Thread by @JacquelynGill

It's another night of @SureFineWhatevX, the weekly X-Files watch party hosted by @PhoebeFossil and me. Follow #SureFineWhatever for science, snark, and feminism, or mute the tag if you don't like fun.

We open F. Emasculata with a field biologist requesting a medical evac after getting sprayed in the face with creepy pus. This is a reminder that field safety is very important. Being alone in a remote area is inadvisable, and always carry a satellite beacon. #SureFineWhatever

I want to say that all these scenes of scientists poking strange or alien things and getting sprayed with goo are unrealistic, because we'd be a lot more careful, but, uh, sometimes even the best of us get carried away in the Fervor of Scientific Discovery. #SureFineWhatever

In another instance of "wow, this season of the X-Files has been oddly prescient," we see an outbreak in a prison. Incarcerated people have a disproportionately high risk of covid-19 infection right now.

#SureFineWhatever

"If you were in charge, you'd know why we were assigned to work with you." <- I'm saving this move for my next meeting.

#SureFineWhatever

Look at Scully putting on that PPE like a pro! #SureFineWhatever

This episode has a lot of horror movie elements in the cinematography. It's cut in a really inter-- AAAAH BURSTING PUS BLISTER TO THE FACE.

I'm not sleeping tonight. Or ever again.

#SureFineWhatever

Cancer Man: The truth would have caused panic. Panic would have caused lives. We controlled the disease by controlling the information.

Mulder: You can't protect the public by lying to them.

Cancer Man : It's done everyday.

(Yeah, it's scifi, sure. Uh huh.)

#SureFineWhatever

Uh, actually, kid, you do want to miss this bus.

#SureFineWhatever

That kid is looks so grossed out by his proximity to that pulsing pustule that I don't think he's even scared about being held hostage at gun point. #SureFineWhatever

According to Wikipedia, this is another episode inspired by real-world science! ""F. Emasculata" was based on the actual practice of pharmaceutical companies sending scientists all over the world looking for plants and animals that could have medicinal use." #SureFineWhatever

We're our next episode. S2 E23 Soft Light. And we have special guest, particle physicist @sheydaipek joining us! #SureFineWhatever

Um...Young Tony Shalhoub is...hot?? I'm feeling really conflicted about the feelings I'm having about Midge Maisel's dad right now, ya'll.

#SureFineWhatever

Well, shucks, this fellow is afraid of his own shadow! #SureFineWhatever

Haha, call-back to The Host! #SureFineWhatever #TeamCuteFluke #Fluke4Eva

I'm just going to leave this here:

etsy.com/listing/462415…

And also this:

etsy.com/listing/695937…

And, um, this:

etsy.com/listing/193379…

#SureFineWhatever

So, this is the first episode written by Vince "Breaking Bad" Gilligan, also the writer of my favorite episode, Bad Blood.

#SureFineWhatever

Smoking Tony Shalhoub has resolved my conflicting feelings. Ew. #SureFineWhatever

What's the current status of our knowledge of quarks? Are they still theoretical, or are the proven? #SureFineWhatever

Both F. Emasculata and Soft Light are highlighting the importance of practicing safe science. Never science alone, never poke things without PPE, never leave your friend locked in a room with the science machine. #SureFineWhatever

So many of people who are the heart of an X-File get put in padded cells in mental institutions that don't look like very nice places. There's a thesis in that somewhere, in how we treat noncompliant folks (to reference Bitch Planet). #SureFineWhatever

"Ambition!? She's a woman trying to survive the boy's club, Mulder. I know how she feels."

BAM!

#SureFineWhatever

X steals the scene in every episode he's in. I kind of want a spinoff show that's just him taking various naive people to school. #SureFineWhatever

The fact that the people killed by the dark matter leave a weird melty floor puddle suggests this thing is affected by gravity, right? #SureFineWhatever

Ooooh, this faces in the tube thing is a really nice touch. It adds a layer of anxiety and claustrophobia to the whole thing. #SureFineWhatever

Thanks for another lovely night, everyone! We can add beetles, pustules, and shadows to the list of everyday things the X-Files has ruined. Wear your PPE. See you next night for Our Town (prion diseases!) and the season finale, Anasazi. #SureFineWhatever

Speaking of which, Anasazi is one of several X-Files episodes to feature Native actors and storylines. Does anyone know of any good Native commentary on these? How is the representation? #SureFineWhatever