“Triangle” is episode three of season six of The X-Files.
The episode opens in the Sargasso Sea with the floating wreckage of a boat called the Lady Garland, and Mulder floating face down in the water.
The opening phrase has been replaced with German; ‘Die Wahrheit ist irgendwo da draußen’ or ‘The truth is out there somewhere’.
Mulder is winched out of the water onto a ship by what sound like British sailors. They seem to think he’s German and should be thrown overboard. One calls him Jerry and asks what he has to say for himself. Mulder says his name isn’t Jerry but Fox Mulder; his ID is in his pocket. They’ve never heard of the FBI though. He’s taken to see Captain Y. Harburg who also thinks he’s German and hits him, demanding to know if he’s friend or foe.
Mulder says there’s been a mistake and the mistake is his. This is the Queen Ann, isn’t it? He came looking for the ship and thinks he can explain what’s going on. He gives the ship’s position and asks how he would know the position if he’s been in the water. Harburg thinks that’s a good question and would like a good answer. Mulder says they can’t get accurate navigation, but they’re on the edge of something called the Devil’s Triangle. They’ve been caught in a time warp and popped out in 1998.
Harburg says there’s a war on. Mulder says no; it’s at peace. He’s told the ship has just been boarded by Nazis. and it’s September 3rd 1939. Another officer enters and says the Germans have taken control of the bridge and are steering a course for Germany. As the others leave, Mulder says they should go there; the Germans make nice cars. Alone, Mulder is smiling and enjoying himself. He tries the radio set to call for help, and tunes into a news programme. Which states the date is September 3rd, 1939. Mulder has gone back in time. He’s no longer enjoying himself. Then a German enters and he and Mulder fight in the dark. To big band music, the radio having been hit.
Mulder steals the SS officer’s uniform and heads into the corridor where German troops are checking doors. They call out to him. It seems Mulder doesn’t speak German and so they chase. He enters a ballroom where the singer is familiar and he bumps into Scully. Only, apparently, she isn’t.
Mulder is captured and taken to the bridge. Harburg is refusing to help and gets shot for his trouble. The SS officer in charge turns around and is revealed to be the Cigarette Smoking Man. Mulder is about to be shot when Skinner, also in SS uniform, enters with Mulder’s ID.
Scully is at her desk in the FBI when the Lone Gunmen arrive. They tell her Mulder is in big trouble. He’s disappeared. A ship mysteriously appeared in the middle of the Atlantic, the Queen Ann. Scully knows the name, a British luxury liner sunk by a torpedo. That’s one story, yes, but the Queen Ann sank in only 60′ of water yet has never been found. On the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. They had an NRO image which was given to Mulder who used it to head out to look for the ship. They need something and explain to Scully what.
Scully heads to see Skinner, telling him Mulder has done something incredibly rash. She doesn’t add ‘even for him.’ Skinner can’t, won’t help. His hands are tied and he isn’t her superior. He’s not even allowed to have any contact with them. Scully then barges in on Kersh asking for help. However, when she entered the room looked a little smoky. There’s a reason for that; CSM is there. Scully says it’s nothing, but has given Kersh some paper. Next stop is Spender, who she threatens to kill.
The Nazis on the ship are looking for something specific, Thor’s Hammer. Mulder encounters many people who look familiar but who are different. This makes his later explanation sound rather crazy. At times, the episode is surreal, what with big band music playing over several events. It also has been done to look like it’s only a handful of shots, such as one for Scully from when the Lone Gunmen arrived to her chasing all over the building to her leaving with them in their VW camper.