Salvage: A Life Wasted
What is salvaged, precisely?
Could it be Ray Pearce’s humanity?
Of course, it could!
A ray of humanity pierces his heart just in time to save him from becoming the monster he appeared.
After spending the episode blaming others for his predicament, he is ultimately able to accept his fate for what it is. In as tear-jerky a scene as the X Files ever produced, Ray is able to die with dignity, a human death. At the end, Ray proves himself noble, as only a fully human being can.
Larina Jackson (the fantastically named, Tamara Clatterbuck), despite all her trying, dies a very unfortunate death, a death - unlike Ray’s - that should have been avoided.
Larina, to her doom, never realises her own value and, consequently, dies a most unfortunate death - an accidental victim of another’s search for meaning. She is looking to blame others every bit as much as Ray. She disguises it as caring, seeking gratification through the misery of others. Having no understanding of her own motives, she cannot possibly understand Ray’s and, thus, can offer him no constructive help.
In truth, Larina serves only her own purposes. Ray, to her, is a channel through which she gets to express her own need for value. She offers him help, not for his benefit but for hers. It is why she doesn’t know that this is a dangerous man with whom she is dealing.
Ray, having realised his humanity, chooses his own death. Larina dies precisely because she has no realization of her own humanity.
Knowing oneself allows immense insight into others. If Larina only knew that her need to impose herself into Ray’s personal space was actually nothing less than her need to feel valued, she would not have acted the way she did and therefore not have suffered the fate she did.
Having no control over the self means having no control over life and, therefore, death. Larina’s death is an accident she caused.
When dealing with the needy it is necessary to have no needs of your own. Helping others won’t help you help yourself. If helping others isn’t a selfless act, it isn’t really helping.
Ray isn’t really a monster-of-the-week. He is but a human being who has life thrust upon him. At first, as most of us would, he reacts badly, looking for someone to blame for how life has treated him. When he comes to terms with the arbitrariness of life, he is able to accept his fate. In this realisation, he becomes more human, he becomes what it means to be human.
Larina never learns the lesson Ray learned. And her life is wasted.
Could it be Ray Pearce’s humanity?
Of course, it could!
A ray of humanity pierces his heart just in time to save him from becoming the monster he appeared.
After spending the episode blaming others for his predicament, he is ultimately able to accept his fate for what it is. In as tear-jerky a scene as the X Files ever produced, Ray is able to die with dignity, a human death. At the end, Ray proves himself noble, as only a fully human being can.
Larina Jackson (the fantastically named, Tamara Clatterbuck), despite all her trying, dies a very unfortunate death, a death - unlike Ray’s - that should have been avoided.
Larina, to her doom, never realises her own value and, consequently, dies a most unfortunate death - an accidental victim of another’s search for meaning. She is looking to blame others every bit as much as Ray. She disguises it as caring, seeking gratification through the misery of others. Having no understanding of her own motives, she cannot possibly understand Ray’s and, thus, can offer him no constructive help.
In truth, Larina serves only her own purposes. Ray, to her, is a channel through which she gets to express her own need for value. She offers him help, not for his benefit but for hers. It is why she doesn’t know that this is a dangerous man with whom she is dealing.
Ray, having realised his humanity, chooses his own death. Larina dies precisely because she has no realization of her own humanity.
Knowing oneself allows immense insight into others. If Larina only knew that her need to impose herself into Ray’s personal space was actually nothing less than her need to feel valued, she would not have acted the way she did and therefore not have suffered the fate she did.
Having no control over the self means having no control over life and, therefore, death. Larina’s death is an accident she caused.
When dealing with the needy it is necessary to have no needs of your own. Helping others won’t help you help yourself. If helping others isn’t a selfless act, it isn’t really helping.
Ray isn’t really a monster-of-the-week. He is but a human being who has life thrust upon him. At first, as most of us would, he reacts badly, looking for someone to blame for how life has treated him. When he comes to terms with the arbitrariness of life, he is able to accept his fate. In this realisation, he becomes more human, he becomes what it means to be human.
Larina never learns the lesson Ray learned. And her life is wasted.
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