the x-files
season 2, episode 19, “dod kalm”
aired: 3.10.95
on my first watch, this episode felt like a throw away. filler fluff. but on my recent viewing, i actually enjoyed it. it takes on some really cool subject matter; the philadelphia experiment, wormholes, accelerated aging, and wrinkles in time. i’m on board (get it?). back when i first watched this episode, it seemed slow and tedious. but now i see all these wonderful moments i didn’t appreciate then. maybe since it has been gone for so long, certain episodes that didn’t seem relevant at the time become nostalgic and more affecting.
a missing naval crew is found having excessively aged many years over the course of 42 hours. (a real housewives worst nightmare!) mulder and scully venture out to the norwegian sea to investigate. mulder has discovered that a set of particular coordinates is somewhat of a northern bermuda triangle. they are freighted to the sight of the ghost ship where they become stranded. the bodies aboard the ship are of young officers who look like they died of old age. the captain is still alive, but barely. the ship is also aging, showing signs of massive corrosion. scully uses her big science brain to search for clues as to what is going on. they discover the water is the culprit and that the only untainted reserve is dwindling fast. mulder and scully have already consumed the affected water and begin to age.
putting our agents in mortal peril so often in so unlikely and unbelievable, but it really does add to the suspense. mulder and scully’s partnership strengthens in the face of this danger. scully is only able to scrounge up a very small amount of drinkable water. well, a fish juice, really. they argue that the other needs the hydration more. alas, the dynamic duo is saved and thanks to scully’s detailed log the aging is able to be reversed.
rating: then 2, now 3.5
wandering thoughts:
that old age make-up is terrible! it’s really hard to get past.
scully’s smile when mulder says she’s lucky she has her father’s sea legs. such a daddy’s girl.
shipper’s corner:
we get to see mulder and scully grow old together. *sigh*
notable quotables:
m: “i thought when i got older i’d maybe take a cruise somewhere. this is not what i had in mind. the service on this ship is terrible, scully.”
s: “…there’s one thing i’m certain of. as certain that i of this life, we have nothing to fear when it’s over.”
s: “i found a children’s book of norse legends. from what i can tell the pictures show the end of the world – not in a sudden firestorm of damnation, as the bible teaches us, but in slow covering blanket of snow. first the moon and the stars will be lost in a dense white fog, then the rivers and the lakes and the sea will freeze over. and finally a wolf named skoll will open his jaws and eat the sun, sending the work into an everlasting night. i think i hear the wolf at the door. “
buck up little camper 