Shapes

Mulder and Scully are wearing boots in this scene. It's very rare that we see them in protective footwear. I think this must have been a very rainy and muddy location and there was no way to get around the need for boots.

My detail is quite silly, but I've noticed that baby Agent Mulder has a strange way to move in action mode. Look at his left arm and hand: they don't move, the fingers are spread out. It's as if Mulder had a prosthetic hand. You know, likewise Kryceck...

The funeral scene with the mourners chanting as the deceased was set aflame was very powerful. We get a real sense of the circle of life, as well as a glimpse of traditions outside our own.

I like the scene where Ish tells his Manitou story.

What I particularly appreciate is the exchange with "Sneaking Fox". Baby Mulder is really happy, he looks like a little boy. So I'm very happy too when seeing this moment.

There's very little MSR in this episode. It's still early in their relationship, although earlier episodes did a better job of showing how their partnership was evolving. But these two moments, at the very beginning and the very end, seem to convey that they are on the same page, they understand what the other is thinking.

Why this inquisitive look between Mulder and Scully when they hear that "the night animals were more quiet"?

What are you doing by night, you too?

How many times can they say "the creeps" in a single scene? This strikes me as so ridiculous that it's funny.

Sorry to write that, but I find the (almost) final scene funny. Especially if you watch it in very slow motion (I recommend it): you can see all the silly details, in particular this werewolf/manitou/whatever looking like a Sasquatch!

Scully is funny too: wanting to unlock the bathroom door with her pocket tool, being pushed by whatever, losing her gun (really? why? how?), disappearing upstairs doing what-we-don't-know (without the flashlight?), and then concluding "He was in the bathroom, sick". Well, Scully, what happened to you?

I like also Mulder awkwardness in the stairs, falling down and shooting in the bear head.

Mulder's interest in this case arises from a connection to the very first X-File, opened by J. Edgar Hoover himself. That's kind of surprising I guess.

Scully, in the end: "The next thing I knew we were attacked by the mountain lion."

Wait, what? Scully are you insane?

What do you do of all the evidence gathered by Mulder? Why don't you make a true scientific investigation: tests, DNA sampling, casting footwears, furs, claws and skin analysis, etc... Even in the hospital the doctor has found something weird. And what is this silly theory for the strange canins?

Really, it's not Scully. Well, she's not herself because of her father's death...

I know very little about Native American culture, unfortunately, so I can't say whether it's depicted accurately in this episode. But I know a lot about American pop culture, and I recognize Mulder's comments as the advertising slogan for Secret deodorant, which was "strong enough for a man, but made for a woman." Sheesh.

I was unfair in my Anasazi's comments. I appreciate here all the American Natives references. I like that they wanted to write a story based on some Indian legends.

I also didn't know anything before watching it about Wounded Knee 1973.

Cherry on the pie -of course ;-)- I'm glad to see Michael Horse, portraying a sheriff as in Twin Peaks!

"Things are born. Things die. Everything else falls in between." I get the feeling this is meant to sound very profound, but really there's no depth here. Like everything else in this episode it just falls short of accomplishing what it hopes for.

"The creeps. Don't you ever get the creeps?"

And then, the double look that Scully gives to Mulder. Me too, I would have the creeps if Mulder stares at me that way. Well, maybe not exactly the creeps of fear but chills, goose bumps, etc... you know what I mean?

Mulder really does very little in this episode, but at least he is characteristically open minded.

I like that Mulder is an FBI archive's investigator, I like to witness his encyclopedic knowledge of the paranormal.

Lewis and Clark encountering strange things... it reminds me The Secret History of Twin Peaks.

Scully also does very little, but at least she's able to put her forensic medical expertise to some use.

Scully doesn't do interesting things in this episode, except reconforting people who have lost a family member.

Let's say she's still overwhelmed by her father's death and cannot focuse well on the case.

She also takes care of Lyle, almost as if it was Mulder: finding him naked, putting on a blanket, touching his hand at the hospital...

I see a link with Detour, where Mulder is also investigating tracks which are not quite animal and not quite human. Both episodes involve monsters that have been around for a very long time, and at the end Mulder may understand them better but he hasn't managed to stop them. Detour of course is a compelling and fun episode, while Shapes is duller than ditch water. What a difference good writing makes.

Excluding the shapeshifter aliens (I'm not fond of them), I'd like to link this episode to another one involving shapeshifting, a difficult concept to deal with in a logical way.

I choose Small Potatoes, so good compared to Shapes! I don't think I need to say more on that... I just want -right now as I write down these words- to rewatch it! The DVD is ready (I needed it to do my gif), so, let's go!!

In this episode we hear that Mulder isn't fond of his nickname, and Scully recently lost her father. I appreciate the attempt at continuity with prior episodes, even if it was terribly clunky.

Is the glass half full?

There were promising elements in the story: dealing with American Natives and portraying them in a realistic way (as far as I can judge from far away), revisiting the werewolf myth with a Natives prospective, interesting characters (the sheriff, Lyle, Gwen, Ish), Mulder and Scully arriving in a very muddy place with surprising accessories (Scully's boots, Mulder's shoulder bag -what is in this bag?).

But...

I dislike that these gorgeous images were wasted on such a dull story. There's just nothing to pull me in or keep me interested, and as a result this is an episode I rarely rewatch. Which is a shame, because...look at them!

... is the glass half empty?

The story gets lost in the mud. M&S doesn't investigate properly the case, especially Scully who could have done scientific researches. Moreover, we lose connections and interest we could have with some of the characters. I think of Gwen, and especially Lyle. We have a lot of insights of his character and his thoughts, we empathize with him (as Scully does), but in the end... he disappears brutally without emotion, and we don't have any POV from his beast side.

Last, there are a lot of illogical plots... but isn't it unavoidable with shape-shifting and werewolves? My gif above points out some goofs or strange things: the abscence of claws or long nails after tearing up the shower curtain; the flashlight and the debris; full moon or not full moon? It seems that this episode was made in a rush, with not enough work on the script, on the directing, etc...

In conclusion, the glass is three-quarters empty! If I'm generous!