Essay #3: The Last Detail...
La..Dee..Da..
ESSAY challenge #3: Discuss the evolution of the Dana Scully
character specifically using Fallen Angel as Point A and any or
all current episodes generally as Point B.
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Warning : Sorry, guys, I had no idea this was going turn out
to be SO long, but I kinda got on a roll. (Somebody stop me!)
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The Last Detail starring Dana Scully
Fallen Angel is a significant episode for a number of reasons
but what really stands out for me is the way this episode
reflects what has come to be the main conflict for the
character of Scully.
"Under other circumstances I would like to
find out but we have a plane to catch in
just over an hour." - Scully
This "conflict of interest" has really become THE factor in
Scully’s work on the X-Files. Finding a balance between going
by the book and reporting to Skinner, and increasingly wanting
to get at the truth with Mulder.
I decided to look back at the myth/arc episodes with this
view in mind...
Fallen Angel - Scully spends the entire episode trying to
get Mulder on a plane back to DC. Even with everything going
on around her, she remains firm in her objective to do as
assigned. At the end, when reporting back to her superiors,
she does not attempt to give any evidence that would support
Mulder’s beliefs, but does attempt to justify his methods.
EBE - By the time we get to EBE, Mulder and Scully are
functioning much more as a team. She still doesn’t believe
in all of the government cover-up theories that he espouses
but has seen enough that she will join him on a rather covert
odyssey in search of the truck that might have an EBE on board.
The Erlenmeyer Flask - Even though she’s not convinced of Deep
Throat’s motives, she believes in the evidence enough to tell
Mulder, "I should know by now to trust your instincts".
Eventually she finds herself acting *as* Mulder when for the
first time she, alone, breaks all the rules and steals the
alien fetus from a secret government site.
Little Green Men - Again, Scully, who is increasingly becoming
as much a renegade as Mulder, lies to and eludes government
authorities in order to get to Mulder in Puerto Rico. And it
is she who convinces him to hang in there and continue his quest.
It’s funny because until looking at the show from this angle,
I’d always bought into the idea that Scully’s abduction was
more of a thing to keep Mulder in line but I think it really
was getting to the point where she was getting dangerous.
Where Mulder was good at pissing people off and looking like
a kook, Scully might have been able, through her insistence on
evidence and scientific documentation, to bring to light much
of what the Consortium wanted to keep secret.
"Scully’s a problem. A much larger problem
than you described." - Krycek
"Every problem has a solution." - CSM
This, of course, leads to Scully’s abduction which is of SUCH
significance that it must be thought of as subtext to
practically everything that’s happened since.
Although "Irresistible" is not truly a myth/arc ep, its look
into the effect that Scully’s abduction had on her makes it
significant in the bigger picture. We find out that she’s not
as "fine" as she keeps claiming and the depth of fear and loss
of faith that she reveals is, IMHO, relevant to what transpires
in Colony and End Game.
Colony/End Game - Scully tells Mulder that a line has to be
drawn and he, in a moment of (all too rare) insight, realizes
what she’s been through in search of *his* truth and goes it
alone. What makes this different from the classic Mulder
ditching is the fact that he leaves the email explaining
that he’s left and using her own words as reason why he went
alone. (Talk about a guilt trip! Oh, Mulder <sigh> for a
trained psychologist, you can be so *dense*!) At the end,
when Mulder says he’s found the "faith to keep looking", I
think that Scully’s faith to keep looking (albeit through
the lens of science) has been restored also.
"Several aspects of this case remain
unexplained, suggesting the possibility of
paranormal phenomena. But I am convinced
that to accept such conclusions is to
abandon all hope of understanding the
scientific events behind them." - Scully
Anasazi/Blessing Way/Paper Clip - With her faith restored
and the evidence piling up, Scully flat out lies about the
DAT tape and defies a direct order by taking Mulder to New
Mexico. What ensues is her worst nightmare : Mulder’s
(apparent) death, her own dismissal from the Bureau, and
then with Mulder’s "rebirth" their flight and the shooting
of Melissa. I can’t help but think of the look on her face
when she says the line "We are operating SO far outside
the law.." By the time they "come in from the cold", Melissa
is dead and once again they have nothing to show for their
efforts.
"I’ve seen the truth, now what I want are
the answers" - Scully
This statement leads us into the third season and I think that
part of the reason for the so called "rift" of season three
is Scully’s determination to stick to the rules and gather
evidence rather than running off on Mulder’s whims.
