Agua Mala
"All the nuts roll down to Florida."
This is not a good episode. It’s far from the worst the show has been, because there are some aspects of the case that make the slightest bit of sense (in a science fiction show of course). As a marine biologist myself, the foundational possibility of the main sea monster in this episode isn’t totally without scientific basis.
It’s still not something that could actually happen, but at the very least, the way Scully figured out how to fight against the sea monster has scientific basis.
That’s about the only redeeming part of the episode. Otherwise, the episode is so bad it’s almost funny. You can’t take this episode too seriously. Unfortunately, the episode itself can’t decide whether it’s trying to be a comedy or a science fiction horror. There are cringey attempts to insert jokes into the action. The writers are clearly playing off of the fears of the deep mysteries of the ocean (and there are some really weird things down there). But those two separate plot lines never really fit together, so the whole episode feels like a complete mess. Honestly, this episode might have been better—and slightly funnier—if the end mystery had been “lol, yeah, actually, there was just a bunch of snakes caught in the sewer lines” or something like that. Similar to “Quagmire” when the answer was just that there was an angry man-eating alligator.
The cringey sea monster plot is already bad enough. What makes this episode even worse is the characters. First, we see the return of Arthur Dales, the agent who discovered the “X-files” and worked on them before Mulder. It’s nice to see him back, except this episode feels like a complete waste of the character. His only purpose is to bring our agents down to Florida and then make some snarky comments while drinking too much alcohol. I get that the man is old, but the episode could’ve been better if Dales had helped during at least the initial investigation.
And then there’s our Hispanic couple stuck in the condominiums with our agents and the sea monster. They are written as a complete stereotype, and it is so bad. Did no one sit down in the writers’ room and think “Oh actually this isn’t funny at all, we’re just making very bad caricatures of this culture”? 🙃 Then we also have the stereotypical angry American veteran with an apartment full of guns, ready to shoot at Mulder if he keeps banging on his door. That one feels less “oh yikes” to me personally than our Hispanic couple, but it also didn’t add anything to the episode.
This episode is very similar to season 4’s “El Mundo Gira”. Parts of the key “mystery” plot actually make sense…until they don’t. The writers spend too much time making fun of Hispanic culture, creating characters that are just complete caricatures. Both episodes are so bad they are almost funny, but not quite. Because both were also taking themselves a bit too seriously.
This episode also feels disappointing because of the whiplash from the ending of The Syndicate in the mytharc to whatever this bullshit is. There is no acknowledgement of whether our agents have actually been reassigned to the X-files. If you look at the schedule, that’s because “Arcadia” was supposed to air first. There’s even a line in that episode noting the case is their first one back on the X-files. But the episode wasn’t ready then, nor apparently was “Monday” (next episode) in which we also at least actually see our agents working in the X-files office. The events of this episode honestly would have made more sense if it had aired before the big mytharc. Just another weird case Mulder and Scully found themselves on while they were supposed to be working on other things.
Instead, we’re left questioning whether our agents have been reassigned, and why the hell they were approved (maybe?) to take this trip down to Florida.
In the middle of a hurricane.
Let’s dive into it, I guess.
Watch out for strange sea creatures hiding in the murky depths… 🐙
The “Case”: A Mysterious Sea Creature Attacks
The episode opens on a scene of a mother and son (Sara and Evan Shipley) in their home in Goodland, Florida. They are desperately trying to prepare for the tropical storm, which was just upgraded to a hurricane, that is raging outside. Rain is already coming in through the windows…and in through cracks in the walls/ceiling…and seawater appears to be bubbling up through their sewer/water system.
You may well be wondering why this family hasn’t evacuated if the storm is indeed this bad, and their home really does not seem to be built to weather a storm of this magnitude. You may be wondering this even more when I show you where Goodland is located. On a barrier island in Collier County.
But evacuation isn’t easy. Some people can’t afford to leave, or don’t have the means to evacuate, as we will see with our Hispanic couple later in the episode. Some people are stubborn and would rather stay with their home, afraid of being looted or not being able to protect their property. Others may have experienced a lot of hurricane warnings that turned out not to be as bad as predicted, or shifted and hit somewhere else (sometimes even where they evacuated to), so you get complacent.
