Veiled Vesta

Happy really late birthday Ju and you better tell Neel over on the XF board to put your name on the list! Speaking of which:

You actually came over here and read my long recap(s)! Thanks, hun! Will get to the season 5 summaries this weekend, I promise! I saw Bad Blood and it was amazingly awesome!

Tanith and Cindy, your pic spams were wonderful! The handholding and the hospital scenes made me glad I had fast internet connection on my main computer. (Glad to know their first hand hold was as early as season 2!) Suffice to say you girls are awesome!

Any season 4 episode voted is fine by me. It's always nice to recap episodes even if I end up putting it off because I had to fix a broken laptop plug. (I did not know recharging cables cost close to $100 ) I may or may not post a season 3 finale recap tomorrow. We'll see. Until then, here's the last episode on our viewing party list:

Quagmire

(**Personal Side Note**: I believe Ju said something a while back about a dog present in every episode and when it's the X-Files, only one of two things are to be expected for these dogs: they meet their doom or they almost meet their doom and after they survive we don't see them again. A little fluff ball Pomeranian is about to sacrifice itself for some Mulder/Scully banter on a rock/island thing. God speed, fluff ball.)

We're at a lake in Striker's Cove. An animal enthusiast/field scientist is musing about the frog population at the lake. He's teaching us a important lesson on the near extinction of frogs and our propensity to save cute furry things from extinction. The field scientist, Dr. Farraday by the way, is telling this to an uninterested doctor who would enjoy a nice meal of endangered frog's legs if only to see the look on Farraday's face. Because he feels humans are superior to animals, I can say wth certainty that something bad will happen to him in this environmental friendly episode of the X-Files (Chris Carter, a California tree hugger? Seems that way. ) Dr. Screw-Mother-Nature leaves his colleague and loses his beeper on the way to his car. When he goes into the woods to look for it, he finds not only his missing 90s technology but a very hungry... something. He gets attacked and we see the attack from the attacker's POV. I always knew beepers equaled death.

Opening credits! If Carter must kill off an animal at least once a season, I guess his PETA karma can be balanced out by all the environmental episodes he does (season 1 had Darkness Falls, season 2 had Fearful Symmetry, and here we are at season 3. I'm sure there are other episodes I'm missing for the other seasons and this one but quite frankly I'm too lazy to look them up.)

Hey, Mulder's driving in this episode. And it looks like our agents have some company. Small, fluffy company. It's Scully's pet dog from the episode I covered two recaps earlier! How sad that this is the most screen time it will get, and it's the poor fluff ball's last episode? Queequeg is whining a bit and Scully tells Mulder to make a pooch potty break. Mulder wonders why Scully had to bring "that thing" and she informs him that he dragged her out of bed on a Saturday to do this last-minute investigation and since her mom, the dog sitters, and the evil kennels conspired against her she had to bring her dog along. Mulder decides he may as well use the pit stop to ask for directions though he keeps driving as Scully asks him about their case. By all accounts it seems more like a missing persons thing than an X-File. Mulder kind of dodges her questions as we we see a billboard asking "What's bigger than the sky?" which is quite similar to the earlier billboard our intrepid duo passed which read: "What's older than the hills?" So the billboards are advertising something that's older than the hills and bigger than the sky? OMG, they've got Dick Cheney's sense of self-worth? Looks like Mulder won't answer her questions as to why he's so interested in the case, so Scully looks out her window for some kind of sign. And there it is: "Big Blue. The Southern Serpent. Spot Him at Heuvelmans Lake" Mulder smiles innocently while Scully inwardy roans. So it seems the Loch Ness monster has a cousin living in the states named Big Blue. I wonder if they ever keep in touch.

Mulder and Scully are at Doctor Farraday's little eco-lab while questioning him about the Dr. Bailey, one of the missing persons and he who loses beepers while sneering in Mother Nature's face. Dr. Farraday isn't exactly torn about the disappearance of Dr. Bailey and protests that they shouldn't worry about some missing jerk when thousands of animal species go missing everyday. Scully suspects a possible motive but Mulder asks the irate Dr. Farraday about the possibility of a lake creature attacking their Nature-hatin' friend. Dr. Farraday all but laughs in Mulder's face when he finally ass about Big Blue. He is one of those skeptical scientist types who thinks sea serpents and sasquatches are only good for tabloid fodder and all this serves as a distraction fro the real problem: disappearing frogs. He really loves them little frogs, huh? Mulder wants to clarify that the eco-scientist is on team Scully despite the fact that strange animals get pulled out of large bodies of water more often than one would think. The good doctor pretty much calls Mulder a government paid loony who likes fairy tales before leaving. Them's fightin' words.

