Potential, Possibilities, and Respect
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Potential, Possibilities, and Respect |
| Creator: | Dana Doggett |
| Date(s): | April 2006 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | The X-Files |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Potential, Possibilities, and Respect |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Potential, Possibilities, and Respect is a 2006 essay by Dana Doggett posted to Semper Fi, "a John Doggett & Scully/Doggett Fansite."
This essay may have been posted to Yahoo!Group SHODDS, a Yahoo Group."
Other Related Essays
Other essays posted to Semper Fi:
- everyone's dirty little secret by T h r e a d s (July 2001)
- Keep the Flame Alive by Tony Scullystud (2001)
- The 'Dip by Gina (June 2002)
- Long Live The Doggship by Moose (June 2002)
- Second Chances by Linzee (November 2004)
- Potential, Possibilities, and Respect by Dana Doggett (April 2006)
- "Comparing & Contrasting" by Geekery (June 2011)
- Doggett/Reyes "Relationship" = Implausible by Dana Doggett (June 2016)
Excerpts
The Doggett/Scully relationship is my favorite pairing on “The X-Files” because I enjoy watching mature, respectful, and realistic relationship pairings on TV. This almost never happens though so I allowed myself to fall in love with the potential and possibilities that the Doggett/Scully relationship could have brought to the series and to the development of both characters.
To make sure you understand. I know that Doggett and Scully did not hook up on the show. Yes, I like to come up with theories on how they could have been involved at any given point during the last two seasons, but I know the difference between the fun I have with the pairing and what actually happened, or in this case did not happen, on the show. What I saw in Doggett/Scully was an attraction of both characters to each other and that could have opened up many doors to make Doggett and Scully more layered characters in the last two seasons if the writers had explored the Doggett/Scully relationship to its full potential, romantic.
Also please note that in this essay I have compared the Mulder/Scully relationship to the Doggett/Scully relationship to help you better understand where I’m coming from in terms of why I think Doggett/Scully is the better relationship, the healthy relationship, for Scully to be in.
Respect. John Doggett has so much respect for Scully. In the beginning he listened to what she had to say, he didn’t agree with her, but he respected her enough to not belittle her or her opinions. He respectfully argued points with her. He was never so arrogant to say that he was always right and she was wrong. He called her the expert, and he admired her. Even when his feelings for her grew to love, he stood down. He didn’t try to come between her and Mulder (though, wouldn’t that have been interesting to see?). He respected her choice and her relationship with him. He saw that Mulder didn’t treat Scully right; he subtly showed he didn’t approve, but he never once tried to impose himself on her.
Scully showed Doggett respect as well. Unlike how Mulder was with her at the office, Scully welcomed Doggett as her partner, and despite she never received a desk or nameplate of her own, she arranged for Doggett to have his own desk, something Mulder never did for her. She didn’t claim the basement office as her own or hers and Mulder’s, she made the office for herself and Doggett. This showed the respect that she had for Doggett upon his reassignment to the X-Files Division. Scully respected Doggett’s approach to their cases, his theories, and what he had to say. Without this respect that they showed each other, there would be nothing in which to base the potential of their relationship
If TPTB had had the guts to follow through with what they started between Doggett and Scully, they would have had the opportunity to further explore both characters. With Doggett/Scully (DSR) we’d learn new things about Scully that we never would have known, and we would have gotten to know Doggett even more as well. This would have worked so well near the end of the series. Through the Doggett/Scully relationship we would have gotten so much more. We would have so much more character development, avenues that had never been explored and will never be explored (unless you read the right fan fiction).
When TPTB decided to cater to the Mulder/Scully shippers, true fans lost so much. I personally would have loved to have watched Scully realize her relationship with Mulder was not a healthy one, and to see her come to the realization she loves Doggett would have been very hopeful and uplifting. Rather we were left to watch her mope and be unhappy with Mulder. We could have seen Doggett rediscover love, giving and receiving it after so many years of heartache (divorce and the loss of his son).
Doggett and Scully entering into a relationship together would be a moral [one] that despite all the heartache and disappointment in life and relationships, there’s someone out there who can and will make you happy and accept you for who you are. And having a Doggett/Scully relationship would again make “The X-Files” unique. It would have been one of the few shows to actually acknowledge a bad relationship and have the character go after a healthy relationship. It would show women that you don’t have to stay in a relationship in which the man doesn’t treat you right, to be brave and aim for something good. Scully, to me, was a strong female role model. That was until she got herself trapped in that unhealthy relationship and didn’t even try to get out of it to go for something that would make her truly happy. If she had wound up with John Doggett, that would be the perfect way to close out her character… with strength, happiness and a future full of hope.
Unfortunately TV viewers prefer to watch dysfunctional relationships and idealize them.
In closing I’d like to reiterate that I support mature, respectful and realistic relationships in TV shows. To me, the potential Doggett and Scully have together defines what I like in relationships I enjoy on TV, and I can say in all seriousness that healthy relationships are a rare thing to find in entertainment. I find that disappointing and a sad fact of what our society would like to entertain themselves with. I would much rather watch a happy couple work through what life deals to them instead of a dysfunctional couple. I think TV needs to reevaluate some of the relationships they portray on TV programs to set better examples for younger viewers who grow up liking something that is not necessarily a good example for them.
Yes, the relationships with problems are typically the most popular because they cause drama, but that doesn’t mean they should be regarded as ideal. To me, everything about the Doggett/Scully relationship is heartwarming and hopeful. And in a world in which the media and Hollywood is so focused on the negative, we need a relationship like the potential Doggett/Scully relationship to be shown more often.