Why I Do Not Support The Doggett/Reyes Relationship (no beta) 
By: Dana Doggett

There is only one episode of "The X-Files" that I sincerely enjoy every on-screen moment 
between John Doggett and Monica Reyes, "Empedocles" (season 8). That episode defines for 
me the way the Doggett/Reyes partnership should have been written in season nine of the series. 
Their working partnership in "Empedocles" was perfect. There was no forced 'drippy' moments 
between them as we got in season 9. In "Empedocles", they showed a strong professional 
partnership, good copwork. The tension was professional and intense. If the writers of "The X-
Files" had kept Doggett and Reyes on that track, season 9 could have been so strong, but 
instead the writers, the powers that be, screwed it up by trying to recreate the magic that existed 
between Mulder and Scully in the early seasons of the show, and the magic that existed between 
Doggett and Scully throughout season 8 and season 9. It is of my opinion when writers try to 
force sexual interest and a relationship onto a show so early that it fails.

The interaction between, the friendship of, and the professional partnership between John 
Doggett and Monica Reyes in season 9 is one of the reasons why I do not enjoy that season as 
much as I should as a HUGE John Doggett fan. The writers broke the characters down to fit them 
to what the Mulder/Scully shippers wanted to see: any woman other than Scully as a potential 
love interest for Doggett, since so obviously in season 8 the Mulder/Scully shippers, that were still 
watching, saw the moments between Doggett and Scully, and the potential Doggett and Scully 
have as a couple, and that threatened the relationship that Mulder and Scully were in. The 
shippers were unhappy with the moments created between Doggett and Scully because they 
were sincere, honest and not written in to keep or gain an audience. So along comes season 9 
and they bring in Monica Reyes to show the rabids that there's someone else around who is 
interested in Doggett, and not to worry, Scully will always be with Mulder (though we all know that 
really isn't a healthy relationship).

So the way I see it Monica Reyes was only brought in during season 9 as a main character 
simply to please the shippers. And if you know me, things that are added to this show to cater to 
the shippers bothers me. So yes, of course, anything having to do with Doggett/Reyes pretty 
much bothered me straight from the top.

To me, John and Monica had already hit that "friends zone" by the time season 8 rolled around. 
To define the "friends zone", remember the "Friends" episode where Joey explains the "friends 
zone" to Ross? "The One With The Blackout"? There comes a time in every relationship where 
you either make or break the potential for romance, once that moment has passed, you're stuck 
in the "friends zone". Monica had known John from New York when she had been the head 
investigator on his son's missing persons/murder case. This is the only known instance we are 
told about in which Monica and John had interacted in their lives, nothing else is known. If you 
ask me, being the lead investigator on the death of a man's son automatically places you in a 
zone that I wouldn't exactly define as a friendship. That's why I never really understood why John 
and Monica were interpreted as good friends once she came onto the show. I also never 
understood why John would want Monica around as his partner after she was unable to solve his 
son's murder case. *ahem* Plot convenience.

Also, in a scenario like that. How in the world would John ever be able to look or be with Monica 
without thinking back on the worst time of his life? I can't imagine he'd be able to look at her and 
forget what happened to his son and her inability to solve the case. Heck, when Monica shows up 
in season 8 she brings up Luke, and she continues to do so every so often during her time on the 
show in season 9. I don't find that very considerate of his feelings about the case, especially 
considering how pissed off he was at her in "Empedocles" for bringing it up again and sharing the 
information with a man (Mulder) who he really wasn't on the best of terms with. If you ask me it 
just seemed like Monica was out for herself and not considering John's feelings at all. She 
showed no respect for him and his personal life and she flaunted it about in front of Mulder as if 
John meant nothing to her. She was selfish about it. She feels guilty about being unable to solve 
the case and I think in "Empedocles" she only wanted to bring it up again because she saw a 
chance at solving it. She was thinking only of herself, not John. If she had considered his feelings 
about it, I don't think she would have snuck around behind his back to look into the case again.

