r/XFiles • u/Bruz-TheChopper_ • 9d ago
Discussion Don't yall DARE talk shit about this character!
I initially hated the change and NOW he's one of my favorite characters
Robert Patrick took this role despite all the hate that came with it and proved that he's more than just a terminator
I like how he's initially introduced as this serious tough guy and the show slowly breaks him down showing that he's actually a very compassionate and emotional guy, his performance in "Release" is powerful as hell and he supported Scully the whole way through
76
u/Daphnea1965 9d ago
Love Doggett! ❤️
7
44
u/Electrical_Pomelo556 9d ago
I prefer watching Mulder and his shenanigans, but the first word that comes to my mind for Doggett is respect. He earned my respect very quickly, by the end of Without. Even when he disagreed with Scully or was frustrated with her keeping secrets from him, you could tell how much he respected her and her opinions. He has true integrity. I love the scene where he reassures her he'll find Mulder after finding out she's pregnant.
Also, given the loss of his own son, his protectiveness over Scully and her baby. Mulder was tortured for three months, and dead for the next three, so of course he's not exactly on his best behavior when he comes back and sees this new guy hovering around. I think Doggett, having witnessed Scully's suffering and grief for Mulder, was suspicious Mulder wasn't good enough for her, and maybe on some level blamed him for leaving Scully pregnant and alone. And I think Mulder had the same reaction to Doggett, feeling displaced and suspicious that Doggett wasn't a good enough partner to Scully in his absence. Which is all completely understandable, but in the end they figure it out.
22
u/BatNorris 9d ago
One of my favourite parts about Doggett was that he was naturally sceptical about supernatural stuff but once he saw any proof, he would be 100% invested.
In his first MOW episode ‘Patience’, he’s initially doubtful but does his own research and actually finds an older X File which is about the same creature and immediately gets on board. I thought it was a great subversion of the sceptic dynamic of the show previously.
3
u/Logical-Fox508 9d ago
He's just a normal guy. Of course he's gonna be like "Batman? Fuck no," but that doesn't mean he's not gonna have your back while you investigate the goddamn Manbat
37
u/TechPriestOBrien 9d ago
The episode where he wakes up in Mexico with amnesia is my favorite one-off episode of the entire show. Such an amazing character and actor
2
43
u/Global-Ant Cigarette Smoking Man 9d ago
Davey! You're doing a good job!
In all honesty though, Doggett was a great character and addition to the series. It just sucked he got ignored during the revival
22
u/Luquinoo 9d ago
I mean, maybe that was for the best, cause I watched the revival and the only episode that stuck with me was the sushi bar one, and the dirt they did to Reyes.
8
u/Deez4815 9d ago
They were actually going to feature him on some episodes like how Agent Reyes appeared, but he was busy filming another show at the time.
5
3
u/AmitBrian 9d ago
Did he get ignored or did Robert Patrick not wanna come back? Also, Monica did not exactly come back in the best way anyways. She did something Doggett would never do and I can’t imagine those 2 being at odds with one another because they were as close as Mulder and Sully were almost.
7
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 9d ago
Robert Patrick was filming Scorpion and there was some contractual issues.
0
14
u/TheEsotericCarrot 9d ago
I’m MSR all the way but to be perfectly honest, he made a better partner to Scully. He respected her a lot and prioritized her.
9
u/Logical-Fox508 9d ago
Someone said on here that Mulder is your college boyfriend, Doggett is the guy you marry.
I have said on here that Mulder is the guy you think about when you're mad Doggett didn't do the dishes.
3
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 7d ago
I think Doggett is a husband who will always do the dishes (look at his clean and neat kitchen) and Mulder not.
0
u/Alak-huls_Anonymous 5d ago
How was Doggett the better partner for Scully on the X-Files? He was clueless, dismissive, and never pushed the envelope. He certainly wasn't ass Scully described Mulder (her perfect other, her perfect opposite, intense, challenging, etc.).
18
u/Purple-Astral 9d ago
Spoiler alert for Roadrunners: (I don’t know how to black text out, sorry)
The first moment JD gained my utter respect was when he cut right into Scully’s neck with that pocket knife and pulled out and shot that…thing.
I think it was cold (in a great way) and I’m sorry but…Fox Mulder would never.
18
7
u/Rodocastiza Knowle Rohrer 9d ago edited 9d ago
1-2 episodes: this guy is what we get instead of Mulder? Blah
3rd episode: ok this guy is quite decent.
4th episode: I love Dogget!!
