Agua Mala

"Agua Mala" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 21, 1999 in the United States. The episode was written by David Amann, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Agua Mala" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, being watched by 16.9 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly mixed to negative reviews.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Arthur Dales, now living in a Florida trailer park, calls Mulder and Scully for help when a neighbouring family disappears; and, with a hurricane approaching, Mulder and Scully find themselves trapped with a group of residents in a building where there is something in the water.

"Agua Mala" was Amann's second story for The X-Files. The original idea for the episode featured a monster loose in an abandoned gold mine. Darren McGavin makes a second appearance as Arthur Dales after being introduced in "Travelers." After suffering a stroke, he would later be replaced by M. Emmet Walsh in "The Unnatural." The episode was notable for its sheer amount of water and its lack of bright lightning, a stylistic approach that Gillian Anderson likened to filming in Vancouver.