X-Files:
Beyond the Sea

ANALYSIS INFORMATION:

Comments:

This episode of The X-Files is often found on "top ten" lists for the series. It's a rich, insightful story that depicts Agent Scully as a more complex character than presented up to this point. It also shows the beginning of the special relationship between Scully and Mulder. Although Scully's role as the hard-edged skeptic opposite Mulder's holistic, conspiracy obsessed misfit keeps many fans interested, it's equally gratifying to learn that Scully is plagued by insecurities just like the rest of us. The writing is tight, yet full of compelling characters and events. Brad Dourif does a super job breathing life into a tough-guy serial killer who's terrified of dying.

Brief Synopsis:

A self-proclaimed psychic on death row bargains for a commuted sentence with the lives of two kidnap victims, while Dana Scully struggles with the shock of her father's death and her own beliefs. (20th Century Fox Corp., American Online)

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

DANA SCULLY, an FBI Agent, whose logical, scientific-minded approach to her cases is challenged by doubts about the love of her recently deceased father and the accuracy of Boggs' psychic forecasts.

WILLIAM SCULLY, Dana's father, who shared a special relationship with his daughter, but didn't support her decision to join the FBI instead of practicing medicine. He gave her everything but what she needed most -- a father's approval of her life choice.

BOGGS, a death row inmate with just days to live, will use his psychic abilities to save two kidnapped teens if authorities commute his sentence to life in prison. He uses Scully's need to have her father's approval (even after death) to get the deal that will save his own life.

MULDER, Scully's partner, usually the believer of the duo, is skeptical of Boggs' abilities and motives. Mulder's convinced that trusting Boggs will cost lives.

LUCAS HENRY, a wannabe serial killer and Boggs' former accomplice plans to celebrate a grisly anniversary by beheading his captives.

LIZ HAWLEY, a loving girl who survives to identify her kidnapper and torturer.

JIM SUMMERS, kidnap victim whose need to see his girlfriend cost him a terrifying week in hell.

THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS:

Name: Dana Scully
Gender: Female
Description:Dana Katherine Scully is five feet, two inches, has blue eyes and red hair, and was born on February 23, 1964. Her FBI Badge Number is 2317-616. (Genge, p. 21)

"She's no-nonsense, unflinching, and obsessively skeptical (despite having seen more aliens than Steven Spielberg, she still finds ways of explaining them away); walking encyclopedia of pathology; can toss around perps twice her size."

(Entertainment Weekly, p. 28)

Role: FBI Agent
Characteristics:

Motivation: Support; Reconsider; Pursuit; Conscience; Help; Feeling;
Methodology: Potentiality; Proaction; Reduction; Reevaluation; Possibility;
Evaluation: Proven; Trust; Unending; Hunch;
Purpose: Inertia; Thought; Perception; Aware;

 

 

Name: Luther Lee Boggs
Gender: Male
Description:

"Across the knuckles of the left hand is tattooed "KISS." Across the knuckles of the right hand is tattooed "KILL." . . . his eyes stare into a personal abyss. A pair of small dice are tattooed on his neck. He's thin, cracked, and ugly."

(Morgan & Wong, p. 13)

Role: Psychic Death Row Inmate
Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Avoidance; Temptation;
Methodology: Reaction; Protection;
Evaluation: Unproven;
Purpose: Knowledge; Self Aware; Desire;

Name: Fox Mulder
Gender: Male
Description:Fox Mulder is six feet tall, has medium brown hair and hazel eyes, and was born on October 11, 1960 in Chilmark, Massachusetts. (Genge, p. 221) His FBI Badge Number is JTT047101111.

"Red-green color-blind. . . Recruited by the FBI in the mid-80s . . . In 1991 he pestered the FBI into reopening the X-Files. . . His belief in unexplained phenomena has earned him the nickname Spooky; zealous and conspiracy obsessed; possesses a wry wit, but apparently no bed."

(Entertainment Weekly, p. 26)

Role: FBI Agent/Partner
Characteristics:

Motivation: Oppose; Disbelief; Logic; Hinder;
Methodology: Certainty; Production; Probability; Evaluation;
Evaluation: Test; Theory; Ending;
Purpose: Change; Actuality; Ability;

Name: Jim Summers
Gender: Male
Description: Tall and handsome with longish dark hair. He's a courteous, good-natured boy whose passion for his girlfriend leads him to drive them to a lonely spot to be alone together, and unwittingly makes them targets for a deranged would-be killer.
Role: Kidnapped boyfriend
Characteristics:

Name: Liz Hawley
Gender: Female
Description: Sweet young college student with dark hair who missed her boyfriend over the Christmas Holidays.
Role: Kidnapped Teenager
Characteristics:

Evaluation: Result;

Name: Lucas Henry
Gender: Male
Description:

"A silver and black skull dangles from an earlobe. The kidnapper, LUCAS HENRY, 28, turns toward CAMERA, looking off toward his captives. His eyes are steely gray, psychotically alive."

(Morgan & Wong, p. 28A)

Role: Kidnapper/Killer
Characteristics:

Evaluation: Process;

Name: Margaret Scully
Gender: Female
Description: She's an attractive woman with dark, curly hair; a caring wife and mother.". . . 58, is her daughter's height with clear and intelligent eyes." (Morgan & Wong, p. 1)
Role: Dana's Mother
Characteristics:

Motivation: Faith;

Name: William Scully
Gender: Male
Description: "Sixty-three years old, he is quite a handsome man. Although retired from the Navy for five years, he still holds himself as an officer." (Morgan & Wong, p. 1)
Role: Dana's Father
Characteristics:

AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

Nature as it relates to Actual Work:

Scully holds to her conviction to work on hard evidence. Even though Scully may not believe in Boggs' psychic abilities, she does follow the real landmarks to the warehouse where she discovers solid evidence -- Liz's necklace, the coat hanger, and fresh blood. Based on the fact that Boggs' "vision" produced hard results, Scully follows her usual work ethic and uses him to find the teenagers before they're murdered.

