Hearing reports of deaths from radiation on board on oil rig, Mulder suspects the return of the black oil and the invasion force it represents. However, with Doggett being the person actually sent to the rig and Mulder merely tagging along, will he be able to prove his theory and save those not yet infected?

On the one hand, it's good to see an old favourite again and back to how it used to be. On the other, it's a little confusing to revert back to this after so much has happened since. Without the ability to communicate, the black oil remains a faceless enemy, not revealing whatever plan it might have or behaving as we would expect it to. Chris Carter's mythology is so hazy now that it's all terribly confusing.

Mulder and Doggett's enmity is only natural, but it seems as though the writers have sent them to the rig in order for them to bond at last, and for Doggett to see something a bit more out of the ordinary. It works to an extent, but it's not pushed as far as maybe it could before the confusion and encroaching possessed people kicks in. Then again, that's probably the highlight of this story; once again the atmosphere is superb, dark and scary.

The thing that lets the episode down is the way it doesn't follow through on its promise. A non-possessed worker tells Doggett 'they're coming' but we never find out who, which at this stage is fairly clear but should be explained. It seems as if it's leading somewhere, but Mulder and Doggett merely jump off the rig in order to escape when it explodes. There's no pick-up on this, either; after all, hasn't this just released the black oil aliens into the ocean, where it can head for shore and infect the population? It's also not totally clear what Scully finds and why the oil is killed by radiation. It's a shame, because after all these years since the last 'proper' appearance of the oil, it would be good to have it explained.

***

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