This particular storm looks like one that was a tropical storm, predicting a lot of rain and moderate winds. As we hear on the Shipley’s radio, it was only just upgraded to a hurricane (a category 2), so people might have thought they still had time or that it wasn’t going to be that bad. The Shipleys may have been preparing to evacuate, after they finished boarding up the house! The storm is currently stalled 25 miles offshore, which is never a good thing (that always means more rain and time to further intensify), but based on the timing in the episode, the Shipleys still had a good 24 hours at least that they could’ve gotten further inland after they finished boarding up.
Until something went very, very wrong during their preparations.
There’s something very odd about what Sara is doing. She is boarding up the house, but it looks like she is boarding up one of the interior doors. Which is not something you usually do. Unless there’s something already in that room, something brought up by the storm, that you do not want to get out. 😱
Sara has tasked her son with collecting water out of their taps this particular duty. This might be a reasonable preparation/panic (you need containers of drinking water in case the power/water pumps go out), but Sara doesn’t seem to be looking for water they can drink/clean with. She just wants water.
She is delighted to find that their washing machine is still full of water. Fresh water, not yet tainted by any of the seawater rushing in through the drains in their floor.
We get our first indication here that something has already gone very wrong in this house. Evan is concerned about his dad. Something has evidently already happened to Mr. Shipley. Something his mom knows about, but doesn’t want to talk about. She’s too focused on making sure she can still save herself and her son.
Together, she and Evan start working on pushing over the washing machine, so they can pour the fresh water all over the floor and hopefully counteract the seawater rushing in through the drains. Evan is still concerned about his dad, and about their cat (Reggie), who is hiding behind the washing machine. Sara is singularly focused though, certain this is her last hope.
At first they are making okay progress, with Evan able to squeeze in behind the washing machine. But even with him pushing and her pulling, they are not strong enough to tip over a heavy machine full of water and wet laundry. And then it seems like Evan isn’t even pushing anymore. Nor is he answering his mother.
Panic rising, Sara looks over the machine to find that some monstrous creature has hold of Evan. There are opaque tentacles wrapped around his neck, choking him and starting to pull him down. He can still speak, but only barely, and he cannot fight off the strength of this creature.
This is our second indication that Sara knows more about the dangers of this storm and maybe has already seen this creature. She screams at the creature to let go of her son, which might be a reasonable first reaction for anyone, but to me she seemed angry and scared rather than shocked at what she was seeing. I get a feeling that she has seen this creature before. That this is what she was fighting against.
Sara cannot save her son. And she cannot save herself. Even as she desperately pulls at the tentacles and screams at the creature, another tentacle bursts out of the drain on the floor and grabs Sara around the leg. Pulling her down into the depths as well. 😱
This case comes to the attention of our agents in a perfectly reasonable manner. Mulder gets a call from Arthur Dales down in Florida, asking him to come down to investigate a distress call. Dales first got a call from Sara, who it turns out is one of his neighbors. She called Dales in a panic, saying that something had grabbed her husband. A creature had wrapped its tentacles around her husband’s neck in the bathroom and was choking him. So, that explains the boarded up interior room in the house, and Sara’s recognition of the creature when it grabbed her son.
Neither of our agents seem particularly excited to be down in Florida in the middle of a hurricane. Mulder is, as always, the more likely of the two to believe Sara’s description, but even he would really rather not be in a hurricane. I do wonder whether he felt even more of a need to come investigate this case because he felt he needed to prove himself to Dales, the legendary X-files man. And Scully, well, she doubts the description of a “sea monster”, but she’s going to go wherever Mulder goes. Can’t let the man get himself into trouble all alone.
Dales stresses that he has no reason to doubt Sara’s story. The Shipleys are (were…) both marine biologists. Sara would’ve known what she was talking about. And if she sounded panicked, like this wasn’t any sort of creature she was familiar with in nature, that’s even more reason for everyone else to panic! If this creature is lurking out there, pushed inland by the storm, well, someone needs to get to the bottom of this before more lives are in danger.
