“Per Manum,” Latin for “By Hand,” is famous for being the most continuity bursting episode of the series with its pre-abduction Mulder flashbacks. It is too bad it has such a strike against it. Otherwise, it is a solid episode, particularly for one from the final two seasons. The good news is that David Duchovny is back as a regular for the remainder of the season, although he is featured solely in the aforementioned continuity bursting flashbacks. ‘Per Manum” also features the first appearance of Adam Baldwin as Knowles Rohner. Rohner will be become an important recurring character.
The main plot is largely an excuse for the flashbacks. A man comes to the x-files office claiming his wife gave birth to an alien baby, but doctors murdered her and took the child. His story gets Scully’s attention because the wife was said to have been abducted, given cancer, subsequently cured of it, but was rendered barren before miraculously conceiving. The story ought to have raised suspicions for Scully she is being set up, but I rationalize her concern for her unborn child blinded her to the possibility.
Again, she keeps her activities secret from Doggett, but conveniently not skinner, as she compares her pregnancy experience with the dead woman’s. Meanwhile, Doggett has read Scully’s personal X-File and notes the similarities right up until her pregnancy. He begins looking into the matter himself. He discovers the husband is not who he says he is. Scully encounters another pregnant woman with the same story. She takes the woman under her protection in order for her to give birth under another group of doctors. Her actions and Doggett’s cross paths when he figures out she has been set up. Skinner reveals her locale, but Doggett only arrives for the aftermath. It was all a set up. The woman Scully was protecting gave birth to a normal child. This was all a way to cover up the original birth and kidnapping of an alien baby.
None of that is really the heart of the episode, but before I get to that, I have to comment on Scully still never revealing to Doggett she is pregnant. He finally discovers after a doctor has examined her upon her drugging in order aid the cover up. In spite of his distaste for being saddled with the X-Files, Doggett has been loyal and protective of Scully. Once he discovers she is pregnant, he promises to be even more so, if that is possible. It does not feel right that she has kept him in the dark all this time. She would have continued to do so if it had been up to her. She is doing so out of concern for how she got pregnant in the first place and what she may give birth to, but I am still not convinced there is good reason to keep condition under wraps. It is not like it can be a mystery for more than a few months.
Now the hart of the episode--the flashbacks. It is revealed that, at some point late in their partnership, Mulder revealed to Scully he discovered her ova back in the fourth season, but kept the news from her because she was in the early stages of her cancer and could not bare to give her more bad news. The discovery offers hope Scully can have a child, so she asks Mulder to donate sperm. (Hence the “by hand” bit. Ahem.) He agrees, but the procedure does not take. He tells scully she should never give up on a miracle. Her current pregnancy is now presumed miraculous.
As one who was obsessed with comic books during his misspent youth, retroactive continuity does not bother me as much as the practice does to a student of television. New writers come along in comics all the time to offer a new spin on what may be decades worth of continuity for a character. A lot of comics fans consider reconciling new facts with old to be part of the experience. Truth be told, it may not be that difficult with this new revelation, either.
Mulder and Scully’s relationship took a clear turn towards intimacy in the seventh season. Either that is why Scully felt she could ask Mulder to be the father of her child, or they grew together because he agreed to do so. Either is plausible. The latter more so, but that is just my thoughts on the matter. Mulder, knowing he was secretly dying from the brain disorder, would be more inclined to have a child as a legacy, so his saying yes is not terribly unusual under the circumstances. While we are at it, his ambivalence towards the possibility the x-Files might be shut down under budget cuts and the desire for Scully to leave the FBI for a medical practice could be evidence of his impending death. He has no career future and does not want Scully to watch him die.
It all fits, though maybe forcibly so. I can understand why some fans might be irritated being blindsided new stuff the writers forgot to tell them was going on years ago. Welcome to what comic book fans have suffered to varying degrees for decades now. The good news is the revelations add to what would otherwise be a run of the mill conspiracy arc story. We have seen these genetic experiment cover up episodes many times before. Only the flashbacks make “Per Manum” anything special. Even that does not elevate it much. But it is good to know some of the old Mulder/Scully dynamic is about to return.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
“Per Manum,” Latin for “By Hand,” is famous for being the most continuity bursting episode of the series with its pre-abduction Mulder flashbacks. It is too bad it has such a strike against it. Otherwise, it is a solid episode, particularly for one from the final two seasons. The good news is that David Duchovny is back as a regular for the remainder of the season, although he is featured solely in the aforementioned continuity bursting flashbacks. ‘Per Manum” also features the first appearance of Adam Baldwin as Knowles Rohner. Rohner will be become an important recurring character.
