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"I thought that you'd be pleased that I'd opened myself to extreme possibilities".
Pleased is an huge understatement. I'm sure it will come as no surprise that this is one of my favorite episodes of the X-Files. It is a shining early example of how spectacularly good the X-Files could be when everything and everyone clicks together. It is also an early indication of just how great an actress Gillian Anderson is. When Scully was given center stage for the first time on the show she stepped up and hit this one clear out of the ballpark. I marvel at her performance more and more with repeated viewing. With the death of her father and undercurrents of family and loss throughout, Anderson play's Scully's emotions uncharacteristically close to the surface. We always see them there flitting underneath. There is a certain childlike feel to Scully in this episode from when we first see her looking almost impossibly young, the dutiful daughter, to her covering her ears as a little girl would and yelling "No I do not believe you" through her last "He was my father". Is it any wonder that Boggs chooses a childhood memory of sneaking cigarettes to convince her?
If there is one scene that makes this episode for me it is the breathtaking delivery Anderson gives as Scully confronts Boggs after Mulder is shot. Watching her move from barely restrained anger to a red faced yell of rage I find it impossible not to let out a whoop of my own. Moments of such perfection in acting are a rare and wonderful thing. The journey of Scully's beliefs is fascinating to watch - her stunned look at the news of her father's death after the vision (our first glimpse at Psychic!Scully), her internal tug of war about looking at the X-File on encounters with the dead, our skeptical Scully sitting resolutely in her hotel room attempting to conjure up the vision of her father, and her beliefs and fears echoing throughout her encounters with Boggs.
For we character junkies this episode holds a rare looks into the Scully family dynamic and what makes Dana Scully the woman she is today. While, by all appearances, she shares a warm relationship with her family (esp. when compared to Mulder's) the first scene in this episode is one of my favorites of the series for all the things it doesn't say. Mrs. Scully egging Capt. Scully on to ask about Dana's work and her settling for "Yup, it's good" when you can see from the subtle uncertainty that plays across her face that she wants to say so much more. At the funeral while her family grieves around her she selfishly only focuses on one thing - was her father proud of her - as if only through this knowledge will she gain the closure she needs to grieve his loss. The thought that he did not approve of the job she so loves gnaws at her.
This is also one of our very first glimpses of Denial!Scully. She surprisingly opens with a joke and a false front of calm when she first sees Mulder - her way of saying "I'm fine" right from the start. Of course she actually does utter what would become the Scully trademark denial phrase soon afterwards when Mulder asks "How are you Dana?", but then she immediately changes the subject back to work. As we've seen since Scully buries herself in work when she is suffering - even she says "I need to work". There is an interesting balance between Scully and Boggs (the wonderful Brad Dourif). While we witness the pain Scully is suffering in her face she does not cry. Her tears are continually choked back and denied. Boggs, on the other hand, spends almost the entire episode in tears. Every speech he gives is punctuated with tears spilling down his face as he emotes his own fears and channels others. Dourif's performance is out there and risky, and we are rewarded as he captures this man in a stunning portrayal. His face contorts in such a manner that we can actually see the full cheeked blush of Don Davis when Boggs channels Scully's father.
If I have a problem with this otherwise stellar episode it lies in the confusing way that Mulder is written. I have always enjoyed the episodes where Scully believes, but I also find Mulder's sudden about face puzzling. He has lines like "Dana, open yourself up to extreme possibilities only when they are the truth" - uh, gee thanks for that tip Mulder. It is interesting to note that at these times in the series that Mulder does not believe - he is always wrong. The confusion stems from the flip flopping Mulder does on the topic. He spends most of the episode alternating between being Mulder at his most sensitive (wonderfully and affectionately played by Duchovny) and berating the weakened Scully for believing. However, at the episode's end he has now apparently changed his mind and is after Scully with "Dana, after all you've seen, after all the evidence, why can't you believe?" Why after spending the whole episode telling her not to believe this does Mulder suddenly gets after her for NOT believing Boggs? It's only when ultra rational Scully kicks back in and offers up her SRE (Scully Rational Explanation) about how Boggs could have known about her father that he changes his tune. Make up your mind pal.
-No one can accuse Scully of not being in the Christmas spirit - her apartment has more decorations than Macy's at Thanksgiving.
-Another reason to be thankful for this episode - the first appearance of the talented Sheila Larken as Mrs. Scully.
-What a frightening Ron Popeil infomercial. For $39.92 you too can buy enough spray paint to cover your bald spot for a month. Something tells me this treatment would run Skinner slightly more as "Time may vary depending on the frequency of use or size of area to be covered".
-This is one of those episodes that adds to the great mystery of Scully's apartment. Although the layout has remained basically the same, over the years weird things make it difficult to get a handle on. For instance, in this episode, Apt. 35 has what looks like not one, but two outside doors across from each other off her kitchen and yet in later seasons we always see Scully entering through an inside hallway door off her living room. If she has changed apartments then the windows and fireplace are exactly the same - maybe that's what she looks for in an apartment.
-Mulder's filing system must be screwy if the "V" files for "Visionary Encounters w/ the Dead" is in the first top drawer. Still Scully finds the file right away.
-It appears as if the whole family sans Melissa is at the funeral. That little blond headed nephew of Scully's gives her the evil eye in this scene - I bet he's the one that makes her watch Babe ad nauseum.
-The Carolinian newspaper article entitled "Gas chamber tested for Boggs' execution" is written by a "G. Morgan".
-This is actually one of the few episodes where you can see the small of back holster Scully prefers when she attends to Liz as Mulder is shot.
-Dana, Dana, Dana. It seems it takes some big trauma for Mulder to drag out Scully's first name. Her surprise at hearing it mirrors ours - it just sounds odd after "Scully" all this time.
-Surely Boggs can come up with a better meal than fried chicken, peas, potatoes, pie and beer for his last. He orders it twice. Boy must love his chicken.
-I think those twin leopard bloused old ladies in the hall that Boggs walks down are one of the scariest things in this episode.
-This episode features one of the now famous Scully shoulder shots. If she doesn't kill you she's sure to make your shoulder sore.
-I'm sure that other agent in the raid appreciated Scully yelling "go" to warn Lucas enough to smack him with a bucket.
-For those of you tracking porno and Mulder references this episode gives us Scully referencing Mulder's penchant for "Adult Video News".
Autumn
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid to believe."