Of course, this could just be a missing persons case. The local police don’t seem terribly concerned. Maybe the Shipleys already evacuated and just didn’t have a way to call Dales given the storm! Sure, it’s strange that both of their cars are still in the carport…maybe they found alternate transportation? Eh, the police also really don’t want to be out in the storm, so they’ll head back and assume everything is just fine.
While Mulder and Scully head back into the raging winds and rain, both now feeling they need to prove their worth to Arthur Dales. The least they can do is go see if Sara and her son are safe.
Investigating the Shipley House
When our agents enter the home (after finally breaking through the boarded-up door) they don’t initially notice anything too unusual. There’s no one home. The family had the presence of mind to board up the house, and make some preparations for the storm. One strange thing though is that everything is boarded up from the inside of the house. How did the Shipleys get out, if all of the doors are boarded up? 🤔
Venturing into the laundry area, Mulder discovers another strange little piece of evidence. Something slimy covering the drainpipe. Mulder being Mulder, of course he decides to touch this gross substance. At least he doesn’t try to eat it this time?
But it really doesn’t seem like there’s anyone home. Maybe the Shipleys did just leave?
Or maybe there is something still in the house! There’s something rumbling around in the washing machine! 😱 Despite herself, even Scully is freaked out by this new development, and is happy to let Mulder take the lead here. He grabs a broom and very carefully opens the washing machine lid to find…the Shipleys’ cat.
A terrifying creature indeed. 🙀
At least the cat survived whatever killed the rest of the family!
Back in the main area of the house, Mulder also notes the strangely boarded up interior room. Probably the bathroom, which might still have some evidence of what happened to Mr. Shipley. He and Scully get to work pulling the boards off of the door, but they are rudely interrupted by a police deputy (Deputy Greer).
Deputy Greer assumes our agents are looters who are taking advantage of the storm. Looters and/or the people responsible for the Shipleys’ disappearance. Our agents are annoyed, but, come on guys. You do not look like FBI agents here.
Of course he thinks you are looters! You’re actively breaking into a room in this house!
Before our agents can be arrested, Reggie the cat chooses that moment to streak through the house, distracting Deputy Greer. For once in his life, Mulder gets to steal someone else’s gun rather than having his gun taken from him!
Annoyed, soaking wet, and happy to see the local police can take over this case now, Scully goes outside to wait in the nice, dry car. Mulder gets Deputy Greer to help him investigate the bathroom. Which is also empty, no sign of Mr. Shipley. There is more of that weird slime, plus a bunch of water on the floor. Tap water, it seems, not seawater that had rushed in through the pipes.
Certainly strange, but there’s no evidence left behind! Where are our agents even supposed to start their investigation? Scully insists they have done their job as far as Arthur Dales is concerned. They came to the home. They looked for the Shipleys, and didn’t find any evidence of life—human, or monster. The local sheriff has now arrived, and while Deputy Greer doesn’t seem like the most competent law enforcement officer, he is at least used to hurricanes and this community and will probably (?) be of more use than Mulder and Scully can be.
Back in the house, Deputy Greer does find one other strange bit of evidence. He does his due diligence as well, walking around looking for signs of life. Nothing there, but he makes note of the slimy, almost soapy water bubbling up out of the drain in the laundry area. Greer pulls off the drain cover and digs around in the drain, ultimately pulling up Evan Shipley’s football jersey. Which was balled up quite deep down there.
Huh. That’s weird. Doesn’t seem like the jersey would fit down through the small holes on the drain cover. Unless someone purposely stuffed it down there, or it was pulled down to the depths by the sea monster as it consumed Evan. 😱
Deputy Greer Encounters the Monster
That first scene with Deputy Greer didn’t inspire any confidence. He didn’t seem like the most competent law enforcement officer, what with his panic over finding the agents, getting distracted by the cat, and then getting his own weapon taken from him. But credit to Deputy Greer, he does take his job duties seriously. Even as he thought Dales’ call was probably a crank, he went out into the storm to investigate the Shipley home. He’s continuing to drive around patrolling the county roads, looking for people who might need help as this storm bears down on the coast.
