Rewatch Extra: 6x09 Tithonus

[thelittlespy]

I really, really meant to do HTGSC. Before Christmas.
But that didn't happen, and this was the next episode on my season six "to watch" list. And I love it. So I watched it.

This teaser is actually really tense and suspenseful! And the office building is grimy, desolate, yellow, more like the old days.

The whining whirr of the camera starting up is so

Comments

[leucocrystal]

I would buy Mulder writing her notes and sticking them there, though: “You look hot today. Meet me in the broom closet in 5 minutes. George Hale."
LOL. If only, oh my goodness.

Scully’s headshot (Which is actually a publicity shot from, what? Season 3-ish? I feel like it was on the cover of one of the "Official Guides" I had.) is completely and utterly hilarious.
The headshots they use are always hilarious (and that is a S3 promo shot, yes). The one from Dreamland II is a publicity still of David from Playing God, for crying out loud (not that I'm complaining all that much, because it's pretty). The only one I actually really think is remotely normal is the one of Mulder from S8 (though I agree -- I think it was you who said it? -- it was stupid and weird for Scully to be carrying it around with her).

I guess it's a win-win-(win) for Kersh, because he gets to bother Mulder, he gets Scully and her mad skills on this case, and then if she, for some wild reason, decides she'd like to get back into the REAL FBI game, that's a win, too,

[leucocrystal]

She slowly, slowly reaches out to touch the photograph of the dead flapper. As though this might make it real, might make her understand what Fellig is doing.
God, that book of photos reminds me SO much of Dead Like Me. Is that strange? It reminds me of George explaining the three main causes of death worldwide in the very beginning, and Betty with her "sacks" for different types of people. (Shutting up now!)

She seems hopeful, here, like love is certainly a reason to live as long as you possibly can. UGH. AGENT SCULLY IS CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF FALLING IN LOVE.
Ugh, she totally is! Keep at it, Agent Scully, you're almost there! Mulder is still waiting for you to catch up! He is a strangely patient man!

And then Fellig’s blood pours out of the camera lens! Which is gorgeous and creepy and wonderful.
Oh God yes. The first time I saw that shot I think I might have gasped.

Mulder: totally NOT creepy. On the contrary, very lovely.
So, so lovely. Look at his eyes! GAH.

“You’re a lucky man.” I have to say, I love that Mulder tamps

[thelittlespy]

Ugh, she totally is! Keep at it, Agent Scully, you're almost there! Mulder is still waiting for you to catch up! He is a strangely patient man!
I go back and forth all the time on when they fell in love, but I think that season 6 is Scully, at the very least, admitting it to herself for the first time, and allowing herself to fall in love without blocking those emotions as soon as they start to surface.

It's so funny you say that though, because I just recently read a fic that explained Mulder's thought process here; how he was trying to be like Scully, quiet and deadly, because she's the scariest person he knows. It made total sense.
Oh, I like that!

I cannot even tell you how much it drives me NUTS how many people out there are like, convinced that Scully is now immortal. Not only does that totally misinterpret the intent of Tithonus, it does the same to CBFR.Ugh, I know! I'm not sure: do people actually think that it's a good thing, are they glad, somehow, to think that Scully's "immortal"? Yes, of course we want her to have a

[leucocrystal]

Yeah, I'd agree there. I think the discussion below on this matter is interesting, and ultimately I seem to agree with you and Emma B. Scully is crushing, at least, pretty hard on Mulder in the very beginning, but the abduction sort of mucks everything up and she understandably withdraws for a long time. Mulder, on the other hand, I think finally realizes, as of the point of her abduction, how important she is. I think you can even make a case that he loves her that early on, though he may not appreciate it as such. By the time she's diagnosed though, there's no question. Scully is always, emotionally, the slower of the two, I think.

Fellig is one of the most miserable characters we ever see. Do they really want Scully to live forever and ever, to watch Mulder die and her mother die and everyone else she's ever known?Seriously! And I see people out there citing it as though it's something cool, something that makes Scully more awesome or angelic or something? And I just don't get that. Not just because they clearly weren't even

[emmbright]

"You ready to quit?"
“No. That would make way too many people way too happy.”

