The X-Files - S2:E19 "Død Kalm"

[ S2:E18 "Fearful Symmetry" <<< Season 2 >>> S2:E20 "Humbug" ]

As a preface, this was one of the most memorable monster-of-the-week episodes in the whole series for me, the first time I watched this show. I think that, like in One Breath, I enjoyed the metaphysical aspects, and the religious symbolism (this time borrowing from Norse beliefs). It's also the third episode this season with a foreign-language title (after the Latin Excelsis Dei, and the German Die Hand die Verletzt), which I presume is to be taken as Norwegian for "dead calm".

Mulder identifies something of a Bermuda Triangle (he calls it a "wrinkle in time") in the Norwegian sea, that he suspects may involve secret government experimentation with wormholes, utilizing (you guessed it) alien technology. He and Scully set out to locate a Navy destroyer that mysteriously vanished in that area, when they learn that a group of survivors have been afflicted by what appears to be accelerated aging (maybe not the smartest plan of action - especially without telling anyone where you're going).

This is a very atmospheric episode, with that "stranded at the ends of the Earth vibe" that episodes like Ice and Firewalker had; but I find the unique, "ghost ship" setting to be even more effective here. It's also a very bleak episode, with a dark ending that is both more convincing, and more satisfying, than the one in Darkness Falls. I don't know that I would say it's one of the all-time best monster-of-the-week episodes in the series (also, it's kind of sad to see Mulder and Scully all age-progressed), but it's definitely a memorable one.

Memorable quotes:

Scully: There's one thing I'm certain of. As certain as I am of this life. We have nothing to fear when it's over.

Scully: 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 a 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 Sköll will open his jaws and eat the sun, sending the world into an everlasting night. I think I hear the wolf at the door.