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Two Fathers
"I could never have scripted the events that led us to this. None of us could."
Written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners
Directed by Kim Manners
"With all the blood on my hands, I couldn't kill the mother of my own son, a woman I never even loved. My colleagues never knew, focused as they were on the new threat - the faceless alien rebels who'd burned our doctors alive..."
— Cigarette Smoking Man
The reappearance of Cassandra Spender marks a turning point in the fortunes of the alien conspiracy.
Tropes:
- The Bus Came Back: Cassandra Spender, who can walk now. It is because she is the first successful alien-human hybrid.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Mulder seemingly about to pull a Mercy Kill on Cassandra at his home, while someone is knocking loudly on his door.
- Eating the Eye Candy: A rare one for Mulder, eyeing Scully up and down as she walks up to him at the basketball court.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Zigzagged. CSM couldn't bring himself to kill Cassandra, but he claims that this isn't because he loved her, but because she's the mother of his son. His treatment of said son isn't exactly beaming, but he clearly feels something for the poor guy.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Played with. Much like Mulder's father and the Well-Manicured Man, one of the Syndicate elders again suggests joining the alien rebels and opposing colonization. Problem is, the elder making this case is the one who's been killed and replaced by an alien rebel, and this opinion runs contrary to the dead man's previous beliefs. CSM picks up on this contradiction and uses it to identify the traitor.
- Just Between You and Me: The framing device for the episode is the Cigarette-Smoking Man outlining for the audience The Conspiracy's grand plan and how the rebels have derailed it. It's revealed at the end of the episode that he's talking directly to his new agent on the inside, Diana Fowley.
- Kill It with Fire: The rebel aliens' way of killing the Syndicate members and anyone associated with them.
- Manipulative Bastard: Krycek gives Spender the Awful Truth at just the right time to put him against the Syndicate.
- Mercy Kill: The Cigarette-Smoking Man kills off a horrifically wounded accomplice who worked on Cassandra. Most unlike his usual ruthless self, CSM is clearly uncomfortable doing so and apologises beforehand; his victim even seems to accept its necessity, knowing that he will be questioned if left alive.
- The Mole: An alien rebel kills and replaces one of the Syndicate elders.
- Myth Arc
- No Name Given: Mulder and Scully learn that Cassandra is the Cigarette-Smoking Man's ex-wife, but she never gives them his name. Even after exhausting the FBI's database, they find nothing conclusive and believe that CSM has used hundreds of aliases in the past.
- This Cannot Be!: CSM's reaction to learning Cassandra has become a perfect human-alien hybrid.
- Villainous Rescue: Just when it looks like Spender will die against the hands of the alien rebel, Krycek kills the facechanger from behind.