Striking out at the eco-lab, Mulder drags Scully to a place where he's more likely to get less hostile answers to his Big Blue questions. Namely, the Big Blue souvenir/bait & tackle shop. Giant big blue balloon dinosaur on top and everything. Scully ties up Queequeg in the drizzly rain and talk about the possibility of Big Blue existing in Heuvelmans Lake. He brings up Nessie and says that there have been some studies suggesting an aquatic dinosaur (a pleiosaur) may lurk in the deep waters of some places having dodged evolution but Scully still thinks that Nessie and all it's cousins and siblings were just made-up by people who fear the unknown. And maybe try and make a few tourist bucks. Mulder thinks something is behind the disappearances in that town. Inside the souvenir shop, Mulder asks directions and gets talked into buying a map. Does it have blue dinosaur print borders? That would be neat. The souvenir shop owner wonders who they are and Scully tells him that they're FBI agents investigating a pair of missing persons reports. The souvenir shop owner is pretty excited by that piece of news, biggest thing to hit their little town since that drunken photographer took the first Big Blue photo, I'll bet. Mulder is really interested in what the souvenir shop owner has to say about Big Blue and the souvenir shop owner spins a story about him and his dad fishing when he was but a wee boy, and how his dad saw Big Blue grab a cow from the shore with their own eyes. Scully suspects these stories serve to sell shirts to gullible believers: "No, Mulder, you are *not* getting matching his and her shirts saying: I went to see Big Blue and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!" The two agents soon come face to face with the Big Blue expert himself, Ansel. Apparently it was his dad's cow that got eaten and he's been dead set on going out to the lake to capture Big Blue on film ever since. Ansel thinks Big Blue is definitely behind the mysterious disappearances despite the fact that he's never seen the lake monster. Keep the hope alive, oh crazy one.

Outside, Ansel is spearing worms and fishing for dinner or possibly Big Blue babies but even though he doesn't get that, he does pull in something just as surprising. He rushes back in to tell the souvenir shop owner and our two agents that he got himself a dead body. Mulder and Scully get out to investigate and find that their dead body is only half there. The top part has been eaten and his jean-clad torso is all that's left. They identify the body as one of the missing people then Scully notices that the dead guy's fly is down. Nice. Mulder wants to know if that's supposed to mean something and Scully explains that their dead guy could've been drunk and peeing off the dock when he fell in and drown. All that from his fly being undone. That's a Mulder-style leap of logic right there. Kudos, Scully. Mulder says it doesn't explain the big bite taken out of the guy but Scully thinks it looks more like small fish sized nibbles because fish tend to eat whatever decomposing matter they can find. Fish don't tend to eat half and save half for later, as Mulder so eloquently puts it.

Later at night the souvenir shop owner is making sure he gets good business by stomping around the muddy woods with dinosaur-feet shaped boots. He makes some decent tracks before getting stuck on something. Then we get monster-vision as the souvenir shop owner gets attacked. He calls for help but to no avail. The next day Mulder and Scully join Ansel who identifies the souvenir shop owner's classy hat: 'Show Us Your Bobbers'. Wow, that hat is so deliciously tacky, I want one! Partly for me and partly for my brother who loves those kinds of hats and shirts. Ansel and Mulder, having seen the fake monster tracks and taking them for the real thing, suspect the souvenir shop owner has been the latest target of Big Blue. Scully introduces Mulder to the town sheriff who has joined their investigation, Sheriff Heads. He tells Ansel to check the woods because he won't stop taking pictures of every little thing. Scully also has her dog with her and it's like a mini version of Lassie in the way it's tugging on it's leash and trying to lead Scully to a major clue. A Big Blue's clue. The Sheriff is there level out the team: he's siding with Scully on the skeptical train. He asks Mulder why he wants to close down the lake and Mulder just wants to do it as a precaution. The sheriff reiterates Scully's story about drunk fishermen who fall into the lake and drown. Plus their bodies could get run over by power boats which would account for the appearance of a half eaten corpse. Furthermore, the lake is too big for him and his men to close and Scully agrees that they need solid evidence before calling in the National Guard or something to close the lake. Mulder points at the tracks and Scully thinks that the impressions aren't deep enough to be real. Finally, Queequeg tugs it's leash loose and runs toward the area of the woods where the fake dinosaur boots are still lying around in the mud. Scully runs after her dog and finds the boots. She's all to glad to call Mulder and the sheriff to point it out. Looks like Lil' Lassie debunked your Big Blue theory for now, Mulder. Just one more reason for him to despise the little Pomeranian.

