The X-Files 3x22: Quagmire
Jul. 31st, 2019 01:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsThe X-Files 3x22: Quagmire
From the title I was pretty sure I knew which episode this was, as it’s an episode I remember that I’ve seen but not a lot about. I must have liked it enough when I was younger for it to stick in my memory a bit (even if I sort of conflated it with the one in I think s5 where they end up in the woods Scully sings and they talk about it raining sleeping bags), but I definitely kind of thought it came later in the series. I thought Scully had Queequeg for longer in the series, since I remembered her having the dog I felt it must have shown up in more episodes.
I would also have to say I think I liked the episode now too. In a way it’s like ‘Syzygy’ in that it’s following Darin Morgan’s lead in lighter, fun episodes, without being as fully crazed as Morgan’s episodes. But it’s also a little like ‘Pusher, ‘in that it really uses the case of the week as an avenue for the lead characters to shine. And while I don’t think it’s as good as ‘Pusher,’ it’s far better than ‘Syzygy,’ and kind of better than most of Morgan’s episodes since it is focused on our characters rather than just the wacky situation.
I’m not sure the plot is as interesting as it would be if it was focused of that element more; but the plot does feel more thought out than usual and it actually kind of makes sense. There’s a crocodile in a lake where it doesn’t belong; it’s depleting the local frog population and moving on to bigger targets; that is a perfectly rational explanation for events. I would question how long the croc has been there since the frogs have been dwindling for a while and now people are being killed really frequently, and it’s really the second half of that that’s the problem because it definitely shouldn’t need to feed this often on such large prey.
(Aside, turns out this episode was in Georgia, as it looks nothing like Georgia and awful lot like the Pacific Northwest, I kept forgetting that fact; if you remember that fact it makes even more sense to assume the culprit is something rational like a crocodile.)
Nor is the dialog necessarily as sharp as it is in episodes focused on the fun and being witty. This isn’t that witty, it’s just light-hearted and done in good humor. Which, again, is kind of better, and a far better target for the case of the week eps to try for, quality over quirkiness. It’s also a hell of a lot better than the bland episodes we’ve gotten so often this season. This isn’t a Twilight Zone episode, this is about Mulder and Scully at the core and what we already know about them and their relationship and their work together, that all matters this time out.
While I have enjoyed the Darin Morgan episodes, it’s this and ‘Pusher’ that give me hope for the case of the week episodes going forward. They can do cases of the week and still have the characters matter and be in focus and do something with them in the story. This season has been kind of uneven, but they were clearly trying out a few more things this season with the weekly episodes (and kind of stumbling on the arc, but we’ll see if they can pull it off in the end of the season) and some of them worked. Some of the ones that didn’t work were also new things, but some of them were old things that need to be phased out.
And I’m saying all that now because I’m feeling relatively positive following this episode and I suspect the season has another clunker in it before we’re done.
Previous status
Remembered that I saw it before, didn’t remember a lot about it.
Are we saying it’s aliens?
We’re not even saying it’s supernatural (except where it seems the lake monster does exist). I have to hand it to the direction, because they filmed all the attack scenes from ground level it sets up that it’s not some giant creature.
Kill counts
Mulder kills a crocodile, and gets poor Queequeg killed
Mulder’s guilt complex check in
Like so many characters, Queequeg kind of casts a larger shadow in death than his limited appearances suggest. Mulder’s going to be feeling bad about Scully losing her dog for decades apparently. He doesn’t really sell a lot of caring in the moment, a bit of the robot searching his files for how to comfort Scully while most of his focus is elsewhere. There is clearly more to the fact that his handicap of obsession and probable mental illness plus the guilt complex isn’t a visible handicap like a peg leg or anything, but I’m not inclined to get into it.
Is that continuity?
Somebody remembered Queequeg’s existence and then decided to simplify things so they didn’t have to account for him anymore down the road.
What’s the FBI’s travel budget?
How does Mulder get these last minute outings approved? How does he think thing is it even possibly an X-file at this point? Is it FBI policy to let people bring their dogs along? Sure Skinner’s probably rubber stamping everything for them at this point, but still I ask.
Who’s driving?
Mulder’s driving. In this case it makes some sense so Scully can keep an eye on the dog’s needs. And Scully does drive the boat.
Is that a cautionary tale I see?
It’s explicitly stated that Mulder is Ahab hunting the elusive white whale. I think the comparison bothers him, since he goes off on a ramble about how he’s not Ahab because he wants a peg leg and all that, but I can’t say I expect him to learn anything from it.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
Scully, you just compared Mulder to your dad; I’m not even sure you realize it, but that’s two Ahabs referenced in the same conversation.
Are they in love?
I’m a little conflicted in this. In some ways they’re very old married couple, very comfortable with each other even as they bicker. In other ways they don’t seem to really like each other that much, like Scully kind resents how much she has to humor Mulder, and Mulder is more focused on the case than caring about her. When they do talk to each other it’s sweet, but also betrays that they don’t seem to really talk that often if he doesn’t know the importance of Moby Dick to her. So...it can probably be read either way, so people are going to end up reading it the way they’re predisposed to read it.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
Also a little conflicted here. Because he doesn’t limit his crazy to Scully, but it doesn’t really bite him in the ass the way it should. The story puts so many people on his side, and after a while even the people who don’t agree with him seem to just decide to go with it. I guess that’s more a comment on the writing allowing Mulder’s crazy and me not necessarily liking it. The flip side of that is when they do take to time examine Mulder’s Ahab tendencies, it really makes his quest much more relatable and an interesting character trait. I don’t know if that balances how crazy he sounds exactly, but it makes the crazy better.