Essence as it relates to Positive Feel:

Mulder, Scully, and the other FBI agents put their efforts into finding Jim and Liz before they become murder victims. Even Boggs, a reluctant helper, assists in achieving the story goal to save the teenagers.

Tendency as it relates to Willing:

Dana Scully is unusually open to extreme possibilities during this case. Having experienced unexplained events first-hand, she's open to the possibility that Boggs has true psychic abilities. Her openness allows her to follow the landmarks "seen" in Boggs' vision to a warehouse where she discovers evidence; to Liz being rescued at the boathouse; to finding Jim before he's beheaded by Lucas Henry.

Reach as it relates to Male:

Men will empathize with Scully because she's faced with the problem of having to act against her logical, everything-has-a-scientific-explanation philosophy to get what she needs emotionally, the approval of a father.

Resolve as it relates to Steadfast:

In spite of Scully's momentary belief in Boggs' psychic abilities, she returns to her skeptical nature.

Approach as it relates to Do-er:

In spite of the grief over her father's death, Scully continues to work. She accompanies her partner to the prison to assist him with the case. When Scully sees the landmarks Boggs described as leading to the kidnapper's lair, she immediately investigates the warehouse and finds valuable clues. She takes over the lead in the case when her partner is shot; threatens Boggs when she believes he set her and Mulder up to be murdered; tries to obtain a deal for Boggs in order to get information to save Jim Summers; leads the chase after the kidnapper.

Direction as it relates to Start:

Scully has to start to believe in herself apart from what her father may have thought of her life choices. She must believe in her ability to solve this case without the guidance of her partner, and act effectively to save the kidnap victims.

Mental Sex as it relates to Male:

Scully approaches problems using linear thinking: She decides that since her father never told her he was proud of her being in the FBI, he must not have been; follows clues to an abandoned warehouse and finds evidence; decides that with only three days left to save the teenagers, they must deal with Boggs to get information; reasons that because Mulder was shot, Boggs must have orchestrated the attack.

Outcome as it relates to Success:

Scully and Mulder achieve the goal of freeing the kidnap victims before they become murder victims.

Judgment as it relates to Good:

Scully resolves her doubts that her father was proud of her. She recovers her self-confidence, and by the end of the story is assured that her partner will recover from his injuries.

Work as it relates to Action:

The teenagers are kidnapped and Mulder and Scully investigate the case; when Boggs sends for Mulder, he and Scully question him; Boggs describes where the victims are being held which leads to Scully finding evidence that advances the investigation and raises questions as to Boggs' involvement in the kidnapping; after Mulder is shot Scully threatens Boggs; when Boggs withholds valuable information, Scully decides to approach the warden on his behalf.

Limit as it relates to Timelock:

Scully and Mulder have only five days to find the two teens before they're murdered -- Lucas Henry, the kidnapper, is preparing to re-enact a grisly anniversary. In one week Boggs, who claims to have powers to help find the victims, will be executed. As the story progresses each deadline moves the story closer to its climax.

THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Dana Scully's father dies suddenly after a visit, and she's shocked when he appears to her in a vision. In her newly vulnerable state, she's deeply disturbed by a North Carolina death row inmate, Luther Lee Boggs, who claims to be able to channel the spirits of the dead, and is willing to trade information about a kidnapping in exchange for commutation of his sentence. Mulder thinks the whole scheme is a hoax, but Scully is troubled by doubt. Her belief in science is further shaken when she follows some of Boggs' channeled "clues" to a crime scene; Mulder thinks Boggs is orchestrating the whole kidnapping with an outside accomplice. Yet when Boggs accurately predicts Mulder's shooting and a chase through an abandoned brewery, Scully must decide how far she is willing to go to test her faith in science.

(20th Century Fox Corp., American Online)

Backstory:

Two days ago, a couple was kidnapped at Jackson University, Jim Summers and Liz Hawley. According to Mulder's files, this same time last year two other students were snatched, held and tortured for a week, and then killed. He believes the same man has Jim and Liz, and only five days are left to find them before they're murdered as well. Meanwhile, Mulder has been summoned by Luther Boggs, a death row inmate, who claims he has details of the recent kidnapping received through psychic transmissions. Boggs, who's facing execution in one week, wants his sentence reduced to life in prison in exchange for his assistance in the case. Mulder, whose psychological profile helped put Boggs on death row, believes Boggs is orchestrating the kidnapping from inside prison, and is running a scam to save his life. Mulder and a grief-stricken Scully go to a North Carolina prison to interview Boggs and test his claims.

Domain as it relates to Psychology:

The objective characters have different ways of thinking: Boggs thinks he can manipulate Mulder and Scully with demonstrations of his psychic abilities; Mulder thinks Boggs is a fake and, out of revenge, is setting a trap for him for sending Boggs to the gas chamber; Mulder tries to convince Scully not to fall for Boggs "trap;" Scully suspends her disbelief of extreme possibilities and thinks that believing in Boggs will aid the case and possibly ease her doubts about her father's love.

