Yes! It’s especially insane with Phoebe bc like the show goes out of it’s way to explicitly show how fucked up she was idk how people forget it
yep yep yep!! it's quite literally the entire point of the episode. but i still see people all the time like...calling mulder stupid for "trusting" her and making jokes about the way he behaves around her and it's just like...please don't piss me off. same exact thing with diana.
fire is one of my favorite episodes though i think it's such an interesting look at mulder's character and example of the ways that he views and interacts with people close to him
because he understands and acknowledges from the very beginning that phoebe's just there to fuck with him, that she made the trip from boston to DC to bring him in on the investigation for no reason other than knowing that it will scare him
he knows what she’s doing, and he still agrees to help her
his only concession being that scully not be involved
noting that he's not going to "put her through" phoebe's games
this is something that we've seen him do before, with his former partner jerry earlier in season one, who broke into his office and stole his work.
it's clear throughout ghost in the machine that mulder isn't comfortable working with him, but helps him anyway because jerry asked him to
and builds him up when jerry is feeling insecure
he infamously does it again with diana, always affording her the benefit of the doubt and defending her
and with his parents, consistently coming whenever they call, despite all of their lies and neglect
(side note from pulling ghost in the machine caps but his ties in this ep are soooo classic baby spooky i miss s1 soooo much)
anyway, this is the dynamic that fire circles around, and the only time in the episode that mulder pushes back against phoebe is when he cracks this joke about having a "refined technique" with women who cheat
which he apologizes for instantly, recognizing that it upset her
fire is also one of the best portrayals of the true sign of a toxic/abusive relationship: not realizing anything is wrong with it until you tell your best friend
i see criticism of this episode sometimes that interprets it as glorifying phoebe, portraying her as sexy and her behavior as righteous, but i disagree.
i don't think that you can base the episode's stance on phoebe on mulder's behavior, he's responding to her through a very warped and controlled lens. just because he views her in a positive light, doesn't mean that we should as the audience.
whereas, scully is immediately wary of phoebe and critical of her, even before knowing the context for her actions.
this shot is my favorite lmao. she is contemplating murder. she is wondering if she could get away with it.
her lil passive aggressive "bye bitch" finger wave
her "mmmmyeah sure sherlock"
her watchful eye as she hangs in the doorway while mulder and phoebe meet with the arson specialist
she literally sits at his desk in his chair and waits for him just to make this sherlock holmes joke 😭😭😭 they are BEST friends
now, this is when she finds out the true history with phoebe, and the reason behind her visit. and it's when mulder tells her that she's off the case.
and from that point, scully starts investigating the murders herself, consulting her own sources to put together her own theories
while these two do absolutely fuck all
she shows up uninvited at the event in boston, having SOLVED THE CASE HER-FUCKING-SELF
and she's the only one who gives a fuck when mulder gets hurt
while phoebe shakes hands and schmoozes at the party
sweetie pie making sure her partner gets some water and some rest
now, dana 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
after making sure mulder is okay (and getting a peek at him shirtless) she shows him the evidence that she found, telling him that she just "didn't know a whole lot about arson" so took the opportunity to do some research "for my own edification, of course" GIRLLLLL
and they identify the groundskeeper as the murderer based on the information that she gathered
the face of a woman who single-handedly solved a string of serial murders to get her best friend's bitch of an ex away from him. she is truly an inspiration to us all.
and she has 1 more sherlock holmes joke in her.
so, anyway, mulder is visibly uncomfortable around phoebe from the start, and this is something that scully picks up on immediately, even before being told any information about phoebe or her motives
and this is an ongoing theme from the very beginning, as mulder is generally unaggressive and compassionate to a fault, leaving scully feeling a responsibility to be conscious and wary of their surroundings.
scully isn't being jealous towards phoebe, just like she isn't "taking things personally" with diana. she understands this about mulder and how exploitable it is, and she's fiercely protective of both him and the kindhearted qualities that leave him vulnerable to these situations
anyway TLDR let me see any of you call either of them stupid again
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