Yeah, like you! Get out of the damn car before it's too late, you guys! Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 and all that. ;-)

The season 3 headshot is so funny! It's very Glamour Shots and not at all the way we have ever seen Scully look.

This sounds weird, I know, but I kind of love how, at this point, Gillian's face is kind of full. She doesn’t have a double chin or anything, but there’s a certain softness around her neck, beneath her chin.

No, I know exactly what you mean. She's put on a little bit of weight since she was super skinny in the movie, and it does make her look quite pretty and soft. (Wasn't this around the time of HoM? Because she looks sort of Lily Bart-esque to me.)

Okay, this cracks my shit up EVERY time I watch it. The funny voice, guys! “Hi, my name is Fox Mulder. We used to sit next to each other at the FBI?” He's so cute and bored without her.It's adorable! He's very cute and bored, and also covering up his very real fear that she

[thelittlespy]

(Wasn't this around the time of HoM? Because she looks sort of Lily Bart-esque to me.)
Well, the earliest release date imdb lists is October of 2000, so I'm going to guess that they shot it the summer after season six, because shooting the summer after seven doesn't give them quite enough turn-around time for fall 2000. So yes, I agree! She does look kind of Lily Bart-esque.

and also covering up his very real fear that she could actually forget him and move on with his jokey, silly voice. It makes me want to hug him so badly!
I know! Seriously, just lovely, layered writing and acting.

I find the topic of when they fell in love/when they realized it/when they first slept together to be infinitely fascinating, which might say something sad about me. *g* Especially because maybe it's not something you can pinpoint exactly.Like you, I will give a different answer on a different day! I think that Scully certainly is a bit smitten early on, but I wouldn't call it being in love, quite. But there's certainly something there. (If we're

[emmbright]

I think we're actually mostly on the same page, but saying "Agent Scully is currently in the process of realizing that she's been in love for a long time but hasn't allowed herself to think about it" just didn't have the same ring to it!

Ha, no, not quite the same, you're right. I guess the truth is that there was no one moment when they fell in love. It was such a long process for both of them, with lots of mixed signals, crossed wires and missteps along the way. It's so much fun trying to get into their pretty heads and see what's going on inside, though, isn't it? :-)

And yeah, I'd say that it's safe to say cancerarc for Mulder, too. Although he's always worn his heart on his sleeve, so I find it a bit easier to think about this for him.

Absolutely. Because honestly, who can look at this cap and not see that this man is in deep? Those eyes! This is why I have never and will never understand noromos. What show were they watching? ;-)

In a lot of ways, Scully's head and heart are still a complete mystery to me.To me, too

[greydawning]

I have so much love for this episode and it's been ages since I watched it last so your rewatch is a perfect excuse for me to break out the DVD ;)

I would buy Mulder writing her notes and sticking them there, though: “You look hot today. Meet me in the broom closet in 5 minutes. George Hale."

YOU TWO. Have you been kissing in her hospital bed for the past week or something?

In my universe, both of these happened. And I totally agree with the following --

So, basically: no one talk to Scully except for Mulder. And vice versa. Okay? Okay.

XD

[thelittlespy]

Hee, I love how these recaps always force people to watch the episodes. I know I'm twisting all of your arms, here...

[whalelines]

Tithonus always makes me think of penumbra23, for some reason. I think she has a deep-seated love for this episode, if I remember correctly. I, too, love it, and count it amongst one of my very favourite episodes for so many reasons.

It's completely strange to see them WITH other people; I'd hate to see how they were, off the X-Files, and without one another. Talk about awkward. I don't even like to think about it, really.

I'm not sure if Scully would have post-it notes stuck to her monitor

Hm, I agree. It is a little strange, but then, she's just so goddamn smart that she can't keep all of those smart thoughts in her head! Or something.

Scully’s headshot is completely and utterly hilarious.

Ahaha! That's TOTALLY a GA publicity shot, and that's hysterical and awesome. Clearly she's all glamoured up, and like, totally not Scully-like (because she would NOT be posing for a picture like that) but I love that it's in her file. Way to go, show!

she’s wearing my favorite shoes!

