A hiker (Robyn Lively) has disturbing hallucinations after a trip to a Virginia state park. When her remains and those of her husband are found mysteriously skeletonized, Mulder suspects alien influence. When Mulder investigates he encounters inconsistencies and begins to suspect that his expectations may be determining his interpretation of events. When Scully follows Mulder to the scene of the incident she finds it increasingly difficult to tell fact from fantasy!
This has always been one of my favorite X-Files! The themes of reality and illusion, of expectations determining perception, and the promptings of our own inner sense of truth are enjoyably handled here. The development of the plot is good and the clues that force the viewer to pay attention to the consistency of the storyline are cleverly handled. My only complaint has to do with how the agents are ultimately found. A little more digging for the truth would really have been necessary!
It's also worth noting that the way the agents perceive each other's opinions has obviously changed dramatically from the Rashomon-esquire season 5 comedy, "Bad Blood!"
This has always been one of my favorite X-Files! The themes of reality and illusion, of expectations determining perception, and the promptings of our own inner sense of truth are enjoyably handled here. The development of the plot is good and the clues that force the viewer to pay attention to the consistency of the storyline are cleverly handled. My only complaint has to do with how the agents are ultimately found. A little more digging for the truth would really have been necessary!
It's also worth noting that the way the agents perceive each other's opinions has obviously changed dramatically from the Rashomon-esquire season 5 comedy, "Bad Blood!"