6x09 Tithonus

[wendelah1]

Thematically speaking, the sixth season episode "Tithonus" picks up where "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" leaves off. As you may recall, when Scully asks Clyde Bruckman, the man who can foretell everyone's death, how she dies, he replies "You don't."


Writer: Vince Gilligan
Director: Michael W. Watkins
Originally aired: January 24, 1999

Synopsis: The X-Files are still in Agent Spender's less-than-capable hands. Agent Scully gets a reprieve from Mulder and routine background checks to go to New York and work with Agent Peyton Ritter because Alvin Kersh still thinks her career can be salvaged. Ritter is investigating Alfred Fellig for murder because the photographer shows up at the crime scenes even before the police get there. You have to admit that does seem suspicious.

Most Memorable Quote:
SCULLY: You know, most people want to live forever.
FELLIG: Most people are idiots. Which is one of the reasons I don't.
SCULLY: I think you're wrong. How can you have too much life? There's too much to learn, to experience.
FELLIG: 75 years... is enough. Take my word for it. You live forever, sooner or later you start to think about the big thing you're missing and that everybody else gets to find out about but you.

Links:
Review by Paula Graves
Review by Autumn Tysko
The A.V. Club review by Zack Handlen

Fanfiction: All excellent, all extremely disturbing. YES. THIS IS A WARNING. In order of appearance, these are all vividly conceived stories about immortality and its cost.
Fata Morgana by juliefortune
How a Resurrection Really Feels by idella
Fathoms Five by penumbra23

Comments

[tree]

fun facts about this episode. richard ruccio, who plays peyton ritter, starred in the sitcom 'two guys, a girl and a pizza place' with ryan reynolds, who was an XF guest star in 'syzygy'; 'two guys and a girl' also featured nathan fillion (who was in 'firefly' with another XF guest star, jewel staite), who now stars in 'castle' where they make quite a few XF references.

[idella]

I finally recognised buddy from TG&aG about halfway through! Then I felt better about that & had more brain-space for being disturbed about everything else. Yay?

The guy who played Fellig was really good. Gillian Anderson was really good.

I'm going to go change my vote for the 23rd to the happiest Scully episode that has a chance of winning.

[wendelah1]

I'm going to go change my vote for the 23rd to the happiest Scully episode that has a chance of winning.

Didn't you already vote for that? EC nominated "Clyde Bruckman." Although I don't think of it as a Scully-centric episode, at least nothing terrible happens to her in it.

The guy that played Fellig was good. They have a great casting director. Gillian Anderson was, as always, excellent.

[idella]

Yeah, I had voted for "Clyde Bruckman" so I just left my vote as it was.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

I find XF references everywhere, even after so many years. Just bumped into one in Haven, which is a bit underappreciated. It's also a "daughter of X," like Fringe, except less tense. I'm also not crazy about the star.

[discordantwords.livejournal.com]

I love Tithonus. I probably count it as one of my top 10 favorites.

The lighting is really pretty, particularly the scene where Scully waits on the street outside of Fellig's apartment half in sunlight and half in shadow. That shot was always particularly striking to me-- it looks like it could have come from a noir movie. (http://xfphotos.fredfarm.com/season6/tithonus/cap148.jpg)

I love the interaction between Mulder and Scully throughout. His jealousy over her getting a juicy case (and fear of her possibly moving on for good) manifesting as he pesters her by phone. The continued arc of Scully being far more open to paranormal possibilities when not in Mulder's presence.

The whole episode is bleak and beautiful, and it hits all of my buttons. Fellig's misery and utter disregard for human life, contrasted against Scully's hopefulness and relative optimism.

And Mulder's "you're a lucky man" line at the end. The threat cased in those words. Wow.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Aarrgghhhh! Curse Real Life and work related obligations. I'm so behind on EVERYTHING!!! I missed the Redux and Xmas Carol rewatches and I had plenty of things to say about those *wails*. Gonna try very hard not to fall asleep head first on the sofa tonight - watch the ep and try to make half sentient comments.

[badforthefish.livejournal.com]

Half Awake Fish Presents: Tithonus: A Musing of Teh Randomness.

1) I'd forgotten what a scary intro this ep had.

2) Oh yeah, also forgot M&S had been relegated to the bullpen. Manure i.e. piles of of.

3) "Just you?" AWWWW, betrayed puppy.

4) "Don't forget your toilet brush!" Lower lip Fixation. Can't be helped. *hangs head*

5) Check out the sexy Scully pic on her profile er...file.

6) These were the days of tailored Armani suits, gone were the days of the loose fitted beige CAF (Crime Against Fashion). *contented sigh of bliss*

7) Peyton Place...ahem, Ritter! He's so green!

8) "That's quite a theory." REMIND YOU OF SOMEONE, SUNSHINE???

9) Kersh to English Babelfish: "Agent Scully you threw your career down the drain because of your crackpot partner."

10) Scully's Face to English Babelfish: "Fuck you."

11) Kersh to English Babelfish: "Dump the loser or die."

12) "They're splitting us up." *WAILS* NOOOOOO! Damn you Kersh!

13) Go ahead Fox, laugh at the guy named Peyton.

14) I always thought the elevator victim looked like Tea Leoni on the shot Fellig shows Scully.

15) Fellig is such a great character. He gives the words "world weary" a whole meaning.

16) I never quite got why Scully became so emotional when she tells him "You know I don't believe you." Why is she on the verge of tears all of a sudden?

17) That shot of black and white Scully in front of the paint tins was in one of the XF calendar and is one of my Fave XF Pic of All Time.

