THE X-FILES RECAPS: 1x12 - BEYOND THE SEA
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1x12: BEYOND THE SEA

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We smash-cut to a hospital emergency room. Mulder is being wheeled in on a gurney while Scully, who's clearly holding it together by a thread at this point, watches on helplessly. She shuts her eyes and listens to the frenzy of the hospital as the camera zooms in on her face. She looks smudged and tired, but still adorable.

Mugshots of various criminals are passing over the screen. We hear, "no… no… no" and then we see College Girl being shown these photos by Random Federal Agent #1, and when she finally sees him, she simply closes her eyes all dramatically. And since she's been so poorly lit up until this point, I've just noticed how remarkably similar to Rosario Dawson she looks. Cool. Anyway, the RFA#1 hands the photo she identified to Scully, who looks at it. It's Lucas Jackson Henry, and he's my age, which is depressing. See? With the three names? All bad guys have 'em. Anyway, there seems to have been this car crash 7 years ago, RFA#2 explains, at which time his high school sweetheart and mother were both killed. Oh, and he watched it happen. No wonder he's messed up. He's reliving this accident. And the anniversary is three days away. What a koink-i-dink! Now, here's the kicker. Henry and Boggs were in prison together back in the dizzay, and local PD believes that Boggs had a partner before the last time he was arrested, and that partner was Henry. Scully's all, "Dammit. Mulder's right. Again. Do I ever get to be right?" The answer is, of course, no. Sorry, hon.

Now she's pissed. She walks right into Boggs' jail cell and just kicks his ass. Verbally, anyway. I'm just going to write the whole thing out because she's awesome, and it's awesome, and then we'll discuss: "You set us up. You're in on this with Lucas Henry. This was a trap for Mulder because he helped put you away. Well, I came here to tell you that if he dies because of what you've done, four days from now, nobody will stop me from being the one that'll throw the switch and gas you out of this life for good, you son of a bitch!" Yea! A million viewers pump their fists, and Chris Carter smiles smugly at the Network Brass who doubted that Gillian could carry this role. Yes. Meanwhile, Boggs just looks at her like, "who's this crazy lady who just flipped out in my cell?" When she's done, we hear "Dayna" in Boggs' southern drawl, but when she turns around, it's Mulder in that jumpsuit, saying, "You're the one that believed me," like he's mocking her. She covers her ears with her hands (much like I was doing earlier today when I had to listen to her get raped in Straightheads, which was, let me tell you, NOT FUN.) and shouts, "No, I do not believe you!" She pauses a sec, then opens her eyes again. Boggs is back, telling her that maybe she'll believe herself. Then he launches into this monologue from the point of view of a teenager, presumably Scully herself, and how she stole a cigarette from her mom's purse and snuck outside to smoke it and how rebellious she felt. Ah, the Rebel!Scully streak rears its head for the first time.

Anyway, she recognizes the story and practically starts crying. Partly because this is, y'know, shaking her belief system down to the core, and partially because it's creepy watching your memory coming out of a serial killer. She rationalizes, "That could be a moment from any kid's life." Not mine. My parents never smoked. But, I get what she's trying to say. But then she caves. See, she misses her father so much that she's willing to go through a murderer to get to him. She'll believe Boggs, she claims, if he lets her talk to her father. And her voice breaks again here and she's just heartbreakingly good. Go, Gillian. Boggs agrees, closing his eyes and exhaling. He opens them again and says, "Starbuck" and wow, he's doing this face where he actually kind of looks like the actor who plays her father. That's mad skillz. But then Boggs fights back. His face gets all red and he's like, "No! Nobody talks to anybody until I get a deal!" He's too scared to go back to the electric chair. He won't say another word until he's promised that he won't have to, "I know my hell is going to be to go back to that chair over and over again for all of time, but in this life – my one and only life – I don't ever want to go back again – ever!" Okay, sheesh. God. You don't have to yell.

Then, we flashback. He voiceovers to Scully about the last time he was in the chair. After his last meal, he was strapped into the chair and saw all the souls of all the people he's killed, "and their fear and their horror that I made them feel when I killed them was injected into me, and their collective fear alone was this gnawing taste of hell." The souls rush at his body and then he got a stay of execution and has been psychic ever since. Basically. Although it's told more eloquently than that, I'm tired. He's scared of that "cold, dark place" that is death, and tells her that Mulder's looking in on it right now. Scully's all, "Um, no he's not. He's not going to die for at least another year. And then not again for two more years. And then he'll be dead for a while, but he'll be okay because he's really only mostly dead." Oh, and it's not a cold place for her father, either, cuz he's in Heaven, ya'll. Suck it. Either way, Boggs ain't talkin' without a deal. So, she can do whatever she needs to do to get him one, because whether he's in cahoots with Henry or channeling him, "no information's comin' 'til I get a deal." He's got nothing to lose, after all. Scully, who's clearly had just about enough of this channel, implores a guard to let her out of the cell. But not before Boggs reminds her that she needs him to save College Boy. Great.

So, Scully heads over to the warden's office and he tells her, basically, that boy's screwed because Boggs is going to fry in two days. Then, she goes to the hospital to visit Mulder, who seems to be doing okay, if a little sweaty. He still believes that Boggs is playing her, though, and tells her not to deal with him. She seems to take this into consideration, then promptly ignores his advice. Back at the prison (boy, our Scully's a busy little bee today), she tells Boggs that he got his deal and he thanks her. Then he channels the boy and after a lot of shaking and sweating, tells her that the boy is being held in a condemned brewery "out by Morrisville." Oh, that condemned brewery. The Blue Devil Brewery, to be precise. Scully writes down the information, then gets this sour look on her face, "Luther, if you really were psychic…" she starts. "I'd'a known you lied," he finishes. He knew she didn't get the deal, but told her because she tried and she believes him and apparently that's what matters, even though he's still going to Hell tomorrow. As she walks out, Boggs tells her to avoid the devil, "Don't follow him into the devil. Leave that to me."

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