Finally, The Mulder & Scully We All Know & Love

Admittedly (though perhaps not surprisingly), it's been a bit rough going so far when it comes to the new X-Files reboot. As a longtime and rather obsessive fan of the original series, I approached the revival with not a small amount of trepidation, unsure of whether the magic could be recaptured more than a decade later. After seeing the first two episodes aired last weekend, I realized that my fears weren't unfounded. The dialogue felt clunky, the plot lines forced and recycled from stuff we learned back in the '90s, and I worried that this whole thing was going to be one giant disaster. However, with the release of a few clips from Episode 3, "Mulder & Scully Meet The Were Monster", which airs on Monday, February 1, my faith may have been restored just slightly.

"Mulder & Scully Meet The Were Monster" looks to be an example of something The X-Files has always done phenomenally well: a kitschy, campy, ridiculous, and extremely funny episode which breaks away from the seriousness of much of the mytharc and offers a bit of levity without taking away the series' overall credibility. The clips for the next episode seem like a chip off the likes of "X-Cops" and "Bad Blood", two of the show's most beloved — not to mention most fun — episodes. In other words, it seems like we're in for a real treat, courtesy of Darin Morgan. (He wrote "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", among others.)

Is there anything more Mulder and Scully then seeing them now, all these years later, hanging out in a terribly outdated hotel, Scully lounging in pajamas while Mulder rants and raves and doesn't let her get a word in edgewise? It's pure magic. And when Scully finally speaks at the end of the clip, it's to say just how much she loves this version of Mulder. That makes two of us! They know each other so well by now that they can literally carry on conversations with each other all on their own, because they know what the other would say, how they'll react, what the arguments and protestations will be. That's the crux of their relationship, and it's here in full force.

In another clip, Scully performs an autopsy on the were "creature" — a word choice Mulder is quick to point out — as he shows her blurry pictures he took on his smartphone and basically tries convincing her of the monster they're dealing with. Scully is, of course, a bit skeptical, but she's also having a damn good time and isn't afraid to admit it. This is the Mulder and Scully we've been looking for, and even if this is the only glimpse we get of them, it kind of makes all the rest worthwhile.

I don't know about you, but I'm way too excited for this week's episode. It almost feels like it did back in the '90s! I may live to regret this sense of hopefulness, but for now, I'm clinging to it tight.