I WILL find you those shoes. I WILL.

Kersh is having none

[thelittlespy]

Clearly she's all glamoured up, and like, totally not Scully-like (because she would NOT be posing for a picture like that) but I love that it's in her file.
She's pouting her lips! I mean, really. The underpaid FBI ID badge guy was like, "on the count of three," and then she tossed her hair, swiveled her head and pursed her lips? Incredibly likely, I'm sure.

I WILL find you those shoes. I WILL.
I do not doubt this one bit.

And this could have been solved VERY simply if she had just said "AGENT SCULLY" instead of just Scully. I mean, I think that's generally what she meant, but that one little word would go a long way.
Yeah, exactly. But then it does sound kind of awkward to say "Agent Scully." And maybe she doesn't realize the way we do that "Scully" is actually totally a term of endearment, and it's kind of like she just suggested that he call her "honey" or "baby."

I was thinking of you while I was watching this, because she was just being...so perfectly Scully.

[penumbra23]

As Jenn mentioned, I do have a deep-seated love for this episode - maybe because it has such a grimness, a gritty tone, a rarity in S6. The colors are beautiful - Scully against that brick wall, her blue shirt, and just the constant threatening breathlessness of flash photography. More than in Unruhe (although maybe not as much as in Oubliette) photography is menacing, a cold penetration against one's will.

Part of Tithonus's effectiveness for me is in Scully's rapport with Fellig, which reminds me of her relationship with Jack Bonsaint in Chinga, and of course, Clyde Bruckman - maybe it's just her Electra complex, but Scully rarely hits it off with people, and there's something endearing about the way she relates to these lonely men. I like the way Scully gets along with men; she's never chauvinist - a rarity on TV

[thelittlespy]

Maybe I was just emotional (which is not a shocking development or anything), but watching this just made me want to cry because it was so lovely. And Scully pulling back the curtains made me think of you, because I realized you have that shot on your page.

Part of Tithonus's effectiveness for me is in Scully's rapport with Fellig
Absolutely. The scene where he tells her about the yellow fever completely put me in a trance. I knew what he was going to say, I knew what was going to happen, but still: completely hypnotized. It's kind of that slow, underwater feeling.

and keeping her mouth shut until Ritter's proven his ineptness. Fellig realizes immediately that she's the dangerous one.
It's wonderful, the way she stands back and lets him bluster around. And it's not done meanly, because he doesn't feel like he's floundering; he's not waiting for her to step in and save him or anything. She just waits patiently until the moment is right.

but for the record I want to say that I see it as a horrible curse.I don't know how anyone could

[aloysiavirgata]

I love this episode so, so deeply and your recap does it such perfect justice.

I was talking about this the other day: as much as I love that she snaps on him for being all familiar and calling her "Dana," on the other hand, I don't want him to call her "Scully," either. Because that's Mulder's thing! So, basically: no one talk to Scully except for Mulder. And vice versa. Okay? Okay.

This! I have always had this conflict with Tithonus! My personal resolution is that she should have corrected him to AGENT Scully. I think it would have been the ultimate onomastic bitchslap.

Scully is so beautiful in this episode it hurts. Paraphrasing, but rivkat once said she could never decide if she wanted to do Scully or if she wanted to be Scully. It remains my perpetual quandary.

[thelittlespy]

I love it when someone comments on something I posted a long time ago! Thank you!

And oh, this episode. I'm usually a bit lukewarm on episodes where they're split up, but this one works so well it hurts.

My personal resolution is that she should have corrected him to AGENT Scully. I think it would have been the ultimate onomastic bitchslap.
I think you're absolutely right. I'm going to pretend she says that from now on.

Since inquiring minds might want to know, I have a "Jersey Devil" recap almost ready to go. I'll probably be able to grab some time this weekend to post.

[aloysiavirgata]

I love it too! Unexpected treats.

I am highly pleased by this recap news. Can I request a Saturday posting? Because it's Yom Kippur, which means lots of bored, hungry hours to fill.