Within (The X-Files) - Themes

Themes

As The X-Files entered into its eighth season, "human resurrection and salvation" as well as "disease, suffering, and healing" became an increasingly central focus of the show. "Within", along with various other episodes during the eighth season of the show, would be the first to explore themes of birth, death and resurrection. The sub-theme of birth first emerged in this episode during Scully's opening dream of an abducted Mulder, which "invok strong birth imagery of the amniotic sack and fluid." The later in the episode, the themes of death and resurrection are touched upon when Scully is shown Mulder's tombstone. This arc would continue in "The Gift", where Mulder's inoperable brain tumor and the resurrection of John Doggett is explored. In "Deadalive", the theme reappears in full-force: Billy Miles is found dead but resurrects, Mulder is buried for three months, and later, is brought back to life. This sub-theme would continue well into the ninth season, in entries such as "Audrey Pauley".

The episode is one of many to feature Mulder as a Christ-like figure. These comparisons were first purposely inserted during the seventh season episode "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati", in which Mulder is placed on a cross-like table, symbolic of the wooden cross that Jesus was nailed to. Michelle Bush, in her book Myth-X notes that Mulder's torture scenes in "Within" bear a resemblance to the Crucifixion of Jesus. She argues that the metal bars piercing his wrists and ankles are similar to the nails that held Jesus, the metal straps imbedded in his head are similar to the Crown of Thorns, and that his vivisection is reminiscent of the wound made by the Holy Lance. Furthermore, Bush parallels Jesus' "horrific death in order to rise again" to Mulder's abduction, death, and resurrection later on in "Deadalive", which would further make allusions to the Christ-like nature of Mulder.