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Beyond the Sea
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by David Nutter
Directed by David Nutter
"Dana... open yourself up to extreme possibilities only when they're the truth. That goes for Luther Boggs... and your father."
— Fox Mulder
A serial killer (Brad Dourif) claims to have physic powers and offers to put Scully in touch with her recently deceased father if she will help him avoid execution.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Mulder touches Scully's face as he says he's sorry about her father's death.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Boggs may be a monster, but his plight is shown in a sympathetic light towards the end.
- Berserk Button: Scully snaps at Boggs because she thinks he set them up and got Mulder shot when they were looking for the kidnapper."I came here to tell you that if he dies because of what you've done, FOUR DAYS FROM NOW, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STOP ME FROM BEING THE ONE THAT WILL THROW THE SWITCH AND GAS YOU OUT OF THIS LIFE FOR GOOD, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
- Bound and Gagged: The two current kidnap victims.
- Bulletproof Vest: Scully & Mulder are wearing them at the dock. It doesn't help Mulder so much.
- Burial at Sea: Captain William Scully's funeral. He is cremated and buried this way while Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea" (his and Maggie's wedding song) plays in the background. Scully is upset, saying that her father was entitled to a full burial at Arlington, while her mother replies that he would have wanted it this way.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Two teenagers were kidnapped and tortured severely by a man who was reliving an accident in which his family died.
- Continuity Nod: Max Fenig's NICAP cap is seen in Mulder's office.
- Death Row: Serial Killer Boggs is condemned to an impending execution in the gas chamber.
- Gas Chamber: Boggs' capital punishment.
- Gunman with Three Names: One of many memorable serial killers with three names: Luther Lee Boggs.
- I See Dead People: Scully sees her recently deceased father at the beginning of the episode. It is very creepy, and it makes Scully look through all of the X-Files entitled 'Visionary Encounters with the Dead'. Boggs seems to be channeling him later, too.
- It Always Rains at Funerals: It's raining during Scully's father's funeral and his mourners carry big black umbrellas.
- Jerkass Ball: Mulder holds the jerkass ball for this episode. He's compassionate and genuinely feels for Scully dealing with her loss and actually calls her "Dana" several times, but he also mocks her for seeming to believe in Boggs. Moreover, he reproaches her for following his leads and then for not admitting the truth to the investigating team. When she returns to her rational explanation at the end, Mulder backs off and asks her why she cannot believe after all she has seen.
- Knuckle Tattoos: Boggs has KISS and KILL tattooed on his knuckles.
- No OSHA Compliance: The climactic chase scene takes place in an abandoned brewery that is falling apart. The villain steps through a wooden plank bridge and falls several floors to his death.
- Not-So-Phony Psychic: Was Boggs only pretending his channeling? Some of his visions seemed to come true.
- Over-the-Top Christmas Decorations: Scully's apartment is full of Christmas decorations, which is kind of over-the-top, especially considering she's a single and career-oriented woman. She has her parents visiting and her father comments on it.Scully's father: Are you going to leave this up all year?
Scully: Yup. All year. Since you always made us take the Christmas tree down the day after Christmas, I'm making up for lost time. - Phone-Trace Race: The team prepares to trace a call because they expect that Boggs will call the kidnapper who they think is his accomplice. However, he calls Mulder's mobile phone instead. It's never explained how he learned Mulder's number.
- Phony Psychic: Mulder's opinion of Boggs — he thinks Boggs is full of crap.
- Porn Stash: Scully's comment to Mulder.Scully: Last time you were that engrossed, it turned out you were reading the Adult Video News.
- Prisoner's Last Meal: Luther Lee Boggs sees the souls of his dead family, who he murdered, upon being delivered his last meal before being sent to the gas chamber.Boggs: My family, who I killed after their last meal, was right there to watch me over mine. 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 long taste of Hell.
- The Profiler: Mulder's writing a profile on Boggs is an important plot point.
- Psychic Powers: Boggs seems to be a real psychic. Mulder doesn't believe him, but he did know Mulder's cell phone number, for one thing.
- Race Against the Clock: The team has five days to find a pair of kidnapped teenagers who are tortured and will be found dead if the offender is not caught.
- Serial Killer: Luther Lee Boggs, whose victims included his whole family.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Was Scully's father proud of her? Was she right to give up practicing medicine and join the Bureau?
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Mulder calls Scully by her first name when expressing his condolences about her father's death; this is the first time in the series, and it does not go unnoticed by Scully.
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid to believe."