Concern as it relates to Becoming:

Jim Summers and Liz Hawley are afraid of becoming murder victims; Lucas Henry wants to become a full-fledged serial killer by ending the lives of Jim and Liz; Boggs uses this threat to escape becoming a resident of the cold, dark place he calls death; Scully wants to save the teenagers from becoming murder victims; Mulder shares Scully's concern, and wants to prevent himself from becoming an object of Boggs' revenge.

Range as it relates to Commitment:

William Scully has a commitment to support his daughter's choices whatever they may be. He's urged to verbalize his commitment by his wife after a Christmastime dinner at Scully's apartment. Mulder is devoted to proving Boggs a fraud, and that he's orchestrating the kidnapping from prison. He interrogates Boggs for five hours, determined to get a confession. Scully has a commitment to do everything possible to save the lives of Jim and Liz, no matter how painful it may be dealing with Boggs. Boggs is so dedicated to getting himself off death row he threatens to withhold information that will save the teenagers' lives.

Counterpoint as it relates to Responsibility:

Margaret Scully believes she knows best concerning how her husband wanted his funeral, a ceremony attended by just the immediate family instead of a formal burial at Arlington. Mulder, who believes in psychic ability and knows Boggs' history, thinks he's the one who can prove Boggs is a fraud. The warden has a responsibility to the community to see that Boggs pays for his crimes, and is never again to enter society.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Commitment vs. Responsibility:

There is a fine line between commitment and responsibility in this story. However, the ever increasing commitment between Mulder and Scully is demonstrated by his concern over her loss of her father. Throughout the story he calls her by her first name, Dana, something he rarely does, and urges her to back away from the case if it hurts her to be on the job so soon after her father's death. Scully is committed to saving the teenagers when it's obvious the case is causing her great distress -- she could bow out since other FBI agents are responsible for the case as well. Her personal commitment to Mulder shows when she threatens Boggs after her partner is wounded.

Problem as it relates to Avoidance:

Lucas Henry tries to avoid capture before he can kill his victims on the anniversary of his mother's fatal accident, making it difficult for the FBI to find him and rescue the teenagers; Jim Summer and Liz Hawley struggle to escape being tortured and murdered, which causes them to be beaten by Henry; Boggs plots to escape the gas chamber and creates a difference of opinion between Mulder and Scully.

Solution as it relates to Pursuit:

From her hospital bed, Liz Hawley assists in the pursuit of the kidnapper, who still has Jim, by identifying him as Lucas Henry from a mug shot. This limits Henry's chances of avoiding capture as now the FBI has his history and has uncovered his motive for the kidnapping. The closer the FBI gets to Henry, the more chances Jim Summer has to escape a gruesome death.

Focus as it relates to Faith:

When Jim is first approached in the lovers' lane, he has faith that the kidnapper is certainly a cop. Mulder doesn't take Bogg's claims of psychic abilities on faith is concerned with anyone who does, particularly Scully.

Direction as it relates to Disbelief:

Once Jim gets out of the car and sees the "cop's" shoes, he takes the direction of disbelief, asking for identification, but it's too late. Mulder disbelieves Boggs' claim of being a psychic and tries to trick Boggs by giving him a piece of his old Knicks t-shirt to channel with.

Stipulation as it relates to Conceptualizing:

Examples of how "conceptualizing" is the standard by which progress is measured in the objective story are: Boggs' plan to commute the death sentence; Lucas Henry envisions kidnapping the teenagers and holding them until it's time to kill them.

Catalyst as it relates to Responsibility:

The use of responsibility by the characters accelerates the story: Scully, feeling she's best suited to assist Mulder in the case, doesn't take a break after her father's funeral, goes to interview Boggs with him, and is confronted with Boggs' claims that he can channel William Scully's spirit. Mulder thinks he's the best one to judge if Boggs is a genuine psychic, and when Scully challenges Mulder's expertise, a battle of beliefs erupts between them.

Inhibitor as it relates to Denial:

The objective characters' use of denial slows down the story. Mulder refuses to accept that Boggs is telling the truth about his psychic abilities, and refuses to act upon Boggs' information until there's only three days left to find the kids; Mulder's stubbornness continues even after Liz is found, and he's shot just like Boggs predicted. Boggs' refusal to channel more information until he gets his deal slows down efforts to find Jim Summers before he's murdered. Scully's unwillingness to let her doubts about her father go causes her to lose focus of the vital issues in the case. She spends valuable time arguing with Mulder over Boggs' motives and abilities when they both should be tracking down the kidnapper.

Goal as it relates to Becoming:

Everyone is concerned with the kidnapped Jim Summers and Liz Hawley becoming murder victims.

Consequence as it relates to Obtaining:

If Mulder and Scully fail to save the teens, the victims lose their lives; Lucas Henry achieves the infamous title of killer; Boggs loses a chance to save his life from the gas chamber.

Cost as it relates to The Subconscious:

Jim and Liz are deprived of their basic desire to live, and be free of pain and terror.

Dividend as it relates to The Future:

As the story progresses Liz Hawley, and later, Jim, are rescued and given a chance for a future; Mulder recovers from his wound assuring him a future of working with Scully and continuing his crusade for the truth; Lucas Henry is killed running from Scully, ridding the world of a crazed man and sparing future victims from his madness.

Requirements as it relates to Conceptualizing:

Lucas Henry imagines capturing two young people to represent his dead girlfriend and mother, hold them for a week until the anniversary of his mother's accidental decapitation, and then murder them. Mulder envisions that his phony newspaper article will trick Boggs into contacting his supposed accomplice, allowing the FBI to trace the call, and capture the kidnapper before he kills the teenagers.