Greer pulls up in front of a condo complex which has lost power. His dispatcher calls to warn that the county is now under a flash flood warning, and there are no backup units available. Greer knows he should also head somewhere safe, get off the roads himself. But first, he needs to make sure there’s no one in this complex that needs help. He stops his car, leaving it on with the lights still flashing.
Also notable: Reggie the cat hitched a ride under Greer’s car. Kitty seems to have realized the Shipley house isn’t a safe place to be. He’d rather be out in the fresh rain, which is saying something. A cat would rather be in the rain than in a house.
Greer enters the complex and begins knocking on doors, checking to see if there is anyone still inside. He really is doing his job here, also making sure people know that if they are inside but unable to get up to answer, they can call 911 and their requests will be routed back to his radio. He’s there to help! No one should be in this condo complex, which doesn’t look like it is built up to survive a big hurricane either.
But blessedly, it seems everyone who was there evacuated. No one is answering their doors. Until Greer reaches the end of the hallway on the first floor and finds a door that has been left open. The manager’s apartment. Greer enters, making his way over to the slightly open bathroom door, thinking maybe someone collapsed in there.
Someone in the bathroom did need help, but it’s too late now. Greer finds the shape of someone still sitting on the toilet, but most of the body has been hollowed out. The only parts left of any human body look to be the person’s lower legs and feet. Where the body should be, there is only a strange opaque shell of a body, with something worm-like writhing about inside. Almost as if it is eating the body from the inside.
As Greer looks closer, a tentacle shoots out and grabs him around the neck. He scrabbles around for his gun, for his knife, anything to free himself from the very strong grip of the creature. But it’s no use. This creature is too strong.
Mulder and Scully Get Stuck
Much to Scully’s relief, Mulder agreed there really wasn’t anything else they could do down here, and they probably should fly out while they still can. Unfortunately, they waited a bit too long. Our agents are stopped by police halfway down a debris-strewn road, a large tree blocking their path. Even if they could find some way to get around the tree, the road is washed out up ahead. And the airport is closed. I was slightly amused here by Scully trying to pull the “but we’re FBI agents” card, as if that would magically create a safe way for them to be on the roads.
It would’ve been helpful if they’d gotten directions to the closest shelter from the police officer, but Mulder drove away before they could even ask. Now our agents are just aimlessly driving around in the pouring rain. They’re lucky that no one else is on the road, otherwise they definitely would’ve run into someone. Sure, the “good” thing about zero visibility is that it can’t get any worse, Mulder. But that doesn’t mean you should still be driving while you can’t see anything.
Scully manages to get through to the sheriff’s office and is in the midst of getting directions to the nearest shelter, but of course cell service cuts out right then. Honestly, I was surprised it lasted as long as it did. Cell service in the middle of a hurricane in 1999? We often still lose cell service during storms in 2026!
Mulder decides they should just keep driving, figuring they are at least a moving target while driving. If they pull off onto the side of the road, a tree could easily fall on their stationary car. There’s some logic in that I suppose, but driving with zero visibility also means you might accidentally drive off the road…or into a stream…or into the ocean, since you are on an island!!!
Fortunately for our agents, there is a light in the dark. Deputy Greer’s flashing lights beckoning them to a safe haven. At least in the condos they’ll have a roof over their heads and be less likely to be killed by falling debris.
Weathering the Storm
Although the last shot of Greer and the creature looked dire, it appears that the creature did not kill Deputy Greer. I’ll have some thoughts on this later based on the weird “science” of this creature, but for now just accept the creature let Greer go.
Unfortunately for Greer, that doesn’t mean he is any more likely to live than the other victims. Scully and Mulder find him gasping for air on the floor, unable to speak or move. He is having some sort of almost allergic reaction to whatever has bit him. Scully uses the deputy’s knife and a pen cap to perform a tracheotomy, at least opening his airway so he can breathe. But Deputy Greer still needs immediate medical attention. She gets on the radio to ask for transportation or any trained medical personnel (with actual medical equipment).
By the time Mulder and Scully arrived in the apartment, the “shell” of a person is no longer on the toilet. There’s only more of that slimy substance, along with a man’s watch. Not a ton of evidence, but there is another connection to something coming up through the plumbing. That’s where Mr. Shipley was when he was attacked, too. And if there is something in the plumbing attacking people, Mulder needs to make sure there’s no one else in the complex.
