Of course, the alternative is attending what sounds like a horrible convention for FBI agents with two of the biggest tools in the bureau. I mean, seriously, do people like that even exist? People who think those silly team building exercises are actually useful? Whatever, they aren't in most of the episode.
There's a brief suggestion that the 'creatures' in this episode are highly evolved humans descended from the first settlers in Florida who came seeking, and possibly found, the Fountain of Youth. Or maybe they are those people, though I don't think that's exactly how evolution works, but whatever.
This was a little less unsettling than 'Darkness Falls', but not by much. Though it also reminded me somewhat of 'Quagmire', with such wonderful interaction between Mulder and Scully. Seriously, these two need to just get together already. (I ... I guess I do ship them.) Mulder seems to be hitting on her, though to be fair, he's delirious, but she seems to be flirting right back, which, YES. I mean, I always thought she had some interest in him, but so far, that interest has only shown up in episodes we aren't really supposed to take seriously - 'War of the Coprophages', 'Syzygy', and 'Small Potatoes', and now 'Detour', which I don't think is really intended as that serious an episode.
They'll get there eventually. Right? (No, wait, don't tell me.)
Oh, and also, Scully sang to Mulder. And like all scenes in TV and movies where a character sings horribly off key, it made me wonder if Gillian Anderson can actually sing. (Wait, hang on, that makes it sound like I always wonder if Gillian Anderson can sing whenever anyone sings off key. Um, you know what I meant.) I've always found it kind of hard to sing intentionally off key, so I'm always amazed when people who are actually good singers can pull it off so believably. Scully just sounds like someone who legitimately can't sing.
Anyway, the mystery is creepy enough, with mostly unseen creatures leading to some pretty intense scenes in the woods, which, by the way, look nothing like Florida. At least 'Darkness Falls' took place in the Pacific Northwest, so its setting was more believable having been shot in Vancouver.
I quite enjoyed - OK, really enjoyed, perhaps to the point of too much enjoyment - that the opening introduced two other agents who turned out NOT to be redshirts, but also turned out not to really factor in the episode at all, except serving as a reason for Mulder and Scully to go off the beaten path. They showed up again in the end - I don't even remember their names - but I'm certain we'll not see them again. It seems like kind of a long way to go to set up the story this episode told.
But I guess maybe that was part of the point. These inconsequential characters showed us not just how Mulder and Scully need each other, but how really, they're all they have at this point. Mulder has always been kind of detached, but now that Scully's spent so much time working on the X-Files and starting to believe (depending on the episode) in paranormal activity, she's one of the FBI's least wanted, too.
And all of that sets up the great scene on the
The actual plot doesn't really seem to matter much, since this was largely a character episode, but I figure I should briefly mention how remarkable the creature is not just to pick off the strongest of a group first, leaving the weaker members vulnerable, but also to sneakily divide the group so it doesn't have to face as many foes. Mulder is right, there aren't any naturally occurring animals that do that. Most will just chase everyone and pick off the stragglers.
But otherwise, they didn't really do much with the case and other than rescuing some of the victims, the mystery goes largely unsolved. And apparently still lingers in a motel room at the end. Nightmares for ever. I'm pretty sure we've at least seen the last of it, but still, nightmares. For ever.
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