I grew up reading the 1001 Nights and often thought about what kind of wishes I would make, if I found a jinni. This episode delightfully brings that wish to life.
Scully finds it fascinating that Jenn is a living witness to 500 years of human history. This is probably Jenn's greatest asset, not her power to grant wishes-her long observation of human greed, stupidity, and propensity for self-destruction. "Granted, people smell better now . . ."-I remembered that line since I originally saw this episode 18 years ago. Have people changed at all in the last 500 years, other than that we now bathe more frequently?
Perhaps, and perhaps not, but it's fascinating to ponder.
The funny thing is that Jenn doesn't exempt herself from wishing for stupid things-a stout-heated mule, a magic sack of turnips, and great power and long life.
The key to escaping from stupid unintended consequences of our wishes seems to be to make them small and specific. But if they are so small and specific, can't we do that on our own? As Scully notes, perhaps it's the process that matters.
It's still fun to think about what we would wish for, from time to time. It helps to refocus our priorities. I sure hope that people who enter law enforcement wish for peace on earth, for example, like Mulder.
Scully finds it fascinating that Jenn is a living witness to 500 years of human history. This is probably Jenn's greatest asset, not her power to grant wishes-her long observation of human greed, stupidity, and propensity for self-destruction. "Granted, people smell better now . . ."-I remembered that line since I originally saw this episode 18 years ago. Have people changed at all in the last 500 years, other than that we now bathe more frequently?
Perhaps, and perhaps not, but it's fascinating to ponder.
The funny thing is that Jenn doesn't exempt herself from wishing for stupid things-a stout-heated mule, a magic sack of turnips, and great power and long life.
The key to escaping from stupid unintended consequences of our wishes seems to be to make them small and specific. But if they are so small and specific, can't we do that on our own? As Scully notes, perhaps it's the process that matters.
It's still fun to think about what we would wish for, from time to time. It helps to refocus our priorities. I sure hope that people who enter law enforcement wish for peace on earth, for example, like Mulder.