The X-Files: The Jersey Devil   Rewatch 
March 1, 2020 9:02 PM - Season 1, Episode 5 - Subscribe

Scully and Mulder go to Atlantic City to investigate the case of a partially eaten body found in the nearby woods.
posted by orange swan (3 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Duchovny was having fun on this shoot. Finding his way.

"It was David Duchovny that suggested to Chris Carter that Claire Stansfield should play The Jersey Devil. Duchovny and Stansfield had met earlier while filming Red Shoe Diaries: The Bounty Hunter (1992) together.

This is the first episode to make reference to Mulder's obsession with pornography. ("Anti-gravity is right".)"
posted by valkane at 10:02 PM on March 1, 2020


Scully's amused tolerance of Mulder's porn habit is always a lot of fun. He's a guy who very reliably treats women with respect and care (he can be sexist sometimes, but his non-misogynist cred is generally very good), so she understands it's just a harmless outlet for him.

By the way, did anyone else get the feeling Mulder would have liked to bang the she-devil? Or at least considered it?

I find it very satisfying that that homeless guy got a night in a decent hotel, where he could have a bath, sleep in a clean comfortable bed, and watch some HBO.

I'm not buying that Mulder would have been arrested during his stint in the homeless camp. He's a well-groomed, well-dressed white guy in a suit, he hadn't broken any laws, and he surely would have had his FBI I.D. on him. What would the police even have arrested him for?

Scully had told her friend she thought Mulder was cute, heh. This is the only indication she gives of being attracted to Mulder for years to come. Scully's godson is never mentioned again during the entire run of the show. And as for the guy who thought talking about how he wanted to run over his son's stepfather with a vehicle was appropriate first date conversation, I would have passed him up too, Mulder or no Mulder, but in Scully's case it's an indication that she's chosen to prioritize her work with Mulder over having a fuller personal life. I hope she ditches that lace top too, because it was pretty awful. I remember Cortex did a snarky recap site of The X-Files with his partner (that they abandoned not too far into the run, and then took down) on which they referred to the blouse as "being made out of old ladies", and I don't disagree.
posted by orange swan at 2:58 PM on March 2, 2020


Huh, Scully (and everyone else) still feels the need to wear pantyhose/ stockings as part of business attire.

That lace top looked it it was from someone in 1993 who took 80's soaps as contemporary fashion advice. It was fitted very well.

But that updo (hairdo style) would have cost a bunch if done at a salon. Overall feels very "try hard" for a first date.

What I loved best about this episode is that they let Mulder have unsculpted hair. Mulder has had ostentatiously great hair since the pilot, but it takes effort and resources to make/ keep it so. After being released from jail, I love that Mulder's hair looks like absolute crap.

Same with him after getting his short term memory chemically wiped the previous episode before.


"Are you a cop?"
"No. I'm FBI."
"... I'll show you something..."


might have aged worse than the boxy suits and "individualistic" ties.


I dunno, Mulder was trying to blend in, to attract the cryptid. That he did a sufficient job to convince the more easily convinceable brute squad also isn't too far fetched. Then again, I think that cops were harassing him on purpose/ orders.

"It's not hard to see how they mistook you for a vagrant ... Am I buying? Or did you manage to panhandle some spare change while you were at it?"



"I like you Mulder, but I would like to have a life."

I think it was a great decision to keep Scully and Mulder's romantic relationship purely as a slow burn/ tension/ denial/ professionally?-it's-not-going-to-happen until it does.

In retrospect, a big part of my love of this show is the respect all the characters give to each other, if only after acknowledging each other's capabilities.
posted by porpoise at 6:30 PM on March 21, 2020


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