Prerequisites as it relates to Understanding:

Mulder and Scully must understand the meaning of Boggs' visions if they are to save the victims.

Preconditions as it relates to Memory:

Boggs counts on Scully to believe in his psychic abilities after he recalls an incident from her childhood.

Forewarnings as it relates to The Past:

In the past Boggs was scheduled to be executed. He was put through the ritual of the last meal and marched to the gas chamber. He remembers that the souls of his family who he had murdered after their last meal watched him eat his last meal that day. He's terrified of experiencing the agony of facing his victims and going to that cold place in death. Boggs' past threatens to repeat itself and death threatens to touch Jim and Liz, and Mulder when he's shot.

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

After Scully's father dies suddenly, her skepticism is tested by Luther Boggs on death row who claims that by using recently gained psychic powers, he can help catch the kidnapper of two teens before he murders them. Scully must decide for herself whether or not Boggs' visions are truth or a by-product of her grief.

(The X-Files, America Online)

Backstory:

Scully and her father share a special relationship, but he's disappointed that she joined the FBI instead of practicing medicine. After a Christmas visit by her parents, Scully falls asleep on her couch and wakes up at 1:47 a.m. to see her father sitting across from her saying something she can't hear. (It is, in fact, the Lord's Prayer.) At that moment her mother calls her to announce that her father has died of a heart attack. Shocked by her paranormal experience and haunted by the need have her father's approval, Scully goes back to work. She assists Mulder in the interview of Boggs, a death row inmate who claims that the terror of his trip to the gas chamber before a last second stay of execution triggered psychic abilities. He's scheduled to be executed within a week and wants a reduced sentence to life in prison. In return, he will help save two kidnapped teenagers from death. Mulder believes that Boggs is a fake. However, when Boggs sings a song associated with her father and then calls her by her special nickname, Scully begins to think that Boggs is genuine -- can help in the case, and can give her her father's final message. Boggs is so afraid of facing the gas chamber again he'll do anything to get Scully to secure a deal for him.

Domain as it relates to Physics:

Boggs endeavors to secure a deal that will save him from the gas chamber and the horrors of death. He demonstrates his "powers" to Mulder and Scully by describing a warehouse where the two teenagers are held. Scully, recovering from her father's sudden death, is susceptible to Boggs claims of psychic ability, especially when his information pans out. Boggs is aware of this, and particularly works on her vulnerability to gain his freedom with the promise of a last message from her father in return for her efforts to stay his execution.

Concern as it relates to Obtaining:

Scully wants to get information that will save the kidnapped teenagers, and she wants her father's final message which only Boggs can give her. But he demands a price for the information to get what he wants, another stay of execution and a reduced sentence to life in prison. He insists that Scully believe in him, to act against her partner's wishes and against her disbelief in the paranormal. In order to get his deal, Boggs figuratively holds the endangered Jim Summers hostage causing Scully a major dilemma:

Range as it relates to Self Interest:

Self interest on the part of Scully and Boggs creates conflict between them. Boggs is only concerned with saving his life and sparing himself the hellish experience of seeing the ghosts of his victims. He uses Scully's vulnerability, especially her need to have her father's message, to force her to make a deal for him. Scully's interested in easing her guilty feelings for disappointing her father by not practicing medicine, and tries to use Boggs to get a final word of approval from her father's spirit. Also, she's so set on freeing Jim Summers and solving the case that she lies to Boggs about securing him a deal.

Counterpoint as it relates to Morality:

Although Scully certainly has her own interests, between her and Boggs she is the one who represents morality. Scully puts aside her personal problems and self-doubts to track down the kidnapper and save the two teenagers.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Self Interest vs. Morality:

While self interest is shown throughout the story, morality eases the rift between Boggs and Scully. Even though he does not get his deal, he knows she tried and he freely channels the location where Jim Summers is being held as a gift to Scully. He also warns her to avoid the devil, a tip that saves her life. He does this perhaps as a belated effort to redeem himself, but he momentarily quits thinking only of himself and saves two lives.

Problem as it relates to Temptation:

Boggs' use of temptation causes problems for Scully: He tempts her to believe in his abilities by giving her glimpses of her father's spirit; he sings "Beyond the Sea" which was playing at her father's funeral; calls her Starbuck, her father's nickname for Scully; interrupts her father's spirit from talking to Scully and demands that she secure a deal for him before she can get her father's message. It's extremely dangerous for Scully to succumb to temptation because she could endanger the innocent victims, her partner's life as well as her own, and damage her professional reputation when she actually goes to the warden to bargain on Boggs' behalf.

Solution as it relates to Conscience:

Boggs shows a conscience when he gives Scully valuable information even though she fails to get him a deal; warns her of dangers in chasing the evil Lucas Henry; indicates that he knows she's worthy of being saved, and that he's not.

Focus as it relates to Faith:

Boggs tries to persuade Scully to have faith in him, but she's so confused about why she's seeing her father's spirit she can't have complete faith in him. Is grief and guilt triggering these aberrations? Scully isn't sure and the more Boggs pushes her the more she resists having any faith in him at all. Boggs having been blessed with such an astonishing gift is predisposed to take a giant leap of faith in Scully's ability to get him a reduced sentence, particularly if she's given a strong enough incentive.

Direction as it relates to Disbelief:

Scully chooses to disbelieve in Boggs after Mulder is shot because she no longer trusts his motives, and she thinks refusing to accept him as a psychic frees her from dependence upon him to solve her personal problem involving her father. Boggs is compelled to find Scully's refusal to believe in him unconvincing because she's his last hope to escape execution.

