S01.E20: Darkness Falls

[HalcyonDays]

Episode synopsis:   A group of loggers working in a remote forest unearth thousands of deadly insect-like creatures that paralyze - and then cocoon - their victims. Written by: Chris Carter. Directed by: Joe Napolitano.

 

[joelene]

I've been tried to catch up with my rewatch, as you might've noticed... (although I've skipped some and watched out of order)

 

And hello one of my favorite episodes! Top 5, I think. Maybe even top 3. I don't think there's anything I don't love about this episode. I'm a sucker for isolation settings. 

 

How about that cocoon? So awesome, so well done.

That asshole Steve? So satisfying when the green bugs get him.

Even Scully freaking out is great. It's not because she's "the woman", it's just a terrifying situation. It's nice to see one or both of them freak out occasionally. It makes them human.

 

Also, in the shallow realm of things, there's Larry in his tight forest ranger pants.

 

*swoon*

 

I always thought he was serious eye candy (maybe I'm the only one), which is nice because there really isn't much of that in the show. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that the producers didn't seem to go much by looks when they cast guest roles (in that they looked like people you could actually encounter in real life, not that everyone was ugly, obviously), but it didn't hurt when a looker like Larry popped up. Heh.

[Bastet]

Jason Beghe will always be the cop Thelma and Louise locked in the trunk, but I like him as Larry, too.  And, yes, the man is fine.  He's friends with DD, which is how he got the role.

 

I love this episode.  (I can't watch it without cringing for GA having to be hoisted up in a tree and rocked around in a Jeep while puking her guts out from morning sickness, but I enjoy it anyway.)  The growing tension is palpable, it's so well done.  It's just a very interesting story all the way through.  Definitely one of my favorite season one episodes.

 

I was at my parents' house for the Super Bowl, and going around the dial in disgust after the game.  Two channels I don't get but my parents do are showing XF, and one of them was airing this episode.  I was too pissed off to enjoy it so I only left it on a few minutes, but my mom - who used to occasionally watch the show with me back in the day, but that's it - said, "I remember this one."  It's just that good. 

[Hidebehind]

I agree with both of you---this is a great episode! I think I've mentioned this before, but I vividly remember this episode from my childhood. I wouldn't go outside at night for weeks after I saw it, and it still scares me a little bit.

 

I think it's hilarious when Mulder stands on top of the stump. He's such a dork.

 

  

[millennium]

This was a good MOTW ep.   It helped to define the series because the critters had a kind of scientific plausibility and it served as an ecological cautionary tale.

[Taryn74]

I wish I could love this one as much as ya'll do, heh.  There's not anything about it that I actively dislike, it just fails to grab me.

 

I did like Scully freaking out after she realizes the bugs are actually all over her.  I would have been the same way.

 

If light keeps the bugs from swarming, then why was the dude not safe while standing directly in the headlights of the car?  And for that matter, why didn't they have the interior lights in the car on, along with every flashlight they could get their hands on?  One dim light bulb in the cabin seemed to be enough to protect them there, so why not in the car?  Eh.

[SparklesBitch]

I love this episode as well, for many reasons, but one of my favorites is:

 

"And you suspect what? Bigfoot?"

 

Ah, Scully. And people wonder why I've been your devoted fangirl for 23 years. =)

 

I remember being nervous about bugs in general after seeing this episode the first time as a kid. It's still one of my favorites, though. That cocoon is definitely amazing and it was really satisfying to watch that Steve guy bite it. This episode has always appealed to me because it felt like something that could actually happen...nature being mysterious and dangerous enough to kill you and all that. It also has that edge of your seat thing going for it. Very well done.

[Bastet]

This is in my top three of season one episodes.  I've said before that, knowing how utterly miserable Gillian was with pregnancy sickness while being hoisted up in trees and rocked around in a Jeep so that the poor woman had a bucket just out of camera range at all times, I can kind of get distracted by that on re-watch, but it's such an enjoyable episode.  Interesting case, suspenseful danger, hot-ass Jason Beghe ... I love it.