Stoner dude and drunk chick at a pier. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before. I've felt the same way the first time I saw this episode and I was hoping on my third viewing it's be on the tip of my tongue, at least. No such luck. anyway the stoner dude is convincing the drunk chick that licking toads will give them the ultimate free high. Unfortunately he's licking an endangered frog that Farraday is so gung-ho about saving. Frog does not equal toad and eww, he doesn't even know where that slimy thing has been. He's got a million different bacteria on his tongue right about now and drunk chick is not drunk enough to follow his lead. The third member to their party isn't as stoned or drunk as them but he's dumb enough to dive in that lake and will have to pay for it by being attacked by our mystery creature. After alot of blood churning to the surface we see his severed head surface. Well that's certainly a buzz kill. :drinks:

Mulder and Scully are at their new crime scene watching the decapitated head get zippered up into a mini body bag. Their two eye-witnesses didn't provide the sheriff with much unless you count half-remembered Discovery Channel knowledge as something useful. Left to their own hypotheses, Scully thinks the head came into contact with a boat propeller and the sheriff agrees because the guy was diving in a designated boating area. Mulder thinks it can't be possible since it happened so close to shore and it happened more than once, then he asks what about the souvenir shop owner? Scully thinks he just cut himself, bled into his silly dino-shoes a bit then left to hide out in embarrassment. Mulder scoffs at her embarrassment theory. Scully thinks her ideas are easier to believe than his silly pleiosaur theory. Meanwhile, Ansel is taking his last crappy pictures as he sets up an inner tube full of meat in the lake to bait Big Blue. He actually seems to get something and he grabs his camera, excitedly taking pictures but he forgot to take off he lens cap. Idiot! Why was it even on there in the first place? He gets attacked by our mystery monster and thus he goes to the big crazy house in the sky.

Mulder has found out about the most recent attack and he's urging the sheriff to close down the lake. He's talking about how all the driving around he's been doing from crime scene to crime scene is giving him "highway hypnosis". He could just say he's a lightweight when it comes to motion sickness. I guess that's not as commanding and would take away from his point. The sheriff remains unconvinced as he's trying to pull a body out of the lake using a rope and hook, and Scully is right there backing the sheriff up... right until the sheriff gets pulled into the lake and experiences a near attack first hand. Then he changes his tune faster than Krycek that Rat changes sides.

Later that night, Mulder is looking through a ton of photographs from the crackpot Big Blue expert, Ansel. He shows a photo to Scully, wondering if it looks like a tooth to her. That would've been an excellent time to crack: "I think it looks more like a horned beast." Instead, she wonders how fifteen years of taking pictures and searching for Big Blue lead to virtually nothing tangible. His blurry picture taking skills do not impress her but Mulder is still convinced that there might be a gem hidden among the thousands of photographs. He's willing to look through thousands of blurry photographs? No wonder Scully takes her Queequeg life saver and gets out of helping him by saying she's taking her dog for a walk. Mulder offers to go with her in a distracted voice that obviously suggests he's only saying it to be polite. As much as I would've liked for her to accept his offer (who can resist a moonlit stroll?) I think it's for the best that she declined. Knowing Mulder and his current train of thought, he'd find a way to irritate Scully by making the walk into something about Big Blue – maybe ditching her mid stroll after seeing a shadow – and that can only result in two things: a pissed off Scully and a clueless Mulder. She might even run after him and use Queequeg's collar to strangle him, thus fulfilling Bruckman's prediction... and it would all come full circle. Scully and Queequeg walk around with Scully growing impatient that her dog is taking it's sweet time to do it's business. When Queequeg starts barking and tugging at it's leash Scully gets worried. For a small fluff ball, it sure is strong. If Mulder were there he'd have grabbed the leash with one hand and gotten the dog back with one good, satisfying yank. Plus he'd be able to see first hand the monster that had been responsible for the disappearances but then we wouldn't have gotten the lovely rock island scene. Scully of the little feet chases after Queequeg of the even littler feet, all the while calling it's name. It isn't until the handle part of the leash snags on a log that she grabs it but when she pulls it back she sees, much to her shock, that little Queequeg isn't attached to the leash. It must've made quite the delicious fluffy snack to that hungry monster.

