Oh right, SPOILER ALERT.
It was an alligator.
I don't normally include screencaps in this blog (maybe I should?) but I just had to share this one, because it's kind of hilarious.
I'm sorry, but it really looks like Big Blue is um, well, enjoying himself on the building there.
So yeah, there's that.
For an episode that was clearly an homage to Jaws, I was surprised to hear not a single quote from or direct reference to that movie. I suppose it was also an homage to Moby Dick (which I've not read), but given that it's visual media and not literature, I'm going more with the movie reference.
The interactions between Mulder and Scully are outstanding in this episode, especially when they are 'stranded' on the rock just a few feet from shore. I think whenever the show puts them into a situation where there's little to do but talk to each other, they have some of the most enlightening conversations. Of course, sometimes those conversations involve cannibalism, but still!
I like Mulder's attempt to convince Scully that seeking out a monster like Big Blue is worthwhile, especially from a scientific perspective. If they find nothing, it doesn't matter, except that it confirms what the skepitcal Scully already believed. However, if they do discover a previously unknown monster, imagine the scientific progress that could result.
And the episode did make an important point about the role of capitalism in these kinds of legends. Ted doesn't really much care that people are dying or really, whether or not Big Blue exists, just that he can keep selling Big Blue souvenirs. I would barely even call it capitalism in this case - he's not trying to strike it big, just survive. But the fact that he was trying to keep the hoax alive by creating giant fake footprints was at least amusing. Until, you know, he got eaten.
There was also a lovely exploration of why Scully called her dog Queequeg, which, let's face it, is kind of a bizarre name for a dog (though to be fair, it was also a bizarre looking dog, so perhaps the odd name fit). I had a feeling the dog couldn't last for ever, and as hard as that was for Scully, I'm glad we got some resolution as viewers, as opposed to the mysterious disappearance of Miss Kitty Fantastico on Buffy. Animals are probably just really hard to incorporate into a TV show, and it's better to give them an ending than just have them never appear again and leave the audience wondering why.
This was also a fairly graphic episode, what with the various halves of bodies turning up. I'm not sure an alligator really can bite a person clean in half, but for the effect and the mystery, let's just go with it?
Also, that was a HUGE alligator. And the fact that it was an alligator means that they weren't exactly wrong in describing it as a prehistoric lake monster, since alligators have been around in some form or another for a really long time.
I know I've often mentioned my disappointment when episodes end with ambiguity or with a resolution that is firmly NOT in the realm of the paranormal, but this is one episode that could have been slightly better with both. Instead, we get absolute confirmation of Big Blue's existence, but Mulder and Scully don't. What purpose is served by that reveal? I would have rather they left us questioning the reality of what we saw or what we thought we saw, much like Mulder was.
Still, up to that point, this was a pretty fantastic episode.
The screen capture does not show the wind, which made "Nessie" - I mean Big Blue- move. Bonus. Thanks for not promoting dinosaur porn!
ReplyDeleteI also want to know how they didn't know it was an alligator. There has to be more than one alligator right? Otherwise the problem will solve itself at somepoint.