Nisei/731 - While Mulder is off trying to get a peek at an
alien and playing Boxcar Willie, Scully manages to interview
the MUFON women, get information about her implant that leads
to the discovery of the leper colony and information on
secret experiments being conducted by war criminals, get
(possible) information about her own abduction and whereabouts
while missing AND make it back in time to figure out the
code to get Mulder out of the boxcar. All the while, more or
less, operating within acceptable FBI standards. You go, girl!
Piper Maru/Ascension - Once again, Scully follows the more
accepted path of investigation by interviewing Commander
Johansen and eventually running the investigation into the
shooting of Skinner and finding the killer of Melissa.
Talitha Cumi/Herrenvolk - Baffled by the Great Mulder Leap
of Logic from Jeremiah’s healing to his mother writing "palm",
Scully is left fairly clueless and (at the beginning of
Herrenvolk) pissed off. But once she’s got the hard evidence
of the vaccination data in front of her, she wastes no time
in calling a midday meeting of the top FBI brass to let
them know of her discoveries. (Might I point out that for all
of Mulder’s racing around and being shown a "place with green
fields", the only things that made ANY sense in this episode
were what Scully methodically uncovered.)
"Nothing happens in contradiction to
nature, only in contradiction to what
we know of it." - Scully
Tunguska/Terma - Armed with a briefcase full of affidavits and
evidence, Scully faces down congress on the mistaken idea that
having proof is all that’s required. Not only do they not want
to hear what she’s got but she is essentially ridiculed. (But
wasn’t it amazing to actually hear Scully tell congress that
a bio-toxin was "extraterrestrial"!)
Which brings us to the infamous "Scully Arc of ‘97"...
"We’re going in an endless line. Two steps
forward and three steps back" - Scully
For Scully, whose dissatisfaction with her life was so painfully
played out in Never Again, combined with the realization that
the cause of her cancer could very well be at the hands of the
government she works for, it is again time for a MAJOR shift
in loyalties and methods.
Now that it is not an abstract "truth" but a very real cure
that she’s after, how willing will she be to follow leads by
any means necessary or accept information about her abduction
even if it points to alien involvement? Will she even care
about going "by the book" if it means obtaining or loosing
information vital to her cure?
Lots to ponder as we head into the last part of Season Four
and boy, have we come along way from the Scully of Fallen
Angel who says "My assignment is to bring you back not to
help you dig yourself in deeper."
La..Dee..Da..
(Who was not about to re-watch every damn episode she mentions
so please forgive if some of the quotes are not 100% accurate)
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Sister La.. =~ OBSSEsed X-PHILE XVi...@HoTMaiL.com
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Jennifer Matthews
La..Dee..Da.. wrote:
A wonderful essay discussing the evolution of the Dana Scully
character! Just a few things that stood out to me:
<snip>
>
> This "conflict of interest" has really become THE factor in
> Scully零 work on the X-Files. Finding a balance between going
> by the book and reporting to Skinner, and increasingly wanting
> to get at the truth with Mulder.
I'm so glad you brought this out: this idea that Scully has *always*
been dealing with conflicts of interest.
<snip>
>
> The Erlenmeyer Flask - Even though she零 not convinced of Deep
> Throat零 motives, she believes in the evidence enough to tell
> Mulder, "I should know by now to trust your instincts".
I think at this point, too, Scully has come to believe in *Mulder*
from the standpoint that when his "guts" tell him there is more here
than meets the eye, he's usually right.
> Eventually she finds herself acting *as* Mulder when for the
> first time she, alone, breaks all the rules and steals the
> alien fetus from a secret government site.
This was done, however, in order to save Mulder, who has been
kidnapped IIRC. I mention this because it connects to what you will
note later (about Scully being a "problem"). The attempt to stop/
neurtalize/remove Mulder is thwarted by Scully -- this may also be the
first time that those who assigned Scully to the X-Files realize
without a doubt that she's not/no longer working for "them."
Which may be the reason we will begin to hear Cancer Man say that
there's no good in killing Mulder, as there will be someone to replace
him.
>
<snip>
>
> It零 funny because until looking at the show from this angle,
> I鉅 always bought into the idea that Scully零 abduction was
> more of a thing to keep Mulder in line but I think it really
> was getting to the point where she was getting dangerous.
One of the aspects of the X-Files that I always privately snickered at
(in a positive way) was the fact that on MANY occasions, it was
Scully's work that would ultimately pull Mulder's fat out of the fire.
That it was the *non-believer,* the one who was there originally as a
spy, who proves to be the necessary ingredient to bring Mulder closer
to the truth than it seems he ever has been before. Scully dangerous?
