The 30 Best Episodes of The X-Files, Ranked (2024)

The post The 30 Best Episodes of The X-Files, Ranked appeared first on Consequence.

As The X-Files, that generation-defining phenomenon, celebrates its 30th anniversary (officially Sept. 10th), perhaps the best encapsulation of the show’s legacy can be found in this clip from a panel featuring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny at the Paley Center on Oct. 12th, 2013.

It’s not possible to embed the clip, because of language restrictions that include its title: “WHAT THE FUCK IS MAGNETITE?” That’s a quote from Anderson as moderator Keith Uhlich attempts to remind the two stars about key plot details from the TV show that they both starred in. It is so very funny to watch Anderson lose her entire mind on stage, and it’s also so very cathartic — because every lifelong X-Files fan has found themselves, at one point or another, having to try to explain what the actual hell happened on this show, and failing miserably to make it make sense for their friends or loved ones.

Over the course of 11 seasons, creator Chris Carter and his writing staff (which included future notable producers like Howard Gordon, Frank Spotnitz, John Shiban, Glen Morgan, James Wong, David Greenwalt, and future Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan) used the paranormal investigations of Agents Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) to explore questions of science and faith. Like many other TV producers in the 1990s, they were also exploring the idea that a long-running TV show could be more than just people solving a mystery each week — there could be ongoing storylines, “mythology” episodes scattered throughout each season that would build up to a larger narrative.

The mythology episodes were counterbalanced by plenty of monster-of-the-week (MOTW) adventures, and within the fanbase there were plenty of people who might prefer one subgenre over the other. Yet there were still great, great examples of both over the course of the show’s long, long run — one which may officially be over, though threats of spinoffs and reboots do constantly lurk in the shadows.

Excluding the movies, there have been 218 episodes of The X-Files, which means that narrowing things down to 30 for this list was tough. But the quality of this show has fluctuated so dramatically over the years that it would be just as tough to come up with a list of the 30 worst episodes — because there are just as many contenders.

Everyone’s experience with The X-Files is different, of course, especially as the years have passed, and the expectation that any of it will make sense has faded. So you should know that this is a list created by someone who began watching the show while it was still airing, riding that roller coaster to the bitter end, and then got back on board for the show’s ill-fated Seasons 10 and 11. (I have been writing about The X-Files on the Internet for decades now; it just took me a while to get paid for it.)

Some personal history played a role in the ranking, as ranking itself is always a highly subjective exercise. But my hope is that you’ll consider these picks as examples of the show at its very best, recommendations to consider if you want to rewatch. That’s why, at the end of the article, you’ll find a list of all these picks arranged chronologically, so you can watch in order if you choose. Because you really should start at the beginning (and no spoilers, but that pilot’s a banger).

30. “Alone” (Season 8, Episode 19)

Season 8 flounders a great deal, as it tries to balance some major mythology nonsense along with an abrupt change of dramatis personae — turns out doing The X-Files without David Duchovny doesn’t really work, despite the best efforts of new star Robert Patrick. However, “Alone” is the show’s biggest love letter to its fans, featuring Jolie Jenkins as young FBI agent Leyla Harrison (named in honor of a fan of the show who passed away from cancer in 2001) who’s been obsessively following Mulder and Scully’s adventures from her position in the accounting department. The MOTW is effectively creepy — a lizard-like creature with the ability to blind its victims — and there’s effort made to establish a new dynamic for the series’ future. Also there’s an in-world acknowledgement that sometimes the plotting of this franchise… contains a few holes. Just a few.

29. “Syzygy” (Season 3, Episode 13)

Thanks to two cosmically-aligned teenage girls, a small town is going haywire… and Mulder and Scully are not immune. The mystery being investigated is a little lackluster — spoiler alert, teenage girls have a lot of feelings — but the episode lets both Duchovny and Anderson cut loose a bit, indulging their characters’ more immature sides. Mulder creates a unique take on the classic screwdriver cocktail, while Scully smokes and fumes about the flirtatious lady detective making eyes at Mulder; yes, it’s a silly episode at points, but one that also delivers some pretty terrifying kills and a damn intense climax. Bonus: A brief appearance by a very young Ryan Reynolds!

28. “Rm9sbG93ZXJz” (Season 11, Episode 7)

So when the show returned for new episodes years after its original conclusion, well… let’s just say Season 11 is so bad that Gillian Anderson declared before the season premiered that it would be her last time playing Scully. (And after seeing that finale, it’s hard to blame her.) There are one or two bright spots, though, including what’s affectionately known (by me, anyway) as “the sushi robot episode.” The X-Files can be an awfully talky show sometimes, but director Glen Morgan and writers Shannon Hamblin & Kristen Cloke make the bold choice to eschew pretty much all dialogue for a character-focused story about an ill-fated date night, that pushes them to really tell the story visually. The plot is simple: After Mulder stiffs the “waiter” at an automated Japanese restaurant, he and Scully find everyday technology turning against them. A lot is learned about these two people at this point in their lives, as well as an important message for the ages: Tip your sushi robot.