Stipulation as it relates to Understanding:

As the subjective story moves forward, understanding between Scully and Boggs grows: He understands that she believes in him and says so in front of Mulder and the other agents, causing her embarrassment; he understands that she wants him to channel her father's spirit and uses that to force her to bargain for him; after Boggs tells her of his terrifying experience, Scully understands how much he fears the gas chamber, and that he'll no longer help in the case until he gets his deal.

Catalyst as it relates to Morality:

The use of morality in the subjective story moves it forward: Scully, thinking only of her partner who's been shot and of Jim Summer who's still a captive, blasts Boggs for his involvement in the kidnapping and Mulder's shooting, and risks her chance to speak to her father's spirit through Boggs. This causes Boggs to withhold all information and demand that Scully bargain for him with the warden and puts Jim's life in greater jeopardy.

Inhibitor as it relates to Preconception:

After Mulder is shot Scully thinks she was wrong about Boggs and that he is orchestrating the kidnapping from prison and tried to kill her partner. She refuses to re-evaluate her conclusion even after Boggs channels her own personal childhood experience right before her eyes. Her position causes a stalemate in their relationship where he refuses to help her and she vows not to help him either.

Dana Scully's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

FBI Agent

Description:

Dana Katherine Scully is five feet, two inches, has blue eyes and red hair, and was born on February 23, 1964. Her FBI Badge Number is 2317-616. (Genge, p. 21)

"She's no-nonsense, unflinching, and obsessively skeptical (despite having seen more aliens than Steven Spielberg, she still finds ways of explaining them away); walking encyclopedia of pathology; can toss around perps twice her size."

(Entertainment Weekly, p. 28)

Throughline Synopsis:

Scully, on returning to work immediately after the unexpected death of her father, is particularly vulnerable to serial killer Luther Lee Boggs' tantalizing glimpse into the world beyond. When Mulder is shot and she's left to continue the case alone, she must reconcile herself to her father's death before she can put Boggs out of her mind and save the lives of two innocent teens.

(The X-Files, America Online)

Backstory:

Dana Katherine Scully is a medical doctor with an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Maryland. She was recruited for the FBI right out of medical school, and had been teaching at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. Dana had a special relationship with her father, Navy Captain William Scully, she called him Ahab, and he called her Starbuck (Ahab being the Captain and Starbuck being the Lieutenant from Moby Dick). He disapproved of Dana's decision to follow a career in the FBI rather than in the medical profession, much to Dana's disappointment. She was assigned to be Mulder's partner in order to keep an eye on him and determine whether he is perhaps too obsessed with the X files. Scully is skeptical of anything paranormal, believing that everything has a logical, scientifically-quantified explanation. Though in most of the cases she and Mulder have been on she has not witnessed any overt paranormal activities, she has had brushes with unexplainable phenomena that may have her start questioning her beliefs.

(20th Century Fox Film Corp., American Online)

Domain as it relates to Universe:

Scully finds herself in a situation where she's forced to rely upon a killer to save two innocent people, and resolve a highly personal issue. Her emotional state could be clouding her judgment and cost the lives of the two teenagers, and possibly her partner. Never before have her personal needs been tied to her professional life. It's a situation that causes problems for her.

Concern as it relates to The Future:

Scully is concerned for the lives of Jim Summers and Liz Hawley. She also worries about living the rest of her life without her father, and without knowing if he was proud of her or not. She's facing a future without her father, and later, after Mulder's shot, she may have to continue on without her partner. She's furious and so afraid of this prospect that she threatens Boggs with pulling the switch in the gas chamber herself.

Range as it relates to Openness:

Tempered by an unusual event following her father's death, Scully is willing to accept the possibility that Boggs may have psychic abilities that can lead to the rescue of Jim Summers and Liz Hawley. Her willingness pays off when she follows information given in a channeling session by Boggs and finds valuable evidence in the case. Mulder is unusually skeptical and opposes Scully's openness:

But Scully is not willing to state in her official report how she came upon the warehouse where she found Liz's necklace.

Counterpoint as it relates to Preconception:

Scully becomes prejudiced against Boggs after Mulder is shot. Where before she believed he had true psychic abilities, she reverts to her intolerance for paranormal events and accuses Boggs of fakery and setting Mulder up for murder.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Openness vs. Preconception:

While Scully shows unusual openness during the case she falls back to her previous position of being closed-minded to paranormal events.

Problem as it relates to Reconsider:

After her father's death Scully's reconsideration of her choice to join the FBI rather than become a medical doctor causes problems for her.

And now, directly after her father's funeral, she goes back to work being involved with nasty crimes and criminals.

Mulder triggers her to reconsider her position again when he points out her conflict concerning her father.

Solution as it relates to Consider:

Scully contemplates her decision to join the FBI and comes to the conclusion that she made the right choice.

Focus as it relates to Faith:

Scully's steadfast belief in science is shaken when she experiences a vision of her father, and it is apparent that a convicted killer can channel her father's spirit.

Direction as it relates to Disbelief:

Scully thinks that using disbelief in the paranormal will solve her problems. Even after everything she's witnessed during this case alone, Scully maintains her distrust of extreme possibilities.

Stipulation as it relates to The Past:

As the story moves forward Scully judges her progress by what has already happened: Every step she takes in this case is connected to her past disappointment in her father's disapproval of her becoming a FBI agent. When she's with Boggs' she imagines her father trying to tell her something; she's uncertain how to proceed in the case because of guilt over past choices; she bargains for Boggs in part because she wants the approval from her father that she didn't get during his lifetime.

