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Overall, I thought this episode lacked any real plot or common sense. It was fine in some of the Mulder/Scully interactions but the plot was pretty thin, and the "sea monster" was silly. However, I was impressed with the production quality. It isn't easy to simulate hurricane-like conditions, particularly in Southern California. But as I was watching, I had no doubt that all the actors felt the fury and the wetness of a full-blown hurricane crashing into their lives. Adding a sea monster to the mix only makes it more tense. Besides that, I didn't find the episode as clever as the premise may have hinted.
We do see the return of Darren McGavin as retired F.B.I. agent, Arthur Dales. He is the Fox Mulder of his time, because he opened the X-Files. Yet, instead of recounting an experience that Mulder has only read, we see him in this episode as a kind of garnish to try to help appetize a rather bland meal. Is Dales' presence a foreshadowing of what Mulder will be in 40 years? Let's hope not. Of course, Dales didn't have a Scully to kick him in the rear when he needed it.
Now why would anyone want to be *flying* into a hurricane? What airline would actually say, "Oh gee, it's only a little wind and rain. We'll be okay." How Mulder and Scully were able to get to Florida is an interesting X-File in itself. I'm actually surprised that Scully tagged along on this wild ride. By the time they even left D.C., the weather reports must have been going on for hours about how intense the winds were blowing or how many inches of rain has already hit the ground. All I can say is that either they were incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. No matter how compelling a case, it's never smart to mess with Mother Nature.
The monster effects were convincingly slimy but the whole premise of a sea monster that has a weakness for fresh water is pretty...weak. What exactly was the point that this monster needed humans? It seems to travel pretty well between houses, so there was certainly no reason to believe that it couldn't have found itself back into the deep blue sea. I just thought the plot seemed too contrived and lacked an edge to make it more interesting.
I did like that Mulder and Scully seemed to have that repoire displayed extremely well in this episode. For instance, Mulder's comment to Scully that they would laugh about this experience in a few years. The look that Scully gave him was a mixture of a smile and a scowl, but she appreciated Mulder's gesture. Only two people who have experienced as much as Mulder and Scully can appreciate a joke in the middle of a natural disaster.
One of the biggest flaws of this episode was how the writer seemed to surround Mulder and Scully with extreme characatures of a supporting cast. They run into a hick sheriff, a happy-go-lucky looter, a pregnant Latina who seemed to borrow her accent from Rosie Perez and a militant, gun-toting paranoid neighbor. And it was interesting how Scully actually looked confused through the whole situation. For someone who has been up against aliens and government conspirators, Scully seemed timid in front of the gun-toting neighbor. And even though her field is in pathology, she still had to go through obstetrics as part of her medical training (as all of you "ER" fans are aware). So Scully wasn't exactly painted in a very flattering light.
If you need an X-Files fix, this episode will do as long as you re-watch better Season 6 episodes like "Arcadia" and "Triangle." This wasn't the worst episode ever made, but I think it fits that title for Season 6. If possible, move on to "Monday."
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