Duane Barry

Oh I get so excited for these episodes, I don't even know where to start. I can almost recite DB, Ascension and One Breath line for line. My problem is trying to tackle them as individual episodes, and not as a unit, but I think it may be more interesting to try.

First of all, Duane Barry is an excellent character. Formerly with the FBI, DB has been having abduction experiences since the early 80s. Between these and a bullet in his head, he's been in a mental hospital for years, until he escapes early in the episode.



It is so interesting, on this show, to actually see an abductee locked up for being crazy or delusional about his experiences. It makes sense in so many way, yet is so unexplored; in fact I can't think of another institutionalized abductee off the top of my head...

What's better, is he's following alien voices in his head, being led to an abduction site. Thing is, he's not sure where they are supposed to be going, so he holds up a travel agency. Bloody genius writing! What a character!

He's brought his doctor along with him, because he believes if he takes someone in his place, he won't be abducted himself this time. One can assume this is CSM and/or his group planting this idea in his head in order to eventually abduct Scully. However, it's a pretty elaborate plan, and CSM must be awfully confident that events will unfold in just the right way. Of course, they did, just as they always do. His puppet-mastery skills are unparalleled.

This arc forwards the mythology of the show in so many huge ways, not only in Scully's abduction, which is returned to again and again, but also the canonical events of what happens during abductions. The use of metallic implants, tracking abductees, and of course, shadowy government or military men sitting in on the procedures, and the whole cooperation between aliens and government in general.



What, you thought I would skip this scene? You know I am a full on M-S shipper, but I can see how one would build a case for some serious UST between these two! LOL

Anyway, so Mulder is called onto the scene to read a script. As usual, the people in charge have called him in because of his expertise on alien abductees, but also fully resent his being there, and freely make fun of him for being a believer.



KAZDIN: Look, Agent Mulder. The guy's a psycho. Your object is to keep him on the phone. The longer you do, the more chance he's not going to kill anybody. We stop to do a Freudian analysis, next thing we know, we've got four dead hostages. So whatever crap you got to make up about space men or UFOs, just keep him on the phone.

DB, being former FBI, knows the procedure and sees right through Mulder's attempt to settle him down. Mulder is understandably pissed off.

M: Who is this guy? He's F.B.I., isn't he?
KAZDIN: Former F.B.I.
M: And you didn't think to mention that?



From this point on, Mulder chooses to focus on DB's abduction experiences; the horrors of the tests they go through and how they may be affecting him. In an interesting, though probably unintentional bit of foreshadowing, Mulder asks Agent Kazdin

M: Would you like to know what they do to a woman's ovaries?

.. you mean like harvesting them and using them to make alien-human babies? Oh brutal, but we'll get to that in later seasons.

One of my favourite moments in this episode:



KRYCEK: Is there anything I can do?
KAZDIN: Yeah, what's your name again?
K: Krycek.
KAZDIN: Krycek, have you got your notepad?
(waits for him to retrieve his notepad)
Grande, two percent cappuccino with vanilla. Agent Rich?

Oh God it kills me; no one can take Krycek seriously. He's got such a tough assignment.

Meanwhile Mulder has run off to phone Scully, who is watching the hostage situation on the news. As usual, Scully looks into DB's background for him, and finds he has a shocking history.

The Aliens take this moment to visit.



Q: Why does time stop when aliens appear?
A: This is never even discussed on the show. But if they are going to travel the distances needed to travel in order to get to earth, they have to be making use of wormholes, which would mess with the fabric of time.

Barry freaks and a hostage gets shot. Mulder dons a medic uniform and some sophisticated wiretap equipment. Because the man is dying, Barry agrees to let him go, but only if Mulder stays. The hostage situation already feels like it's been going on for too long, but at the same time, here it starts to get interesting.



Mulder and Barry start to exchange personal information about alien abduction and their experiences with it. They even bond a little.

One of the most effective images of the entire series is when Barry is recalling his abduction, and freaks when he talks about them drilling his damn teeth. The buzzing sound effect, Barry strapped down with his mouth pried open, the laser, the drill, and the tooth visibly being drilled away makes my whole body cringe.



Tension runs very high, but once they have calmed down, they both seem so defeated by the very idea of the tests and Barry starts to become a very sympathetic character. Barry describes the little girls he sometimes sees on the ship, and how much pain they are in. Mulder, thinking of his sister, suggests Barry take him instead of the doctor to the abduction site.



DB: (smiles at him) No. I wouldn't do that to you.

Sort of kind, actually. He thinks it's OK to take the doctor because he's a source of some of DB's suffering, but Mulder doesn't deserve it because he's been nice to him.

