Terrorist by Any Other Name....

 Sometime ago, Shawn and I were forced to join the 21st Century because the ancient TV we got from a friend some time in the 90s finally died. As i'm sure all of you know, TVs today come equipped for 'fire sticks' and other means of watching on-line programming.  So Shawn and I have been enjoying curling up on the couch together in the evening and trying out various programs that are on Hulu or Netflix or Amazon Prime.  We loved Broadchurch (both seasons), Bloodlines, and River.  A few days ago, Shawn noticed that the new X-Files was available.  

We decided to watch it.  

I was a fan of the show when it first aired.  I wasn't a super-fan.  I don't think I saw either of the two movies; if I did, I forgot them.  Even so, I was pretty excited to see the old opening credits rolling.  I also want to note that, for most of the episodes, I was perfectly willing to suspend my disbelief.  In other words: I wanted to believe.

Even though there were a few rough bumps, I was really enjoying even the cheesiest episodes.  Then, last night, we hit "Babylon."  Shawn and I turned the TV off before we even got to the (in)famous mushroom trip scene.  Nope.  We quit when it became obvious that the Muslims were being set up as terrorists.  Shawn and I kept hoping that there would be a twist, you know, that maybe someone had actually blown up the art museum because it had been featuring Islamic art.  But, nope. It was crazy, bomb-building Arabic terrorists. As far as I know, Mulder didn't even stop to wonder which sort of Muslim terrorists we were dealing with: Sunni, Shi'ite, Sufi, Baha'is...  (frankly, this is something that is generally making me crazy.  Can we all start being more specific when referring to Muslims? Muslim is no more a singular thing than Christian or Jewiish is, and I can tell you that most people in America know there's a huge difference between a Southern Baptist and a Quaker, but no one seems to know there's as huge a gulf between Shi'ite and Sufi) Mulder's complete ignorance on the subject was odd given that he corrected the guy in the previous episode for his misunderstanding of the Tibetan 'tulpa.' I guess Mulder and Scully, as FBI agents, have bought into the idea that Muslim (of any variety) = Terrorist, no need to question that assumption. Nope, nope, you all know how crazy all the Muslims get when you depict Mohammad on the toilet, okay so, can we communicate with the nearly dead?  

Honestly, I couldn't even get into the supernatural part of 'plot' because the set-up was so distractingly AWFUL.  

A lot of people got up in arms about the treatment of the trans character in the were-creature episode, and I understand why.  I rolled with it, because the episode was otherwise charming and retro, and the way I read all that was that Mulder was kind trying to be an ally, but failing. I feel like that's in character for him.  But, even so, that's no excuse. I agree that it's long overdue for people to stop treating trans folks and trans issues as punchlines.  That was offensive and unconscionable, but I heard so, SO MUCH more about that on social media than I did about this egregious portrayal of Muslims in this episode.

One of the things I used to love about X-Files was that it was a think-y show that often made you question your assumptions.  I feel like the show I watched back in the day would have flipped the Muslim = terrorist schtick on its head, like I kept expecting this one would, and so it feels especially heartbreaking that it didn't happen.
Anyone else watch it?  What were your thoughts?