First person Mulder encounters is “Dougie”, walking out of one of the condos, carrying his…television? That’s odd, to be moving things around in the middle of a storm, with no electricity. Mulder is already suspicious of this man, but before he can ask further questions, he is interrupted by a Hispanic man, Walter Suarez.
Walter has been waiting for help. And he wanted to evacuate from the hellhole of this old condo complex, but he doesn’t have a car. He tried to call 911 to ask for assistance evacuating earlier, but no one came. They don’t need emergent medical help, but his wife is pregnant, and one week past her due date. She’s not actively in labor, but theoretically, you know, that could happen at any moment. If there’s anyone who should’ve evacuated and be in a hospital, it’s a pregnant woman past her due date.
Mulder takes all of this in, but before he leaves with Walter, he asks if Walter knows the man holding a random television. No, Walter has never seen this guy before. And this is a pretty small apartment complex. As far as he knows, everyone else evacuated.
Yeah. Just as Mulder thought. Dougie doesn’t live here. He’s taking advantage of the storm to loot the residents’ unoccupied apartments. But he’ll put the TV back!
Walter leads Mulder back to his apartment, where is wife is waiting. Angela, though, insists she doesn’t need help. She’s not in labor. She’s just angry and frustrated at her “useless” husband, who doesn’t have a job or a car or any way to get her out of this mess. She’s uncomfortable in the dark, hot, humid apartment in the middle of a hurricane, but she doesn’t need help, thank you very much.
Not that Mulder himself could actually offer medical help. And Scully is busy with another person who actually is in mortal danger. At the moment, Mulder is more concerned with making sure they all make it out of the complex. Or at least stick together. He warns Walter and Angela that something is in the plumbing and has already attacked Deputy Greer. They need to stick together.
Angela storms out of the apartment, Walter bumbling after her like a useless puppy. This is what I mean about the couple being a very cringey caricature. The angry controlling Latina woman, the useless Latino man. There is no depth to their characters at all, and they really aren’t relevant to the plot at all. Anyone else could’ve been living in those condos!!!!
Before following Angela, Walter tells Mulder there was at least one other person still in the complex. A “crazy guy” named George holed up in his apartment. Walter already tried to ask George for help, but he only yelled at Walter to go away.
Sighing, Mulder goes to check on the “crazy guy”, hoping he can get George to see some sense. But George is your stereotypical angry American veteran, holed up in his apartment—which he has decked out with extra security features—with a lot of weapons. He can protect himself from anything out there, thank you very much! He is definitely not going to trust any federal agent banging on his door. It’s probably a trick, the “fascists” trying to lure George out of his apartment. Or something like that.
Mulder leaves George to his fate, returning to the manager’s apartment. Walter and Angela have gathered there, along with Dougie, who I guess decided his life wasn’t worth a few televisions and other valuables. If an FBI agent says he’s in danger, he probably is.
Trying to Save Deputy Greer
Deputy Greer’s condition is worsening. Some foreign agent has been released into his system, and despite the tracheotomy which opened his airway, Deputy Greer’s condition is rapidly declining. Unfortunately, there’s no way for the group to evacuate. The sheriff won’t send any units out in this weather. Even if they could all squeeze into the deputy’s car, even if moving him wouldn’t kill him, the roads are so bad they wouldn’t make it very far. There might be something dangerous in the complex’s plumbing. But the best they can do for now is hunker down together.
Scully has managed to scrounge up enough basic medical equipment to know that Greer is not doing well. His heart rate is slowing, his breathing still labored, and his temperature has shot up to 106 degrees. She orders the others to fill up the bathtub with water and as much ice as they can find in the freezer. Yes, something might be in the plumbing, but if they don’t get Greer’s temperature down fast, he’s going to die.
As she examines the deputy, Scully realizes that there’s some sort of organism, like a parasite, wriggling around in one of the wounds. In a very gross scene, Scully uses some tongs to pull a worm-like creature out of the deputy’s neck. She has no idea what the organism is, but it’s the first evidence that something has been attacking people. Scully won’t go as far as believing in a giant sea monster coming up through the plumbing (yet), but there does seem to be a parasite of sorts infecting people.
