Line #13 Recap/TheXFilesS01E05TheJerseyDevil


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3	'''Season 1, Episode 05:'''
4	!The Jersey Devil
5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thexfilesthejerseydevil.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I saw it, it's exactly the way the ranger described it, the way it moved, the way it sniffed the air."'']]
7	->Written by Creator/ChrisCarter\
8	Directed by Joe Napolitano
9
10	->'''Mulder:''' Ever hear of something called [[TitleDrop the Jersey Devil]]?\
11	'''Scully:''' Yeah, it's a beast that's supposed to come out of the woods and attack cars, right? Kind of like an East Coast Bigfoot.
12
13	Mulder and Scully head out to Atlantic City to investigate some murders that look (at least to Mulder) suspiciously like reports in the X Files of the Jersey Devil (Claire Stansfield) in the 1940s. Also: Scully goes on a date with a divorced dad who seems unable to go two sentences without bringing up his kids.
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15	!!Tropes:
16	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The Pine Barrens in RealLife are actually significantly to the north and west of Atlantic City, which is largely bordered by swampland and inland bays. They certainly aren't close enough that a bunch of large animals, cryptids or not, could regularly slip in and out of the city at night undetected.
17	* DistantPrologue: The teaser depicts a Jersey Devil attack in 1947.
18	* DistressedDude: Mulder is tackled down and wounded by the female Jersey Devil.
19	* EarthyBarefootCharacter: The Jeresy Devil does not wear shoes and is close to nature, living in the Pine Barrens.
20	* FemaleMonsterSurprise: Low-key example, given that we're dealing with what is essentially a human.
21	* GodivaHair: The female Jersey Devil. It isn't clear how much Mulder saw, though, because he becomes ''very'' impressed by her during the brief time that she spends looming over him.
22	* HumanAllAlong: Mulder and the audience expects the Jersey Devil to be some sasquatch creature, but is surprised to find that they are feral human beings, albeit Neanderthal-like: incapable of speech and displaying brute strength, great agility, heightened sense of smell, and an above-average tolerance for pain, presumably naturally manifested through necessity in their physically-demanding lifestyle.
23	* ImAHumanitarian: The Jersey Devils, though it's implied to be out of necessity rather than preference.
24	* InNameOnly: The Jersey Devil is barely anything like the cryptid that's actually reported. It's essentially a feral person with minor Bigfoot elements, and doesn't show any of the actual urban myth's notable aspects other than the name and living in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, and none of the Devil's monstrous appearance.
25	* TheJerseyDevil: Unintentionally averted. The Jersey Devil legend is about a horribly mutated creature that stalks the Pine Barrens for food and looks like a mix between a horse and dog with bat wings. However, limitations in their first season budget probably account for their complete reworking of the legend. Also EarlyInstallmentWeirdness -- in the first season Mulder seldom found clear evidence of supernatural or ET phenomena.
26	* JurisdictionFriction: The Atlantic City cops ''really'' don't want the feds coming into their territory. Mulder figures their main interest is keeping the devil's existence quiet so the tourists keep gambling.
27	* MarsNeedsWomen: Possibly; there's a definite sexual element in the way the female Jersey Devil is crouching over Mulder, who points out afterward that she could have killed him, but didn't.
28	* NubileSavage: Mulder's first remark after being rescued from being eaten by the female Jersey Devil is: "She was ''beautiful''!". Plus, her legs are rather smooth for someone living in the woods of Jersey.
29	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Mulder pretends to believe that the Jersey Devil is a myth to get the park ranger to talk about some encounters he's had in the woods.
30	* PornStash: This is the first time Mulder is shown looking at inappropriate material. Perhaps unintentionally, the rest of the case involves him poring over several images of the female Jersey Devil ''[[note]]See the caption on the third image on [[http://joeandjennie.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/x-files-jersey-devil.html this page]][[/note]]'', and he ends up storing away two photographs of her dead body. [[{{Squick}} Let's just hope that they aren't additions to his collection]].
31	* TheEndOrIsIt: The female Jersey Devil has already given birth to the next generation.
32	* TranquilFury: Mulder's reaction to the Jersey Devil being shot to death.
33	* UnkemptBeauty: Mulder thinks the female Jersey Devil, who doesn't understand the human concept of bathing, is beautiful.
34	* WildChild: The Jeresy Devils are feral human beings who show every indication of having lived like a wild animal in the Pine Barrens. The episode's closing shot shows a WildChild, presumably her offspring, peering out of some bushes.
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Context Recap / TheXFilesS01E05TheJerseyDevil