The K Files agents return to the wasteland of Scully's unconscious for a NEW investigation this week into Christmas Carol conclusion, Emily.

While not the saddest Christmas Scully has ever spent, it definitely ranks highly. Maybe in Season 11 we'll see MS and William sitting around a tree opening presents together, but until that highly unlikely eventuality, let's dig into Scully's first erstwhile child. (for more lighthearted holiday fare, see How the Ghosts Stole Christmas. Other great Scully journeys can be found in Milagro, All Things, Orison). And finally, major points to Duchovny for his flawless Mr. Potato Head face and excellent floppy fifth season hair. Approaching Fight the Future zenith for pecs and hair for sure. Anderson is no slouch either, the camera loves her Hibernian features.

In addition to impeccable grooming, the actors also have the benefit of a script from three of the best in the XF writing stable, Gilligan, Spotnitz, Shiban. These writers' illustrate one of the biggest truths in all of XF-dom with a dramatic dream sequence depicting Scully walking through a desert wasteland, a dreamscape worthy of Ingmar Bergman. She makes the journey only to find herself, alone, at the end of it, dust scattered by wind. The meaning of the dream plays out through the real world of the story: Scully takes the path to find and fight for Emily, a part of herself she did not even know she had to be responsible for, but which dies and changes her nonetheless. We only wish there were more ramifications for the characters from this arc going forward, otherwise it's like it never happened, and that's a bummer for Emily.