18) "What about love?" I find it both joyful and heartbreaking that Scully would ask such a question after everything she's been through.

I wish I had time to say more, but anyway, this is one of my fave ep, and Scully's "death" is one of the most striking scene I have ever seen on screen. I am in awe how Anderson played it. You can see the light vanishing from Scully's eyes, which always made me wonder what kind of place did Anderson summoned this from. It creeped the Bejebus outa me.

And we all know the "quickest recovery" line was only Vince messing with our heads. Right?

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

16) I think it's because she actually does believe him and because of how much that jars her internal framework.

18) this.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

I like the list format.

1) short haircut Mulder!

2) I like how Scully nonchalantly clicks Mulder's screen away from the case photos before Ritter walks over.

3) Ritter keeps calling her Dana. ew.

4) I like Mulder's dialogue here. He's funny and relaxed (at least for Mulder). Now I may go re-read Basketball Therapy yet again :)

5) What happened to having 2 agents on a stakeout? And then, Scully confronts Fellig on her own? And then takes a ride with him? Agh. Not only is Scully more open to extreme possibilities when she's not with Mulder, but she seems to be open to taking Mulder-like risks too. If Mulder did what she does, she would definitely chastise him!

6) I have read, loved, and admired all three fics mentioned. But, true confession, I need balance between disturbing and less disturbing fic. Speechless by Anjou (I sort of assume it's well-known, but it is post-tithonus and ignores the immortality aspect but does not ignore the recovery time needed for being shot) was one of the first fic I ever read and I am fond of it. I don't know if it is considered schmoopy, but fair warning. (and, i know, it's part of an unfinished series; at gossamer. funny thing is, for a while, i didn't know about the others in the series, so i was overjoyed to find them, even if it still ended up being unfinished.)

[wendelah1]

Like everything she's done, "Speechless" is line by line, very well-written, and I'm fond of it too. But the overall concept needed work. I liked that the story doesn't ignore the time required to recuperate from a gunshot wound, but I also think the basic plot strains credibility. I don't think a field agent would be cleared for anything but desk duty until she could, say, tie and untie her own shoes!

I noticed the lack of two agents on the stake-out too. 1013 is inconsistent. And yes, these are definitely Mulder-ish type risks, not the sort of thing Scully would go for at all. The ride-along was particularly disturbing.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Wow, great fanfic. I haven't read the idella, but assume it's good, and Fata Morgana is a total chiller. But my rewatch discovery is that I see so clearly the connection between Tithonus and Fathoms Five. The one leads directly to the other: Scully is now immortal, and it is the thing she dreaded. Sorry if I'm spoiling someone, but you should READ IT ANYHOW. FF is one of our authentic classics.

The episode maintains an eerie and dreamlike feeling, saturated with an emotion somewhere between wonder and despair. The dark photography is fine (although I can't forget my husband commenting during the teaser, "why doesn't someone turn the damn lights on?") Geoffrey Lewis is great, a real go-to character actor. Hard to believe he fathered ditsy Juliette.

Mulder was endearing in this (jealous!) but he seemed almost too relaxed and jocular to support the theme. Maybe they thought we needed comic relief.

[wendelah1]

I haven't read the idella, but assume it's good, and Fata Morgana is a total chiller. But my rewatch discovery is that I see so clearly the connection between Tithonus and Fathoms Five. The one leads directly to the other: Scully is now immortal, and it is the thing she dreaded. Sorry if I'm spoiling someone, but you should READ IT ANYHOW. FF is one of our authentic classics.

Yes, you have already read this: How a Resurrection Really Feels. We discussed all three at book club at various times, too. I am sure the connection to "Tithonus" must have come up. You must have forgotten it until now.

I'm not sure I see Scully dreading immortality here, not in her arguments with Fellig anyway. Maybe what you're saying is that she should? But that's not present here in canon. And at the end she actually rejects the idea that Fellig was immortal--after all he's now dead.

Mulder was endearing in this (jealous!) but he seemed almost too relaxed and jocular to support the theme. Maybe they thought we needed comic relief.

You should go reread Basketball Therapy with the book club. Kel covers this.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

The humiliation of a bad memory never ends. Apologies to idella. (Did I like it?)

Don't you see a fear/repulsion in Anderson's acting that isn't in the dialogue? I do. But maybe I'm projecting.

Basketball Therapy sounds like the right therapy about now.

[maidenjedi]

I so love this episode. It's excellent from moment one.

First, totally love season six Scully hair. That out of the way....

I can see Scully as an A.D. in the scene where Peyton Ritter is trying to sell the case to her.

James Pickens is so much better on this show than Grey's. Just saying.

"Agent Mulder is a lost cause." Wooboy.

I wonder that it doesn't occur to Fellig that taking pictures might actually prevent him from looking Death in the eye.

"So they're splitting us up?" Aww, woobie. :-(

Ritter is so damn cocky and green. It kind of kills me. And I suddenly want a lot of Ritter/Jeff Spender fic.

Seriously, all you can think is "this guy's always been a geezer?"

I wonder if Scully thinks about Tooms at all when this is starting out.

"I thought we were looking for the truth." Boom.

Two agents on stakeout, dang it. TWO. That bugs me so much.

Scully going with Fellig....dude. Dude. She is so entirely trusting sometimes. But it's also interesting that he decides to trust her. I assume he's never told anyone what it is he can do and why. So why Scully, why now?

Ritter's being used by Kersh and he so doesn't see it.

I love the reminder of the non-digital age we get when Mulder has to dig through the archives.

Ritter is a lucky man. Mulder wouldn't have been coherent, much less restrained.