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If you had read my review for "Biogenesis", I had mentioned that Chris Carter and company have definitely filled up their plates for the summer with the explanation of life on Earth *and* convincing Scully that there really are aliens *and* this little psychic connection Mulder has made. After almost six months of waiting for enlightenment by the 1013 crew, we get something that is a bit more than we bargained for.
As you can see from the promo above, "The Sixth Extinction" definitely provided an angle of the series that was lightly touched on from Biogenesis: religion. With Carter establishing the idea that all human culture actually came from extraterrestrials, the whole ideology of religion has to be more than lightly touched on here. In fact, Scully slowly deciphers the writing on the alien craft from an ancient Navajo alphabet and discovers not only the genetic makeup of humans but also religious references as well! Her presence in this discovery is ironic indeed, since the two faiths that she has known and trusted for most of her life, science and religion, have just been overshadowed by the one belief she didn't: extraterrestrial existence. This would have made her stop and take notice on any other occasion, but in this situation, she could really care less. Because the main reason that she is even investigating the origins of the alien craft is to help the one person that she still has faith in: Mulder.
On that note, we see Mulder is pretty much on his deathbed by most doctors' accounts. His mind cannot "turn off," which puts an incredible strain on his body. Assistant Director Skinner is lost on what to do to help. With Scully's whereabouts unbeknownst to him, he has to proceed on courage alone. Skinner is already feeling guilty for having betrayed his two agents to Krycek. So he is trying to find a way to help Mulder. And with Mulder's heightened psychic ability, he is very aware of Skinner's forced betrayal. He gives Skinner a chance to redeem himself by finding someone we haven't seen since Season 5's "Redux II", Michael Kritschgau. But two years later, Skinner finds Kritschgau is an isolated, bitter man, who feels that Mulder was the reason his life went downhill. At first, he refuses to help but does anyway through Skinner's insistence.
What Kritschgau finds with Mulder is something that he has seen before in his stint with the Dept. of Defense. It seems that part of his duties included testing psychic abilities in humans. But like Scully, he does not believe that there is an extraterrestrial origin for the abilities. Mulder tries to prove to him that he is afraid to believe. The test Mulder endures is incredible! There is definitely a parallel between Mulder's abilities and those of Gibson Praise. But unlike Gibson, Mulder's body is not used to the overload. Kritschgau had to give him a chemical shot just to stabilize Mulder's body. Poor Mulder! But at least Duchovny had lots of time to lay in bed.
Going back to Scully, she has paranormal experiences in Africa reminiscent of "Fresh Bones." She sees a man appear and disappear in front of her; she is attacked by a swarm of locusts inside her tent; she witnesses a man get burned in the ocean near the alien craft; and she, along with several other people, notice the ocean turning into blood! All that to overcome as well as the oppressive African heat, and you know this woman is in love! Her passion is almost as all-consuming as Mulder's. And just like Mulder, she cannot be enthusiastic about what she discovers because he is not there to share it with. While Mulder seems rather lost without Scully.
And lest we forget, Diana Fowley's presence leaves something to be desired. I'm sorry, but I found her over-protectiveness and beligerent attitude to Skinner rather disgusting. Since when did she have exclusive "rights" to Mulder's care and well-being? Did Mulder sign some kind of form to put her in charge? Lately, her presence has been very questionable. This is almost a cheap fan fiction plot device to ensure that there is conflict for Mulder and Scully. At least she is smart enough to realize that Mulder knows very well the deceit she has pulled. I'm just amazed that Mulder even cares anymore much less lets her still be a part of his life. Diana's admission of her "love" for Mulder sounded sincere, but only Mulder knows for certain. From his actions, feigning unconsciousness, I highly doubt he believed her. Maybe this new psychic ability is a good thing after all!
After fleeing Africa, Scully does not hesitate to seek Skinner to find out where Mulder is. Poor Scully! She has just
endured a long 22-hour flight and still has to find out what has happened to her partner and friend. Her stubbornness in seeing him shows just how much devotion Scully has for Mulder. No matter
what the circumstance, Scully refuses to abandon any hope for his recovery. Her astonishing admission to Skinner that Mulder's abilities are indeed "extraterrestrial in origin" was a headline in itself. I certainly lost any bets
on Scully not converting. But typical of her psychological profile, she has always had the strengths of Mulder's beliefs to give her a purpose to pursue the truth. Now that she has witnessed some of the truth herself, she has
to open those blinders and start finding a way to help Mulder cope with his affliction. As Scully states, Mulder is "more alive" than any of us. Her emotional plea to Mulder to "hold on" was one of the best heart-wrenching
scenes on this series since Mulder's bedside cry in "Redux II."
Just like Biogenesis, the pacing of this episode was rather slow. I found myself looking at the clock and astonished to find that so much time had passed without any real answers given. Seeing no interaction between Mulder and Scully until the very end didn't help either. Other than the fact that Mulder was exposed to both the alien virus and the alien writings, there's not much else to go on with his affliction or how to reverse it. I'm assuming that is left for Part 3 to clue us in. And where is Krycek through all this? He is doubly involved with Skinner and the alien artifact. No sign of him in this one.
Overall, the episode was a good filler but definitely not interesting enough to be by itself. I think the biggest weakness of this episode was the fact that there were a lot of facts being spewed about, but, in essence, the two people that all this is affecting the most, Mulder and Scully, did not have more than a 3-minute scene together! More episodes like this, and Season 8 will not be a question anymore, because noone but hard-core fans will watch it! On to Amor Fati...
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