Even after the case had been declared "cold" (unsolvable), when would there have been time for 
John and Monica to grow close? He went down to Virginia to become a FBI agent, and Monica 
was in New York and then New Orleans. Their paths wouldn't have crossed. Sure, somehow 
during his son's case they could have become good friends, but pray tell… someone explain that 
to me if that is the case. Did they spend time together, hanging out while Luke was missing? Did 
John ignore his wife during this time in order to bond with the head investigator of the case? Did 
they go out for drinks once she clocked out? I doubt John would have even thought of his 
friendships during that time. His son was missing and later found dead (after molestation). I don't 
think his mind was on befriending Monica, he was probably pissed off at her, she couldn't find his 
son in time to save him and then his son's killer and molester wasn't caught and brought to 
justice. Monica said she cried her eyes out alone in bathroom stalls, so we know that she and 
John didn't talk through their feelings even when the Luke case was active. More canonical proof 
that John and Monica couldn't have spent much time together during Luke's case, so there's no 
way any actual friendship, and most importantly, romantic feelings could have developed at that 
time.

After the case was declared unsolvable, John went about his life and Monica went about hers.

So season 8 gets underway and John calls Monica up to help with the Mulder search. In her first 
episode she brings up Luke's case. She knows John doesn't like to talk about it, yet against his 
wishes she brings it up. You'll notice in season 9 she does this as well. She's always the one 
reminding him of that time in his life, always pushing for him to talk about it with her. I'm sure she 
hopes to help him move on, but she only angers him and makes him sad. You'd think after 
knowing him about seven years she'd know not to do that, but she does. It's not kind.

Magically at the end of season 8 *Special Agent* John Doggett (again I'll stress, *Special Agent*) 
has the power to authorize Monica's transfer from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., and he has 
the "authority" to assign her as his partner in the X-Files Division. Umm… this really doesn't have 
to do with why I don't like or support DRR, but really a Special Agent would not have this power, 
so technically Monica never should have been up in D.C. during season 9. Also, why would John 
want to have a partner that failed him on what is probably the most tragic event of his life? I highly 
doubt he trusts her much professionally, and we actually see that in season 9.

Anyway, back on track.

In season 9 we begin to see a few similarities between Doggett/Reyes and Mulder/Scully. If you 
haven't read my essay on "Why I Do Not Support The Mulder/Scully Relationship", please read it 
now, a link to the essay is located on my LiveJournal information page.

Similarities in the things I find unhealthy about Mulder/Scully like the lack of respect. There is also 
lack of respect between John and Monica both professionally and personally.

After an entire season of watching how much John Doggett respected Dana Scully, and how well 
he treated her, we were given John Doggett of season 9. I will begin this by saying I can at least 
see where the Mulder/Scully relationship came from. I do not, however, see where the idea of 
Doggett/Reyes stems from unless it's simply that DRR fans think John and Monica look "good 
together" or "cute together". There's simply nothing between John and Monica that suggests 
potential romance or physical attraction (ok, ok, I can actually see on the show that Monica is 
attracted to John, but that's one-sided).

Irritation and disrespect.

From the first episode of season 9 to the last, we are shown that John often finds Monica 
irritating. He's always looking at her as if he's annoyed with her, impatient with her, he doesn't 
care what she has to say more often than not. He doesn't respect her opinions and looks at her 
like she's crazy. Despite her being his partner he continues to call in Scully to help him out on 
cases, and he does this without first informing or asking Monica (his partner) about it. He's very 
open in showing he does not enjoy working with Monica. Why call in an instructor from the FBI 
Academy when you should rely on your partner? 

It comes down to this, John doesn't trust Monica. He trusts Scully. Monica failed him before by 
not finding his son alive and by not catching his son's killer. His poor treatment of Monica in 
season 9 is due to the fact that he continues to blame her for that case being left unresolved. 
He's still angry with her, even if he's not directly stating where his disrespect and irritation with her 
is coming from. By calling in Scully, he's telling Monica that he doesn't think she's a capable 
agent, that he doesn't trust her. And in their career field, it is so important to trust your partner, if 
not, it is not a good partnership and the issue should be addressed and fixed. Imagine how 
Monica must feel being treated this way by John. Horrible. Right from the beginning of season 9 
things weren't right between them. Something changed professionally since "Empedocles". I'm 
betting it was that John let everything Monica brought up about his son get to him and he 
regretted ever getting her assigned as his partner in D.C.

