.)
ACT 2
SCENE 6
Can you say, "Bite me, Senator?"
Annnnnd... we're back to the very first scene as presented at the top of "Tunguska." Scully's standing before the Senate subcommittee in Washington, D.C., swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, yadda yadda.
She tries to read her statement: "I left behind a career in medicine to become an F.B.I. agent four years ago, because I believed in this country, because I wanted to uphold its laws, to punish the guilty and to protect the innocent."
This time as Scully reads her words, a note is seen being passed around from a messenger to Chairman Romine, and then to Senator Sorenson. Do you think it's a note from CSM and WMM, saying, "Stop this ridiculous hearing right now or we'll ensure your political careers end in scandal? Or, you know, your violent deaths? Don't make us come down there!" Maybe not.
Read on...
Skinner watches this note-passing with careful attention. He would have made a great teacher; he catches everything. Plus, he's got that no-nonsense demeanor. Kids would have been quaking in their seats: "You got Skinner for Ethics and Government? Crap! Me, too!"
Anyway, blah blah... we've seen this scene before. Romine interrupts Scully's reading, tells her this is not a forum for soapboxing. Scully wants to finish her statement. Sorenson butts in, asking where Mulder is. Scully respectfully refuses to answer that question, so as not to get Mulder killed. Romine lectures her. Scully butts in and tries to finish her statement: "...that it is no longer possible for me to carry out my duties as an FBI agent..." This gets Skinner's attention. He seems concerned.
Sorenson asks her if she's quitting the F.B.I. Gillian Anderson does a great pause here; she's just wonderful in this scene, really holds the viewer's attention, especially when she says this next part: "What I am saying is that there is a culture of lawlessness that has prevented me from doing my job, that the real target of this committee's investigation should be the men who are beyond prosecution and punishment, the men whose secret policies are behind the crimes that you are investigating." I've said it before and I'll say it again: 'culture of lawlessness' is a really cool phrase. I love it! Such words are delicious.
Skinner, however, does not look like he loves Scully's speech. He's got his hand to his forehead like he thinks Scully is digging her own grave, and that this committee is going to happily dump her in it and start filling in the dirt.
Sorenson reminds Scully that she's got a legal obligation to answer the questions posed to her: "Now, either you tell us what you know about Agent Mulder's whereabouts, or you'll be held in contempt of Congress." Last episode, this moment is where the scene stopped. This time, Scully looks at Sorenson, then looks to Romine. Her mouth is tight, her lips sealed.
Cut to a door buzzing open, and Scully being led down a hallway by a U.S. marshal. Yep, she chose contempt of Congress. She's going to stew in a jail cell for a little while. Poor Scully.
We get an interesting camera shot of Scully as seen through the little window in her cell door -- she stands there and crosses her arms, frustrated.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 7
I hear St. Petersburg is lovely this time of year.
Back in the woods. The driver of the green truck -- the truck that Mulder stole at the camp -- is pacing in the woods. He seems to be searching for something, and apparently, he's more competent than a bunch of cruel gulag guards, because he finds what he's looking for. He reaches down into the dead leaves, digging, and yanks Mulder to his feet, yelling at him in Russian. Mulder looks too tired to fight back.
Cut to a woman reading by lamplight. The door to her rustic home opens, and the driver walks through, pushing Mulder inside and shoving him to the floor at the woman's feet. He curses that "this sonofabitch ruined my truck." However, this woman is more charitable, so she tells the driver to be careful, that Mulder is clearly injured. The driver doesn't really give a damn about that. He says Mulder can't stay in their home because the guards are looking for him.
The woman has already helped Mulder up and settled him into a chair at their dining table. He's so weak, he can barely sit up straight. As she gets him something to drink, she tells the driver (her husband?) that he shouldn't have brought Mulder to her home if he didn't want her to take care of Mulder. The driver grouses, "He's not staying," then storms out of the house. Clearly we see who's boss in this house -- she is. Heh.
Mulder clasps the mug in both hands, draining its contents in large gulps. The Truck Driver's Wife keeps rambling in Russian to him, until he stops drinking and tells her he doesn't speak her language. She checks him over, as Mulder apologizes about the damage he did to her husband's truck. She pulls back the sleeve of his left arm, seeing the inflamed injection site where he received the vaccine. Upset, she asks: "The test?" Mulder rubs his arm, wincing, and confirms her suspicions.
Truck Driver's Wife: "They kill everybody for the test."
Mulder: "Why don't they kill you?"
Truck Driver's Wife: "My husband makes deliveries. They spare our lives. But now, no truck. He is afraid."
Ooops. Nice work, Mulder.
He points out that the guards will come looking for him, and for the truck driver and his wife, so they should all get the hell outta town.
