Beyond the Sea (The X-Files)
"Beyond the Sea" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on January 7, 1994.
The episode is a "Monster of Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although it deepens the characterization of Scully through the introduction of her parents.
Despite a mediocre Nielsen rating compared to other episodes of the first season, "Beyond the Sea" received a largely positive reception amongst critics.
The show centers on FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.
The plot of the episode sees Scully's father die and her skepticism put to the test by Luther Lee Boggs, a prisoner on death row who claims to have psychic powers.
The episode showed the protagonists reversing their usual roles of "believer" and "skeptic" for the first time and introduced the theme of father figures that would continue throughout the series.
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) entertains her parents, William (Don Davis) and Margaret (Sheila Larken), shortly after Christmas.
However, Scully looks back at Boggs and sees another vision of her father, speaking to her and singing the song that had been played at his funeral: "Beyond the Sea".
Scully does not tell Mulder about this, and the pair discuss the possibility that Boggs has orchestrated the kidnapping with a partner to avoid execution.
Mulder and Scully have a fake newspaper produced which declares the couple have been found, hoping to trick Boggs into contacting his accomplice.
Scully chases the kidnapper as he flees but stops in her tracks when he runs along a gantry beneath the brewery's logo—a leering blue devil.
[1] As Morgan and Wong explained, their episode was written in response to criticisms of the show's initially limited characterization of Scully.
Wong said, "Gillian Anderson needed to show off her talents more, and this was a perfect opportunity to dispel those notions that Scully will never believe.
"[2] Don Davis was cast as Scully's father, making him one of several X-Files guest stars to have previously appeared on the ABC mystery serial drama television series Twin Peaks.
Morgan and Wong fought hard to have veteran film actor Brad Dourif play the role of Luther Lee Boggs against concerns about the cost of hiring him.
X-Files creator Chris Carter called the president of Twentieth Century Fox, Peter Roth, during Thanksgiving dinner and convinced him to let them cast Dourif for the part.
[15] In contrast, Mulder's relationship with his parents, based on resentment of them for their failure to protect his sister (themes developed later in the series), makes him unwilling to identify with Boggs.
This theme is introduced with her guilt and need for approval following her father's death in "Beyond the Sea", and continues in later episodes including "Irresistible", "Small Potatoes", "Bad Blood", and "Milagro".
[11] As well as their own fathers, a number of characters play a paternal role to the agents in later episodes, including Deep Throat, the Smoking Man and Senator Matheson.
Although by the end of the episode, Scully seems to have come to terms with her father's opinion of her, her worries resurface later in the series when she fears that he would have been ashamed of her actions ("Anasazi").
[27] A writer from the Vancouver Sun listed "Beyond the Sea" as one of the best standalone episodes of the show, saying that Brad Dourif's acting was "remarkably chilling".
Despite liking the fact that Scully was the focus of the episode and praising Anderson's performance, he thought that its "main flaw" was the way it handled her moral crisis, opining that she appeared too weak.
