"Detour"

"Yeah. How do I say this without using any negative words, Scully. "
Originally Aired 11/23/97

"Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted."

Being a fan of science fiction and supernatural stories means you're willing to go along with a multitude of concepts, from mutated fluke worms to wearing sunglasses to read subliminal messages. Yet there's something about this episode that just didn't sit right with me. I'd rather have no explanation than the one we were given.

Now don't think I totally hated this hour of The X-Files, though it did take a while for it to interest me. Mulder doesn't even let Scully drive the car, so I don't think he'd even consider handing over the keys to someone else, especially that guy! Most episodes involve a case being presented to Mulder and Scully, so I thought it was refreshing how this one actually came to them when they stumbled onto it. Also, I really liked the effects used to create the monsters that stalked their prey in the forest. While the cloaking effect was kind of like the movie Predator or even Season One's "Fallen Angel", I didn't mind it since they still had their own unique look, including their red eyes. There's even a scene that's similar to Season 3's "Quagmire", except I felt like the heartfelt conversation between Mulder and Scully was better suited to this episode. The scene in "Quagmire" felt like it was added to a weak episode to give it something memorable, while in "Detour" they were reflecting on Scully's recent bout with cancer.

Where things get a little silly was the moment when Mulder and Scully team up with the rescue crew to look for the missing people. Despite being silly, this stretch of the episode won me over after the first half was a fairly typical X-Files investigation. This lady with Mulder and Scully literally leaves behind a trail of breadcrumbs and I was thinking about how some animal would probably eat them, and at that moment the monstery hand appears to grab one! It looked more like a jelly bean, but seriously lady, why not leave something a lot less edible like a flag? I was also thinking to myself that with the amount of people that have disappeared, they've probably just fallen into a really deep hole out there in the woods. That's EXACTLY what happened, too! I'm "two for two" in this episode. Well, it's not like they fell into the hole, its more like the invisible baddies live underground and have strung up their victims in a tunnel.

Okay, so here's the moment you've been waiting for...or not. Even though I said I liked the creativity in creating the baddies and I got both of my predictions right, now I'll explain why I wasn't totally satisfied with "Detour." I just didn't like the explanation for the baddies, I'd rather have it be a mystery. I did like the fact that this episode shares a similar plot to Season One's "Darkness Falls", in which nature strikes back. I'd have just left it with that rather than adding some wacky theory about the baddies being ancient Spanish Conquistador spirits. Especially that ending scene where the remaining Spanish spirit has followed Scully to her exact hotel room; how did he know which one was hers? I would rather leave it open to the possibility that more of these baddies are haunting the woods and not stalking an unlucky cleaning lady.

Maybe this episode will win me over with time. Its happened to other episodes like "Syzygy". For now my thoughts are it's a good episode with a bad ending; cut off that motel room epilogue and I'd be a happy camper.