Darkness Falls (15 Apr. 1994)
"The X Files" Darkness Falls (original title)

Written by Chris Carter, and directed by Joe Napolitano, "Darkness Falls" is an episode from season one that I really like. Oh, it's nothing new, neither in terms of the killer bug idea or the notion of staying safe in the light, but it's a fun episode with an enjoyably downbeat ending.

When a bunch of loggers go missing, about thirty in total, Mulder decides to head to the forest area they were working in. He wants to investigate the matter fully, before assuming that it was the work of eco-terrorists, and he convinces Scully to join him. Once they get there, with two men who will help them navigate the area (one a forest ranger and one a representative of the logging company), they soon discover that the men who have disappeared may have been affected by more than just eco-terrorists. In fact, one such eco-terrorist (Titus Welliver)is still around to try and convince them of the truth.

Really standard stuff in a lot of ways, I just like this episode because, well, I just do. Sometimes it IS that simple when it comes down to my taste in viewing choices. Nothing I can quite put my finger on, but enough all on screen to make me happy.

The banter here isn't the smartest or wittiest, but the very slight twists and turns, while never surprising in the slightest, keep the episode ticking along nicely, as characters take turns at being suspicious of, and/or irritated by, one another. Mulder is as naively optimistic as usual, while Scully loses her cool in one moment that runs counter to almost every other display of her behaviour on the show.

Perhaps I like this episode more than most people because of how I didn't really love the preceding episodes, or perhaps it just felt like things were picking up as season one headed toward its final few episodes. Whatever the case, this remains a bit of a favourite of mine from the first season.