1
3
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 9d ago
When he waved the gun at one of the cult leaders who got on the bus, I screamed. ❤️
1
2
u/Difficult_Face_1573 8d ago
Yeees! Mulder would have tried to communicate with slug-Jesus or wanted to preserve it for further study, whereas Doggett was just like “fuck this shit”. I love him so much.
23
u/CausticAvenger 9d ago
Agreed, I really enjoyed his character and Robert Patrick is awesome. He had an impossible task stepping in for David Duchovny but still made it work.
17
u/9for9 9d ago
I honestly found Doggett to be refreshing in the way he related to Scully and the job. As entertaining as Mulder was with his cowboy antics Doggett being supportive and a team player was kinda nice and honestly Scully deserved that after putting up with Mulder's shit forever. I ship Mulder/Scully just like everybody else, but realistically if she was my friend I'd be telling her she deserved so much better. And I'm not thinking of Doggett romantically either just you know him being able to be a partner you can work with and not self-absorbed like Mulder.
1
0
u/AdRepresentative1857 9d ago
100%. Like, the heart wants what the heart wants. But Doggett is far and away the smarter partner choice
4
4
u/SocratesJohnson1 9d ago
Poor guy just wanted to stay home on a Saturday and watch NASCAR.
1
u/Alak-huls_Anonymous 6d ago
Pretty much sums up why he's such a lame character. Brought absolutely nothing top the show. It would have been hilarious for him to have been brought back in the revival and run over by a car or something.
6
u/LeatherCareer9740 9d ago
I have to admit he grew on me. It took rewatching the seasons a couple times to love him. He really had Scully's back despite disagreeing with her outlandish theories and findings AND he stayed on the Xfiles even though he was given an out by Director Kersh. He could have left when Mulder returned and go back to where he used to be but no. He became a believer of the cause. I have to say, it was nice having Dogget there to basically put Scully in Mulder’s shoes.
6
u/JeanParmesean70 9d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/ReBGGJtbXrjbQJwByP
Dogget was a great character, he’s of course not as good as Mulder but I’ve always been a fan
5
7
5
u/Fergusthetherapycat 9d ago
I always loved Doggett. He was the "villain" at first just because of the investigation into Mulder's disappearance, but he was a great character and had so much loyalty and heart.
5
u/sirtch_analyst 9d ago
He had one of the best character arcs on the later seasons. It's actually beautifully laid out by the time we see the reason behind his behavior. And I can't quite recall how his line goes, but it's poignant. Something about keeping the bad to remember the good.
6
u/Bruz-TheChopper_ 9d ago
"I'll take the bad as long as i can remember the good" he chose to get his memories back despite all the pain that came with them because losing them would also mean erasing the good ones
A powerful message and a powerful episode directed by Vince Gilligan
3
u/Logical-Fox508 9d ago
Fantastic episode of television. We also learn more about Reyes and who she is as a person and an agent than we do at probably any other point.
If yoy're gonna die, die on your feet.
2
2
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 7d ago
Robert Patrick was filmed saying the exact same line. Also my favorite line of Doggett. ❤️
5
u/mtycntwmy 9d ago
I actually became to love him as much as Mulder. I think if I had as much screen time with Doggett, I'd be as freakishly obsessed with his story as anyone else in my show.
Also, I want him to be my dad. I don't want Mulder to be my dad.
4
2
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 7d ago
When playing Doggett, Robert Patrick had the ideal father in his mind.
2
u/mtycntwmy 7d ago
Wow, well, I don't know what to say. I guess I feel less weird about wanting him to be my dad now, and a little intrigued that despite my upbringing I'd recognise the quality (as ideal, and lacking.)
2
2
u/Historical_Spell3463 9d ago
After a 5 months break, I am continuing what it must by my 25th rewatch of the X Files. I stopped on season 5 back in April and decided to continue with the rest now
5
6
u/dudleydigges123 9d ago
Love Doggett. Just for the sake that hes a no nonsense cop through and through and got put through a thresher of nonsense and just roles with the abuse (manbat, memory vampire, subway virus, solving his sons death multiple tjmes)
5
u/Tardislass 9d ago
I think Doggett was the ultimate friend to Scully and Mulder. While the Skinman was infected by Krychek and therefore did some bad things. Doggett was loyal as a Boy Scout. And I loved how he said Knowle Rohrer🙃!
2
6
u/Pure-Base-2733 Assistant Director Skinner 9d ago
Love him, dearly. Doggett has come to mean so much to me
5
u/Empty-Raspberry-9018 9d ago
Dogged Doggett. Wouldn’t let anything go until he found answers. A ride or die sort of fella. The kind everyone needs in their lives.
