More so than most, this episode of the X-Files is full of ambiguity as it relates to the characters. Is Ed Jerse (Rodney Rowland) really losing his mind or is he being affected by the hallucinogenic property of the tattooer's ink? Did Scully actually sleep with him, or did he stay on the couch like he offered? Does Scully have cancer or not, as her demeanor and behavior, especially with Mulder, is conflicted to the point of harming their professional relationship. Is Elvis really dead? I just threw that last one in there to see if you were paying attention. Apparently Mulder's spiritual journey wound up at Graceland.
So with Mulder out on a forced vacation, Scully is left to pursue one of his cases and she reacts negatively. In a moment of rebellion, she decides to pick up a recently divorced man while on assignment, and heads straight into trouble. While watching, I had a hard time reconciling Scully's behavior here because it was so out of character for her to shoot from the hip like that. Getting the snake ring tattoo was the icing on the cake. It was as if she were flaunting her mortality to do something wild and crazy before finding out about her cancer once and for all.
I had forgotten about Jodie Foster's involvement with the story as the voice of the tattoo lady 'Betty'. Bringing in that touch from "The Silence of the Lambs" added an element of malice to the character of Ed Jerse, even if he wasn't acting of his own volition. Winking Betty was a perfect way to establish when he was about to do something violent, a reflection of Ed's own repressed personality whenever he was about to carry out the demands of his 'Never Again' girl.
So with Mulder out on a forced vacation, Scully is left to pursue one of his cases and she reacts negatively. In a moment of rebellion, she decides to pick up a recently divorced man while on assignment, and heads straight into trouble. While watching, I had a hard time reconciling Scully's behavior here because it was so out of character for her to shoot from the hip like that. Getting the snake ring tattoo was the icing on the cake. It was as if she were flaunting her mortality to do something wild and crazy before finding out about her cancer once and for all.
I had forgotten about Jodie Foster's involvement with the story as the voice of the tattoo lady 'Betty'. Bringing in that touch from "The Silence of the Lambs" added an element of malice to the character of Ed Jerse, even if he wasn't acting of his own volition. Winking Betty was a perfect way to establish when he was about to do something violent, a reflection of Ed's own repressed personality whenever he was about to carry out the demands of his 'Never Again' girl.