Just as Mulder and Walter lower the deputy into the tub, gunshots ring out from down the hall. Either George has fully gone crazy, or the creature has moved and is attacking him. Eventually, George opens his door, and he’s frightened enough by whatever he saw that he lets Mulder and the others into his apartment. He didn’t get a very good view of whatever attacked him, but something came swinging out of his ceiling, bursting through the sewage pipe. Something that is probably still lurking somewhere in the building’s plumbing.
Everyone came out to see what George was shooting out. Everyone except for Dougie, the looter. I am surprised Scully left her patient, especially in the hands of this random man. This random man who doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. No one saw, but Dougie already stole the manager’s watch while they were lowering the deputy into the tub. And now that he’s been left alone again, Dougie is eagerly using soap to grease up Greer’s finger. He wants his wedding ring. He’s not going to come out of this life-or-death situation with nothing to show for it, damn it!
Dougie finally pulls the ring off the deputy’s finger just as everyone reenters the apartment. Nervous, he quickly pulls the shower curtains closed, knocking a container of Epsom salts into the tub as he does so. But everything is just fine in the bathroom! Nothing at all suspicious or weird here!
At first, it seems Dougie is correct. Angela enters the bathroom with a bucket to pee in. Deputy Greer is still just lying in the tub, unresponsive. Everything is fine!
Until it’s not. Angela runs screaming out of the bathroom. She saw something in the tub with the deputy! A long tentacled creature behind the curtain!
When the others enter and Mulder pulls back the curtain, there’s nothing there. No creature, but also no Deputy Greer. All that’s left at the bottom of the tub is the deputy’s uniform. And that container of Epsom salt… 🤔
Deciphering the Mystery
Throughout all of this, Scully has remained certain that whatever they are dealing with, it’s not the monstrous sea creature Sara described. Yes, she has evidence of a strange waterborne parasite, something that might have been washed ashore by the storm. Now, granted, the only evidence she has is Deputy Greer’s injuries, as well as that one piece of a creature she pulled out of his wounds. A waterborne parasite wouldn’t explain apparently complete disappearances of the Shipleys and the apartment manager. It definitely wouldn’t explain the slimy substance the creature seems to use to eat its victims from the inside. But Scully hasn’t seen any of that.
It’s harder for her to explain how Deputy Greer could’ve completely vanished as well, just “going out with the bathwater”. She’s seen very weird science in her six years with Mulder, but nothing that could completely eat a man in just a few seconds.
We never do get a satisfactory answer as to how this creature eats its victims so quickly—or pulls them down into the sewers? Nor do we get an explanation as to why sometimes the clothing gets left behind perfectly intact, while in other cases (the apartment manager), there’s no evidence left behind. Sometimes the creature can eat the clothing, and sometimes it can’t? 🤷♀
But we do get a kind of explanation as to how this particular sea monster works. Mulder first offers a bizarre theory, wondering if the creature doesn’t live in water, but is actually made out of water. It only takes form when it attacks, Mulder thinks. That’s why they don’t just see it everywhere. It’s able to hide.
I don’t buy this theory, although not for the same reason as Scully. She points out that his theory is ridiculous because they can all see the portion of the creature she placed in a jar of tap water. Tap water which seems to have killed the organism.
No, I don’t buy Mulder’s theory because it is truly ridiculous. An animal that is made of water, only visible when it attacks? The closest thing we have to virtually invisible organisms are various jellies, but you can still see those. I guess the organism could disperse as microscopic larval forms, taking its full form only to attack. That’s still not actually possible, but makes more sense than Mulder’s weird theory.
I agree it’s weird that there was nothing in the tub with Deputy Greer until the Epsom salts were knocked in. I have already made the connection that the tap water killed the organism, and the “salts” reactivated it. But I don’t think the organism formed out of nothing (or out of water) in that tub with the deputy, as Mulder did. Instead, I think there were probably more “larvae” or whatever left behind in the deputy’s wounds, lying dormant. When the salt was introduced to the water, seeping into the wounds, the creature reanimated and took form, attacking him.