Truck Driver's Wife says no, that there are other ways to avoid being taken to the camp. Mulder is confused, so Truck Driver's Wife calls out to someone named Grisha. A boy enters the room. Mulder stares -- the kid has no left arm. Truck Driver's Wife explains: "No arm. No test."
Understandably, Mulder wants to go back to option A. "You don't understand. These tests... this smallpox scar on your arm is some kind of identification. You have to help me escape. I'll help you escape. You have to help me get to St. Petersburg."
Mulder's eyes plead with hers. Frightened and uncertain, she tightens the shawl around her shoulders.
A thumping is heard at the door. The truck driver enters the house again. This time he's brandishing a very large knife. Mulder looks down at the knife, then back up at the man, then down at the knife again. He looks nervous.
***
ACT 2
SCENE 8
Please tell me when it's okay to uncover my ears and open my eyes.
Close-up on a toasty, crackling campfire. Alex Krycek sleeps curled up on the ground, a woolen blanket cocooned around him and tucked up to his chin. The flames flicker, illuminating his peaceful face amidst the shadows of night. He slumbers quietly for a few moments, until a nearby voice whispers in Russian. The words are not translated, but Krycek's eyes pop open immediately.
He turns his head and rolls over in time to see that the one-armed men have surrounded him. Several men seize him, while others grapple with the struggling Krycek, wrestling the blanket off of him and pushing at his thermal shirt.
Close-up on a knife being pulled from the flames of the campfire. Its blade burns hot orange.
This part is so hideous; there are no good words to express just how horrific it is. The One-Armed Leader holds the knife and makes his way over to the group. Alex continues to thrash, fighting, but there are too many. They hold him down, gripping his arms, and murmur to him in Russian. Face intense, the One-Armed Leader kneels before him, leaning in with the glowing knife.
He begins to make a sawing motion with his arm. Mercifully, we cannot see the damage he is inflicting, but it is clear that he is using the knife to cut off Krycek's left arm.
No arm, no test. Aren't they helpful?
Alex Krycek screams and screams and screams in terrible agony.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 1
Weighty questions. No real answers.
Scully does a little light reading in her jail cell: "VARIOLA VIRUS" by Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre.
Side note: for crying out loud, Bonita, could you have chosen a bigger font? It's enormous! And what's with the boring, to-the-point title? Aren't you supposed to come up with something more pretentious, like "Social and Economic Reasoning for the Proper and Ethical Elimination of the Remaining Stores of Variola Virus"? *ahem* I suppose I shouldn't get sarcastic with a character that's been murdered. That's not very nice of me. Sorry, Doctor. Let's get back to Scully, shall we?
Scully's got a highligher and she's marking up her copy of Charne-Sayre's work.
She looks up as the door to her cell opens. Skinner enters, and Scully stands. Skinner: "You holding up?" Awww, that's sweet. Scully's a little snarky: "I've got plenty to read." Heh. Skinner gets no love. He sighs heavily, and they both sit down.
Skinner: "I can understand you protecting Agent Mulder, but--"
Scully: "It is not just Agent Mulder that I am protecting, sir."
Skinner: "Then what are you doing?"
Scully: "We were called before this committee to answer questions about a murder, about an intercepted diplomatic pouch, a pouch that was to be delivered to a prominent doctor, a woman who is now dead, as is the man who was delivering the said pouch, the contents of which have infected an exobiologist with a paralyzing toxin, yet what are we stuck on here? The whereabouts of Agent Mulder."
The woman's made a superb point. But damn, what a run-on sentence she just spouted! Holy crap. I think she just gave Skinner a run for his money, perhaps even besting his long monologue from Act 1, Scene 6.
Nevertheless, tremendous point. Smart, observant woman, that Scully.
Skinner responds redundantly: "You mean it's the wrong question." Um... yeah.
Scully: "Several of the men on this committee are lawyers. It is my experience that lawyers ask the wrong question only when they don't want the right answer."
Skinner: "Unless Agent Mulder has already found the answers they're looking for."
Scully: "Or someone wants to make sure that he doesn't find them."
Skinner points out that she's hinting at serious allegations about the congressmen who are running this committee hearing. Scully shows a hint of her subtle idealism when she says, "...it is in my natural inclination to believe that they are acting in the best interest of the truth," but she then admits that in this particular case, she is not inclined to follow her own judgment.
Skinner: "So, you're gonna follow Agent Mulder's, is that it?"
Scully declines to answer. She swallows and studies her hands.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 2
Vassily Peskow: The Man Gets Around. (Not like that.)
The lab at NASA Goddard where Dr. Sacks is quarantined.
A man dressed all in black smoothly enters the contamination cell. We only see him from the chest down. He's not wearing gloves or a contamination suit. Well, that's a little sloppy. If he's a doctor, he's not protecting himself from contaminates, and if he's a criminal working for (or against) the Consortium, he's not hiding his fingerprints very well. Tsk, tsk.