From the title I was pretty sure I knew which episode this was, as it’s an episode I remember that I’ve seen but not a lot about. I must have liked it enough when I was younger for it to stick in my memory a bit (even if I sort of conflated it with the one in I think s5 where they end up in the woods Scully sings and they talk about it raining sleeping bags), but I definitely kind of thought it came later in the series. I thought Scully had Queequeg for longer in the series, since I remembered her having the dog I felt it must have shown up in more episodes.
I would also have to say I think I liked the episode now too. In a way it’s like ‘Syzygy’ in that it’s following Darin Morgan’s lead in lighter, fun episodes, without being as fully crazed as Morgan’s episodes. But it’s also a little like ‘Pusher, ‘in that it really uses the case of the week as an avenue for the lead characters to shine. And while I don’t think it’s as good as ‘Pusher,’ it’s far better than ‘Syzygy,’ and kind of better than most of Morgan’s episodes since it is focused on our characters rather than just the wacky situation.
I’m not sure the plot is as interesting as it would be if it was focused of that element more; but the plot does feel more thought out than usual and it actually kind of makes sense. There’s a crocodile in a lake where it doesn’t belong; it’s depleting the local frog population and moving on to bigger targets; that is a perfectly rational explanation for events. I would question how long the croc has been there since the frogs have been dwindling for a while and now people are being killed really frequently, and it’s really the second half of that that’s the problem because it definitely shouldn’t need to feed this often on such large prey.
(Aside, turns out this episode was in Georgia, as it looks nothing like Georgia and awful lot like the Pacific Northwest, I kept forgetting that fact; if you remember that fact it makes even more sense to assume the culprit is something rational like a crocodile.)
Nor is the dialog necessarily as sharp as it is in episodes focused on the fun and being witty. This isn’t that witty, it’s just light-hearted and done in good humor. Which, again, is kind of better, and a far better target for the case of the week eps to try for, quality over quirkiness. It’s also a hell of a lot better than the bland episodes we’ve gotten so often this season. This isn’t a Twilight Zone episode, this is about Mulder and Scully at the core and what we already know about them and their relationship and their work together, that all matters this time out.
While I have enjoyed the Darin Morgan episodes, it’s this and ‘Pusher’ that give me hope for the case of the week episodes going forward. They can do cases of the week and still have the characters matter and be in focus and do something with them in the story. This season has been kind of uneven, but they were clearly trying out a few more things this season with the weekly episodes (and kind of stumbling on the arc, but we’ll see if they can pull it off in the end of the season) and some of them worked. Some of the ones that didn’t work were also new things, but some of them were old things that need to be phased out.
And I’m saying all that now because I’m feeling relatively positive following this episode and I suspect the season has another clunker in it before we’re done.
Previous status
Remembered that I saw it before, didn’t remember a lot about it.
Are we saying it’s aliens?
We’re not even saying it’s supernatural (except where it seems the lake monster does exist). I have to hand it to the direction, because they filmed all the attack scenes from ground level it sets up that it’s not some giant creature.
Kill counts
Mulder kills a crocodile, and gets poor Queequeg killed
Mulder’s guilt complex check in
Like so many characters, Queequeg kind of casts a larger shadow in death than his limited appearances suggest. Mulder’s going to be feeling bad about Scully losing her dog for decades apparently. He doesn’t really sell a lot of caring in the moment, a bit of the robot searching his files for how to comfort Scully while most of his focus is elsewhere. There is clearly more to the fact that his handicap of obsession and probable mental illness plus the guilt complex isn’t a visible handicap like a peg leg or anything, but I’m not inclined to get into it.
Is that continuity?
Somebody remembered Queequeg’s existence and then decided to simplify things so they didn’t have to account for him anymore down the road.
What’s the FBI’s travel budget?
How does Mulder get these last minute outings approved? How does he think thing is it even possibly an X-file at this point? Is it FBI policy to let people bring their dogs along? Sure Skinner’s probably rubber stamping everything for them at this point, but still I ask.
Who’s driving?
Mulder’s driving. In this case it makes some sense so Scully can keep an eye on the dog’s needs. And Scully does drive the boat.
Is that a cautionary tale I see?
It’s explicitly stated that Mulder is Ahab hunting the elusive white whale. I think the comparison bothers him, since he goes off on a ramble about how he’s not Ahab because he wants a peg leg and all that, but I can’t say I expect him to learn anything from it.
Wow that’s uncomfortable in hindsight
Scully, you just compared Mulder to your dad; I’m not even sure you realize it, but that’s two Ahabs referenced in the same conversation.
Are they in love?
I’m a little conflicted in this. In some ways they’re very old married couple, very comfortable with each other even as they bicker. In other ways they don’t seem to really like each other that much, like Scully kind resents how much she has to humor Mulder, and Mulder is more focused on the case than caring about her. When they do talk to each other it’s sweet, but also betrays that they don’t seem to really talk that often if he doesn’t know the importance of Moby Dick to her. So...it can probably be read either way, so people are going to end up reading it the way they’re predisposed to read it.
How crazy does Mulder sound?
Also a little conflicted here. Because he doesn’t limit his crazy to Scully, but it doesn’t really bite him in the ass the way it should. The story puts so many people on his side, and after a while even the people who don’t agree with him seem to just decide to go with it. I guess that’s more a comment on the writing allowing Mulder’s crazy and me not necessarily liking it. The flip side of that is when they do take to time examine Mulder’s Ahab tendencies, it really makes his quest much more relatable and an interesting character trait. I don’t know if that balances how crazy he sounds exactly, but it makes the crazy better.
