"Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably
never happened and those which do not matter."
-- W. R. Inge
"Dreamland II" is another one of those "did it or didn't it happen?" episodes. My take is that it doesn't matter. If you can sit back and enjoy a farce (and not everyone can), you can enjoy "Dreamland II" for what it was: just plain fun.
The conclusion to this two-part episode lends itself to a very simplistic analysis. We have a protagonist (Mulder) and an antagonist (Morris) who have exchanged personalities. Or bodies. Or whatever. Their consciousness now resides in the other's body. Far-fetched? Of course. But this is The X-Files, which has little use for logic and the collective consciousness of society. This show is about extreme possibilities, and given the very premise of the show and some of the things we've seen over the past five years,this is pretty tame stuff.
Naturally, the two men work at odds with each other. Mulder can't begin to comprehend the intricacies of maintaining a 20 year old marriage, and wants to get back to his own life, such as it is. Morris, on the other hand, see this happenstance as a sort of Renaissance, a second chance for a life better than the one he has. For him, it's the ultimate escape act.
So that leaves us with the ultimate resolution: how do thing get set straight? A time warp snaps back, like a rubber band, changing things back to the way they were. Cue Marvin Hamlish.
The point here is that the X-File here wasn't important. We weren't meant to learn anything new about alien life forms or alien technology or the Mythology in this episode. We were just supposed to enjoy the ride.
"Dreamland II" was short on subtext, as most of this Season's episodes have been. The only subtlety, the only message I was able to glean from "Dreamland II" was that intimacy between two people can be as varied as the people who share that intimacy, whether they be partners at work or partners in a marriage. The value of that intimacy, the real essence of a relationship, is immeasurable, when the alternative is considered. Mulder!Morris and Scully exchange a lot of intimacy without saying a lot in their encounter in the headlights. A handful of sunflower seeds made for the perfect remembrance for Scully in the event that Mulder never did make it back to his own body. The silhouette of Mulder against the darkness as the car headlights faded was symbolic, in that he has always stood against the darkness that those in the shadow government would seek to impose on the public forever.
But the lesson of the value of intimacy, of a close connection with another human being, was not demonstrated so much with Mulder and Scully as it was by Morris and Joanne. Morris' revelation began when he saw Joanne drinking at the bar with another man (his buddy, Jeff), and reached the apex when Joanne and Terrence were moving his recliner out of the house. What brought him to his senses, what drove the message home was when he began recounting those little things that only couples can share. It was Morris' recanting of the private moments of his marriage, those singular occasions of vulnerability and frailty that that showed just how much it means to be able to share experiences like that with someone special. As he saw 20 years of marriage slipping away and recalled the first time he held his daughter, Morris awakened to what was really important in life. For all his libidinous shenanigans, he eventually figured out that the spiritual intimacy he enjoyed with his wife was superior to any physical intimacy he might enjoy with another woman.
The performances by the lead actors and guest star Michael McKean was markedly better in "Dreamland II." I particularly liked David Duchovny's voice inflection when saying his own name ("Agent MUL-der") when he was making up his story about trying to detect the security leak. There was that nice little eyebrow lift to the general in the parking lot of the Al'Lee'Inn when Scully and Mulder!Morris got away with the FDR. And his demeanor change from hopeful anticipation to reluctant acceptance at the farewell scene was natural and convincing. But Duchovny shone when he had to play Morris, both with his wife and with Morris' coworkers. His stumbling around when confronted by the general about his "plan" to unmask the leak was followed by that nice turn-the-tables speech, throwing suspicion on Jeff and Howard.
Gillian Anderson seemed to be more at ease with her lines in "Dreamland II" also. She looked and sounded dejected and morose when she was telling Morris!Mulder about her suspension. She was seductively acquiescent when entering the never-before-seen Mulder bedroom, and tough as nails when she drew her gun on Morris!Mulder. Anderson was wonderful in her scene with The Lone Gunmen as she expressed her own disbelief at the story of what happened to "Mulder." Her dismay was evident when she had to tell Mulder about the long odds of his being returned to normal, and she was equally wistful when she began to ponder life without Mulder as she walked away with her handful of sunflower seeds.
Michael McKean showed that he can exude sleaze with a voice inflection as well as with a lascivious leer. McKean was perfect in the bedroom scene, running the gamut from friendly seducer to glib smooth-talker ("maybe I like to read the New York Times backwards" to giddy schoolboy who felt like he hit the jackpot when Scully dangled her handcuffs. But I most enjoyed his "reunion" scene with Nora Dunn, when his honest affection for the life he had lost shone in his face and in his eyes. McKean's voice over in the opening teaser was a wonderful blend of incredulity and sarcasm, and his speech about his kids wanting to kill him in his sleep for the insurance money was priceless.
Special mention also must go to guest star Julie Vera, as Lana Chee, the 75 year old Native American jet jockey. She was a riot when she grabbed her crotch and told Mulder, "Ma'am?!? Kiss my ass, you desk monkey!" I guess she could have used a, uh, geography lesson. ;)
Certainly, these performances didn't just happen. New director Michael Watkins showed a deft touch at eliciting these performances. He used some nice camera shots, such as panning around the room while McKean read the teaser voice-over, and following McKean's footwork as he danced towards the bedroom, champagne bottle and flutes in hand. I liked the camerawork that showed off Bill Roe's wonderful lighting at the farewell scene, and the Mulder profile against the darkness. This guy shows promise.
Mark Snow's music was again an eclectic mix of simulated laugh-track and impending danger. It was too similar to last week's score to be considered anything but self-derivative. The formula was woodwinds (clarinets and oboes) for the funny parts and violins and pianos for the tension.
There has been much discussion about the way the identity switch was depicted for the viewer. In "Small Potatoes," we got to see Eddie Van Blundht as everyone else did, looking like Mulder. In "Dreamland II," we had to imagine that David Duchovny was really Michael McKean and vice versa. I have to say that I prefer the former treatment, which would have provided both McKean and Duchovny more of an opportunity to stretch their talents.
Writers Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz did a good job at toning down the slapstick in "Dreamland II," but they could couldn't resist putting in a little more "mirror magic." Thankfully, it was much shorter and not a plot device this time. I certainly could have done without the self-indulgent "John Gillnitz" reference, and the ending, "Let's have a do-over," was a cheesy plot device. No, wait. I take that back. That's insulting to cheese.
But there was plenty of good dialogue, some nice interaction among several characters, some great acting and a lot of humorous moments. I smiled a lot, and I enjoyed myself. Except for the "it never happened" bit, "Dreamland II" was at least as good as "Dreamland I."
My Score: 9 out of 10