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Well, the movie Avatar has kind of usurped the title of this episode, so let's refer to the name we give it in our household; "Skinner Kills Bitches Dead" (and gets away with it).

While I agree characters are more interesting if we know a little more about them, I don't know why they concocted a lame divorce to a wife that nobody knew about for no reason. I mean, nothing in this episode is resolved in any way, and now they've given Skinner a .. wife?

So what even happens to the wife? We understand that Skinner is refusing to sign the divorce papers, and he even takes his wedding band (which he keeps in his desk at work; probably the most important place in the world for him), and puts it back on his finger at the end of the episode. 

But at the same time, he has no problem sleeping with someone else. Plus, his wife is in the hospital and then we never see or hear from her again. I can only assume she winds up dying from her injuries, but how are we to know? Scully's stupid inherited dog gets more closure in the next episode than Skinner's wife does? Come on, that's stupid.

And what about the bizarre ending in which Skinner happens to shows up at the hotel in time to save the other hooker's life? He shoots an unidentified man and then suddenly... has his job back? And charges for his first murder are just dropped? What? He can't even explain what he's doing there.

And it's not as if his shooting the mysterious man gets rid of his succubus problem. He has nothing to do with the succubus, so we can only assume she still haunts him. Unless she dies along with his wife.

Yes, that would tidy things up nicely.

Does anyone else find it amazing that the only real sex scene in the series is Skinner with a hooker? Wow, go Skinner I guess.

That is one dead hooker you have there, Skinner.

Oh yeah, and Mulder and Scully are in this one too.

Mulder is maybe even grateful for the chance to defend Skinner, just like Skinner has been defending him for all these years... even after it stops making sense for him to do so.

S: Mulder, it's me. I just got your message. You said Skinner called in a homicide?

M: Yeah, it appears to be a little more complicated than that. It seems like he had a front-row seat. 

They visit the operator of this very high class escort service and confirm it was Skinner's credit card used in the transaction that night.

M: What the hell was he thinking?

S: It just doesn't seem like him.

M: You'd think he'd be a little more discrete.

S: Well, I think the lack of discretion is the least of his sins. 

 ...

M: Credit card fraud happens every day.

S: Skinner was in bed with a prostitute at the time of her death, and he's offered us no explanation or alibi. 

Wow, come on Mulder, it's really hard to get around the whole 'Skinner was in bed with her at the time of her death'.

Scully discovers Skinner is undergoing treatment for some kind of sleep disorder, so Mulder concludes that Skinner is being visited by a succubus. 

M: So you think that Skinner may have killed the victim in his sleep?

S: Defending himself against this imaginary old woman. A lot of these patients have no recollection of their nocturnal activities, which might explain Skinner's amnesia.

M: And it's not such a strange story.

S: It isn't?

M: It's ancient, actually. You may have heard it, although not in such clinical terms. In the middle ages, a visitation like the one Skinner described would have been attributed to a succubus. It's a spirit that visits men in the night, usually in the form of an old woman.

S: Visits them for sex?

M: Usually. Though sometimes the succubus becomes so attached to the man that she would kill any woman competing for his affection.

Mulder shows her a picture in his book of a man and a woman in bed, with her arms outstretched and light glowing from her hands. The ten year old in me wants to giggle at Mulder showing Scully dirty pictures in a book..

S: (pointing to the glow) What's that?

M: Reports of residual luminous phenomena have been associated with some succubus encounters, at least according to the mythology. Why?

S: I feel kinda strange saying this, but I found something during my post-mortem exam that I think you should see.

What appeared originally to maybe be.. uhm.. "not milk" around the hooker's mouth... may turn out to be some supernatural residue, but in an unusual turn of events, Scully has to defend herself when it no longer appears to glow in the dark.

S: It's a circular patch around the victim's mouth and nose, approximately 11 centimeters in diameter. It retained light energy. It glowed in the dark. I know what I saw, Mulder. It was here. 

There is actually a cute moment here where Scully dials Mulder's number, only to find him walking up behind her.

Cute.

It finally emerges that CSM & co have set Skinner up. The have already tried shooting him to get him out of the way; that didn't work. As Mulder says, trying again so soon would be too obvious.

And I'm pretty sure the Assistant Director being caught with a hooker should have been the fast track to burying him. They must have been positively giddy when the hooker winds up being murdered too- I don't think even they can take the credit for the succubus showing up. Yep, Skinner should definitely be out of the picture now... Too bad the Conspirators weren't counting on.. well.. whatever it was that happened.