Aubrey

Can I just say... It is a delight whenever we see Terry O'Quinn on this show. This is the first of three separate appearances, although he is also a major player in two of Chris Carter's other works; Millennium and Harsh Realm. In fact, the two are apparently real-life buddies, and IMDB lists his nickname as 'Mr. 1013'.



So, uh... John Locke in XF3 please? :)

The case is an interesting one that begins as a psychic story, but then turns out to be a case for 'nature' in the nature vs nurture debate. This woman BJ is the illegitimate granddaughter of a serial killer- then she becomes him. Very interesting!




M: During their time, Chaney's and Ledbetter's ideas weren't very well received by their peers. Using psychology to solve a crime was something like, um ...
S: Believing in the paranormal?
M: Exactly. (pauses) There's another mystery.
S: Which is?
M: Well, I'd like to know why this policewoman would suddenly drive her car into a field the size of Rhode Island and for no rhyme or reason dig up the bones of a man who's been missing for fifty years. I mean, unless there was a neon sign saying "Dig Here" --
S: I guess that's why we're going to Aubrey.
M: (pauses, teasing) Yes, and also I've always been intrigued by women named BJ



I have no reason for this, but I enjoy watching Mulder go back and forth to get his coffee cup as he's explaining everything. I also love Scully being totally unimpressed with his hilarious teasing :) My husband makes that same face sometimes when I tease him :)



I love the very casual way they eat their dinner as they work (fried chicken), munching in between investigating the bones on the examination table and interpreting the data on the computer. I am the kind of person who generally considers teasing to be flirting, and eating to be bonding, even in real life.



Mulder reads to her from the detective's journal. They are looking for the word 'Sister' carved into the rib cage as per the serial killer's pattern. Since the abduction, there is a lot more working together, in the same room, and less of the 'I'll take care of this while you go take care of that'. Just observing.



Scully floors Mulder when she tells him BJ and Locke are having an affair. Oops, I meant Tillman, not Locke ;)

S: Well, the Motel Black would have been the perfect meeting place -- away from town, away from his wife ...
M: What do you mean?
S: It's obvious BJ and Tillman are having an affair.
M: How do you know?
S: (pause) A woman senses these things.



BJ's behaviour when they talked to her about how she ended up digging in the field certainly suggested she was hiding something; the way she used formal language as much as possible, eg 'my vehicle was experiencing engine failure', or ' I witnessed a dog digging in the ground; I proceeded to investigate and found the gravesite'. It's like she's at a job interview. ;)

However, it's revealed later when Scully confronts BJ in the bathroom about it, that Scully 'sensed' it because she herself has had an affair with someone she worked with. Remember the ex from Lazarus?

S: I've had ... feelings for people I've worked with. Interoffice relationships can be complicated ... especially when he's married.

Indeed, we'll find out much later in the series that Scully's had some experience with married men as well...

Because of her first hand experience with the complications of dating a coworker, it sheds some light on her reluctance to get involved with Mulder, even when feelings are obviously there. It also explains how those feelings got there in the first place; Scully has a history of it. You may have noticed in the entire first season, Scully acts as if she has a crush on her partner. Even though I agree that it eventually develops into more than just a crush, coworker crushes seem to be her MO.

Anyway, Scully also intuits that BJ is pregnant. Surprising, given Scully has never been pregnant, but it's true sometimes women just sense things.

BJ: Does it show?
S: No. Not yet.

It almost sounds like a threat. The point is, BJ can't hide her pregnancy forever. Of course, Tillman wants her to have an abortion.




Mulder can't hide his shock when Scully informs him of this interesting development. BJ also decodes the writing on the rib cage; Brother. Tillman shows up and goes ballistic when he sees the old crime scene photos that M & S have brought with them, believing these to be photos from the current case he's working on.

TILLMAN: (furious) These are evidence of a homicide that occurred three days ago.
S: No, those were from a case that Agent Ledbetter and Agent Chaney were investigating in 1942 before they disappeared.
TILLMAN: Three days ago, a young woman was murdered and the word "SISTER" was carved into her chest and painted on the wall. Only myself, the coroner, and one of my men knew about this.

