Shannon McMahon reintroduces herself to Doggett and explains just what she is and how Scully's baby fits in. Meanwhile, Doggett attempts to work out who is on whose side at the FBI and who he can trust.

Much, much better than the season opener, we actually get some real admissions of who is doing what here, and although some of it is couched in lies as usual, by the end we have pretty much got an idea of who is working for who. The reinvention of Kersh as someone who is secretly protecting his agents from outside influences is a neat trick, and Follmer is made a little more in the grey than he appeared in the season opener. Exactly why Doggett somehow gets a reprieve is a little difficult to work out, not to mention how Reyes suddenly gets assigned to the X-Files alongside him.

It's good to see a new plotline of government conspiracy starting, especially as it's much clearer what's going on without subsequent seasons of doubletalk and revelations proving to be false getting in the way. The supersoldier premise is pretty good (although it leaves the aliens on Earth a little out in the cold) and the fact that Scully's baby is somehow involved is a nice touch, even if it needs a little more explanation after the end of last season. Does this mean it's a supersoldier and the aliens were hoping it was one of them?

There's still some stuff to deal with, of course, Mulder's absence being particularly ridiculous when it could easily have been glossed over, but at least there seems to be a slightly firmer foundation here than there was last season where it was more of the same. It could prove to be an interesting partnership with Doggett and Reyes from the perspective of one believing in government intrigue and the other in aliens and the unexplained. The only frustration I have at the moment is in the sidelining of Scully, who seems to be stuck with her kid without little hope of a reprieve. They have to keep her involved somehow and make her lead the stories or they'll lose more than just the Mulder fans this season...

****

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