"Agua Mala"

"Yes, I'm curious, Mulder, but I'm also suspicious I think that Mr. Dales' story is fueled more by his imagination and not much deeper than the bottom of a highball."
Originally Aired 2/21/99

And so ends The X-Files twenty-three episode streak of excellence which began with "Chinga" on February 8, 1998. That was the creative peak of The X-Files and it was an amazing year that included the faceless alien rebels, one of the most beloved fan favorites called "Bad Blood", Michael McKean's guest role as "Morris Fletcher", the demise of the Syndicate, and even the feature film Fight the Future. I just realized that sounds like I am eulogizing the series. I'm not, yet it's always a bit strange how the series follows up a big two-part conspiracy thriller with a "status quo" episode that makes no mention of the Earth-shaking events from the previous week. There's no mention of Jeffrey Spender's whereabouts and Scully seems perfectly fine with Mulder nearly turning to the dark side and choosing Diana Fowley over her.

I enjoyed Season Five's approach to following the huge mythology episodes, which is that they didn't follow-up at all. They did the complete opposite and featured "flashback" stories about the beginnings of The X-Files. "Usual Suspects" was an episode that told the backstory of the Lone Gunmen and how they came to meet Agent Mulder. "Travelers" went back even further and told how Mulder learned of The X-Files and who originally worked on these "unsolved cases." The "father of The X-Files" was Agent Arthur Dales and he was portrayed in a later version of the character by Darren McGavin. The actor is most famous for the movie A Christmas Story but it was his TV character of Kolchak that actually served as a partial inspiration for The X-Files TV series. His presence lifts the episode somewhat above being a stinker, though it's odd that he appears here of all places.

Another factor that gives this episode a boost is Gillian Anderson. She always brings a fiery intensity to her role of Agent Scully and "Agua Mala" is no different. I've noticed that if an episode is on a one-way ticket to Dullsville, Scully is more likely to salvage it than Mulder. Sure, Mulder is the reigning king of one-liners, but Scully's manner of shooting down his theories with the greatest of ease is often a thing of beauty. Her make-shift operation in this episode was pretty neat, too.

I usually try to find something enjoyable in every episode of The X-Files, which in "Agua Mala" are Scully and Arthur Dales, though I'm not sure they turned this into a classic episode. While it is a return to form with a "monster-of-the-week" and the monster does have unique look to it (it reminded me of a face hugger in Aliens), this dud of a script is a lot to overcome for even the best of actors. It's set in Florida during a hurricane, with Mulder and Scully investigating a disappearance at the request of Mr. Dales. During the episode Scully informs Mulder that the airport is closing due to the weather and I'm honestly surprised they were even able to arrive in Florida in the first place. I know Mulder can fly off to faraway places like Russia on a whim and I'll go along with it for the sake of good drama, but this does not match the intensity of "Tunguska" nor "Piper Maru." There's even a lot of traveling for them by car, as they travel from Dales' residence to the site of the disappearance and off to an apartment complex for the bulk of the episode. I think this episode needed another revision to its script that could have combined this into one location. It might have made slightly more sense if the family that disappeared were also in this apartment complex, maybe even Dales too, then actually teaming with the agents could have justified his appearance in another standalone episode. The cast of characters housed in this apartment complex aren't the most "complex" of characters, though I did kind of enjoy the radical, gun nut guy. I've read other X-Files reviewers state that the guest stars in this episode are stereotypical, though maybe they actually haven't spent much time in Florida. I think these are exactly the types of folks you'd encounter in Florida, especially if you've ever head of the segment called "Germany or Florida?" on the radio program, Loveline. All the nuts really do roll down to Florida.