Unique Ability as it relates to Choice:

Scully chooses to heed Boggs' warning not to follow Lucas Henry to the Devil. She stops chasing him in the brewery when she sees him running toward a painting of a blue devil. He then falls to his death. Her decision to believe Boggs saves her life and the life of Jim Summers.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Attitude:

Scully's attitude that she must have absolute proof of something before she can believe it causes her great personal anxiety concerning her father. All she has to do is trust her feelings that as a father he'd always love her, and be proud of her if she were happy with her life; it really wouldn't matter if he wanted her to do something else. Fortunately for the sake of the kidnap victims, she does not allow this attitude to stop her from following Boggs' "psychic" clues to the killer.

Luther Lee Boggs's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Psychic Death Row Inmate

Description:

"Across the knuckles of the left hand is tattooed "KISS." Across the knuckles of the right hand is tattooed "KILL." . . . his eyes stare into a personal abyss. A pair of small dice are tattooed on his neck. He's thin, cracked, and ugly."

(Morgan & Wong, p. 13)

Throughline Synopsis:

Having acquired psychic abilities after his horrifying experience during his last trip to the gas chamber, Boggs is determined to use his gift to stop the state's plan to send him back to the death chamber. He offers information that will save two kidnapped teenagers, but only if his sentence is reduced to life in prison. Boggs sends for Mulder to broker the deal, but the FBI agent refuses to believe in Boggs' psychic abilities. Boggs focuses on Scully's desire to hear her dead father's last words to her and promises to channel his spirit, but only if she gets Boggs the deal he needs to escape execution. He challenges her to believe him, taunting her with the impending death of one of the missing teens. When Scully tries but fails to get him a deal, Boggs seems to accept his fate and channels information that saves the teenager and saves Scully's life.

Backstory:

Mulder explains to Scully that his psychological profile helped send Boggs to the gas chamber in 1992.

Domain as it relates to Mind:

Boggs is determined to use his psychic ability to save himself from another trip to the gas chamber. He repeatedly demands a deal of a commuted sentence to life in prison in return for information that will save the kidnapping victims.

Concern as it relates to The Subconscious:

Boggs is terrified of facing the souls of his slain family in death. He'll do anything to save himself from being strapped in the gas chamber again.

Range as it relates to Closure:

Boggs tries to postpone his fate -- execution, the ultimate closure, because he fears facing the ghosts of his victims. To him death isn't the end, but the beginning of an endless hell. But when Scully fails to get him the deal he desperately wants, he seems to accept that his life is ending.

Counterpoint as it relates to Denial:

Boggs refuses to face the fact that he'll be executed in a few days. He refuses to let go of the notion that if he helps save the two teens, he'll earn himself a deal that will save him from the gas chamber.

Thematic Conflict as it relates to Closure vs. Denial:

While Boggs operates in denial during most of the story, closure is finally achieved.

Problem as it relates to Avoidance:

Boggs' use of avoidance causes problems for Scully. His obsessive efforts to avoid being sent back to the gas chamber involves pressuring Scully to believe that he is a true psychic when Mulder doesn't, causing conflict between Scully and Mulder. Boggs prevents the spirit of William Scully from speaking to her, and demands that she make a deal for a commuted sentence or she'll never get her father's message.

Solution as it relates to Pursuit:

Boggs pursues a bargain that will allow him to escape the gas chamber and a cold, torturous Hell. He summons Mulder to death row in an attempt to persuade the authorities that his psychic powers can save the kidnapped teenagers from death.

Focus as it relates to Consider:

After he fails to convince Mulder of his psychic abilities, Boggs considers the possibility of trading a message from Scully's dead father for her help in getting the deal that will save his life. Being swayed by Boggs' demonstration of his powers, Scully comes into direct conflict with Mulder, who's sure Boggs is a fake, and is somehow orchestrating the crime from prison.

Direction as it relates to Reconsider:

Boggs reconsiders giving information to aid the case and offers Scully an ultimatum: No more information until he gets his deal. Scully goes against her standing position of skepticism to act upon the notion that Boggs is genuine. She comes into conflict with Mulder:

Stipulation as it relates to Memory:

As the story progresses, Boggs' memory of his experience in the gas chamber moments before receiving a stay of execution fuels his desire more and more to save himself from the terror of death. He remembers that as he was lead to the gas chamber the ghosts of his victims lined the corridor and watched him.

Unique Ability as it relates to Dream:

Boggs' unique ability to conjure up the spirit world fuels his dream to escape death by execution. His drive to fulfill his dream leads him to lure Scully to help him by promising to fulfill her dream of hearing her dead father's last message to her. Boggs almost succeeds in thwarting Scully: she's torn between her emotional need to have her father's parting words of approval, her fundamental skepticism of extreme possibilities, her obligation to perform her job in a professional manner that will save the kidnap victims, and her loyalty to her partner.

Critical Flaw as it relates to Obligation:

Boggs gives in to his moral obligation to save the innocent Jim Summers from murder even when he can't get his commuted sentence. He channels information on Summers' location that allows Scully and other agents to save him. Giving the authorities what they want doesn't save Boggs from having to face the ghosts of his victims on his way to the gas chamber a second and final time.

ACT PROGRESSIONS:

The Objective Throughline Act Order:

Objective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Being:

Lucas Henry acts like a campus cop to aid in his kidnapping plot; Liz Hawley and Jim Summers act like star-crossed lovers, sneaking off to be alone together; Mrs. Scully, fulfilling her husband's wish for his ashes to be scattered upon the sea, acts as the head of the family.