Interesting development! At that moment, they all realize the cases are related. And BJ has been having dreams about them.



Once the truth is known about her pregnancy, BJ has no problem opening herself up to M & S- in fact, I think she is grateful for the outsider support. I suspect it's hard to be pregnant with a married man's child. She tells them about her Dad (a cop), and her dreams of the victims. Later, she finds them name of the man from her dreams, she believes is responsible for the murders.


S: What if the recent murders triggered what was previously buried in her mind ... some connection she'd unconsciously made that no one else had been able to make.
M: You mean a hunch?
S: Yeah, something like that.
M: Well, that's a pretty extreme hunch.





S: (smiling and teasing) I seem to recall you having some pretty extreme hunches.
M: (grinning) I never have.



Hahaha :) More extreme hunches from Mulder later. In the mean time, they investigate this man BJ believes to be the killer. He's a creepy and very very old man (from the original Star Trek series!!), with an oxygen tank. Plus, BJ believes she saw the man at a young age. Eventually they come to believe she must have seen his grandson... Until they find out BJ's true lineage.



Mulder gives Scully his theory on the serial killer impulse might have been passed down genetically from the old man to whoever is responsible for the current murders. He illustrates with a story.




M: When I was a, a kid, I would have nightmares. I would wake up in the middle of the night, thinking I was the only person left in the world. Then I would hear this. (Crunches loudly on a sunflower seed.)
S: What?
M: My dad would be in the study eating these.

He just as easily could have said 'well for example, I get my addiction to sunflower seeds from my Dad', but instead he chooses to tell Scully a personal story about himself as a small boy. I like that.



S: What does that have to do with Cokely?
M: Well, on a basic cellular level, we're the sum total of all our ancestors' biological matter. But what if more than biological traits get passed down from generation to generation? What if I like sunflower seeds because I'm genetically predisposed to liking them?
S: But children aren't born liking sunflower seeds. Environments shape them; behavior patterns are taught.
M: There are countless stories of twins separated at birth who end up in the same occupation, marrying the same kind of people, each naming their child Waldo.
S: Waldo?

Extreme hunch time:

M: Scully, this is what I think. I think that Cokely's memories, his compulsions have been passed on genetically to his granddaughter BJ. That's what's driving her to kill.
S: So you're saying that BJ's nightmares are real? That, that she's out there killing these women and carving "SISTER" on them?
M: Yes.



Scully has a hard time with this one. Evidently she is on the 'nurture' side of the debate. I find that sort of surprising from a scientist, although we know a lot more about genetic now than we did then.

S: Well then how do you explain the cuts on her own chest?
M: I can't explain everything. Maybe she carved them on herself, or maybe it's some kind of weird stigmata. Whatever it is, BJ is not herself.

You know, that was never explained, and I am kind of OK with that. I like either explanation; it would be cool if it were some kind of stigmata, though she just as easily could have mutilated herself in one of these fits of... memory? Possession?



BJ is becoming more and more like her serial killing Grandfather, and attacks her biological Grandmother- the original victim. The actress is chilling; a really excellent scene. The old woman throws bleach at her face, giving BJ the same burns as the old man.

M & S arrive on the scene, but BJ has moved on. Scully stays with the victim, and Mulder follows another extreme hunch to Cokely's house. He's too late by the time he gets there, but BJ has no problem attacking him with a straight razor.



When the old woman has been taken care of, Scully is free to catch up with Mulder, and she brings the police force, including Tillman. They arrive just in time. BJ slumps away as Cokely dies, and Tillman goes to her. Similarly, Scully rushes to Mulder and lifts him slightly from the floor so she can cradle his head.



S (voicover): Extensive blood work and psychological testing has been conducted in order to determine whether the pregnancy could have been a catalyst for the transformation. We have yet to determine the effects on the fetus... BJ is on her second week of suicide watch after an unsuccessful attempt to abort her son. Lieutenant Tillman has petitioned to adopt the child...

End.