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Let's first start with the one quality that Scully has shown time and time again: her immense loyalty to Mulder. As early as the Season 1 episode, "Squeeze," Scully has stood by Mulder much to the chagrin of her superiors. She has shown with many of the victims that she has helped throughout the years that she is willing to fight for their cause. So fighting for Mulder's right to fairness by their superiors is just an inherent side of her. Scully has been able to "get away with it" so to speak because her own reputation is beyond reproach. Though some may question her loyalty towards Mulder particularly when she doesn't believe many of his theories herself, it is a highly admirable quality that endears her to fellow agents who may secretly respect Mulder's talents for solving cases . Many of her contemporaries are very aware that Scully did not ask to be initially assigned to Mulder, so her professionalism is already fully displayed. She has also shown her intelligence and competence both in the field as well as in the examining room of many county or city morgues. Thus, she has more than proven to many within the Bureau that she has not made any fatal mistakes staying with Mulder and the X-Files.
Subsequently, Scully and the F.B.I. make a perfect fit. She revealed to Mulder in the feature film how their work on the X-Files held her interest and had an appeal beyond just being a medical doctor. Scully feels as though she can make a difference particularly for victims she has helped. Scully likes to follow rules and regulations because it is an ordered system that she can understand like science. Though Mulder's beliefs are not her own, she uses the strength of his beliefs as a focus for her own. But there is a certain dichotomy involved in this dedication she holds for her position within the F.B.I. She obviously respects authority but has proven that she can rebel against it as well. She suggests to Mulder to follow protocol, but even she realizes that following protocol sometimes doesn't make sense in all situations.
One aspect that Scully exhudes on a daily basis that Mulder definitely appreciates is that she shows her toughness through her obvious feminine attributes without anyone in the Bureau questioning her sexuality. When Scully seems to be up against the world, she fights back. Assistant Director Skinner, who has been the target of many of her angry rebuttals, can definitely attest to that. And Scully is definitely not afraid to use her gun. Skinner can attest to that, too. She had no problem pointing her gun at him in Mulder's apartment in the Season 3 episode, "The Blessing Way." Another example of this was in the Season 4 episode, "Home." Even through all the horror involved with the Peacock family, she did not hesitate to unload her entire gun's magazine at her attackers. In fact, she has probably fired her weapon more than Mulder.
Though Scully's inner strength is unmatched even by Mulder, she does harbor a deep-seated insecurity regarding her own capabilities and her value to Mulder. She absolutely fears showing any outward weakness. Thus, her famous standard "I'm fine, Mulder" response can be found in about 90% of the episodes and ranks up there with Star Trek's "He's dead, Jim." It is very rare that Scully ever actually reveals her emotions, particularly to Mulder. The Season 6 episode, "One Son," has Mulder affirming that: "No. Actually, you hide your feelings very well." Scully needs approval from others and is constantly seeking this approval from Mulder. In the feature film, notice how she does not reply to Mulder's emotional plea for her to stay rather than resign from the Bureau. She is swept up in emotion herself that the one person, whose opinion means more to her than any other, would reveal so much of himself to her. All Scully ever wanted from Mulder was for him to show her importance to him, and she got more than she bargained for.
Another aspect of Scully that is lightly touched on in the series is her sexuality. She is unconventionally beautiful meaning that she is not tall, big chested, long legged or stick thin, but believe me, men notice! Her ignorance at her own sex appeal can be attributed to the fact that she has chosen two traditionally male-dominated fields as a career: medicine and law enforcement. Also, she grew up with two brothers, which attributes to her toughness, and did her best to be accepted by her father, a Naval officer. So it isn't too difficult to understand why Scully downplays her beauty. It certainly hasn't hindered her career within the Bureau. However, her personal life is another matter.
Scully is not shown very often attracted to the opposite sex, but when she is attracted to someone, her choices are rather strange. The very first episode where Scully is with a man outside of a case was in Season 1's "Jersey Devil." She was actually on a date! The guy was rather ordinary and a single Dad, which might have put off Scully with her busy schedule. The next time she is shown with someone on a date was in Season 4's "Never Again." Ed Jerse had many qualities that can attract any woman. He was handsome, charming and had a definite dark side that would later jeopardize Scully's life. One has to wonder if she actually was attracted to Jerse or if she was reacting to Mulder's inconsiderate attitude towards her at the time. Small wonder that it took four years for her to do that.
In Season 5's "Bad Blood," Scully shows an obvious interest in the local law enforcement in Cheney, Texas. Even Mulder noticed her hormones appear to be in flux when the handsome, young sheriff strolled into the room. Unfortunately, he turned out to be a vampire. Not much of a bright future in store for that kind of relationship. Most recently, in the Season 6 episode, "Milagro," Scully again shows an interest in another dark, brooding male, Phillip Padgett, a writer (!). The only problem is that he is a major suspect in the case that Mulder and her are investigating. There is no doubt that he shows more than a passing interest in her since he moved to the apartment next to Mulder's just so he can be close to her. Then, there is the puppy love crush of the late Agent Pendrall, who took a bullet intended for her.
But none of these come close to her on-again/off-again sparring with Mulder. As stated before, Scully is constantly seeking approval from Mulder. And recent episodes since the feature film have proven that she has thought of a romantic relationship with the man she truly loves (as noted in "Milagro"), but she gives mixed signals. The irony of her mental toughness and inner strength is that she constantly alienates Mulder. He obviously trusts her like no other, but he is wary of her Jeckyl/Hyde persona when it comes to her emotions. Mulder was definitely risking everything when he revealed so much to her in the feature film, and one wonders what Scully's response would have been if she had not been stung. But the neverending story is that Scully is afraid to reveal her true feelings to Mulder, because she is still not sure how she feels about him. Scully does not yet truly believe that there is "something" between them and does not want to take the chance to be wrong. For someone who constantly needs boundaries to know what her limits are, love shows no boundaries for her. Thus, she is in a limbo state when it comes to affairs of the heart and Mulder.
This falls very much into one word that fits the contradictary attitudes of Scully: dichotomy. Think about it. She is a student of science but wears a cross signifying her Roman Catholic background and faith. She is tough on the outside and vulnerable on the inside. She is a non-aggressive type but can be very aggressive. She is a skeptic on all things paranormal, but she believes in religion, the most paranormal phenomenon of all. She follows the rules but rebels against it. She is loyal to Mulder and the X-Files but constantly tries to disprove everything Mulder and the X-Files stand for.
So why does Scully act the way she does? With her upbringing and her demeanor, Scully is very much the person she is because of her commitment to what she believes in. Whether that would be science, the strength of Mulder's beliefs or Mulder, himself, Scully shows that she will do what she must to ensure that those beliefs are upheld. This alone makes Scully one of the best female role models on television today.
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Thanks for the help, Meem!