Cut to a close-up of Dr. Sacks' face, still shielded by his contamination suit helmet. The man-in-black's face comes into view, eye level with Dr. Sacks. It's Vassily Peskow.
(Boy, that Comrade Arntzen had quite the mission for him in that thin envelope, didn't he? Kill Dr. Charne-Sayre, go visit Dr. Sacks... what else will he do while he's in town? I bet D.C. has some killer restaurants.)
Peskow reaches into the sleeve of his coat and pulls out a syringe. He sticks the needle into a vial of amber liquid and begins to withdraw some of the solution. He carefully turns Dr. Sacks' head, injecting him with the fluid, depressing it into his neck straight through the material of his protective helmet. So much for safety procedures and security, eh, Dr. Sacks? Then again, if he's been infected with the Black Cancer, and this injection is the vaccine, forcing the organism to exit his body, he may actually survive this ordeal.
Within seconds, black worms begin to exit Dr. Sacks' eyes and nose. Ew.
Next, a hiss of air is heard as Peskow separates a metal tube from Dr. Sacks' protective suit. Uh-oh. Is that cutting off his air supply? Maybe he won't survive this ordeal. Sorry, Dr. Sacks.
Finally, Peskow takes the chunk of black rock, and exits the room.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 3
CSM and WMM -- so entertaining, they should go on the road together.
Daytime. CSM shows a photo of Vassily Peskow to WMM: "He was a KGB line-X stringer working out of Moscow center."
WMM wants to know how the Russians could possibly know that the Consortium has been working on their own inoculation for the Black Cancer. Apparently, only six people knew... Really?
CSM asks if Charne-Sayre knew, but he says her name in a voice that's dripping with speculation. WMM insists that she was a trusted member of the project. "Absolutely." His tone is emphatic.
CSM pulls his ever-present cigarette from his lips and lightly says he doesn't know who could have possibly told the Russians, then. His tone of voice hints that he still doubts Charne-Sayre's innocence and that he thinks WMM's being led by feelings for her, rather than by rational thought.
WMM doesn't appreciate his tone. His mouth draws into that heavy frown of his, and he snaps at CSM: "Find this man! Find him!" Does he want to find the person who betrayed the Consortium, or is he saying he wants CSM to find Vassily Peskow? Perhaps both.
(Isn't it interesting that WMM often seems to give the orders, and CSM is the one to follow them, as if WMM is more in charge than CSM is? Yet, at the same time, CSM always seems like the guy running the whole show, manipulating things from behind the scenes. Who's really in charge? Hmmm.)
CSM: "If my intelligence sources are right, I think there's someone who might save us the trouble."
WMM frowns again. How did things get so complicated?
***
ACT 3
SCENE 4
Can I get a 'Hell, YEAH!'?
Scully's back in the courtroom, taking a seat before the Senate subcommittee, gearing up for round two.
Sorenson wants to step into the ring with her: "Miss Scully, you've had a good long time to think about the question that was asked in our last session. I want to give you the opportunity to answer that question here today, so I can help our good chairman here to get on with this proceeding." Oh, please. He's just so magnanimous.
Scully is awesome. Her face serious, she throws a light swing at him: "I can't answer that, sir."
That stings. Sorenson takes a breath. "I'm going to ask you again. Where is Special Agent Mulder and why is he not here?"
Scully steels herself and dodges his question: "I'd be happy to answer your questions about the man carrying the diplomatic pouch." Jab.
Sorenson doesn't like this and tries to interrupt.
Scully keeps going. "...about his murder, and my opinion about its connection to the death of Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre of the World Health Organization." Left hook.
Sorenson's voice is dripping with contempt. He interrupts again, "Miss Scully, you'll get your chance with all of that--"
Scully's not finished. "...or about the biotoxin being transported within that pouch." Punch.
Angry, Sorenson hits back: "Answer the question, Miss Scully!"
Scully's mouth closes, and she pauses, exhaling, her shoulders slumping slightly. She seems to be backed up against a metaphorical wall here, with nowhere left to go but to answer the question or to keep her mouth shut and go back to her jail cell.
A marvelously welcome voice resonates from the back of the room: "What is the question?"
It's Mulder! WHOO! Everybody cheer!
As the committee mutters and murmurs, Scully whips around in her chair and stares at her partner where he stands in the doorway of the grand room. He's got a ruddy bruise on his forehead (from the truck crash?), but otherwise he looks safe and healthy and with all limbs intact. (Sorry, Krycek. Had to mention it.) He's dressed in a suit and tie (rowr!) and he's smirking ever-so-slightly as he ambles down the aisle, like he quietly knows he just made one hell of an entrance.