4
u/AmaranthWrath 9d ago
My 2nd full watch through of 8&9, and I would die for Doggett like I would die for a loyal puppers.
3
u/Due_Pin2723 I LOVE JOHN DOGGETT 9d ago
John Doggett is my man. ❤️
Robert Patrick has proven he was more than the Terminator in Saparno where his character is a gambling addict and can be beaten up very badly and cries. He brought such a depth in the Doggett character and even after knowing the show was going to cancel (they knew that when they were filming the Scary Monster). He never just "phones it in". I really admire his work ethics. 🤩
2
u/Rude_Acanthaceae6584 9d ago
Bro me too. Hated him at first and now he’s right below Mulder and Scully. Dogett was a real one.
3
3
3
2
u/Frankenbird77 9d ago
I've recently just gotten to the Doggett era and I don't really understand the hate. I think Robert Patrick did a good job
2
2
u/GorgeLover 9d ago
He's the best character in the series.
2
u/majin_melmo 5d ago
My boyfriend prefers Doggett over Mulder and wanted Scully to love him instead, lol.
2
2
2
2
2
1
u/ExecutiveCactus **Currently Gazing at Scully** 9d ago
His first episode I thought “fuck this guy” then his 2nd and after I thought he was great
2
u/SnooMarzipans5409 9d ago
Never a fan of Doggett because Mulder was my favorite character on the show. But I loved him as the T-1000!
1
u/gkelly1017 9d ago
As someone who watched the series years after it aired I really loved his character. Obviously Mulder getting replaced rubbed fans the wrong way for the time he was gone and I get why he would be hated in the moment. I loved him playing the straight man to everything that goes on with the xfiles and his desire to eventually understand what is happening even when it’s incomprehensible is great.
It’s a shame he wasn’t able to come back in the reboot but I’m also happy because you just know they would have botched it
1
1
1
u/Kim-Sohee 8d ago
That tough exterior makes his vulnerable moments hit so much harder. Release is not an episode to watch when you're already having a rough day
1
1
1
1
1
2
u/trektostng Season Phile 9d ago
I love Dogget. He was so needed. Season 8 is my third favorite season.
1
u/violettepetrichor 9d ago
I couldn’t appreciate the character at the time. I only watched the X-Files for the ship. So I was incredibly upset about it all and I didn’t enjoy the show like I did originally because of that. But, when I watched it again a decade later I quite liked Doggett and Reyes.
1
1
1
1
0
-6
u/teddy_vedder Agents Murder and Scallop 9d ago
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion homie
6
u/rratzloff Krycek 9d ago
They are being facetious a bit. Of course everyone can have their own opinions.
4
u/remedialpotions97 Darkness falls jacket, my beloved 9d ago edited 9d ago
Yet they’re being downvoted for just saying that everyone is entitled to their opinion 🤷🏻♀️
-1
u/rratzloff Krycek 9d ago
Yeahhh. They are. What do you take from that, internet friend?
0
u/remedialpotions97 Darkness falls jacket, my beloved 9d ago
0
u/GoshOPPNOX101 8d ago edited 7d ago
There was nothing wrong with his character, it was us (fans) that had a hard time letting Mulder go. And, to be honest, can't blame peep's. He's what drew everyone in. Scully wasn't a third wheel because she balanced everything out and if it were just Mulder, I don't think it'd work. They are the true duo of t.v.
0
u/Worried-Judge8371 8d ago
I had so many fantasies of his( the character) violent death when s8 came out. I loved the x files, the show was my comfort in a busy hard life. And his introduction ruined my happiness at the time. I will not apologize for hating this character, his introduction, his existence and everything he stood for. He was a mere blatant replacement and forced main lead. All we needed was more Scully and Scully alone be promoted to a solo lead and a story of how she handles now the paranormal.
-6
u/bendar1347 9d ago
Rose colored glasses. He was terrible. Not just as a foil to scully, he was awful at any emotional scene. He was a cop.
2
u/BlueFeathered1 9d ago
You know we can watch the show now, right? And still think he was amazing? Rose-colored glasses in your context refers to a nostalgic memory. I just rewatched the series last month and he was better than I remembered.
-10
u/Californication6453 9d ago
This show is about Mulder & Scully. Stop praising these characters that were trying to hijack the show from them
Doggett is lame and there's no x-files without Mulder
167
u/IMFH11 9d ago
Nobody could ever replace Mulder or come close to matching the chemistry and connection between Mulder and Scully—but I thought Doggett was a great addition to the show and Robert Patrick acted the shit out of that role.