"Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man--
So glorious in his beauty and thy choice,
Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem'd
To his great heart none other than a God!
I ask'd thee, "Give me immortality."
Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,
Like wealthy men who care not how they give."
--"Tithonus" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
“Tithonus” is named after a character from Greek mythology. He feel in love with a goddess Aurora. She begged Zeus to give him eternal life so he could be with her forever. Zeus granted her request, but since she forgot to also ask for eternal youth, Tithonus grew older and more feeble, suffering all the infirmities of old age. The Greek gods tended to be real jerks that way.
The episode runs along a similar theme. Scully is paired with another agent, Peyton Ritter, in an attempt to split her and Mulder up. Peyton leads Scully a possible murder case in which a certain photographer has an unnatural skill at discovering dead bodies before the police do. The photographer is Alfred Fellig, a man they cannot peg any murder on, much to Ritter’s consternation.
Scully develops a fascination with Fellig. With the secret assistance of Mulder, she discovers she is actually working on an X-File. Using any number of aliases, Fellif has been living for over 149 years. Scully does not believe that, of course, but she still trails him in order to discover how he knows when people are about to die.
The matter gets up close and personal when he takes her along on one of his trips. He is going to photograph the murder of a prostitute. Scully is skeptical, but as an argument between a hooker and her pimp heats up, she intervenes. The potential murder is stopped, but the hooker steps out into the street only to be struck by a bus.
Curiosity piqued and grossly offended by Fellig’s disregard for human life, Scully confronts him over his behavior. For unknown reasons, Fellig cannot die, though he is obsessed with the idea of it. He is a battle-scarred, world weary man who sees no point in living further. He has some connection with Death, however. He has been photographing the living embodiment of death for decades. . Fellig explains that he was once supposed to die of yellow fever, but he refused to look death in the eyes, so his nurse was killed instead.
Fellig tells Sculy she is about to die, so he gets his camera out to record Death coming for her.
Meanwhile, Mulder determines Fellig did commit a murder back in 1929. Unable to warn Scully, he contacts Ritter. Ritter is on his way to Fellig’s apartment after the warning. Being the gung ho young agent that he is, Ritter breaks down the door. Feelig’s camera flashes in his eyes as he fires. The bullet goes through fellig ansd into Scully. With his final breath, he asks her if she sees Death. She will not look him in the eye. Poetically, seeing someone refuse to die allows fellig to pass on, while scully miraculously recovers from her bullet wound.
Anyone remember Clyde Bruckman telling Scully she would never die? Has her refusal to look death in the eyes as Fellig once did rendered her immortal? We are meant to think that, I believe. Immortality is presented as a truly awful thing here, however. It is mostly because love is not forever. Fellig’s wife has been dead for decades. Without ever being able to confront the mystery of their being an afterlife, there is no possibility he will ever see her again. It is a very sad concept. Fellig is played perfectly by veteran actor Geoffrey Lewis. He is a haunted character whom you do not sympathize with for his plight so much as wish he could die just so the rest of us could be spared such a miserable creature.
So many Scully-centric stories deal with mortal peril for her or a loved one that it has almost become cliché, but when the subject is dealt with well, the stories are still enthralling. “Tithonus” is a fine example.
There is a lot packed into ’Tithonus.” I have emphasized the philosophy of eternal life not being as glorious as one might think, but there is also a prominent running sadness about splitting up the Mulder/Scully team. That is obviously Krrsh’s plan. It is made clear if she does well on this case, she will resume field agent status, but leave Mulder behind to do background checks. While she assures Mulder this is a one time deal, she knows its her chance to resume her career and takes it without hesitation.
Mulder comes across as a lonely schoolboy, once even making a joke over the phone that they used to sit next to each other at the FBI, as he watches her go. He continues to do research in order to guide her in the right direction on Fellig. It feels like a desperate way of holding onto his connection with her. It is doubly poignant considering Ritter is an ambitious prick more interested in making a name for himself with a big collar than discovering the truth. He treats her like garbage for playing the same role that Mulder ultimately appreciates. When he stupidly gets her shot, that is last straw. I want the band back together!
I appreciate the mood and way themes of death are dealt with in ‘Tithonus.” I am also a fan of Scully-centric episodes in general. This is the first really good one we have seen in a while. It is an underrated episode that is a throwback to the old, darker themed episodes I generally prefer. Hence, “Tithonus” earns high marks.
Rating: **** (out of 5)
"Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man--