Scully looks so stunned and relieved to see him. Mulder glances about the courtroom before settling his gaze upon his partner, the hint of a smile on his face. She looks like she wants to stand up and hug him, but instead she simply stares at him, wide-eyed, and watches as he sits, taking his place at the conference table.
Well. I guess she doesn't have to answer that question anymore. Whew.
Chairman Romine takes over, asking Scully to continue with what she was saying. She's always strong and brave but where before Scully looked stiff and tight-lipped (not to mention all alone), she now looks more relaxed, comfortable and confident: "Yes, sir, if I may, I would like to finish making my point." Go, Scully, go.
Romine says with seemingly genuine politeness and interest to his voice: "What is your point, Miss Scully?"
Scully leans in to the microphone. "That the death of Dr. Charne-Sayre, given her field of expertise, strongly suggests that she knew something about the toxin, about its origins... and that knowledge may be directly linked to the murder of the man in Assistant Director Skinner's apartment building."
We now pause for a moment of hilarity, as Skinner enters the conference room, makes his way down the aisle, and lays eyes on Mulder for the first time. Mulder looks up at him expectantly, like, "Hi, Boss." Heeeee.
Instead of throttling Mulder, he gives him a glance of nicely covered surprise as he walks past. He goes straight for Scully, bending to her ear, whispering to her as she places a protective hand over the microphone.
Sorenson is not a patient man. His big melodramatic interrogation was pretty much ruined by the object of his inquest walking through the door at that moment, so it stands to reason that he's feeling a little pissy. He says warningly, "Miss Scully..."
Scully informs him what Skinner just told her: "There has been an accident directly related--"
Sorenson interrupts, the expression on his face suspicious and alert: "An accident?" Damn, man. Will you let the woman get a full sentence out? Meanwhile, Skinner has joined Mulder at the table, and he's muttering to him. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that brief conversation. Heh.
Scully continues: "A doctor infected with the toxin has died under suspicious circumstances..." Aw, man. I'm sorry, Dr. Sacks. Rest in peace, you enthusiastic scientist, you.
Oops! Now I'm interrupting Scully! Shame on me. Please continue.
Scully: "...involving a theft of evidence, of the contents of the diplomatic pouch."
Romine says, "Well, we've gotten off to a real fine start here." I snort at that comment, unable to tell if he's being sarcastic or if he actually thinks this hearing is going well.
Romine wants to recess until the new matter can be explained, so that they can then move the hearing along in a forward direction. Okay, that statement definitely came out snarky. He's not happy.
He slams his gavel down -- do they actually use those in courtrooms anymore? -- thus ending the session. Scully immediately turns to face her partner, standing up to greet him. He's standing too, smiling at her, and it's such a beautiful reunion.
All Scully has to do is say, "Mulder..." and he's already hugging her. He jokes, "I get to put my arms around you. Both of them." She has no idea just how wonderful and amazing that is. Looks like the good truck driver's wife may have helped him get home, after all. I hope he helped them escape, too.
He smiles broadly, holding her, rubbing her back.
(Come on, you know I've got to recap that. Okay, okay, moving on.)
Before I move on, let me just say one thing. He looks so tall as he hugs her, it's almost comical. Her head barely reaches his shoulders. It's so cute. I love it.
Guess Gillian didn't stand on a box during this moment of filming. Heh.
(Okay, okay, I'm done now. Truly moving on with the recap.)
Scully: "When did you get back here?"
Mulder: "It's been a long, strange trip."
Well, that's the understatement of the week.
Skinner, on the other hand, is not in the mood for hugs and kisses. He butts in with a reprimanding, "Some other time. I think there's been enough strangeness here to sort through."
Scully tells Mulder that she's made some connections about the toxin, what it might be. He grossly understates in reply: "So have I." Oh, darling Scully, you have no idea just how closely Mulder has gotten to know that toxin.
Scully requests Skinner's permission for two airline tickets to Boca Raton, Florida. Hey, that's where Auntie Janet lives in the convalescent home! Scully promises she and Mulder won't be gone longer than twelve, maybe fifteen hours at the most. But, she says, if they are delayed, Skinner may have to stall the committee in the morning when the hearing reconvenes. Skinner's jaw tightens. Poor guy. He's always covering Mulder and Scully's asses. The work of an assistant director is seldom acknowledged.
Scully tries to explain what they'll be doing and why, but Skinner cuts her off, irritated. "If you explain it to me, Agent Scully, I'm going to have to explain it to them. I suggest you do everything in your power to make it back for tomorrow's session... or I can't help you." Ooooooooh. Tough love!
But you know what? He says that every time, yet every time he manages to find it in himself to begrudgingly help them anyway. As Mulder once said, he's their "beacon in the night." Heee. Everybody give Skinner some love. I think he's feeling underappreciated.
