“Without” is episode two of season eight of The X-Files.
The episode opens with Scully talking about aliens, as a UFO hovers above the desert at night and disappears behind a cloak
At the end of the previous episode, “Within”, Doggett had confronted Mulder, who had taken Gibson Praise, at the top of a cliff. Doggett tells Mulder – assuming it is Mulder – to let Gibson go. That’s the only instruction Mulder follows; he then walks backward off a cliff. As other agents arrive, Doggett tells them what happened. At the bottom of the cliff, definitely not Mulder opens his eyes.
Skinner and Scully arrive at the cliff’s bottom where all the agents are and ask Doggett where Mulder is. He doesn’t know; the body is gone. It can’t be, but it is. Asa a cop, Doggett has seen many things, but what Mulder did was impossible. There’s a point of impact and then tracks leading away. Running tracks. Scully tells Doggett that it wasn’t Mulder. It being Mulder is the only thing Doggett is sure of. Scully says it might have looked like Mulder, but it wasn’t him. Scully has seen what looks like a man turn into another man. Doggett presses her as to what it is. An alien, a bounty hunter. Come to collect Gibson because he’s part alien, a human anomaly. They wanted to track the bounty hunter back to the ship, because they believe that’s where Mulder is.
Doggett arrives back at Gibson’s school and is told by the other agents that there’s no sign of Mulder. He wants to search the school again. Mulder arrives, shifts into the alien bounty hunter, then into the guise of a teacher as Doggett arrives.
Scully and Skinner arrive at the school; Skinner wonders how Doggett knew where they were going. Then indicates on of the other children, who is getting on a bike. Skinner will distract an agent as Scully follows the kid. This leads into the desert, where Scully finds a trapdoor and a place where Gibson and the girl that Scully was following are.
Gibson says she shouldn’t have come. Scully says she’s here to protect him; he knows that, as he can read thoughts, and that Mulder has been taken. The girl, Thea, knows what Gibson does. She’s the only at the school who does and is afraid for Gibson. Scully says Thea is right to be afraid; they don’t know who they can trust. Gibson hurt himself running away and Scully thinks he’s broken his leg. She can splint it, but they need a car. She promises not to let anything bad happen to Gibson. Gibson points out she’s said that before.
Kersh rings Doggett to find out what’s going on. Frankly, Doggett himself doesn’t. After the call, Doggett asks Skinner what’s so funny. Skinner doesn’t think Doggett was spying on them; he thinks Kersh was. Doggett is a pawn, set up to fail. He’s taking the wrong approach. That’s the only approach Doggett has. Skinner tells him the only way to find Mulder is to give into the truth and listen to Scully. But if he finds Mulder, he still loses. If Doggett reports anything about aliens, Kersh will ruin Doggett, and Skinner bets that’s Kersh’s plan.
Doggett asks the agents if anyone has seen Scully. She’s near one of them. Then Scully turns up where Doggett and Skinner are. They have two Scullys. Doggett tells his agent to hold the other Scully. That doesn’t work.
Doggett is getting exposed to things that don’t make sense, but some are hard to ignore. And they’ve got a shapeshifter to find, which is hard enough, and the fact it can become anyone breeds distrust.