Darkness Falls

This episode (S1E20) finds Scully & Mulder in a forest in Washington. A group of loggers have disappeared, reminiscent of a previous disappearance in that same spot in 1934. This makes it an X-File, and of course Mulder’s all over it. While investigating in the forest, the agents, a U.S. Forest Service agent, and the logging company security chief, come across a felled old growth tree–a tree that should not have been cut down. Embedded in the tree’s growth rings is a dark green substance. It turns out that the green substance is a swarm of insects that attack at night and encase their victims in spider-like webs. 

Mulder deduces that the swarm is the reason behind the disappearance of the loggers. Of course, circumstances allow for Mulder and Scully to be trapped in a cabin at night with dangerously low light, fearful of the swarm. They manage to survive and escape, only to get stuck when their Jeep hits a spike. When darkness falls, the swarm attacks the agents by flying through the AC vents. Shortly after, they are taken to a quarantine facility and Mulder learns that the forest was blasted with pesticides and a controlled burn to get rid of the insects.

This was a fun episode for me simply because of the insects. I’m not a fan of bugs, but I do love it when nature fights back.