Anyway, Skinner walks away, and Mulder pulls Scully aside. He's been a little busy with his trip through the forests of Tunguska; he doesn't know anything about Boca Raton. Scully explains, "Dr. Bonita Charne-Sayre is a board member and chief physician for a chain of elder-care convalescent hospitals around the country." So she's a virologist who's worked with presidents and then there's that thing with the smallpox vials, and now this, too? Wow, she does all that, and still has time to ride horses? That's impressive.
Annnnd, I'm interrupting the lovely Miss Scully again. Apologies!
Scully informs us all, "Guess what one of her patients died of in Boca Raton?" Um... I'll take toxins for $1000, Alex?
Mulder nods, his eyes intrigued.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 5
Remind me never, ever to allow anyone to put me into a nursing home.
HARROW CONVALESCENT HOME
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
8:15 PM
A nurse places headphones over the ears of an elderly patient, and pushes a button on the box, adjusting the volume. She smiles and makes her exit, as a man enters the room. Surprise, surprise! It's Vassily Peskow. Wow... Virginia, Maryland, and now Florida. He is definitely cleaning up before Mulder and Scully can get there and capture any sort of physical proof to help their strange case.
He makes a beeline for the cabinet where all the meds are stored, searches for a specific bottle of pills, and switches it for a bottle from his pocket, one that looks the same. He takes the original bottle and tucks it into his pocket.
Cut to the same location, at 9:32 PM.
The nurse from before opens the door to the convalescent home, greeting Mulder and Scully, who flash their badges. Scully requests permission to speak with the nurse, or with any of the patients.
Cut to the nurse leading Mulder and Scully into the infirmary. She tells them that she last checked on the patients an hour ago.
Mulder and Scully move from bed to bed, feeling for pulses in each of the patients.
Scully: "This man's dead."
The nurse is stunned and joins Scully at the patient's bedside to double-check her findings. Mulder checks a patient, then turns to the bedside of the woman who received the headphones from the nurse an hour ago. Her eyes are closed; there are black oil worms crawling around her face, out of her eyes, ears and nose. Mulder recoils slightly, then looks down and sees a small paper cup tucked in her hand (the kind in which medications are usually provided). He pulls the cup from her grasp -- it's empty.
Mulder: "Scully, these people are test subjects. I think they've been poisoned."
I'm amazed that Scully isn't more stunned to see the black worms twitching on the woman's skin. Then again, after four years working with Agent Mulder, what hasn't the woman seen?
Scully wants to know who gave the patients their medications. The nurse says she did; the poor woman's voice sounds (understandably) a bit freaked.
Scully takes charge: "Okay, I need you to call 911. Tell them you've got an emergency quarantine of a biohazardous material. I need you to show us all of the entrances of the hospital. We've got to seal this building immediately."
As Mulder, Scully and the nurse exit the room in a hurry, the camera closes in on a patient tucked in a bed at the end of the room. It's Vassily Peskow, pretending to be a patient, pretending to be asleep. As soon as he hears the door to the infirmary close, he pulls back the blankets and gets up. He quietly makes his exit. His work at the convalescent hospital is complete.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 6
Eating a bomb that size must give you terrible heartburn.
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
NEW YORK CITY
A door opens. Mulder and Scully enter a section of the prison.
Scully: "I still don't understand what it is you hope to learn here."
Mulder: "Everything that's happened, every death we've seen can be traced back to one man."
Scully: "But according to you, that man is in Russia, or possibly even dead."
Mulder: "Well, he isn't working alone."
A guard unlocks a series of doors for them; at last, the two agents enter the appropriate cell.
A man is stretched out on a cot, his back to them. He rolls over as Mulder addresses him: "Terry Edward Mayhew? Can we talk with you? Have a little off the record chat?"
It's the blonde crew-cut guy from the militia bust, the one who looked so angry as he was being arrested. He wants to know what they want to discuss.
Mulder: "Alex Krycek."
Mayhew: "Who?"
Mulder: "The man who set you up. You and the members of your militia."
Mayhew: "Name wasn't Krycek. It was Arntzen, or something like that."
Oh, reeeeeally? Alex Krycek = Comrade Arntzen? Fascinating. That adds a whole new level to what's going on and who's planning what and who's screwing whom over. Through his actions in this two-episode arc, he seems to be sabotaging the Consortium's entire vaccine project. Perhaps he wasn't completely lying when he told Mulder and Scully that he wanted to go after CSM, bring him down. Intriguing.
Mulder continues his line of questioning: "You came into contact with him in North Dakota, salvaging material from a missile silo." Mayhew half-sits up, casually leaning on his elbow as he denies ever being in any missile silos.