Scully is back at the motel sitting on a couch and looking terribly depressed. Mulder just gives her a simple "Sorry about Queequeg" but you can tell from his voice that he doesn't mean it and he immediately focuses back on the pictures, telling Scully that five years ago fish in the lake had been spotted in the middle but over the years the fish sightings have been moving closer to shore. Scully has zoned out on Mulder right after he said "I'm sorry" (I would have too) and Mulder just ignores that, asking if Scully knows how to drive a boat. He's asking a Navy man's daughter if she can drive a boat? Okay, Mulder really needs to work on his 'paying attention' skills. Especially since our poor Scully lost a small fluffy pet.

Later on, Mulder and Scully are in the boat with Scully amazed that Mulder really expects to find Big Blue. He merely hopes and says "Seek and ye shall find." Scully informs him that on old mariner's maps, cartographers would mark uncharted territories by writing "Here be monsters". Mulder jokes that he's got an NYC map like that. Hah. Suddenly Scully sees something big on her boat radar and Mulder quips "Here be monsters". It looks like the thing is coming right for them and they watch until their boat gets rammed. Good one, guys. The boat is taking on water and after failing to get help via radio, Mulder and Scully opt to abandon ship, wearing life jackets, of course (safety first). They're lucky they find a large rock/mini island in the lake to stand on. Mulder thinks they should swim to shore but their lantern does nothing to tell them where shore is in the dark, non-city night. Scully gets pessimistic about nature and how her father had taught her to respect nature because nature will not hesitate to lay a can of whoop-ass on you, given the chance. They hear some loud splashes and turn their guns to the possible threat... but it's nothing. Well, Mulder whispers in awe that it was probably Big Blue. Scully's exasperation and exhaustion come through as she says so what, and asks what they're doing there. Mulder needs clarification on her question. She wants to know why he's looking for Big Blue. Mulder is taken aback at such a question. As a scientist, she should be just as eager as him to find this evolutionary discovery. Scully doesn't believe that. She mentions the photos and tells him that the blurry photographer is Mulder's future. I can see the similarities. Hopefully he'll have the sense to use a disposable camera to avoid the lens cap problem. Scully even thinks Ansel's reasons to find Big Blue (making money off a genuine Big Blue photo) are more legitimate than Mulder's. That's some nice Scully passive aggressiveness right there. Suddenly they hear another splash and they jump up, their guns aimed at whatever menace... oh it's a duck. Mulder is still tempted to shoot the damn duck but gets shoved by Scully. They've already hit their innocent animal killing quota.
Later on at the rock after exhausting "Eye Spy" and not even going for "Truth or Dare", our two agents must find another way to entertain themselves on the rock of shippy hope. Mulder tries to start up conversation by asking if Scully could ever cannibalize someone. Even though the idea isn't pleasant she figures if it came down to it she probably would. Mulder points out she's lost some weight and she starts to thank him for noticing but then realizes what he meant and glares at him. These two are alone on a rock and he just cannot keep his foot out of his mouth. No flirting or possible heart-to-hearts just yet. Mulder must connect his conversation to Big Blue, saying that it's amazing what some animals will do to survive and how it coming to shore for food must've been an act of desperation. At this, Scully laments her poor little fluffy dog, and Mulder asks why she named the dog Queequeg. She explains the origins of the name: it was a character in Moby Dick. She called her dad Ahab and he called her Starbuck (also characters from Moby Dick) because he used to read the book to her when she was young. Odd bedtime story if you ask me, though I haven't read the book, cliff's notes are a God send so if you want to know more about the nicknames, Goggle it. That's when Scully realizes something and Mulder thinks she's referring to Queequeg being a funny name for a dog. Yeah, it's about as funny as the name Fox is for a boy. Scully goes on a Moby Dick inspired analysis of Mulder, comparing him to captain Ahab and his quest for the truth similar to Ahab's quest to get the great white whale. Good parallels are drawn here but Mulder merely asks her if she's coming on to him. She continues with her speech and when she's done, calling him Ahab, he tells her it's funny she mentions it because he's always wanted an Ahab-style peg leg. Oh haha, Mulder. No, wait, he wants us and Scully to hear him out. He thinks that if he had a peg leg he'd be much happier because he wouldn't have to work so hard as a normal person and if he had a peg leg he'd be congratulated on simply living with his disability. Did he just insult disabled people? Scully looks fairly annoyed by this speech. Mulder quotes some Moby Dick to soothe her ire, and she cutely mouth most the line with him. Then they hear another sound but it ain't no duck. Their lamp goes out so they must face their adversary in the dark and... oh it's frog lovin' Dr. Farraday. He wants to know what they're doing on the rock and semi-sarcastically wonders if he's interrupting something. Cold wet sex on a rock? We wish. They tell him about their boat that sank and Scully is glad he heard their distress call. Dr. Farraday didn't hear any distress call, he was actually just walking by when he heard their Moby Dick convo. Yes, it turns out our agents were a couple of feet away from shore in knee deep water. Their faces must be really red but thankfully hidden in the darkness.

