Monica Reyes
Monica Reyes | |
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Monica Julieta Reyes
Conceptual history
Due to their decision to continue
When the role was being cast, actress Annabeth Gish received a call from her agent, who informed her that the producers of The X-Files were looking for a new female character. Gish applied for the part, but her audition consisted of a meeting with writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.[3] Spotnitz considered Reyes to be like Mulder in her optimism, faith and enjoyment of being open to beliefs, while still being somewhat different as she was more spiritual and subscribed to a more New Age-like view than Mulder had.[4] Reyes was seen as different from both Mulder and the other main characters as she was somewhat more neurotic, scattered, and quirky. She smiled and laughed more than the other characters, having a nature that writer Frank Spotnitz felt was lighter, sunnier, brighter, warmer and more "overtly sexy".[4]
The character of
The ninth-season episode "Hellbound", in which Reyes discovers that she was apparently reincarnated, began as an effort to give Reyes or Doggett a "drive" or sense of motivation, as they were seen by the writers as the successors to Mulder and Scully. According to the writer of the episode, David Amann, executive producer Frank Spotnitz was interested in giving Reyes "some darkness to play" and her past life was consequently written with sombre overtones.[6]
Background
Monica Reyes was born and raised in
Character arc
Season 8 (2000–01)
In 2001, Reyes was contacted by Doggett, now an FBI agent assigned to
She later contacted Mulder, who was back to full health at the time, seeking help on a case she suspected had some link to the murder of Doggett's son. However, as before, she soon returned to her own work.[9] Reyes remained with the New Orleans field office until she was called upon to protect agent Dana Scully in May 2001, driving her out to a remote location in Georgia so that the pregnant Scully might deliver her child out of harm's way. Reyes helped deliver the child, and made a permanent move soon afterwards, becoming Doggett's partner on The X-Files.[10][11]
Season 9 (2001–02)
Season nine sees Reyes join the X-Files on a permanent basis, working with both John Doggett and Dana Scully. Following a year of investigating the paranormal, Doggett and Reyes were last seen in the New Mexico desert in 2002, where they were warning Agents Mulder and Scully of the arrival of
Between Seasons 9 and 10
Shortly after the closure of the X-Files, Reyes was contacted by the Smoking Man[13][14] who had somehow survived his apparent death in "The Truth", albeit at the cost of suffering devastating injuries. In exchange for her assistance, he offered her a place amongst the survivors of the End Times, who would be spared from the effects of the "Spartan" virus, administered to the population via smallpox vaccinations. Shortly thereafter, Reyes departed from her career at the FBI, electing to take the Smoking Man's offer. She reluctantly spent the following decade aiding him in his cause with the Conspiracy of Men to develop a scheme to depopulate the planet, scheduled to begin in 2012.
Season 10 (2016)
Following multiple outbreaks nationwide linked to the Spartan virus, Reyes contacted Dana Scully in early 2016, willing to share the knowledge needed to develop an appropriate vaccine. During their meeting,[15] Reyes revealed to Scully the circumstances behind her alliance with the Smoking Man. She also revealed that as a result of her abduction experience in 1994, Scully would be granted immunity from the Spartan virus. Reyes' new loyalties left Scully feeling temporarily betrayed. However, Scully refers to Reyes as a "trusted friend" when speaking to Agent Einstein, saying "it's not too late to stop it" when they begin working on a vaccine. She is not seen again in the episode.
Season 11 (2018)
In the
In the season finale, "My Struggle IV", she contacts Mulder and Scully with information pertaining to their son, William, revealing that she is working from the inside to keep them safe. She later appears at the crime scene where William was last seen, and later takes The Smoking Man to Norfolk, Virginia where they have located him. During a confrontation with Walter Skinner, she is shot and definitely killed.
Reception
The character of Monica Reyes has attracted mixed reviews from critics. Gish's portrayal of the character has been described by Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker as "ferocious yet lissome".[16] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, felt that Reyes' introduction in "This Is Not Happening" was "rather forced", finding her upbeat personality at odds with the tone of the series at that time; Shearman and Pearson also felt that the overall use of the character in season nine was "lazy", with her willingness to believe in anything compromising the tension of episodes such as "4-D" or "Hellbound".[17] However, Shearman considered the character's appearance in "Empedocles" to be "very clever",[18] while Gish's acting in "4-D" was described as "stand out".[19] Writing for The New York Times, Joyce Millman described Reyes and her partner Doggett as "the Diet Coke of Mulder and Scully", referring to their secondary standing.[20] Fellow New York Times writer Caryn James felt that Reyes and Doggett were "colorless", and "a shadow" of their predecessors, noting that "where Scully and Mulder's muted sexual attraction linked them to reality, Doggett and Reyes's chemistry was nonexistent, even as platonic partners".[21]
See also
References
- Fox Home Entertainment.)
{{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: location (link - ^ Brown, Scott (February 19, 2016). "Art of The X-Files". vancouversun.com. Vancouver Sun newspaper. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016. Subtitle: "Gallery owner Monica Reyes, who had a character named after her, displays creator Chris Carter’s personal mementoes."
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 190
- ^ Fox Home Entertainment.
- Fox Home Entertainment.
- Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Michelle Maxwell MacLaren (director); Vince Gilligan (writer) (January 13, 2002). "John Doe". The X-Filess. Season 9. Episode 7. Fox.
- ^ a b c Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (writers) (February 25, 2001). "This Is Not Happening". The X-Files. Season 8. Episode 14. Fox.
- ^ a b Barry K. Thomas (director); Greg Walker (writer) (April 22, 2001). "Empedocles". The X-Files. Season 8. Episode 17. Fox.
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter (writer) (May 13, 2001). "Essence". The X-Files. Season 8. Episode 20. Fox.
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter (writer) (May 20, 2001). "Existence". The X-Files. Season 8. Episode 21. Fox.
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter (writer) (May 19, 2002). "The Truth". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 19 & 20. Fox.
- ^ "It's the end of the world, and The X-Files feels awful". TV Club. 23 February 2016.
- ^ "The X-Files: "My Struggle II" Review - IGN". 23 February 2016 – via www.ign.com.
- ^ "More 'X-Files' Returns in Finale Photos of 'My Struggle II'". ScreenCrush. 17 February 2016.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (November 16, 2001). "The X-Files Review | TV Reviews and News". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ^ Shearman and Pearson, p. 241
- ^ Shearman and Pearson, pp. 244–245
- ^ Shearman and Pearson, p. 263
- ^ Millman, Joyce (May 19, 2002). "Television/Radio – 'The X-Files' Finds the Truth: Its Time is Past". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ^ James, Caryn (May 20, 2002). "What 'Friends' Has Going for It ... – ... That 'Ally McBeal and 'The X-Files' Didn't Have". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
Bibliography
- Hurwitz, Matt; Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-933784-80-9.
- Shearman, Robert; Pearson, Lars (2009). Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 978-0-9759446-9-1.
External links