3x04 "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"

[wendelah1]

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY DANA SCULLY!

As chosen by the Scully Fest members, our final episode is "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," one of my favorites. Though it begins with a murder and ends with a suicide, it doesn't leave the viewer feeling hopeless. The story is a perfect mixture of light and dark, with the bleakness of a serial murder investigation interlaced with black humor. The script won an Emmy for Darin Morgan. In the span of 44 minutes, Peter Boyle creates an unforgettable character, winning an Emmy for his performance.



Writer/s: Darin Morgan
Director: David Nutter
Originally aired: October 13, 1995 (in the US) – 6th March 1996 (in Australia)

Synopsis: In the course of the FBI's investigation into the serial killings of psychics, Mulder and Scully meet Clyde Bruckman, a psychic whose only ability is to predict when people will die. (What does he do for a living? He sells life insurance.) He will eventually help lead the FBI to the killer.

Most Memorable Quote: How do I choose just one? The entire episode is quotable. This dialogue inspired some of the fandom's best fanfiction.
SCULLY: So, Ahab mistakes the prophecy and as a result, dies. A similar fate happens to MacBeth.
CLYDE BRUCKMAN: Still, you're not the least bit curious?
(There is a knock on the door.)
SCULLY: That must be Mulder. Time for the midnight shift.
(She puts her cards down and stands up. She goes towards the door, but then walks back up to Bruckman.)
All right. So how do I die?
CLYDE BRUCKMAN: You don't.

Links:
Episode transcript.
Not Just a Fluke: How Darin Morgan Saved The X-Files Jonathan Kirby, Pop Matters.
The Immortal Agent Scully Josh Daniel, Slate.
Autumn Tysko's review.
Sarah Stegall's review.

Fanfiction: These are all takes on the Scully is immortal trope. They are all different, all brilliant, and all very dark. That's a warning. If these look familiar, it's because they're all cribbed from the "Tithonus" post.
Fata Morgana by Julie Fortune. Another take on how Scully becomes immortal.
How a Resurrection Really Feels by idella. Summary: Experimental living.
Fathoms Five by penumbra23. Summary: Never is a very long time.

From the spoilers section at Gossamer, I can recommend "Monotone" by Pacquin. She calls it an homage to the Mulder/Scully first time genre. It made me laugh, though it has nothing to do with the episode as far as I can tell.

Comments

[tree]

i love everything about this episode except for the very end. scully would so not throw a phone at her tv.

clyde bruckman just looks so happy when he says, "you don't." d'aawwwww. also, mulder and scully's card is 'the lovers'. darin morgan, you tease.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Good catch on the card! And you're probably right about the phone, though it never bothered me. What DID bother me was the last line in WOTC. Just had a bad smell to it.

[wendelah1]

You mean this?

Or perhaps that step forward has already been achieved on another planet by organisms that had a billion years head start on us. If these beings ever visited us, would we recognize what we were seeing? And upon catching sight of us, would they react in anything but horror at seeing such mindless, primitive, hideous creatures?

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

No! I mean what Mulder says to Scully. I don't pay attention to the philosophical stuff.

[wendelah1]

Well excuse me for not being able to read your mind. You said "the last line," did you not?

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Yep, ya got me. But I didn't have time to rewatch. I just finished Theef and Clyde this afternoon. I'm loving this, but it's interfering with my wallpaper search.

I don't know how you manage. Honest.

[tree]

she is secretly a superhero.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

An open secret, if you ask me.

[wendelah1]

"The Lovers symbolizes not only physical love but life-long platonic friendships and lasting bonds that suggest another kind of commitment has been made."

An Introduction to Tarot by Cassandra Bee.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

That totally nails it.

[wendelah1]

I know! This explains so much! No wonder different viewers can look at them and see whatever they want to see. It's all right there!

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

It also supports a rather old-fashioned theory of mine: the chemistry between M&S wouldn't have caught sexual fire in the way that it did (for audiences, including moi but not tu) if the romance had rushed right in to respond to demand. We get a chance to know and appreciate the characters; therefore, their relationship takes on power.

I am aware that this resembles mommy/daughter advice, but I'm not a big believer in love at first sight. Nor--recalling the conversation in the restroom--is Scully.