The X Files 119 Shapes Facts, Trivia, Goofs & Description

 A creature, possibly from Native American lore, is suspected of k*lling a man, bringing Mulder and Scully to the Indian reservation where the attack occurred in order to uncover its identity.

Trivia

• The word "manitou" doesn't specifically mean "werewolf" in Algonquin but more broadly signifies a spirit-being that is both tangible and conceptual; everything has its own manitou, even a machine.
• This is the second time that Michael Horse has played a sheriff or deputy, most famously in Twin Peaks (1990). He would go on to play another one in the TV series Roswell (1999).
• David Duchovny and Michael Horse had previously worked together on Twin Peaks (1990).
• When Mulder says the line "They told me that even though my deodorant is made for a woman, it's strong enough for a man.", he is referring to Proctor and Gamble's Secret womens deodorant. The tagline "Strong enough for a man, but made for a women." was first used in 1972. It was still widely used well into the late 90s. It is one of the most well know advertising tag lines and was frequently parodied and adapted for other situations.

spoilers

• The old Native American man tells Mulder that they will meet again in eight years. This does not happen, but in The Truth (2002), which roughly happens around 8 years later, Scully and Mulder do end up in the territory of another Native American tribe called the Anasazi.
• Mulder and Scully encounter another werewolf in Season 6 in Alpha (1999). Mulder also encounters a human who could shape-shift into a reptilian monster who holds Doggett and Agent Harrison captive in Season 8 in Alone (2001) while Mulder and Scully encounter another were-lizard in Season 10 in Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster (2016).

Goofs

• Toward the end, the manitou's claws shred a shower curtain. In the next shot, its hands show no claws.
• Native Americans have never used funeral pyres as part of their death ceremonies. That practice was limited to the Old World, specifically Europe and South Asia.
• Spoilers
• The creature involved in the killings, a manitou, is from the Iroquois pantheon of deities. Native Americans in Montana, more than a thousand miles from the nearest Iriquois settlements, would not share the same beliefs.
• In the funeral pyre scene, when the man touches the flaming torch to the pyre, there is a significant delay before it ignites, and from a totally different location than where he placed the torch.
• When the transforming manitou shreds the shower curtain, the tears start at the fingertips not the claws.
• When Lyle is in the bathroom turning into a werewolf, he lets out a big roar. Scully is right outside of the door trying to pick the lock and yet somehow she does not hear this and keeps trying to pick the lock.
• In one scene, you can clearly see that a US flag patch sewn onto the right arm of the Sheriff's shirt has the star field on the left. This is not how flag patches are supposed to be shown. A little later, you see the Sheriff's jacket has a flag patch sewn on the correct way. As a matter of fact, you can see the incorrect version on the photo page for this episode here on IMDB.
• Plot holes
• If the shapeshifters shed their skin when changing between human and manitou and back again, then there should be manitou skin when it dies and changes back to human.