Objective Story Journey #1 from Being to Becoming:

Liz and Jim are violently transformed from young lovers to kidnap and torture victims. During Boggs' first channeling session he taps into Liz's and Jim's terror as they lie bound and gagged in a deserted warehouse.

Objective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Becoming:

In this specific case, Mulder becomes a skeptic. He sets a trap for Boggs with the phony newspaper article to make him reveal his supposed accomplice in the kidnapping. According to Boggs the kidnapper's aim is to become a killer:

Boggs becomes a fortune teller when he predicts that Mulder will be wounded in front of a white cross.

Objective Story Journey #2 from Becoming to Conceiving:

Mulder is upset when Scully exhibits belief and trust in Boggs' psychic abilities. He admonishes her that she could have been killed by following Boggs' "clues" to the warehouse. More determined than ever to prove Boggs a fraud, Mulder comes up with the idea of the phony newspaper article to flush out Boggs' accomplice.

Objective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Conceiving:

Agent Thomas of the FBI comes up with the notion that Lucas Henry helped Boggs in five murders and may be controlled by Boggs now.

Objective Story Journey #3 from Conceiving to Conceptualizing:

In the decaying brewery, Lucas Henry envisions beheading Jim Summers with his hatchet. He works himself into a murderous rage as he yells, screams, and whacks a table with his hatchet.

Objective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Conceptualizing:

Lucas Henry envisions that beheading Jim Summers will ease his rage at witnessing his mother's death; Mulder envisions that Boggs, having failed to kill him, is trying to murder Scully by leading her into a trap with phony psychic information.

The Subjective Throughline Act Order:

Subjective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Understanding:

Scully doesn't understand the implications of seeing her dead father's face on Boggs, the killer psychic. She staggers against a wall and runs out past Mulder. Boggs understands Scully's need to get her father's final message.

Subjective Story Journey #1 from Understanding to Doing:

Scully, still upset from her experience of seeing her father in Boggs' prison cell, notices the neon waterfall and the stone angel mentioned in Boggs' channeling session. She finds the warehouse and investigates it without any backup, totally driven by her need to find the kidnapping victims, and perhaps to verify Boggs' abilities and ease her own mind about her visions.

Subjective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Doing:

Boggs starts to execute his plan to pressure Scully to act on her belief in him. He thwarts Mulder's trap by calling him on his cel phone instead of calling a supposed accomplice, and declares in front of the agents that Scully believes him.

Subjective Story Journey #2 from Doing to Obtaining:

Scully threatens Boggs when she thinks he set Mulder up to be shot, and declares that she does not believe in Boggs. However, she desperately needs Boggs to channel her father's last message. Almost in tears she asks Boggs for what she wants:

Subjective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Obtaining:

Boggs presses Scully to bargain for his freedom from execution. He wants Scully to confess that she does believe in him, and when she says she doesn't, he offers her an ultimatum: She can't talk to her father until Boggs gets his deal.

Subjective Story Journey #3 from Obtaining to Learning:

Scully loses her chance to hear her father's message she when challenges Boggs, and is blackmailed into bargaining for him. She learns, with much distress, that Boggs can't be forced to cooperate. Later, Boggs learns that he can't bargain his way out of dying tomorrow.

Subjective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Learning:

Boggs learns that Scully tried and failed to get him a deal that would save his life; Scully learns from the fact that Boggs' warning saved her life, he couldn't have been in league with the kidnapper or Henry would have also known of the danger of the blue devil.

The Main Character Throughline Act Order:

Main Character Signpost #1 as it relates to The Past:

Scully's unhappy that her father disapproved of her choice to join the FBI and not practice medicine; as passionate as she is about her work she reverts to acting like shy child when he asks how her job is going. When her parents leave, her last words to her father are:

Main Character Journey #1 from The Past to Progress:

It's established that Scully was hurt by her father's disapproval of her choice to join the FBI. Now facing his death and the lost chance to ever get the approval she so badly wanted, Scully approaches her mother at the funeral.

Main Character Signpost #2 as it relates to Progress:

At first Scully feels her visions of her father are caused by grief, but things get more complicated when she starts to believe in Boggs. Mulder insists that she's put herself in danger by trusting Boggs' information, tells her her judgment is impaired, and suggests she back away from the case; Boggs ruins her credibility when he insists in front of the FBI agents that she believes him, not Mulder; Scully urges Mulder to deal with Boggs as time is running out for the two victims, and he's shot during a raid on the kidnapper's hideout.

Main Character Journey #2 from Progress to The Present:

Events are not going well for Scully and the situation gets worse when Mulder is shot and now she's afraid for her partner, alone, and angry. Now convinced that Boggs set Mulder up, Scully threatens to:

Main Character Signpost #3 as it relates to The Present:

Scully watches as doctors work on an unconscious Mulder, worried about him; she realizes that the kidnapper and Boggs are probably working together just as Mulder suspected, and she may have lead him into a trap; she threatens Boggs and he refuses to give authorities any more information on the case.

Main Character Journey #3 from The Present to The Future:

Scully successfully resolves the kidnapping case and her personal issue involving her father to the point where she doesn't feel the need to be at Boggs' execution to receive her message.

Main Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Future:

Scully decides that how she will think about her relationship with her father no longer depends upon getting a message through Boggs.

The Obstacle Character Throughline Act Order:

Obstacle Character Signpost #1 as it relates to Memory:

Boggs channels spirits that voice their recollections through him.

