Field Trip

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PLOT: Mulder and Scully investigate a couple whose bones were discovered in an area in North Carolina known for strange lights in the sky.

"Field Trip" could be a surrealistic "Don't Do Drugs" message from the producers. After all, certain wild mushrooms have been known to inflict LSD-like effects on human subjects. Usually, one has to *eat* a wild mushroom for that to occur. But mushrooms that cause hallucinations and digest a human body to the bone? Mulder and Scully on drugs? Now, I've seen everything!

Actually, the story was highly original and very clever. What initially seemed like a UFO-themed episode ended up being a rather mind-altering, disturbing, disorienting and sometimes confusing story, but in a good way. The teaser was reminiscent of the "scary" openings of the first two seasons. Something that seemingly appears to be a bothersome headache turns into two dead people. Hence, Mulder and Scully step in.

Of course, the most interesting part of the episode was undoubtedly the hallucinations of Mulder and Scully, and what their inner psyches revealed. The initial "perfunctory dance" that the duo initiated upon arguing the finer points of the case seemed like old hat but with a surprisingly more irritated-than-usual Mulder. They did not appear to be very chummy upon meeting the medical examiner in Asheville, NC, and Mulder looked almost relieved that Scully wasn't going with him to check out Brown Mountain where the remains were found.

Yet, all that changed when Mulder and then Scully visit the site. The mushrooms were very subtle, but just enough attention was brought to it that it had to be an important aspect of the story. Nothing strange occurred until only after each was exposed to the spores projected from the crushed mushrooms. Then, their world literally turned upside down.

In Mulder's hallucination, his biggest wish of confirming extraterrestrial life, AND having Scully agree that he had been right all these years were played out to a tee. In fact, that was what was so strange about the scene from even my first viewing. It was *too* easy and so early in the hour. However, the subtle clue that gave it away was Scully acknowledging that the green substance found on the earlier bodies were just "bog sludge." WE already knew that the real Scully had confirmed that the green slime was basically elements made up of digestive enzymes. But Mulder is so attuned to how Scully's mind works that he could not easily accept her total conversion after all the "discussions" they have had over the past six years. He realized that it was too easy as well, so the hallucination literally collapsed in front of his eyes.

Also, Mulder's mind is so sharp that even in his own hallucination, he was questioning the validity of the Shiff's abduction story. Rather than embrace the idea that they were abductees and experienced the "textbook" abduction, he still did not understand why there were skeletons of the couple that remained. Even after Scully admitted to finally believing his side, Mulder also questioned her on the skeletons.

Meanwhile, Scully goes through her own hallucination as she worries about meeting up with Mulder at Brown Mountain. Her horrified reaction upon finding another skeleton seemed less than shocking but her confirmation that the skeleton was Mulder made up for it. She kept searching for answers even though none were found on the previous victims. The eerie retelling of her own theory of a murder with "ritualistic overtones" by the medical examiner, Skinner and The Lone Gunmen gave it away as a hallucination. Also, who were all those people in Mulder's apartment? Scully appeared as though she recognized many of them, but it seemed rather strange that so many people showed up for Mulder's wake. Maybe in Scully's mind, Mulder is more respected than even he believes himself.

But when Mulder knocks on his own apartment door that opens to a confused Scully does their hallucinations begin to meld together. They compliment each other so well that it was very confusing to know whose hallucination we were witnessing near the end. Also, Mulder and Scully are such thorough and excellent investigators that they are still searching for answers even within their own hallucinations. This was a testament to their strong bond with each other that the human-eating fungus must have recognized to allow such a psychic connection between them. Ironically, allowing that psychic connection helped the duo figure out what was happening to them and caused the fungus to not only lose its meal, but become exposed to the outside world and eventually destroyed (or so we hope).

So the episode showed (yet again) how much Mulder and Scully need each other to truly become effective as investigators and as human beings. Mulder had already stated in the feature film how Scully makes him "a whole person." As for Scully, notice how her control of her emotions even in her hallucination falters once she confirms Mulder's death. Instead of focusing on grieving for the loss of the most important person in her life, she searches for alternative factors to his death. It was also very revealing how she became slowly unglued during her meeting with Skinner. One tear rolls and then another.

"Field Trip" was an unusual, unexpected and surprisingly well done episode that never strayed away from the undeniably strong bond between Mulder and Scully that epitomizes Season 6 episodes. It is so obvious how much the writers love that bond as well since veterans Gilligan, Shiban and Spotnitz all had a hand in the story. Also, you can tell that David and Gillian liked the material as well, since it had a very strange twist even for "The X-Files." They were highly believeable in both reality and hallucination. Another great episode worth another look.

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