Essay#11 (Late) (1)
Raika Vitlov
I know this is late, but last week was very busy. This only holds for
episodes up to Small Potatoes, since that is what Australians are up to
at this point in time.
Barbara's Question:
"Do you agree or disagree that he is obsessed to a greater degree
than at the beginning of Mulder and Scully's journey together? Do
you feel that this is more than a focused quest and is bordering on
an unbalanced mental state of late? Have the folks at 10-13 been
leading up to the apparent fallout in "Gethsemane" or is Mulder's
fourth season angst just par for the course? Answer any or all of
the above or approach Mulder's mental state in Season Four in any
other manner that strikes a chord with you".
The main question is whether Fox William Mulder is obsessed to a greater
degree now than he was at the beginning of his X-Files collaborations
with Dana Scully. To a point it would appear that this is the case,
which can be borne out upon reflection of key episodes this season, and
to some degree episodes of the previous three seasons.
In the first season of the X-Files, the viewer came to understand from
the very first episode, that FM was an unconventional FBI agent. He was
described as brilliant by others in the FBI but had already been judged
as quirky and not just because of his uncanny serial killer profiling
abilities, which earned him the tag of "Spooky". This moniker proved to
be more than just apt for his deductive skills, it reflected the young
agent's intense interest in the decidedly "spooky" X-Files nobody else
wanted to pursue. In this first season the viewer came to understand
the motivations behind FM's passion for these cases, and this had to do
with the mysterious disappearance of his sister Samantha who is believed
by him to have been abducted by aliens. The emotional strain of having
this mental burden was evident early on in the episode "conduit". This
would have probably been the first time, FM had come face to face with
his past trauma, head on, in an official capacity, in such depth.
It has to be remembered that up until he was partnered with DS, his
trifling with the paranormal and the conspiratorial would have been
assumed amateur at best. If DS does end up dying after all this is
over, she would have left as a legacy, the positive influence upon FM
for the need for meticulous acquirement of proof, and not just headlong
investigation without necessary cross checking. FM would have been more
apt to practice good investigative techniques from his experience in the
VSU but it was really his mind that did the work, with possibly other
agents doing the necessary follow up. Opening up a new line of
investigations known as the X-Files required him to be a little more
"well rounded". As the series has progressed, it is evident that FM is
more and more unwilling to go through the proper channels, and do things
by the book, with the result that DS has been doing more of that, while
FM goes off by himself. This has become progressively the case as the
fourth season has worn on. It is reminiscent of what The Beatles went
through toward the end of their union. They had been a great
collaborative team for so long, but toward the end, they were using
session players, for the four individual band members. To some extent,
FM and DS have been doing the same, working quite separately and only
regrouping at the end.
In a certain way, the partnering of the two has lead to some extent to
the unhinging of FM's mental state. The beginning of the partner ship
had brought the agent a feeling of closeness to another person,
something he had not had in a long time. It appeared early on in the
first season, that FM had a loner status in the FBI, to some extent
cultivating it, as a way of shutting himself off personally from
others. To some degree, FM has regressed back to this state, he has
felt increasingly stifled along the X-Files time line and gone off on
his own path, many times leaving Scully behind. The immense propensity
and capacity for guilt on the part of FM, is probably making him more
distant toward DS these days after finding out about her cancer. When
once her confidence and protection would have been welcomed, now these
are being pushed away, however without her grounded nature and
influence, he is lost to his demons, as evident in the episode of the
same name, where he decides to get his head drilled. He knows he has
problems, but he decides to use suspect means of dealing with them,
while being in denial about being a victim himself, like some of the
other victims in cases he has encountered them in. One that strongly
stands out is Lucy Householder, from the episode "Oubliette". FM feels
a great degree of empathy toward this character. Lucy's sacrifice for
the other kidnap victim, was a perfect mirror of how Fox wished things
had been with him and Samantha. He respected Lucy for her actions
because they reflect Fox's wish that he had been taken instead of his
sister, in the same respect, Lucy carried out what Fox wished he could.
It is no wonder that at the end there Fox cries by Lucy's body, as this
sinks in.
(To be continued)
Raika
r...@chem.uwa.edu.au
Barbara Ruef
Raika Vitlov wrote:
>
> I know this is late, but last week was very busy. This only holds for
> episodes up to Small Potatoes, since that is what Australians are up to
> at this point in time.
It's never too late to post an essay (Sunday post time is sort of
arbitrary) and leading up to "Small Potatoes" gives plenty of time to
see MadMulder in all his glory. :)
> The emotional strain of having
> this mental burden was evident early on in the episode "conduit". This
> would have probably been the first time, FM had come face to face with
> his past trauma, head on, in an official capacity, in such depth.
This is really our first glimpse of how obsessed Mulder could become.
It took him a few years of XF cases to reach the level he's at now, but
you're right that "Conduit" shows the depth of his pain and confusion.
> In a certain way, the partnering of the two has lead to some extent to
> the unhinging of FM's mental state.
This point was brought up in at least one other thread by a
poster whose name eludes me....<bforrest>? It is in the Cascade
Failure thread. I agree on some levels that being partnered with
Scully has made Mulder's tenuous grasp on sanity more obvious and
maybe more pronounced, but I think he'd be heading that way with
or without her.
> One that strongly
> stands out is Lucy Householder, from the episode "Oubliette". FM feels
> a great degree of empathy toward this character. Lucy's sacrifice for
> the other kidnap victim, was a perfect mirror of how Fox wished things
> had been with him and Samantha.
This episode made me think back to "Conduit" when it first aired.
Mulder was upset in the earlier episode, but was able to contain it
until he could be alone. By season three, he is much more out of control
during the investigation and breaks down out in the open. It's clear to
me that he's progressing toward the unhinged season four character.
> What the child, Fox, may have undergone after the abduction of Samantha
> is open to speculation. There may have been a hint of drug therapy for
> Fox after this traumatic event had occurred. In the episode "Born
> Again", he appears very angry and hostile towards the drug "Thorazine"
> being prescribed for the child in that episode who was suffering from
> behavioural problems. Could FM himself have been subjected to this drug
> as a child for therapy or treatment for his own behavioural problems or
> some diagnosed emotional dysfunction as a result of his traumatic
> experience with Samantha with respect to her disappearance? Or from
> reading case files with regards to the drug in question he may have come
> across as part of his psychology course work?
I really like this line of thinking. It never occurred to me that
a personal experience or close work with others on this drug might have
fueled his reaction. Interesting point.
> The once
> excitable agent (ref "Pilot"), that jumped up and down after finding out
> that he and Scully experienced missing time, has been replaced by a
> world weary man, tired, sad, angry, and thoroughly depressed and
> disillusioned with humanity, with the grim knowledge he has uncovered,
> and that there is much more at stake than even he could have possibly
> realised back in those early innocent days.
I brought up this very same scene in my analysis since I agree with
you that it really highlights the difference between season one Mulder and
season four Mulder. That eager, excited agent is no longer...every now
and again we may get a glimpse but he is a muted version of that younger
man. He's been through a lot since then, but I still say that Scully has
too and she's held on to her sanity with a much firmer grip. I'm sure
having a more stable home life helps Scully to cope now, but if Mulder
doesn't pull himself back from the abyss soon, he's going to REALLY end
up under that sheet from "Gethsemane".
Great essay, Raika!
Barbara
--
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