|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Almost two seasons have gone by since Dana Scully's abduction. Only a few episodes during the third and fourth seasons have mentioned it. Yet, none of them has brought about the impact of what her abduction has done to Scully's physical well-being. "Leonard Betts" begins that frightening journey for our heroine.
The opening teaser was action-packed from the start. As an ambulance is speeding to the hospital, a truck plows into them from a sidestreet and kills both the patient and beheads the bald EMT administering medical aid. After this lovely gorefest, the bodies are taken to the local morgue, where a young morgue employee hears strange noises coming from one of the metal coffins! He investigates but gets knocked out while the camera pans towards a metal reflection that appears to be headless. Just from these few minutes, we already know that there is more to Leonard Betts than meets the eye.
Mulder and Scully are brought in to investigate. Scully suspects that someone stole Betts' head and body for some purpose even though the inside door of his metal coffin has bloody fingerprints dripping from it. A funny scene ensues when Scully is digging around a large hospital diposal unit full of various body parts and asks for Mulder's help because of his longer arms. He gives her a look of pure disgust and nausea. They find Betts' head even though Mulder looked very close to losing his lunch.
An interesting aspect of the episode is that the duo is working to find a dead man. Even Scully is at a loss for how Betts seems to be able to show up even after decapitation. It does sound like a typical "monster-of-the-week" episode. However, they are going about the case from the wrong perspective. We find out later that Betts is not any normal human being. A very graphic scene shows that he can duplicate himself every time some part of his body becomes injured or dies. In essence, Leonard Betts is cancer personified. As Mulder puts it, "He is cancer."
This is very critical, because it makes the last few scenes much more important in the X-Files mythology. Mulder and Scully know that Betts has a knack for "reproducing" himself as they exhume a body from his earlier identity and find a match. ("Will the real Leonard Betts stand up?" Mulder deadpans.) He knows that Betts feeds off cancerous tumors for maintaining his unique metabolism. He is shown killing someone with lung cancer prior to duplicating himself.
So the final scene with Scully and Betts brings her entire abduction arc to full perspective. Up to this point, both Mulder and Scully were concerned that other innocent lives would be taken. So it is only suitable that Scully ends up fighting Betts alone. The moment he tells her "...you have something I need" is when the realization of her own mortality slams full force. Her face captures all of her feelings (panic, awareness, denial and determination) in just a few seconds without one word being spoken. It is at that moment that Dana Scully decides that she is fighting for her life both figuratively and literally.
Her physical fight with Betts symbolizes the mental and emotional one she will later have to undergo. Cancer is persistent and only the very strong seem to survive. Thus, when it seems as though Betts may get what he craves, Scully uses her medical training with a pair of cardiac paddles to defeat him. It is this same medical training, which allows her to forgo any panic until she gets all the facts.
When Mulder tells her later that Betts did diagnose cancer in another victim, it is painfully evident in Scully's face that she has it as well. Without uttering a word, a dark cloud instantly falls over Scully, and she knows that she only has to medically confirm what Betts told her: cancer. Mulder does not realize the overall significance of her battle with Betts but vocally praises her efforts, which is a nice thing to see. Even though Mulder misinterprets Scully's emotions, he tries to console her anyway.
When Scully wakes up in the middle of the night, she notices blood on her pillow, her blood. She discovers this alone without calling Mulder or her mom, the two people closest to her. Again, she shows panic and determination in her face. The battle lines have been drawn, and Scully has to find out all the facts for her to fully face the inevitable.
Gillian Anderson was rock solid for an episode that did not immediately focus on Scully but would prove to be a turning point in her life and for the series. Her display of mixed emotions has made the character seem so believeable. In fact, I heard that Fox was getting tons of inquiries concerning Anderson's status with the show. The cancer arc frightened many fans in thinking that she quit or was fired. That shows the immense talent Anderson has to make us care deeply for Dana Scully's well-being rather than just being a fictional character on a popular TV show.
Only the X-Files would make a premise about the paranormal turn into something very human: cancer. Just that word alone brings up images of despair and anxiety among us. To have it affect a major character on the show only makes the realization that much worse. Like Mulder, we *need* to know that she will be alright. However, just like anyone with a terminal disease, Scully has to take the journey alone. We can only hope it's not a short one.
This episode was written by Frank Spotnitz, John Shiban and Vince Gilligan. As most X-Philes know, Gilligan is notorious for strong Scully characterizations while Spotnitz and Shiban love action episodes. It would make sense that "Leonard Betts" has both elements in full force. The combination makes an excellent episode become a classic one.
Please use the "Back" Button on your Browser.
HTML Page Design & Copyright © XFManic, 1999