This adds an element of moral ambiguity to Mulder -- take a look at some of his questionable actions over the course of the series. But now (and I think this is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT), it's possible that Scully's cancer will make her struggle with that kind of ambiguity. Livengoo posted a list of Scully cancer possibilities a while ago, things like Scully making her own deal with CSM. I sure hope they don't waste this opportunity for the Temptation of St. Scully. This could be the one event of the series that truly challenges Scully's nobility and purity and essential goodness.

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.

Dana Katherine Scully is steel. She always has been, always will be. She is defender and protector. Confident in her intelligence. Firm in her faith. Tenacious in her loyalty and in her duty. While Mulder's search is for "the truth," I have always thought that Scully's search was largely for "understanding" and for "justice." To defend and to protect, a role some would have you believe she has been carrying out in all her incarnations. In Fallen Angel, Scully was fulfilling that role--carrying out, as always, her duty. But Scully's "duty" has never been an allegiance to an individual or an institution, but rather a duty to carry and seek out "justice" and to find a measure of understanding. That's why Mulder could trust Scully.

I believe he recognized these traits/desires in her early on. As she told him in that dark hotel room on their first case together, she was part of "no one's agenda." Scully wants answers, but she is no one's puppet. And I believe she wants the answers, not so much for the "truth" that they reveal, but for the justice and understanding that they can deliver. She says so herself practically in "Tunguska/Terma." The Scully we saw in Fallen Angel was a Scully who firmly believed in her country and in the good will and intentions of her superiors and their desire for "justice."

In Tunguska, remarkably, we see the same confident, loyal, tenacious in her duty and beliefs Scully. What is different isn't her characteristics and qualities. Those are the same. She is still Steel Scully--confident, loyal, tenacious in her search for understanding and justice. What IS different, is her trust. No longer does she trust her same superiors to be conduits for finding justice. That trust is now given only to one person--Fox Mulder. So there, that's how I would compare the evolution of Dana. Oh, there's much to be said about her loss of innocence, the evolution of her relationship with Mulder, etc. etc. But when it comes down to fundamental characteristics, what makes Scully "Scully"--those things have not changed. Her trust, however, has.

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, 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)

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 andintrigue 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.

The shared initials in the names of our hero and anti-hero are the first clues in the symbolic connection between Fox and Flukie. But where do the parallels begin in their lives, personalities, and characteristics? The most obvious is their loner status. Both are moody characters, prone to solitude and introspection. Mulder often seeks the comfort of his basement office while Flukie finds solace in that universally favored locale for deep thought...the bathroom. Settling in for some quiet meditation in a porta-potty parallels Mulder's late nights in the basement; a similarity we'd be hard-pressed to overlook. And consider the living situations of these two intertwined characters. It could not escape anyone's notice that they prefer a dark, lonely realm for existence...none too clean and populated with dead fish. Their time at home is their own and their choice of decor ensures their total privacy from all but the most adventurous and olfactory-impaired. In their downtime, the two are alike in their desire to swim. We don't have to see Flukie in red speedos to know that he enjoys a few laps to wind down after a hard day's work.

But beyond the outward similarities, we begin to discern the deeper link that ties Fox to Flukie, forming a symbolic umbilical of sorts. Consider their ideas of good, righteous sport. Fox has spent some of his most fond leisure moments punching Krycek. Flukie, in a spooky corresponding scene, finds sport in tussling with an unwilling worker on a Russian freighter. Only a blind man would find no correlation between their aggressive, sporting nature with these Russian gentlemen. But they share their softer, more emotional side as well. For do we not know that they both yearn for the Vineyard and "wash up" on its shores as often as possible? They are truly linked by head and heart. Adding to these instances of convergence between the characters is the overwhelming evidence in their driving motivation in life. Each has a quest. Fox seeks the Truth. Flukie seeks a host. Neither will rest until their goal is reached and, most likely, neither will establish a true and stable family and home until that need is satisfied.

