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Dreamland II
A tender moment of recognition between Dana Scully and Morris Fletch- GOSH DARN IT, WE MEANT FOX MULDER'S MIND IN MORRIS FLETCHER'S BODY!
Written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Michael Watkins
Directed by Michael Watkins
Scully: We think the crash of this particular aircraft- whatever it was- resulted in a, uh... (Sighs)
Mulder (With Morris' mind): My name is Morris Fletcher. I work inside Area 51. I assumed Mulder's identity through a warp in the space-time continuum.
Mulder (With Morris' mind): My name is Morris Fletcher. I work inside Area 51. I assumed Mulder's identity through a warp in the space-time continuum.
Scully begins to accept that Mulder and Morris have switched bodies. The question is, can anything be done about it?
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: When meeting the Lone Gunmen, Morris laughingly tells them that they've been disseminating misinformation that the government has been covertly feeding them. He illustrates this by holding up a headline about Saddam Hussein testing a "mandroid"note army in the Iraqi desert... and then mocks them for believing that Saddam Hussein exists.
- Close-Enough Timeline: Everything gets set back to normal and the whole universe goes back to the way it was before the time rip — but Mulder's apartment is still cleaned up and has a waterbed, and Scully still has a dime and penny that were fused together by the warp in space-time, even though the events that caused both scenarios never happened.
- Deconstructed Trope: Turns out The Men in Black live mundane lives as well, and aren't any closer to the Truth than Mulder is.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Agent Mulder and an Area 51 security officer get mind-switched.
- Harmless Villain: Morris settles into this before things are done. Turns out he had no role in what occurred whatsoever, he was just happy to leave his unfulfilling life behind and try to have some fun with Mulder's. When Scully finally catches on, he spends the rest of the episode at her mercy and resigns himself to goofing off and trolling the Lone Gunmen.
- Funnily enough, the other Men in Black end up being this as well: their commander is a Mole in Charge who becomes a giddy schoolboy at the prospect of real extraterrestrials; and his shady, ruthless adjutant, probably the darkest member of the group, helps fix the problem in the end to regain his spotless record.
- If Flecther's talk is to be believed, Sadaam Hussein is actually a small-time theater guy set up as some international boogeyman to distract the public.
- Hidden Depths: As much of a snake as he is, Morris does deeply love his wife and kids, and seeing them fall apart over a misunderstanding causes him to come clean at last and tenderly recall his happiest moments as a family man.
- Kinky Cuffs: A variation where Scully plays along with Morris as "Mulder"'s seduction of her by suggesting they use handcuffs in the bedroom. He locks himself up, and she pulls a gun on him.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Mulder-as-Morris spends a lot of time in contact with Scully, which the real Morris' wife interprets as infidelity. In a roundabout way though, she's not wrong: Morris-as-Mulder does have sex with Kersh's assistant.
- Negative Space Wedgie: The tear in space generated by the spaceship's damaged cloaking device. Causes the "Freaky Friday" Flip and Telefrag effects. Fortunately, it has a built-in Reset Button in the form of Reverse Polarity.
- Ontological Inertia: Played with. If they can be in the right place when the snap-back happens, Morris and Mulder will get sorted out like the pilot and the old woman did, complete with a Reset Button resulting in it being "like the past few days never happened." The fused coins and the waterbed, however...
- Something Else Also Rises: Morris Fletcher as "Mulder" tries to seduce Scully. He holds a bottle of champagne in his lap which pops open and overflows.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Mulder as "Morris" puts a handful of sunflower seeds into Scully's hand, further proving he really is Mulder.
- The Un-Reveal: When Mulder finally gets to speak with his confidential informant, the informant reveals... that he has no idea what the true nature of their work is. Nobody at Area 51 knows what the experimental aircraft are, they simply test them. He called Mulder in the hopes that Mulder could tell him if aliens actually exist.
- You Have to Believe Me!: And the MIB does, when told that a courting couple did a Fusion Dance and somehow reverted back to normal by the time he arrived on the scene.
Mulder: Hey, Scully? I, uh, know it's not your normal life, but... thanks for coming out there with me.
Scully: You're welcome.
Scully: You're welcome.