Again, I say, oh, reeeeeeally? Is he deliberately denying everything, trying not to help the government agents he likely despises on principle, or do you think this is the proof we need that Alex Krycek got out of the silo by some other means, for some other reason?
Scully asks how Krycek came into contact with Mayhew, then. Good question, Scully! Mayhew merely smiles, all sarcastic and shark-like, until Scully promises, "Off the record." Mayhew says Krycek came to them with his own building materials and big ideas. He says Krycek was aiming to build two devices.
Mulder's stuck on his horrific experience, after being led to Tunguska by Alex Krycek, so he asks, "Did he ever mention Black Cancer?"
Surprisingly, Mayhew says yes. He says Krycek told them it was developed by the Soviets, that Saddam used it in the Gulf as bio-warfare. Mayhew says that the U.S. government knew about the Black Cancer. "They lied. Didn't have no cure, no inoculation."
(Gotta love this; it seems like Krycek told them exactly what they wanted to hear, anything that would feed the militia group's anger toward the government, so that they would do what he wanted. But to what end?)
Mulder and Scully exchange a knowing look. (Heh. I love when they do that. They don't even need to speak; each one seems to already know what the other is thinking. Such a marvelous aspect of their partnership.)
Mayhew's got nothing more to say to them. Scully moves to leave the cell, but Mulder isn't finished with this guy: "You said there were two devices. What happened to the other bomb?"
Mayhew gets cocky. "I ate it."
After everything he's been through, Mulder's not in the mood for fooling around. He grabs Mayhew and pulls him into a headlock. Mulder sneers, "You want to know about anarchy? You don't tell me where that other bomb is, then I'll make sure you spend your prison time on your bigoted hands and knees, putting a big smile on some convict's face."
Whoa. Yikes. Okay, then.
Mayhew seems to believe Mulder capable of this, so he coughs up the info: "Son of a bitch stole it, truck and all. Some storage garage." In Terma, North Dakota.
(And now we have our episode title. You know, I've seen this episode many times, but I'm not sure I ever caught that line before. I always knew where the title "Tunguska" came from, but never recalled them mentioning "Terma." Now I know. It's Terma, North Dakota. Thanks,
trustno1_redux! I learned something today!)Mulder whispers "Thank you," into Mayhew's ear in a sarcastically sweet manner; it's kind of hilarious. He and Scully exit Mayhew's cell, spurred into action. Mulder wants Scully to get the license numbers for any two-ton trucks stolen in North Dakota in the last six months, then to call the Canadian border authorities to stop any vehicle matching that description. "Tell them they're looking for a bomb."
Scully wants to know what Mulder's going to be doing. Excellent question. Why should she do all the grunt work? (Heh.)
Mulder says something interesting: "This has been a big setup from the beginning, almost perfectly executed."
Almost. I bet Alex Krycek didn't plan on Mulder going kamikaze on him and busting out of the gulag before Krycek could finish whatever he had planned. And I'm very certain Krycek didn't plan on losing his arm like he did. But beyond that, yes, it seems like a fascinatingly flawless plan that accomplished quite a bit:
Wrecking the Consortium's vaccine project, taking out one of their most prominent virologists, destroying their research, and taking them all down a peg. Gaining Mulder's trust enough to lure him to Tunguska, in order to get him inoculated from the Black Oil. Perhaps setting some protective measures in motion to ensure Mulder would survive, gaining in Mulder a trustworthy ally in the fight against alien colonization attempts.
I confess I was never fond of Alex Krycek, never trusted him, truly loathed how he messed with Mulder and Scully, but in cataloging everything he's done in these two episodes, in realizing all the planning and timing and patience this plan must have taken, I have to admit... it's pretty impressive for one man to accomplish. Kudos, Krycek.
Mulder continues to intrigue me: "Someone used Krycek, then Krycek used us."
Okay, I totally see that Krycek used Mulder, but who used Krycek? That's the question.
Mulder keeps going: "Someone who didn't want that rock in American hands."
Scully: "But what's in Canada?"
Mulder: "Where would you put this rock if you didn't want it to be found?"
Scully thinks long and hard before responding, "Back in the ground."
These two... they're such a good team. They play harmoniously like finely tuned instruments. I just love watching them work together.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 7
It's nice that an ex-KGB operative can find a hobby.
BORDER CROSSING
ALBERTA, CANADA
Night.
Seems Mulder and Scully are always one step behind what's happening. Here at the border crossing, Vassily Peskow stands with a border guard, pointing out the contents of his two-ton truck: "Fertilizer. Fertilizer for my hothouse tomatoes. Beautiful tomatoes, all year, eh?" Peskow's trying to pull off a Canadian accent? Heeee. Bizarre.
The guard seems to think his papers are in order, for he nods and gives them back to Peskow, allowing him to get back into his truck and cross the border.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 8
Fire bad. Trees pretty.
