The X-Files: “Milagro” (6x18) | “Agent Scully had herself become… simply aroused”

After running into Mulder, Padgett continues his story by detailing an erotic sexual encounter between himself and Scully. Trivia Stegall noted that “if Milagro has one message about perception, it’s shown in Scully, who is seen through everyone’s eyes (Mulder, Padgett, even Naciamento) but her own. Ultimately, we can’t know which ones of these portraits of her character are ’right’. Maybe none of them are. Elyce Rae Helford, in her book Fantasy Girls: Gender in the New Universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy Television, accused the show of “reinforc[ing] the stereotype […] of independent women as lonely, neurotic, and nostalgic for sexual attention from men.“ Anderson herself felt that the character needed to “loosen up“. She was once approached by a fan who applauded Scully as the “epitome of womanhood“ because she is a character who “not only can kick ass but she […] works with Mulder without jumping him“. Anderson, in return jokingly replied, “So the epitome of womanhood is sexual restraint? […] I don’t think so.“