Scully approaches Mulder with a potential new case: a report of a homeless man found in the woods near Atlantic City with an arm and shoulder chewed off, possibly by a human. Mulder immediately equates the case with an X-File from 1947, which resulted in police killing the responsible party, a large, naked man found in the woods. Mulder is quick to connect the cases with the legend of the Jersey Devil. The agents travel to Atlantic City and view the body of the victim, Roger Crockett, but are turned away by the Detective Thompson, the officer in charge of the case. Scully returns to Washington, while Mulder stays in town to investigate. Mulder gets in touch with the park ranger who found the body, Peter Boulle, who recounts an experience in which he saw a large, naked man in the woods. Scully, meanwhile, attends her godson's birthday party and gets set up on a date with a divorcee named Rob.
Mulder continues to canvass the local homeless population about the death of Roger Crockett. One man shows him a drawing of a humanoid figure, which he claims is a creature that comes to the outskirts of town to forage for food. Mulder stakes out the area overnight and has an encounter with a naked figure that moves like an animal, but is interrupted and apprehended by police. Detective Thompson accuses Mulder of interfering in his investigation, while Mulder suggests that Thompson is covering up the existence of the creature to protect local tourism. Mulder calls Scully to get him out of jail, and Scully introduces him to an anthropologist named Dr. Diamond (played by Gregory Sierra, with more than a few shades of Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park). Mulder theorizes that the creature they are looking for could be some sort of evolutionary throwback, a human that has reverted to a primitive, carnivorous state, resorting to cannibalism for survival. Scully goes back to Washington for her date with Rob, while Mulder gets a call from Ranger Boulle, who tells him that he has discovered the body of the wild man he saw in the woods. Mulder calls Scully with a new theory: the creature they are chasing is actually female.
Mulder and Scully return to the Atlantic City morgue with Boulle and Diamond, only to discover that the wild man's body has gone missing. Mulder speculates that local law enforcement are attempting a cover-up. The four set out to search for the female in the abandoned building where Mulder saw her previously; they are soon interrupted by Thompson and his SWAT team. Mulder catches sight of the female and gives chase, eventually catching up and being attacked by the female. Thompson's team pursue the female into the woods, with Mulder, Scully, Boulle, and Diamond following. Boulle attempts to tranquilize the female, but before they can reach her, Thompson shoots and kills her. The agents return to Washington, while Diamond examines the female's body; he reports nothing to suggest prehistoric anatomy, but notes that it is possible she could have given birth, and that she is responsible for killing Roger Crockett. Mulder believes that the male and female had children, and that the female ventured into civilization to find food after the death of the male. Scully turns down a second date with Rob, and, in the woods of New Jersey, the child of the "Jersey Devils" lives on.
"The Jersey Devil" allows for some philosophizing on Mulder's part about the nature of humanity, and about how far removed from our animal ancestors present humans truly are. Mulder does seem to be unnecessarily forgiving of the "Devil," however, considering that she is directly responsible for killing and eating a man. The episode is also hamstrung by the fact that the only true conflict is between Mulder and Thompson; in a series based around investigating the paranormal, using local law enforcement as an antagonist can be a cheap plot device. Boulle and Diamond are both serviceable one-shot allies to Mulder and Scully, and the scenes with the four of them tracking the female have a solid sense of adventure. Finally, the episode allows the audience their first look into Scully's personal life, suggesting that, while Mulder is consumed by his work on the X-Files and his search for the Truth, Scully has more going on outside the Bureau.
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