Day. A helicopter flies over an oil refinery.
Mulder and Scully are aboard the chopper. They look out over the gorgeous Canadian scenery as the vehicle comes in for a landing in a spacious clearing. There is a blue truck -- the one Vassily Peskow was driving over the border last night? -- already parked nearby.
Mulder climbs down, then instructs Scully to take the chopper back to the refinery to see if anyone knows anything about the truck. He ducks out of the way, and the helicopter pulls up, back into the sky.
Mulder jogs over to the truck and peers inside. Nothing particularly interesting. He makes his way around to the back of the truck and tries the handle. It's locked. He climbs up on the bumper and peeks through the tiny window. I imagine all he sees are the bags of fertilizer that Peskow used to obscure the bomb he transported over the border.
Mulder walks across the yard to an old contraption, something to do with oil refineries, I'm sure, but I have no idea what it is. It looks like an old water pump, only it has many wheel valves. Mulder circles the apparatus, clearly not knowing much more than I do about it. He then sees a metal cylinder in the ground nearby and goes to check that out.
Cut to Scully's helicopter landing in the parking lot of the refinery. She gets out, and the chopper takes off again. Wait -- how will she get back to Mulder? And how will the two of them get home? (Sigh. I guess that's going to be unexplained for now. Let's get back to our heroine.)
Scully climbs up and over a fence. As she looks around the ground level of the refinery, we see that Vassily Peskow is standing several levels up, watching her. He's got a mission to complete so he quickly backs away and heads into the Valve Room. Scully looks up when she hears the metal door squeak closed.
Cut back to Mulder as he opens the grate that sits atop the metal tube. He stretches an arm down into the cylinder, straining to reach something inside. Unable to reach it, he sticks his head inside the tube. Mulder, seriously, what the hell? Have you learned nothing?
As he does this, in the background we can see oil suddenly shoot in a heavy burst from that pump contraption, spraying straight up into the sky like a water fountain. Since the laws of gravity state that what goes up must come down, Mulder gets a nightmare of black oil spraying all over him, pelting him like rain. Thankfully, it seems to be regular black oil, not the Black Oil. Ignoring the spewing oil, Mulder continues to try to reach whatever's in the cylinder. It's difficult to see, but I think it's the black rock that Peskow stole from NASA Goddard. I think Peskow's going to blow it up, destroying the remaining shreds of evidence Mulder and Scully once had.
As Mulder tries to reach the rock, he hears an alarm beeping. He looks up, stares over at the pump mechanism, realizes there's something timed to blow, and starts running as quickly as he can. He's completely covered in oil. Flammable. Yeah, not really something you want to be bathed in when near fire.
He runs across the yard like a mad sprinter, trying to get as far away as possible from the pump. As everything shifts to slow motion, the force of a gigantic explosion knocks Mulder to the ground. The rock is sucked down into the cylinder, engulfed in the blaze. Flames shoot high, up and out, filling the sky with fire. Molten orange clouds swell in a magnificent burst, billowing out before turning completely black.
Cut to Scully running along a metal ramp on an upper level of the refinery, her gaze glued to the inferno of fire that burns higher than the treetops. Her mouth agape, she's completely distracted by the frightening sight, worried for her partner's safety, which is how Vassily Peskow manages to come up behind her unannounced, wrap his arm around her neck, and steal the weapon right off her hip. Crap.
Eyes wide, she freezes in place, gripping his arm where it presses against her throat. The man unlocks the safety and holds the weapon by her neck.
Peskow says, "I would just as soon kill you, but please don't make me. My work is done." He murmurs something in Russian that is not translated -- according to Inside the X transcripts, he said "At last" -- and slowly lets go of her.
As she turns around to look at him, he backs up carefully, pointing her own weapon at her. When he has moved a safe distance away from her, he lowers the gun and walks away.
Scully's got more important issues on her mind, though. For instance, her partner. She whips her head around to stare at the fireball in the sky. After a moment, she takes off in a different direction than Peskow, heading down the stairs.
Apparently, that helicopter really did leave, because she had to run across the fields from the refinery to the area where they left Mulder.
As she makes her way through the trees and brush, trying to get to the clearing, we can see the black oil is still shooting up at great heights in a forceful jet stream of thick liquid, powerful flames rolling up the sides of it; the sound of it all, an enormous roar.
Scully sprints across the rocky terrain, heading straight for her partner. Seeing his lanky frame sprawled facedown on the ground, she screams, "Mulder!" in a terrified voice. He shifts and rolls over onto his back, his hair plastered to his muddy, oil-streaked face. He's a mess.
Poor Mulder. This has not been his best week ever.