I also think (and I think I said this before) that Monica was brought in just to keep the 
Doggett/Scully interaction low in comparison to how it was in season 8 just because the 
Mulder/Scully shippers didn't like the direction the powers that be were going with the 
Doggett/Scully relationship, it was a serious threat (in the eyes of the MS shippers) to the 
Mulder/Scully relationship.

Which brings me to John's feelings for Scully. It's no secret that John developed loving feelings 
for Scully during season 8, and it's no secret that he still has these feelings for her in season 9. 
Why so suddenly would John change his feelings for Scully? He actually didn't so that really isn't 
a pertinent question.

I can admit that yes, Monica is attracted to John and may want something more than a 
professional partnership with him, but I also know that John does not feel the same way about 
her, it's a one-sided thing. One-sided with Monica. You can see it in the way John talks and looks 
at Scully versus how he talks and looks at Monica. He treats Scully with respect, he shows her 
that he cares for her, he listens to her. He doesn't do this with Monica.

You can even see why John doesn't feel this way for Monica. Put yourself in his shoes. Your 7 
year old son goes missing, and is found dead in a field. Later after an autopsy it is discovered he 
was molested (never said on the show, but I assume an autopsy was performed and Rigali did 
say that Luke was molested by Bob Harvey). The head investigator on the case doesn't find your 
son until it's too late. Then she can't even find the man (men) that hurt and killed your son. The 
case goes cold for nine years. Nine years of your life you are left with unanswered questions, no 
closure, a divorce, self-blame, the pain you go through when you reflect on those three long days 
in New York. Would you be able to see the head investigator in a romantic way? Would you be 
able to se her and not be reminded of the worst time in your life? Most importantly, would you be 
able to not blame that person for what happened to your son? Your family, and the fact that no 
one was brought to justice because the head investigator failed to successfully complete her work 
on the case?

No.

The idea of John thinking of Monica as a romantic partner is absurd considering the history they 
have together. I'm actually surprised John even called Monica up to D.C. to help with the Mulder 
case, and to be his new partner after all she was incapable of doing back in 1993 when his son 
died.

These reasons are why John is so uncomfortable around Monica when she's showing her 
feelings for him (ie: "Audrey Pauley", teaser).

Drippers will be quick to point out that John imagined that he should have kissed Monica in 
"Audrey Pauley", but that was not because he wants her romantically. That was John thinking of 
what he could have done to prevent Monica from being in the car accident. Before she drove 
away, he sensed that she wanted him to kiss her, or to act up on her feelings for him, but he did 
not because he doesn't feel that way about her. He imagined kissing her because if he had done 
it, she never would have been in that accident. John was blaming himself for what happened to 
her and was going through the 'what ifs' in his mind on how things could have been different to 
keep her out of the accident. He didn't imagine kissing her because he's 'in love' with her, or 
because he wanted to kiss her. He imagined it out of self-blame. The fact that he called Scully in 
to be with him, to comfort him, speaks volumes about who his heart belongs to, who he calls on in 
times where he's hurting, Dana Scully.

Plus if there was ever a chance that the friendship between John and Monica could have taken 
that next step it would have been at the end of "Audrey Pauley" when John dropped Monica off at 
her apartment building. They had another chance, but neither one of them took it and the possible 
relationship that could have sprung out of the events of "Audrey Pauley" never took off because 
neither one of them went for it, and perhaps after all Monica had been through she had come to 
realize that the relationship she desired with John was not what he wanted so she began to back 
off.

And I won't even get (too much) into the disrespect that Monica showed John and Barbara at the 
end of "Release" by tagging along to the beach as they released Luke's ashes into the ocean. 
That was rude and disrespectful. That was a moment between John and Barbara, no one else 
should have been there. Monica being there once again shows the lack of respect she has for 
John. It disgusted me that she thought she was important enough in the personal lives of John 
and Barbara to be there. That was just downright rude of her.

In closing, I don't support or like the Doggett/Reyes relationship because it is not a healthy 
relationship. It is based on mistrust and disrespect. As I said before I believe that respect is an 
important ingredient to any romantic relationship. I cannot support or like a relationship pairing if I 
do not see respect between the two characters.

I'd also like to say that in 'reality', there really wasn't any relationship between John and Monica. 
They were only working partners. There was nothing *ever* on the show that suggested they 
were or would be romantically involved, at least in my opinion and the way I perceived the 
characters and their partnership.

Thank you for reading.
AMF