All of that is still ridiculous, especially because seawater (sodium chloride) and Epsom salts (usually magnesium chloride) are not the same thing. But my convoluted vaguely scientific explanation makes a lot more sense than “this organism can form from nothing, and disperse back into the water, invisible”.
To their credit, our agents both independently eventually figure out the “fresh water will kill this thing” answer, but of course in very dramatic fashion. This already absurd episode wouldn’t be complete without some extra drama.
Mulder realizes that Dougie the looter has run off. Mulder runs after the man, but they were all distracted long enough by the mystery of Greer’s vanishing that Dougie had enough time to steal the deputy’s car. So now they really are all trapped here until the roads clear, and they can get some medical assistance. Mulder races back into the building to join the others, but before he can reach the apartment, another one of those creatures breaks through a light fixture in the hallway and attacks Mulder.
Miraculously, Mulder also finds some way to fight the creature off. No idea how, because we don’t hear him firing any gunshots. My best guess as to why the creature left Mulder and Deputy Greer alive is that it needs to lay its eggs or larvae or whatever inside a human (or other animal) body. The creature deliberately attacked but didn’t kill these two particular victims. It’s just waiting for its larvae to hatch out.
As Mulder struggles back to the apartment already suffering from similar symptoms as Deputy Greer, George shuts and locks the door, pointing a gun at Scully. If Mulder is now infected by whatever the hell this is, they can’t let him in the apartment with him. What if the creature can spread from person to person???
Mulder is left to struggle out in the hallway, crawling along the floor. He eventually makes it to an open door to the outside, where he finds Reggie the cat. Patiently waiting out there in the rain, as if the cat knows where he will be safe. 🤔😸
Back in the apartment, Scully is facing her own drama. Angela’s water has broken and she has gone into labor very quickly. Even though she has never personally delivered a baby, Scully is the only one there calm enough and with medical training, so she’s going to deliver this baby. As this scene unfolds, both Scully and George keep looking up nervously at the light fixture filling with water. The creature that seemed to attack Mulder came out of a light fixture. It burst out of George’s ceiling. This already risky delivery in the middle of a hurricane now has extra stress and danger.
All of this, plus George won’t stop pointing his gun at Scully. 🙃
You could argue Mulder realizing the rain was saving Reggie the cat makes more sense than Scully’s sudden realization of “it’s the fresh water” that kills the creature, but, eh, they’re both about the same. Scully came to this realization when she was passed a bowl of fresh clean water to wash her hands and made the connection that the piece of the creature in tap water was dead.
Ultimately, Scully successfully delivers Angela and Walter’s baby just as the creature shoots out of the light fixture and grabs George around the neck. Her hands busy with the newborn, Scully orders Walter to grab George’s gun and shoot out the ceiling sprinklers. George is swaying around, fighting off the creature, making it more difficult for Walter to aim. We never actually see whether he made his shot, but he does fire the gun, and the next scene cuts to Dales’ house to reveal Mulder and Scully, with Scully bringing the news that she delivered a healthy baby girl.
We can probably assume that George lived as well?
This little ending sequence is one of the better parts of the episode. Arthur Dales started off the episode annoyed that Mulder dared to bring a non-believer, someone he knew nothing about, down to investigate this case. He didn’t think either of them were taking his neighbors’ disappearance seriously enough. But his ending monologue about Scully bringing new life into the world while slaying a monster is quite sweet. It took Dales less than a day to become completely enamored with Scully and realize how importance her skepticism, her rational mindset, is to the X-files. Maybe if Dales had a partner, he wouldn’t have retired.
Our “Completely Platonic Coworkers”
Not much here, just two potentially sweet little moments
Mulder just wanted to create more fun memories with Scully! She is not amused by this date idea.
Mulder really does know that Scully saves his life. He just wanted to look tough and capable in front of Arthur Dales.
The 90s™
I still say it’s unrealistic how long cell service lasted in the middle of a hurricane in 1999.
Especially when everyone was still using these weird radios and giant stereo setups:
The X-Files is a Comedy
This episode really couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a comedy or a science fiction horror plot, but there were a few moments that made me chuckle.
