Another sketch I did back in 2004 but never posted anywhere… until now! This was originally going to be part of a larger kind of collage-like picture for this episode, but I didn’t like the way the rest of it was coming out, so I ended up scrapping it. I always did like this section, though, so I decided to crop it out and let it stand on its own.
I’ve always been interested in the Mulder family dynamics. They were definitely dysfunctional, especially leading up to and following Samantha’s abduction–hell, probably from the beginning considering that at least one, if not both, of the Mulder children were the result of an affair. Until Bill had to make that fateful choice, though, they seemed like they probably held it together pretty well, and then after that, things just completely fell apart. Bill grew distant, Teena repressed. Meanwhile, Fox Mulder, suddenly an only child, was just entering adolescence. In his adult life, Mulder definitely seems closer to his mom than his dad, and one can guess that she probably had primary custody when she and Bill divorced. Around his father, Mulder seems as though he is bracing himself for a lecture, scorn, or disapproval. He seems more affectionate around his mother (pre-Demons, anyway), and one might imagine they needed to support each other after Samantha’s disappearance, though his tendencies toward obsession and hers toward repression probably prevented them from being as close as they could have been. Still, Mulder is generally shown as being gentle and caring around his mom (at least until he starts asking questions that she doesn’t want to answer). But it’s clear that he cares very much for her and wants to protect her, especially when she’s the only family member he has left.
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