Once on shore, Scully questions what he's doing out at that time of night. He's got a sackful of frogs ready to be released into the wild and that time of night is perfect to go searching for frog eggs. Man, he really, *really* loves frogs. Mulder realizes that the depletion of frogs originating at Striker's Cove explains why an animal who may have dined on frogs would suddenly resort to attacking humans (and fluffy Pomeranians) when it's food source became scarce. Dr. Farraday rolls his eyes as he says that once and for all, there is no such thing as Big Blue. Mulder refuses to budge on his theory, he thinks that Big Blue actually lives in the cove and Dr. Farraday hasn't seen it because it's a master at evading capture. Dr. Farraday will have no more of Mulder's nonsense so he leaves with his froggy friends and Scully asks her Spooky captain what's next on their little adventure. The sheriff appears from out of nowhere and tells them there's been another death. Well that answers her question. He tells them it happened on the other side of the lake, hours ago and they're searching the lake but Mulder wants them to search the cove and the woods as per his newly formed theory of where Big Blue might live. The sheriff refuses but Scully comes to Mulder's aid and sweetly asks for some men to help them search. The sheriff is willing to listen to this pretty first mate and he leaves, Mulder mumbling his thanks before they hear a rustle and assume the worst. Our skeptical Dr. Farraday's words have finally come back to bite him in the ass. Literally. Well, almost. His leg will have to do. He tells them that something attacked him from behind and he's bleeding pretty badly. Scully stays behind with the eco-scientist and Mulder rushes off after the creature that attacked him. He looks around, jumping at every little sound and nearly shooting a frog. He's being stalked by the creature but luckily, but he hears a branch snap and turns to face it. He gets two shots fired before running for his life but he trips and it looks like he may be a goner. He's not gonna be the next target of this monster's insatiable appetite, and he fires his gun several more times, finally killing it. We get a good look at a very big, very dead alligator.

Dr. Faradday gets loaded into an ambulance and Scully joins Mulder by the lake as he stares out looking pensive. She asks hi how he is and he replies he's fine. She congratulates on slaying the "big white whale" but Mulder cracks that he's still got no peg leg. Want her to shoot it for you, mopey? Scully wants to know why he's so down, after all he killed the giant alligator and saved the little lake town. Mulder's just disappointed that their creature was mundane. He wanted to find Big Blue. He wanted it to be real because it gave his crazy believing mind a sort of hope. Scully, to her credit, comforts him unlike the way he did when her dog became gator chow. She says that there's always hope and that's why stories like these endure: because there will always be people who want to believe. He smiles at her and she smiles back before leaving. After a moment Mulder turns and follows her as well. And of course it just so happens that right after he leaves, we see Big Blue popping it's head out of the lake surface. Damnit all! Where were you when Mulder needed you, Big Blue? Yeah, go on and swim away; swim away like a coward!