ESSAY#3: "The Toll it Takes" (Fallen Angel topic)
Bernardine
Essay#3: "The Toll it Takes"
"Fallen Angel" topic: Explore the evolution of Scully
Bernardine, March 13, 1997
It is commonly believed that the Scully character was created to act
solely as the antithesis of Mulder. He is The Believer, she is The
Skeptic, and even Carter has said that the two characters were meant
to represent these two parts of his own psyche. In reviewing Fallen
Angel however, I didn't find the juxtaposition as strong as Carter
might have judged. Rather I found that Scully was not the disbeliever
but The Initiate. Her purpose was not to be diametrically opposed but
to be *naive* and I could see that the viewer would be slowly drawn
into the shadowy-strange world of The X-Files through her eyes.
When The X-Files opens as a series we have Mulder already knee-deep in
devotion. We, as Scully, enter his office not knowing what to expect.
We are a *tabula rasa* ready to be written. Mulder drags us along on
a whirlwind tour of the realm of the paranormal and secret
conspiracies. Although Mulder will later accuse Scully of being sent
to spy on him, as early as Fallen Angel we can see that she is more
interested in saving him from himself. Even this early on she
realizes that she has been exposed to inexplicable phenomena though
she is not yet willing to accept unscientific explanations. These
events to her are simply *yet to be explained*. To Mulder things are
true until proven false, for Scully the opposite. But this clash of
theoretical ideal is not enough to explain the distance that will
emerge between the two and certainly not enough to justify Scully
being drawn into Mulder's obsession.
Instead, it seems the major difference is that of personal investment
(although even in Fallen Angel we see a more academically-inclined
versus loss-driven Mulder). Mulder's investment is clear -- his sister
was abducted and a general search for her and "the truth" has led him
to this career of compulsion. Though most fans will say that the
first major landmark of the Scully Arc began with Duane Barry, I'm
going to go further back and say Beyond the Sea.
Beyond the Sea is the first time that Scully can not blame Mulder for
the supernatural she sees. She experiences her father's spirit, she
is tempted to contact him through Wayne Boggs. The exploration of
the conflict between her career choice and her father's expectation
sheds more light on her feelings about her current assignment. We
wonder if Scully's work in The X-Files wouldn't have caused her father
even more disappointment and we assume that Scully wonders the same
thing. The tally begins here then, measured in personal sacrifice for
professional justice. When Scully's abduction/coma (Season 2) and
Melissa's death (Season 3) is added into this ongoing toll we realize
that Scully has truly established her own personal stakehold in the
Quest.
The tenacity of Scully's adamance to deny has been criticised by many
as incongruous with the realities of her experiences. We could
perhaps suggest that she was in a state of denial through Season 3 and
into Season 4 and maybe even believed that if she closed her eyes
tightly enough she could make it all go away. Perhaps she felt that
continued denial could protect her own safety and the security of the
"normal" life she had remaining. Whatever the cause of her stubborn
refusals in this time period we have now -- finally -- landed in the
end point of her struggle: A fully initiated Scully with a vast
personal investment. Even after a willful battle to resist in Never
Again, as of Memento Mori Scully is willing to give herself over to
the Quest fully. I would suggest that this is because she now sees
that she is about to pay the ultimate price and so, has nothing left
to lose.
-----------
bfor...@erols.com
Bernardine wrote:
>
> Essay#3: "The Toll it Takes"
> "Fallen Angel" topic: Explore the evolution of Scully
> Bernardine, March 13, 1997
> The tenacity of Scully's adamance to deny has been criticised by many
> as incongruous with the realities of her experiences. We could
> perhaps suggest that she was in a state of denial through Season 3 and
> into Season 4 and maybe even believed that if she closed her eyes
> tightly enough she could make it all go away. Perhaps she felt that
> continued denial could protect her own safety and the security of the
> "normal" life she had remaining. Whatever the cause of her stubborn
> refusals in this time period we have now -- finally -- landed in the
> end point of her struggle: A fully initiated Scully with a vast
> personal investment. Even after a willful battle to resist in Never
> Again, as of Memento Mori Scully is willing to give herself over to
> the Quest fully. I would suggest that this is because she now sees
> that she is about to pay the ultimate price and so, has nothing left
> to lose.
>
> -----------
This is very interesting. Upon reading this, it occured to me that
Never Again could be viewed as Scully's last ditch effort to distance
herself from the X-Files. I agree with the entirety of your post (which
I cut--sorry) and can follow the progression of the pathology as she
reaches the point where she's entrenched in the X-Files and all they
entail as much as Mulder is.
Whether NA came before or after Leonard Betts in her universe, I can
see Scully realizing how much of her life has been taken over by what is
supposed to be her partner's obsession. I can see her snapping--in her
reserved Scully manner, of course--and trying to prove that the X-Files
aren't that important to her life and that she can seperate the two.
Just her luck that this attempt would land her in the X-Files
themselves for the second time. A record, as Mulder so sensitively
pointed out.
And then came the cancer, or at least the confirmation of it, in
Momento Mori. Mulder basically promised to be there for her, and she
resolved herself to it, and to the X-Files, returning to work with the
goal of finding a cure (as someone else pointed out, a very specific
goal as opposed to Mulder's rather fabian and ungraspable Truth) or at
least some answers. I imagine that no matter how much we ignore her
cancer in the week to week eps, this is now a driving force behind her
actions, or something that she is continually aware of. I imagine Mulder
has at least as hard a time forgetting this new development.
I don't think she's stayed with the X-Files for Mulder, but that Mulder
drew her into them, and now she would be as unwilling to leave as he
would. We saw her working at Quantico when the X-Files were closed down
(Little Green Men?) and even then it was apparent that you can't go back
to normalcy after the X-Files. Her way of thinking has been warped
(while ever remaining wholy scientific). I think following Mulder on all
his mental leaps has sharpened her investigative skills. She can't just
cut open bodies, she wants to know the story, find the answers to the
bigger question.
In short, he's spoiled her for all other jobs.
Well, these are the thoughts your post inspired. I've discovered I can
type as fast as I can think, now (which is a comment on my typing; not
my thinking!) :)
Morgan