X-Files 6.13: "Agua Mala"

Written by David Amann
Directed by Rob Bowman

In which Mulder and Scully investigate the reports of a possible creature from the sea killing those left behind in an evacuated Florida town at the height of a hurricane…

Status Report

Coming on the heels of the mythology-heavy “Two Fathers”/”One Son” duology, the timing of this particular episode was more than a little unfortunate. A lot of fans were still buzzing over the massive shift in the direction of the series, while others were annoyed and fed up with the growing lack of cohesiveness since the end of the fifth season. It was the completely wrong time for a poor-to-mediocre “monster of the week” episode.

Unfortunately, someone thought that this episode made enough sense, right down to the budget for an entire fleet of rain trucks, to produce the episode and run it during sweeps. Needless to say, the reactions were enormously negative. Angry reactions began with the realization that Mulder and Scully were back on the X-Files without a word regarding the process of making that happen. Diana Fowley’s situation was never addressed, and Cancer Man’s plans for Mulder and Scully apparently disappeared in the wake of the Syndicate’s destruction. Why, after months of putting the agents into the most difficult situation possible, would everything simply jump back to square one?

Before the teaser was over, another logical problem emerged. The hurricane season on the East Coast runs from June to November. The events of “One Son” took place in early 1999. So when exactly was this episode supposed to take place? Mulder and Scully were assigned to domestic terrorism cases and background checks for the entire 1998 hurricane season. Mulder met Arthur Dales in “Travelers” in the spring of 1998, so it couldn’t have been a past event. So unless the writers were jumping into the future (thus negating some of the tension for the end of the season), this episode was never meant to fit into any acceptable spot in the continuity.

Both issues would become hallmarks of the post-“Fight the Future” version of the series in the sixth and seventh seasons. As the writers turned more towards the “iconic” versions of the characters over the more complicated versions developed through the fifth season, there was less need or desire to make sense of the flow from episode to episode. And while that was never considered vitally important by Chris Carter, the situation became steadily worse as other showrunners struggled with the network and the desire to keep new viewers from fleeing.

There is an attempt at balance in this episode, as evidenced by the connections made with Arthur Dales and Scully’s medical training. Mulder is more than just a wise-cracking paranormal and conspiracy nut, and Scully is more than just a scientific skeptic. But a lot of the context is missing beyond that. In some scenes, especially those with Arthur Dales, it almost seems like the writing staff needed to remind everyone why Scully was so important to Mulder’s crusade.

Joining Mulder and Scully for this little adventure is a band of hurricane refugees who are supposed to be wacky and amusing. They turn out to be annoying. Walter and Angela are two Cubans with a child on the way, and so of course, the baby must inevitably be born in the middle of the crisis. Angela’s lines are particularly cringe-worthy. There’s also a looter, played by someone trying desperately to channel Steve Buscemi, and a gun nut named George who looks like he’s ready to repel an invasion.

Rounding out the list of sins, the monster itself makes no sense at all. Creatures requiring salt water to survive are well understood, but none of them are effectively invisible and non-corporeal until enough water collects to allow them to materialize. The writers seem to be reaching for a nice little bottle show like “Ice”, but those episodes are usually used to reveal something about the characters trapped in that isolating situation. Nothing new is revealed about Mulder and Scully at all, and so everything becomes dependent on the novelty of the “monster”.

For those reasons, many fans consider this to be one of the worst episodes of the sixth season. One can’t help to wonder why they decided to bring back Arthur Dales for an episode that did nothing for the recurring character. In fact, his presence in the episode is completely unnecessary. Anyone could have served Dales’ function, and that odd lack of consideration touches nearly every aspect of this episode.

Memorable Quotes

SCULLY: “What he means is I don’t hear a story about a sea monster and automatically assume it’s the Lord’s gospel truth…”

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was a massive disappointment to fans, leaving the audience with a number of questions about continuity by the end. The return of Arthur Dales is hard to reconcile, as his experience with the X-Files is never a meaningful factor. The guest cast is largely annoying, and the isolated circumstances of the plot never lead into an exploration of Mulder and Scully. In short, there is little reason to re-watch this particular dud.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 0/4

Final Rating: 4/10