Absofrigginlutely, because you can't effectively distract this woman.
<snip>
>
> "I靶e seen the truth, now what I want are
> the answers" - Scully
>
> This statement leads us into the third season and I think that
> part of the reason for the so called "rift" of season three
> is Scully零 determination to stick to the rules and gather
> evidence rather than running off on Mulder零 whims.
Agreed. Mulder's Mission has spilled all over Scully's life, in a way
that, one could argue, holds even greater significance to her now than
to him. Scully's abduction and the death of her sister both occur
because of and/or were connected to the fact that Scully is
intricately involved with Mulder and the X-Files. It's no longer
*just* Mulder's Mission any longer.
>
> Nisei/731 - <snip> You go, girl!
Right on! :)
<snip>
>
> Talitha Cumi/Herrenvolk - Baffled by the Great Mulder Leap
> of Logic from Jeremiah零 healing to his mother writing "palm",
> Scully is left fairly clueless and (at the beginning of
> Herrenvolk) pissed off. But once she零 got the hard evidence
> of the vaccination data in front of her, she wastes no time
> in calling a midday meeting of the top FBI brass to let
> them know of her discoveries. (Might I point out that for all
> of Mulder零 racing around and being shown a "place with green
> fields", the only things that made ANY sense in this episode
> were what Scully methodically uncovered.)
Reiterating and substantiating the idea that Scully IS dangerous. It
is in this aspect only that the show underlines the power of science.
<snip>
>
> Now that it is not an abstract "truth" but a very real cure
> that she零 after, how willing will she be to follow leads by
> any means necessary or accept information about her abduction
> even if it points to alien involvement?
My guess: she's not going to change her fundamental approach which is
to back everything up with hard evidence. Cancer is something that
she can *quantify* . . . and therefore she's going to apply science to
it. Will she accept information if it involves alien involvement?
Only from the standpoint that it lead her toward a cure. What I mean
is, if someone/some document/some evidence says the cancer was caused
by Aliens . . . so there's nothing to do but find the Aliens and beg
them for a Cure, she's going to reject that. What she *won't* reject
is finding out that the methodology of treatment and/or the manipu-
lation of her biology/chemistry/DNA caused that cancer and that this
manipulation was possible due to Alien Technology.
It's like the business with the frogs/toads falling from the sky.
Scully and Mulder both *see* them. No question about it, there they
were. Mulder sorta shrugs and the implication is: such things are
indicative of Satanic practices (or whatever). Scully says, yeah, but
*where* did the frogs come from? *How* did they come to be there?
> Will she even care about going "by the book" if it means obtaining
> or loosing information vital to her cure?
I'm not sure. My guess is that Scully is becoming more and more
selective about who she trusts, which may be a Good Thing, given what
may be going on with Skinner.
Again, excellent essay!
-Jen
La..Dee..Da..
Jennifer Matthews <jen...@umich.edu> wrote:
>La..Dee..Da.. wrote:
>One of the aspects of the X-Files that I always privately snickered at
>(in a positive way) was the fact that on MANY occasions, it was
>Scully's work that would ultimately pull Mulder's fat out of the fire.
>That it was the *non-believer,* the one who was there originally as a
>spy, who proves to be the necessary ingredient to bring Mulder closer
>to the truth than it seems he ever has been before. Scully dangerous?
>Absofrigginlutely, because you can't effectively distract this woman.
<chuckle> What a great description. That's our St. Scully!!
>It's like the business with the frogs/toads falling from the sky.
>Scully and Mulder both *see* them. No question about it, there they
>were. Mulder sorta shrugs and the implication is: such things are
>indicative of Satanic practices (or whatever). Scully says, yeah, but
>*where* did the frogs come from? *How* did they come to be there?
Yep. And it's this very thought process that, I think, in the long run
will be what helps her find a cure AND, quite possibly, proves the
existance of some of the things investigated by the X-Files. (Quite a
change from the "little spy" who was sent to the basement to de-bunk
Mulder's work)
>> Will she even care about going "by the book" if it means obtaining
>> or loosing information vital to her cure?
>
>I'm not sure. My guess is that Scully is becoming more and more
>selective about who she trusts, which may be a Good Thing, given what
>may be going on with Skinner.
Oh, God.... I'm just SO excited about all of the possibilities opened
up for the storyline now that Skinner's "dealin' with the Devil"!
La..Dee..Da..
(Who anticipates *major* Skinner angst in the near future)