ESSAY#3: "Dana by Darwin"
Barbara Ruef
Essay #3: "Dana by Darwin"
March 15, 1997
bjr...@unix.tamu.edu
The evolution of Dana Scully from "Fallen Angel" to the present
has been quite an evolution and one not without pain. Picture
Scully standing in Mulder's holding cell, valiantly trying to
convince him of the possible explanations for the downed craft and
the covert search underway. It's embarrassing to hear such a
naive interpretation of events and stand by while Mulder laughs.
It's also sad to consider the motivation behind it. The X-Files
motto "I Want To Believe" is thought to be the domain of Mulder,
but I've always seen it as particular to Scully and her struggles
as well. Scully wanted to believe in the government as a
righteous and just entity. She wanted to believe that, in giving
up a career in medicine and joining the FBI, she threw in with the
good guys. To side with Mulder and buy into all his beliefs and
paranoia is to abandon all hope. Scully won't completely cross
over to Mulder's way of thinking, but she has changed and evolved
since "Fallen Angel" in her beliefs, her placement of trust, and
her stake in Mulder's quest which has now become her own.
Scully is a skeptic. This should have no negative connotation
when you consider that she is fresh out of her training in
science, medicine, and forensic pathology, in particular; a
background which is predicated on a search for clues that are
there if you know where to look, and proof in answers that can be
found if you know what questions to ask. In Scully's mind, all
Mulder's mysteries are explainable if approached in a rational,
scientific manner. But logic and rational approach fail her in
"Beyond the Sea" when she is personally impacted by an event
that Mulder would normally embrace for its paranormal bouquet.
With no hard evidence, Scully is capable of explaining away this
instance but by the end of season one, her skepticism suffers its
first major blow. For a non-believer, the one thing certain to
alter their view is a personal experience and proof that can be
held in their hands. "Erlenmeyer Flask" offered Scully all the
opportunity she needed and she was so moved as to apologize to
Mulder for not trusting his instincts. The scientific results
combined with the shutdown of the X-Files division must have been
compelling evidence to Scully that something was out there.
Scully's belief system might have been in a state of flux, but
this didn't alter her conviction that explanations for what she
had seen could still be found in the realm of science. Her
beliefs had been broadened but her desire to trust didn't suffer
the worst until season two and early into season three. Scully is
abducted and she cannot deny the event, but abducted by whom and
for what purpose? Her unwillingness to examine her feelings and
uncover the truth behind her experience are signs of her desire to
deny the inevitable revelation. Her sense of self-preservation is
what allows her to witness the events of "Colony/Endgame" and
come out the other side still believing that somehow skepticism is
still an option; that alien involvement is not the only answer.
And she isn't wrong to be skeptical since Mulder's eagerness to
always think "alien" should be tempered with their increasing
evidence of rogue government elements. Beyond Scully's own
abduction, the final straw in her hope of a just system is placed
when her sister is killed in a case of mistaken identity. The
only justice Scully can hope for is the capture and conviction of
the man responsible for the murder, and yet this is an
unsatisfactory offering. Her involvement in the X-Files, her
struggle in the quest that was once Mulder's alone, has taken on
the shade of a personal vendetta where a more satisfactory price
of justice might be sought.
Scully's evolution from early season three into season four
becomes one of total immersion. Immersion in her quest for
answers and justice combined with her discovery of her corporeal
association with the project. In "Anasazi", when Scully told
Mulder she needed him to find out how she was implicated, she had
no idea of the degree or depth of her involvement. She wanted to
determine what they had done and to what purpose. How deep did
this tampering go and what was the goal with respect to hybrids
and clones? The path to Mulder's Truth had suddenly taken a turn
into the realm of Scully's scientific arena. The paranoia and
intrigue can remain Mulder's territory, but the unsanctioned
experimentation, which now so intimately involves her, makes
Scully's stake in their quest that much more fixed. They have not
only forced her to alter her beliefs and trust, but have tampered
with her ordered, scientific world view and this is unpardonable.
Scully may have wanted to deny her involvement and illness, but
sitting at the bedside of Penny Northern, who represents a sweet,
trustworthy character who could as well be Scully's mother as her
friend, she gains the strength to admit and confront her illness.
She will accept the fact of the cancer and her mortality by
applying herself to catching and prosecuting those responsible for
her condition. Her desire for justice is more fixed than ever.
An examination of Scully's evolution is more easily approached by
focusing on the things that have remained the same. Her loyalty,
her stability, her scientific approach, and most importantly, her
search for justice. In "Squeeze", Scully noted that she was on
the side of the victim. The fact that she is herself one of the
victims of the project has not altered her lawful pursuit of
evidence and justice. The most obvious change from season one to
two was Scully's beliefs. She didn't throw off her scientific
approach for the tunnel vision of Mulder's beliefs, but she began
to view their cases in a new light. From season two to three, the
main change was in her placement of trust. Having once desired
that placement to fall on the FBI and government as a whole, she
now settled it more firmly on Mulder, and Skinner to a lesser
degree. In his attempt to help the partners and his just and
honorable nature, Skinner represents to Scully her original hopes
for the Bureau. The latest evolution of Scully from season three
into season four has been her stake in their quest for the Truth.
Scully has knowledge of her abduction and the proof of the
experimentation is slowly coming to light. This intimate
connection to the X-Files and the Truth they contain has upped the
stakes for Scully and her desire and determination may outweigh
Mulder's in the future. His motivation began in the past but hers
is placed fully in the present. Scully began to alter her beliefs
at the end of season one and I firmly believe that she would have
embraced Mulder's ideas sooner if she hadn't become so integral a
part of the Truth they sought. Her abduction and personal
involvement lead her to a state of denial that she has just now
emerged from in "Memento Mori". Her beliefs. Her trust. Her
stake. The more these things evolve and change, the firmer her
character is set. Scully has always been, and shall remain, the
more stable and rational of the partners with a sense of justice
that will see her through to the end of their quest.
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[No offense intended.] "None comprehended." - The Tick -
<bjr...@unix.tamu.edu>
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