At this point Scully calls over looking for Mulder. She gets Krycek instead, who tells her what's happened.

K: He traded himself for one of the hostages.
S: What?



K: He's in with Duane Barry.
S: You've got to get him out of there.
K: Well, they're working on it.
S: No, you've got to get him out of there now or he's going to be killed!
K: How can you be sure?
S: Because Duane Barry is not what Mulder thinks he is.

Scully wastes no time in getting to the scene, and she's looking for a fight. She completely flips at the agent she's talking to, and when Krycek tells her to calm down, she snaps at him.




SCULLY: Don't tell me to calm down, I'm not going to calm down until I can talk to someone who will listen to what I'm saying!

The next part, I have always felt, is so key in so many ways. You have Scully literally talking into Mulder's ear, telling him that's he's underestimated how dangerous DB is. You have DB describing where the alien implants are located (teeth, abdomen, sinuses). You also have the conversation about the abduction site; the bit that is recorded and played back over and over in Ascension actually gives me chills even in this scene.



DB: I just want to go back to the place.
M: What place?
DB: Where it first started. Where they first came and got me.
M: Where is that?
DB: A mountain... We went, uh, up... and up. Ascending... ascending to the stars.

Mulder gets the women free (a nice touch is one women letting Barry know that she believes him), and Scully lets him know they are about to strike on Barry. But Mulder tires to save him. Either he feels good about the bonding they just shared, or he believes what Scully said about Barry lying to him.

MULDER: You didn't believe me. I had to earn your trust. Now, there's something I got to know. Are you making any of this up?

Barry freaks of course, he doesn't like being called a liar. Mulder sets Barry up for a sniper shot by telling him he left the door unlocked. This leaves him feeling tremendously guilty, and also a bit foolish for believing him.



S: Whatever you're feeling... you did the right thing.
M: It's just that, uh... I believed him.
S: Sometimes when you want to believe so badly, you end up... looking too hard.



Mulder feels so bad, like he's betrayed DB. It also looks like Mulder has already had his last angst-free moment for several episodes...

DB's story ends up being true. They find all of the implants he talked about. Mulder goes to Scully with one they pulled from his stomach (they never specify if they remove any of the others; I assume they did not, because it's implied they are what's controlling his actions, and they are what lead him to Scully at the end).

S: And you think that this was implanted?
M: Well, if it was, that would mean Duane Barry is telling the truth.
S: Or some version of the truth.



Mulder is so frustrated with her right now. Why can't she just cooperate and go along with what he's saying? Can't she see this is a big deal? Scully recognizes his frustration and agrees to look into it. Even if she is a skeptic, Mulder should know she's on his side. And of course, she wasn't trying to upset him; she just needs to reasonable.



S: Look, I'll, I'll take this down to ballistics. We can have this cleared up in a second

Then Mulder gets up and leaves without seeing a word. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the last time they see each other before Scully is taken. I wonder if that plays a part in how badly the abduction affects him.

Kind of like when my first dog as a kid chewed my newest toy. I smacked her on the nose, and I went to school. When I came back, she was gone for good. Sad but true story. Similar situation.

You know, Scully is really very concerned for him throughout this episode. Obviously when she finds out Mulder's traded himself for a hostage, she is in a bit of a panic. Then afterward, she sees how horrible he feels, and now in this scene, all she wants to do is let him know she wants to help him.

It works so well, knowing how concerned Mulder is going to be for her.



Shockingly, they find out there is a bar code on the implant! Even Scully knows at this point, this bit of metal is 100% not a piece of shrapnel. A trip to the grocery store has Scully thinking about what this implant might be. When the cashier is far enough away, she passes the implant over the barcode scanner, and the machine goes nuts. At this moment, Duane Barry rises from his hospital bed and springs to action.

She calls Mulder with her findings, leaving a message on his machine. This scene haunts me, it does. It haunts Mulder too, you can tell.

SCULLY: Mulder, it's me. I just had something incredibly strange happen. This piece of metal that they took out of Duane Barry, it has some kind of a code on it. I ran it through a scanner and some kind of a serial number came up. What the hell is this thing, Mulder? It's almost as if... it's almost as if somebody was using it to catalogue him.



Scully hears a noise outside her window; Duane Barry's face appears behind her blinds. Scully gasps! We don't get to see the rest (yet) just Mulder's blinking answering machine.



DB: Come on, lady...
S: Mulder!
DB: Come on!
SCULLY: I need your help! Mulder! Mulder!

Does anyone else find this scene even harder to watch when you know what's going to happen? Even just looking at these screen caps and I feel is dread.



AAAH to be continued! Our first cliffhanger-y two-parter of the series.