First, Dales saying he came down to Florida “for the weather” while a hurricane rages behind his windows. 🤣 This is very real, honestly. Most Floridians will tell you this. Hurricane season is nothing! At least we don’t get snow! (Until we do.)
Maybe Scully’s fishing experiences with her father could be of use on this case.
I have a harder time laughing at this one because it’s playing up the ugly stereotype of the angry Latina controlling her useless husband, but Mulder’s deadpan delivery did make me chuckle a bit.
Goofs/Bloopers/Fun Facts
Goofs:
I first need to correct something I have seen some people saying is a goof. Some viewers seem to think that the Shipleys were attacked in a basement, which are very rare in Florida, especially coastal Florida. But nothing about that scene makes me think basement. It looks like a laundry area that is maybe partially open to the outside. Which is fairly common in Florida and other tropical places.
It also might seem like a goof that Scully has never delivered a baby herself. But remember that Scully only (“only”) completed medical school. It’s very possible she observed deliveries during her med school rotations but never performed a delivery herself.
Just reiterating again that sea salt and Epsom salt are not the same thing. If you throw a container of Epsom salt into your aquarium, you’re going to kill your fish!
This also isn’t really a “goof”, but more of a misconception I need to correct that didn’t quite feel worthy of its own full section. Does/can seawater flow into sewer pipes during hurricanes? Yes. Do animals usually flow in through those pipes as well? No, although a snake or frog coming up the toilet isn’t unheard of. You are more likely to find all sorts of weird organisms in the flood waters or down in sewage drains on streets. Sometimes you might even find a swimming armadillo!
Fun facts!
Joel McKinnon Miller (Deputy Greer) later play the role of Detective Norm Scully in Brooklyn Nine-Nine
This episode was Darren McGavin’s last television role before his death in 2006.
Eight water towers with sprinkler bars, along with numerous wind machines, were used to create the hurricane conditions.
The sets were completely destroyed by the time filming concluded.
Six different sets of costumes were required for each cast member.
Gillian Anderson joked that filming this episode was like being back in Vancouver.
“Agua Mala” means bad water in Spanish. It is also slang for the Portuguese Man o' War, a venomous jelly.
Overall Thoughts/Summary
Episode rating: 4/10? I do think it’s just half a step below “El Mundo Gira”, because that episode felt a little bit more like it knew the story was absurd, whereas this episode couldn’t decide if it wanted to be funny or terrifying. And I really do cringe at the gross stereotypes. None of the characters have any depth. Even Dales is there mostly as an afterthought, his retirement alcoholism used as a running joke.
I think there are two different ways this episode (maybe) could have worked. Option one, the writers could’ve played up the comedy more, but with just one or two funny characters. Not a whole cast of weird stereotypes. Similar to “Humbug” or “Bad Blood”. Option two, really play into the terrifying “we’re trapped here with an unknown creature hunting us” aspect, like classics such as “Ice” or “Darkness Falls”. Trying to create something in between those two extremes really didn’t work.
It probably doesn’t help that nothing really happens for the first 18 or so minutes of the episode. We didn’t need to spend so much time investigating the Shipley’s house and showing our agents driving around in a hurricane. I wonder if the episode might have been better if Sara had been left alive, to provide the perspective of a panicking marine biologist who could (better) explain the “science” here. Perhaps we could’ve had an episode that was Dales, Mulder, Scully, the Shipleys, and maybe one or two extras trapped in the Shipley home battling a sea monster.
Leave out the unnecessary gross Hispanic caricature and dramatic baby delivery.
X-Files cases “solved” to date: If this episode has one other thing going for it, it’s that our characters solved the mystery! Neither of them fully understands what the creature is, but they figured out how to kill it.
Hopefully it doesn’t flow back in during the next hurricane…
7/10 for the season, 83/115 overall.
This is one episode I genuinely can’t believe I wrote so much about. I fear this wasn’t my best review/recap. It’s harder to explain the truly absurd episodes.
Next week’s episode is considerably better, from my memory at least. Get ready for some wacky time loops in “Monday”.