Scully reaches his side and pulls at him gently, helping him to his unsteady feet. She wraps one of his arms around her shoulder, and they stumble away together, as the fire continues to burn in the distance until its golden flames fill the screen.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 9
How many times does he have to tell you? It's little grey men, not green.
Back to the Senate subcommittee hearing. Looks like Mulder and Scully made it back in time, though I marvel at how. Florida, New York, and Canada in fifteen hours? Maybe Skinner did stall for them.
Romine instructs Scully to present her evidence.
Scully: "Yes, sir, uh... evidence linking a number of deaths, a great number, to a biotoxin that was transported to U.S. soil by a courier who was also killed."
Sorenson notes that this courier was the man pushed from Skinner's balcony. Cut to Skinner shifting in his seat, looking at his hands, his jaw clenched as always. Scully interjects that the courier's identification has yet to be determined.
Sorenson: "Do we have the name of the individual who pushed him?"
Scully: "Yes, sir. Alex Krycek, who is missing and possibly deceased."
Cut to Mulder, who straightens stiffly, jaw clenching a little at the mention of Krycek's name.
Sorenson: "And are you then in possession of the pouch or its contents?"
Scully: "No, sir."
Sorenson: (all smarmy) "What evidence are you then presenting us with today?"
Scully: "Documents and interviews in support of a wide-ranging conspiracy to control a lethal biotoxin that is, in fact, extraterrestrial."
Mulder gets up from his seat and brings Scully an official-looking folder. I kind of love how she's in charge as the spokeswoman here, and Mulder's her little assistant. Hee. It's just so cool how wonderfully well-spoken she is.
However, Sorenson chooses to mock her comments. "What are we talking about, little green men here?" He laughs incredulously.
As Scully tries to explain, Mulder pipes up. (Oh, nooo.) He stands and stares down the committee: "Why is this so hard to believe, when the accepted discovery of life off this planet is on the front page of every newspaper around the world? When even the most conservative scientists and science journals are calling for the exploration of Mars and Jupiter? With every reason to believe that life and the persistence of it is thriving outside our own terrestrial sphere? If you cannot get past this, then I suggest that this whole committee be held in contempt... for ignoring evidence that cannot be refuted."
Scully looks to the committee. Romine looks mildly baffled. Sorenson, however, gets huffy: "This is not why we are here today."
Mulder echoes Scully's words from earlier in this episode as well from the top of "Tunguska": Then why are we here today?"
Sorenson looks away from Mulder's challenging gaze. Romine, on the other hand, speaks up, deciding to recess the hearing until the evidence Scully brought can be "properly evaluated."
Mulder looks disgusted, turning away. As he moves to pick up his folders, we see CSM stand up from where he's been sitting in the far back of the room. He looks thoughtful as he pulls a pack of Morleys from his pocket and moves to exit the premises.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 10
Tea and sympathy.
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Home, sweet home, at last.
After a long journey, Vassily Peskow lets himself into his apartment. Before he can even shut the door, he sees he has a visitor, one we cannot see yet. Peskow stops where he stands, hand on the door, and says in Russian, "Please, if you are here to ask another favor, I am retired..." He closes the door and steps forward, continuing, "...Comrade Krycek."
Whoa. I know the guy has nine lives or something, like a cat, but wow, it still amazes me that he managed to survive such horrific violence.
Cut to a very much alive Alex Krycek sitting at Peskow's tea table. He speaks softly, his voice a low, gravelly murmur of Russian: "I am only here, Comrade, to congratulate you on a fine job."
Peskow says something that I'm going to assume means, "Thank you."
Krycek says nothing, simply looks the man straight in the eye for a moment before glancing down at the table. We see an altered mirroring of the first Peskow-having-tea scene: the camera pans down to where Krycek's right hand rests on the table next to his teacup, his waxy-looking artificial left hand carefully pinching the delicate chain between its fingers as he slowly dips and bobs the metal tea infuser into the water.
***
ACT 3
SCENE 11
Evidence lost, once again.
Sorenson's office. It's late evening. He sits at his desk, reading through the documents that Scully and Mulder presented into evidence at the hearing. When he reaches a particular section, he turns the folder around and hands it to the man sitting across from him on the other side of his desk.
CSM takes the proffered folder, his face expressionless, his ever-present Morley dangling from his tightly-pressed lips. He pulls the cigarette from his mouth and holds it aloft, exhaling as ash falls onto the pages of the file. He reads in silence, then sticks the cigarette between his lips as he casually tosses the file into the garbage can beside him. The receptacle is already overflowing with discarded file folders. Vassily Peskow isn't the only man who knows how to clean up loose ends.
The screen goes black.
End of episode.
***
I love "Tunguska" and "Terma." Both so exciting and intense, both wonderfully illuminating intriguing answers to some of the shadowy questions created by the enigmatic mytharc. Thank you so much for reading my take on these episodes.
