10 best ‘X-Files’ episodes, ranked

The following article includes discussions of incest.

With a combination of 11 seasons, two films, and a potential reboot, The X-Files continues to resonate with fans. Whether they tune in for the romance or the monsters, there is something for everyone.

Core to the The X-Files success is the relationship between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). The two pull off the classic dichotomy of the believer vs. the skeptic with ease and affection. As the two FBI agents investigate cases no one else wants, they get closer to evidence that aliens exist. And to each other.

This chemistry has given the series longevity and remains a classic with a long list of impressive episodes. Though it may be hard to pick just a few, here are the 10 that stand above the rest.

10. Season 4, Episode 5 ‘The Field Where I Died’

Perhaps one of the more divisive episodes of the series, season 4, episode 5, should still be acknowledged as a brave attempt from The X-Files. It doesn’t feature the typical fare of alien abductions but instead finds a story based on the concept of past lives. While investigating a polygamous cult, Mulder becomes convinced that one of the women can recall her past lives. Melissa (Kristen Cloke) claims to be Mulder’s soulmate reincarnated, which drives him to undergo hypnosis.

The best part of the episode is the concept that he and Scully are also soulmates of a sort. In every one of his lives, Scully is a part of it, even though they are always driven apart. This plants seeds of the romance between the two, as well as being one of the more ambitious attempts of the show.

9. Season 2, Episode 2 – ‘The Host’

“The Host” is one monster-of-the-week episode that sticks in your mind no matter how much you wish it wouldn’t. The second episode of season 2 uses a combination of special effects and serious subject matter to make a memorable episode. Mulder and Scully investigate the sewers of New Jersey, only to realize it is being terrorized by a fluke-man. This creature is a parasitic creature created by the radiation of the Chernobyl disaster. 

As Scully points out, this isn’t the result of some supernatural event. People created this monster. “The Host” is a change of pace for the series and results in a thought-provoking story with disturbing imagery.

8. Season 1, Episode 3 – ‘Squeeze’

The third episode of the series sets the tone for the entire show. It debuts the character Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchison), a serial killer who can contort his body into any shape. Tooms hibernates for decades until he is ready to go on the hunt and create a nest. He naturally goes after Scully in an episode that replicates the feeling of a decent thriller.

Most impressive in the episode is the precedent for the character. Tooms recurs throughout the show as the personification of remorseless evil, amplified disturbingly by Hutchison’s performance.

7. Season 1, Episode 24 – ‘Erlenmeyer Flask’

The season 1 finale of The X-Files was the culmination of a cult phenomenon. There was nothing else like it on television, and the final episode of the first season wraps up the experience. Mulder spends the first season investigating his hunches, only to find himself in the middle of a government conspiracy. He and Scully discover that upon finding possible evidence of alien DNA, anyone involved starts getting killed off.

The episode features the death of Mulder’s source, known as “Deep Throat” (Jerry Hardin), and confirms for Mulder that his beliefs are on the right track. ‘Erlenmeyer Flask’ adds to the central mythology of the series and the central thesis: “Trust no one.”

6. Season 4, Episode 7 – ‘Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man’

Since the beginning of The X-Files, the central antagonist has been a government conspiracy. This concept is represented by the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) who knows the truth about basically everything. Episode 7 of season 4 reveals the possible origins of this character. 

Though his beginnings are not corroborated, viewers are taken on a trip to see the Cigarette Smoking Man’s youth and involvement in many government cover-ups, including the assassination of JFK. The episode makes the character even more mysterious but also indicates possible truths about the villain that should make viewers even more afraid of him.

5. Season 3, Episode 20 – ‘Jose Chung From Outer Space’

The X-Files’ season 3 episode delves into the humorous territory of the unreliable narrator. Lauded as one of the most comedic detours in the series, Mulder and Scully investigate testimony by a couple allegedly abducted by aliens. This testimony is to be part of the titular book that an author is writing about UFO abductions. The humor of the episode is taken from how widely ridiculous these stories are, though not necessarily negating if aliens are real or not. The episode concludes, as many of The X-Files episodes do, ambiguously.

4. Season 5, Episode 5 – ‘The Post-Modern Prometheus’

A love letter to the Universal monster movies of days gone by, Mulder and Scully find themselves in a modern Frankenstein story. The episode is shot in black and white as the two find that a local scientist has been performing experiments that result in a creature known as Mutato (Chris Owens).

Though the townspeople turn on Mutato with torches and pitchforks, as is typically depicted in the story, the two FBI agents ensure the man has a happily ever after. The episode doubles down on themes about isolation and loneliness, making the episode an outlier in The X-Files pantheon.

3. Season 2, Episode 25 – ‘Anasazi’

As with many season finales in The X-Files, the season 2 conclusion, “Anasazi” further develops the mythology of the series. The episode is the beginning of a three-episode arc that continues into season 3, where Mulder becomes obsessed with an encrypted tape supposedly with government secrets on it. During his investigation, his father, Bill (Peter Donat), almost tells him the secrets of the government cover-up only to be shot and killed. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with many more questions being raised than answered.

2. Season 5, Episode 12 – ‘Bad Blood’

Before he was the mind behind AMC’s magnum opus, Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan wrote season 5, episode 12, “Bad Blood.” Once again, the series finds a way to balance humor and the truly spooky happenings of the series. When Mulder kills a young man he believes to be a vampire, he is disturbed to find out he may be human. He and Scully compare the events of what happened to Ronnie (Patrick Renna), which naturally reveals inconsistent perceptions of events.

Luckily for Mulder, it turns out that he hasn’t harmed an innocent person. Ronnie wakes up after being staked, revealing that the entire town is full of vampires. The episode is less focused on whether vampires are real and more on the contradictory statements that Mulder and Scully make.

1. Season 4, Episode 2 – ‘Home’

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that “Home” has a place on every The X-Files list. For many die-hard fans, the episode has been maligned because it doesn’t have any supernatural or paranormal elements. But that is what makes it so brilliant. Sometimes, the most evil things that exist are people.

“Home” was initially banned from broadcast television because of its graphic depictions of incest. Mulder and Scully happen across a disturbing display when investigating the death of a baby who has a wide range of physical defects. They find their way to the home of the Peacock family, whose sons have been procreating with their mother. The sons are committed to an old way of life and the ways of their household, which cannot be allowed to continue. The foundations of what everyone believes are shaken, making for an unforgettable episode.