Dangerous Meaning
‘Agua Mala’ is a notoriously bad episode, by far the weakest episode of Season Six.
A monster that is water! Preposterous!
Doesn’t it seem like water – and other elements – are proving themselves quite monstrous? Hurricanes and storm surges are taking a huge toll on life and property across the Caribbean and the U.S. A monster that is water? Maybe not so preposterous!
Whatever one would wish to read into some episodes only serves to save them from total oblivion. No amount of ‘symbology’ can save ‘Agua Mala’ from its own abyss of awfulness.
Having said that, I do think the hurricane is portrayed quite well visually. There’s one shot in particular, as Mulder and Scully are driving through the storm, where we get to see the lashing of the wind and the debris strewn around the streets, that is quite effective. And there’s some kind of meaning to this man-made disaster being set during a natural disaster. If only one could be enthused enough to spend the time necessary to unravel the significance!
In a sort of half-hearted way, let me suggest Global Warming! The drastic changes to the world’s climate is, without doubt, the biggest man-made disaster imaginable and is evidenced by the monstrous storms that have wrecked so many lives in recent months.
So, the very awfulness of ‘Agua Mala’ becomes a part of its meaning.
And, it’s not as bad as ‘El Mundo Gira’ or ‘Teso dos Bichos’, so that’s something to be thankful for.
A monster that is water! Preposterous!
Doesn’t it seem like water – and other elements – are proving themselves quite monstrous? Hurricanes and storm surges are taking a huge toll on life and property across the Caribbean and the U.S. A monster that is water? Maybe not so preposterous!
Whatever one would wish to read into some episodes only serves to save them from total oblivion. No amount of ‘symbology’ can save ‘Agua Mala’ from its own abyss of awfulness.
Having said that, I do think the hurricane is portrayed quite well visually. There’s one shot in particular, as Mulder and Scully are driving through the storm, where we get to see the lashing of the wind and the debris strewn around the streets, that is quite effective. And there’s some kind of meaning to this man-made disaster being set during a natural disaster. If only one could be enthused enough to spend the time necessary to unravel the significance!
In a sort of half-hearted way, let me suggest Global Warming! The drastic changes to the world’s climate is, without doubt, the biggest man-made disaster imaginable and is evidenced by the monstrous storms that have wrecked so many lives in recent months.
So, the very awfulness of ‘Agua Mala’ becomes a part of its meaning.
And, it’s not as bad as ‘El Mundo Gira’ or ‘Teso dos Bichos’, so that’s something to be thankful for.
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