Obstacle Character Journey #1 from Memory to The Preconscious:

While channeling information concerning the missing teenagers, Boggs assumes the personalities of Liz and Jim, and even though he's miles away from them when they're being beaten, he flinches in reflex to their pain.

Obstacle Character Signpost #2 as it relates to The Preconscious:

While channeling for information about Jim's and Liz's location, Boggs is helpless to block their innate responses to their fear.

Obstacle Character Journey #2 from The Preconscious to The Subconscious:

Boggs' reflex is to save himself from another horrifying experience in the gas chamber. He explains to Scully just how deep his fear is:

Obstacle Character Signpost #3 as it relates to The Subconscious:

Desperate Boggs pressures Scully to get him a deal that will save him from the gas chamber.

Obstacle Character Journey #3 from The Subconscious to The Conscious:

Boggs is so driven by the fear of facing his murder victims in death that he blackmails Scully to make a deal in his behalf. But when that fails, Boggs contemplates his situation and decides give information that will save Jim Summers, and he warns Scully:

Obstacle Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Conscious:

Boggs considers that he failed getting his deal and he might as well save himself from greeting two more ghosts on his way to the gas chamber by giving information that will save Jim Summers and Dana Scully.

Miscellaneous Other Storytelling Items:

All Concerns:

Mulder and Scully want to save Jim and Liz from becoming murder victims, a concern that the two teens share; Lucas Henry wants to become a serial killer with the deaths of Jim and Liz. Boggs works to live beyond his scheduled execution date; young Jim and Liz struggle to live to fulfill future promise; Scully and Mulder work to assure the teens have a future; Scully tries to gather the strength to face a future without her father and carry on in spite of her self-doubts; Lucas Henry expects to kill, escape, and kill again. Boggs is terrified of dying and facing his self-created hell, and wants to obtain a reprieve from execution. Mulder wants to capture the kidnapper, prove that Boggs is a fake, and make sure that Boggs is executed.

Master Plot Synopsis:

Scully's parents are visiting at Christmas Time. After they leave, she falls asleep, then awakens to see her dad in the room. He appears to be saying something. The phone rings, and suddenly the appearance is gone. She answers the phone. Her mom tells her that Scully's father died of a heart attack an hour ago. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Elizabeth Hawley and James Summers are kidnapped. Death Row inmate Luther Lee Boggs claims to have information on the crime through psychic abilities, but Mulder is suspicious and thinks Boggs is coordinating the kidnappings from jail. Later, Scully hears "Beyond the Sea" while attending her father's funeral. Mulder and Scully visit Boggs. He wants his sentence reduced to life in prison if he helps Mulder find the victims. He describes where the boy is being held, then sings "Beyond the Sea." Scully momentarily sees her dad in Boggs' place. Mulder disbelieves Boggs, but by accident Scully finds the place Boggs described. James is not there, but some clues to the crime are found. Scully imagines seeing her father sitting in her hotel room. Mulder is upset she appears to believe Boggs. Later, Boggs describes a boathouse and warns Mulder not to go near the white cross. Agents sweep the docks and find Elizabeth, but Mulder gets shot below a "white cross" of a boat mast. Mulder is treated in the emergency room as Scully looks on. Elizabeth identifies her kidnapper -- Lucas Henry, an accomplice of Boggs. Scully accuses Boggs of setting Mulder up. Scully wants to talk to her father through Boggs, but he won't help until he gets a deal. Scully fails to swing a deal for Boggs. Mulder warns Scully that Boggs is manipulating her to get back at him for putting Boggs on death row. Boggs gives Scully hints on where to find James even though she was unable to get a deal. He warns her not to follow Henry. Scully and fellow agents rescue James in a deserted brewery. She chases Henry who runs onto rotten floorboards and falls several stories to his death. Scully visits Boggs to more or less thank him. He tells her that he'll give her father's message just before he's executed, if she'll attend as his witness. That night, he is executed. Scully is not there.

(Wrapped in Plastic, p. 16)

Master Theme Synopsis:

The choices you make in life have consequences. Liz and Jim's decision to park in a deserted lovers' lane costs them the harrowing experience of becoming kidnap victims. Boggs faces the consequences of facing the ghosts of his murder victims as he's prepared to pay for his crimes. Scully's decision to go her own way costs her the disapproval of her father whose support she needed more than she had realized. Mulder's choice not to heed Boggs' warning costs him getting wounded.

Subjective Character Synopsis:

Boggs can give Scully something she wants, her father's final message. Boggs needs Scully to secure a deal that will save his life. Scully's at her most vulnerable, totally confused about what to believe in and who to believe. Boggs uses her emotional distress and professional mission to pressure her to relieve his fear of dying among the ghosts of his murder victims. For both Scully and Boggs stakes are high; they need each other, yet the degree of doubt and distrust they have for each other causes a great struggle between them.

Master Character Synopsis:

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are FBI agents and partners whose devotion to their job is developing into a deep personal commitment to each other. Lucas Henry's bizarre idea of celebrating the anniversary of his mother's death sets off the search for two innocent teenagers before he can murder them. Henry's record indicates that he may have been Boggs' accomplice in five previous murders. This connection convinces authorities that Boggs is controlling Henry in the latest kidnappings. Boggs' fear of dying and his newly acquired talents complicate the case when Mulder turns skeptic as his psychological profile sent Boggs to the gas chamber the first time. Boggs' causes a grieve-stricken Scully to become a believer in the paranormal, if only temporarily. Jim Summer and Liz Hawley's kidnapping spark an intense manhunt and a race against time.