On the parasitic theory...Flukie is by definition a parasite. Once established in his host, the relationship that ensues will be parasitic in nature. But he has a giving disposition as well. Can we so easily forget the little flukes he provided to the intermediate hosts to vomit in the shower at their leisure? Is this not a giving act? And who will soon forget the lovely fluke aftertaste? Analogous to this is Mulder's relationship with the X-Files and Scully. The FBI and the X-Files division in particular suffers from the parasitic relationship that Mulder bestows upon it. He re-opened the X-Files and pursues cases for his own purposes and doesn't care whether it offers the FBI any gain or accolades. But his relationship with Scully bespeaks his giving nature...or his attempt at re-learning a giving nature. Mulder is most likely scarred from his childhood, but being partnered with Dana Scully has forced him to attempt to meet the requirements of that partnership. Although their relationship has fluctuated during its development, one would like to think that working with Scully has provided him with an opportunity to give as much as he receives. And what of the importance of Scully and the parallel in Flukie's life? Once again, a corresponding initial is held in common between the most important thing in both Fox and Flukie's world. For Mulder, "S" represents Samantha and now Scully...the driving forces in his life. Flukie's "S" is found in the word scolex. For the Flukeman to survive, form attachments, and find nourishment in a cruel world, his scolex is a necessity. The same holds true for Mulder. Finding Samantha was his reason for living...nothing else mattered. Until Scully came into his life. Now his attachment to her, and the bridge to the real world it affords, is necessary for the nourishment and motivation in his life. She is as necessary to his existence as the scolex is to Flukie's.

The symbolism embedded in the episode "The Host" cannot be lost on the more observant viewers. It is clear that the two characters are linked and this connection will most likely be pursued beyond the mere mention Flukeman received in "Pusher" before this odyssey is complete. The importance of Flukeman's anti-hero to Mulder's hero was first demonstrated at the conclusion of "The Host" when the two met in a liquid battlefield leaving one alive and the other to limp off, hurt but already regenerating. Mulder's action in dropping the outlet gate and tearing Flukeman asunder foreshadowed the event which loomed on the horizon for Mulder...the abduction of Scully. In like manner, Mulder's better half was ripped from him driving him to finally huddle in abject misery until she was eventually returned..."regenerated" as a part of his life. The importance of this parallel characterization clearly points to its destiny as a weighty component of the series finale. When Flukeman ultimately finds his definitive host in the form of Fox Mulder, the joining will yield a complete, superlative entity. The merging of hero and anti-hero will produce an explosive climax to end the series. --

This is a twin twins theory of course that hails back to a discussion initiated some time ago (by Alyssa Fernandez to be exact) in regard to the "Dueling Mulders". Alyssa's theory posited that there were indeed two Mulders -- the narcissistic "Ditching Mulder" and the loving, caring "Devoted Mulder" (I don't remember specifically what Alyssa called the two Mulders) and these terms are used to describe his oft-unpredictable interactions with his partner Scully. Devoted Mulder is the adult that has completed his developmental process. He is capable of caring for others and has evolved a mature perspective. Like Lanny, Devoted Mulder is a caregiver and prone to philisophical outpourings. He is however, somewhat repressed and withdrawn -- the burden of carrying their twins around with them constantly takes a visible toll on even the most advanced and giving personalities.

Ditching Mulder -- the evil twin -- is actually an internalization of the boyhood trauma that Mulder experienced at his sister's disappearance. Like Leonard, Ditching Mulder is a deformed creature, stunted at an early developmental stage of growth. He is egocentric and his goal is singular: to recover his lost sister, release the guilt and shame that he harbours and receive her unconditional love again. Or as Lanny says in Humbug of Leonard: "I don't think he knows he's harming anyone. He's merely seeking .... another brother." Or sister, in the case of Ditching Mulder.

The parallel is unmistakable when we look at the emergence of Ditching Mulder at the bare scent of a Mytharc plotline. Tearing himself free from Devoted Mulder's psyche he exits on a rampage of destruction grasping blindly at anything he sees that feels like his sister or that will lead him to his emotional goal. Like Leonard he leaves only bodies in his wake. Also, the situations that often emerge and surround Ditching Mulder's escapades are clear memories of the atmosphere prevalent in Humbug. The level of excitement, the suspension of disbelief, the uncanny special effects. Surely "carnival" would not be a misplaced adjective when Ditching Mulder is called into action.

We can only hope that unlike Lanny, Devoted Mulder will be able to willfully separate himself from Ditching Mulder before the latter's hopeless search will end in mutual tragedy. Or perhaps following the example of the Conundrum, Devoted Mulder will be able to "incorporate" Ditching Mulder into himself, and blend the two in such a way as to produce a whole, functional being.

Devoted Mulder and Ditching Mulder, Lanny and Leonard -- at constant self-endangering odds with the other and yet hopelessly joined at the hip.

Dog
Pretty red hair
Soulful eyes
Hairy chest
Devoted to Scully
Flea bath
Liked to sit on Scully's lap
Killed by a bad thing
Made Scully wax poetic

Pup
Pretty red hair
Soulful eyes
Hairy chest
Devoted to Scully
Vacination scraping
Wanted Scully to sit on his...
Killed by a bad thing
Made Scully wax poetic