“Dreamland II” is episode five of season six of The X-Files.
This episode opens with Morris Fletcher talking about Mulder’s life. About being stuck with the name Fox and how what happened to his sister was the biggest kick. He graduated at the top of his class at the FBI academy. Mulder never managed to put his sister out of his mind, instead going out of his own mind and been that way ever since. He destroyed a brilliant career and lost the respect of his supervisors and friends, muttering about conspiracies to anyone who would listen. One step away from pushing a baby carriage full of tin cans down the street. That’s all going to change, with Morris in Mulder’s body.
In the previous episode, “Dreamland”, Morris, as Mulder, had Mulder, as Morris, carted away by Area 51 security. As Mulder, in Morris’s body, is being bundled into the car, he’s yelling out to Scully that this wasn’t him. Morris apologises to Scully for narking on her to Kersh. He was scared Scully would lose her job. Scully says that’s okay; she’s been telling him for years that he should play more by the book. Mulder himself is put into a Perspex cell next to the native woman now inhabited by the consciousness of a USAF captain.
At the FBI, Morris is playing games again when Scully returns to her desk. Kersh told Scully that she isn’t a team player and the FBI doesn’t need people who aren’t team players. Two weeks suspension, no pay. Morris offers to cook Scully a meal later and she agrees.
Mulder’s cell neighbour is annoying him with tales when the guards come to get Mulder. General Wegman wants to see him. The meeting, which involves Smoodge and Grodin, goes better than expected. They ask ‘Morris’ why he didn’t tell them what he was doing. The flight data recorder Mulder was taking to Scully is the wrong one. Why didn’t Morris tell them he was running a scam on the FBI? Mulder says he didn’t know if he could trust them; there is a security leak after all. He approached Scully alone to find out who her contact is. Unfortunately, ‘Mulder’ screwed it up. ‘Morris’ knew they wouldn’t believe him until they figured it out for themselves. Yes, the real flight data recorder is safe. Grodin takes the stick for all this.
Morris arrives at Mulder’s apartment with supplies for cooking. And mood lighting for the bedroom. He can’t find the bedroom. Eventually, he opens a door and finds a room filled with files. And some reading material. Finally, we see Mulder does have a bed. Barely see. The room is really full.
Mulder arrives at Morris’s house. Morris’s stuff is still on the driveway. Morris’s children won’t properly talk to him. Two agents are watching him from across the road. Mulder tries to convince Morris’s wife, JoAnne, that he isn’t Morris, or having an affair with Scully, and that he’s an FBI agent called Fox Mulder, even showing her the agents. He doesn’t come remotely close to convincing her.
Scully arrives at Mulder’s. Morris has redone the place. He shows her around. There’s a bedroom with a water bed and a mirror above. Scully didn’t even know Mulder had a bedroom. Morris brings some champagne into the bedroom and Scully says something would be really fun, taking out her handcuffs. Morris first. Morris handcuffs himself to the bed and turns around. Scully now has a gun pointed at him, having finally twigged this isn’t Mulder. The second time she’s been conned by someone with his face. Seriously, Morris kept calling her Dana. Morris has no idea how to get things back to normal. Nor has he any interest in doing so; he doesn’t want to go back to his life or his job. He doesn’t know how to contact Mulder’s source either. Then the phone rings. It’s the source.
Mulder is still watching the agents outside. He suggests to JoAnne that they go out, someplace with a lot of people. Outside such a place, Morris and Scully are running through the plan. Morris goes over it. And suggests they start over with the handcuffs. Scully cocks her gun. That’s a no.
Morris enters. JoAnna and Mulder are inside. Morris is going to recognise the source, and he does. It’s General Wegman. Wegman didn’t intend for the plane to crash, only to disable the stealth module so Mulder could see it. Mulder heads outside and finds Scully. He reassures her that yes, it’s really him. Wegman has the real black box and JoAnne sees Mulder with Scully again. Smoodge and two other agents are now in the bar as well. This is getting complicated. JoAnne throws her drink into Mulder’s face. He goes to the toilets to clean up and bumps into Morris. Then General Wegman enters too.
There’s a lot of humour in this episode again, especially when Morris meets the Lone Gunmen and starts trolling them. Morris is having fun. There’s still the problem of how to get Morris and Mulder switched back. Morris isn’t particularly cooperating. Plus, Scully needs her job back and whatever happened seems to be still ongoing. General Wegman also provides a surprising insight into Area 51.