27. “Unusual Suspects” (Season 5, Episode 3)

The origin story of the Lone Gunmen contains some quality 1989 jokes — always bonkers to watch something made nearly 30 years ago that itself is mocking the decade prior — as well as the appearance of Richard Belzer as the universe-spanning Det. Munch. It’s also a surprisingly romantic installment, as Byers (Bruce Harwood) finds himself captivated by the mysterious Susanne (Signy Coleman) as he and his new friends discover a mutual interest in conspiracies. This episode is best followed up with Season 6’s “Three of a Kind,” and in fact “Three of a Kind” nearly took “Unusual Suspects”‘s place on this list. However, the vintage hacker details and Duchovny’s ’80s hair beat out stoned Scully —just barely.

26. “Die Hand die Verletzt” (Season 2, Episode 14)

The teachers at a small-town high school have been up to something Satanic, and Satan himself decides to take an interest. On a personal level, this was the first episode of the show I ever really saw, and lemme tell you, it fucked my pre-teen ass up — I was awake late into the night that Friday, visions of demonic teachers and giant snakes projected on the backs of my eyelids. It’s one of the great early horror episodes, one with a lot of wit to it as well, right down to these parting words: “Goodbye. It’s been nice working with you.”

25. “Kill Switch” (Season 5, Episode 11)

William Gibson wasn’t the only notable sci-fi author to guest write for The X-Files, but his episode (written with Tom Maddox) came out a lot better than Stephen King’s. It’s Mulder and Scully versus a hyper-intelligent AI, as imagined by the creator of cyberpunk, with some breath-taking action, a wild fantasy sequence, and a memorable performance from Kristin Lehman as Esther Nairn, a badass hacker who keeps everyone on their toes.

24. “John Doe” (Season 9, Episode 7)

Robert Patrick’s two seasons on The X-Files weren’t packed with standout installments, but he did get the spotlight in this Season 9 episode, which opens with Agent Doggett waking up in Mexico, with no idea how he got there or who he even is. Told largely from a bewildered Doggett’s point-of-view, the episode marks the directorial debut of Michelle MacLaren, one of only four women to direct an X-Files episode — MacLaren is now a TV directing all-star who has worked on shows including Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Leftovers, and Game of Thrones. While the story’s a little weak, MacLaren’s work is some of the most strikingly visual of the entire series, with its emphasis on an oversaturated color palette leaving the viewer as disoriented as Doggett.

23. “Detour” (Season 5, Episode 4)

Season 5 began with a dense two-parter largely dealing with the ramifications of the Season 4 finale, not to mention some very long and bad montages meant to explain the mythology that only made things more confusing. So, what a relief it was to watch Mulder and (reluctantly) Scully bail on a team-building workshop to look into some unexplained deaths in Florida. The case is creepy on its own, but it’s an episode largely worth appreciating for its top-notch banter between Anderson and Duchovny (who seem grateful to be doing something fun). Also, yes, Scully sings!

22. “Leonard Betts” (Season 4, Episode 12)

It used to be such a big deal for a show to air immediately following the Super Bowl, whether it was a brand-new show launching on a massive platform, or a semi-established show using the opportunity to drop a major episode in the hopes of bringing in a new audience. There have been fascinating examples of the latter throughout the last few decades: Alias pandering to the football crowd with a cold open featuring Jennifer Garner in her underwear, Grey’s Anatomy putting a bomb inside a dude, and The X-Files not just delivering a pretty top-notch casefile, but also kicking off one of the show’s most important, and best-executed overall, storylines. The post-Super Bowl slot was a huge opportunity for the series, and the episode it launched is a resounding success even on rewatch: “You have something I need” shocked viewers at the time, and even now, if you know what’s coming, those words are still chilling.

21. “Irresistible” (Season 2, Episode 13)

Somewhere, there has to be a complete archive of the correspondence between the X-Files team and Fox Broadcasting Standards and Practices about this Season 2 investigation, and it has got to be fascinating reading. Mulder and Scully investigate a series of strange killings where the murderer’s interest in women’s hands indicates… well, did you know that you could even say the word “fetish” on broadcast TV in the early ’90s? Turns out you can! (This is the toned-down version; originally, Carter wanted the episode to be about a necrophiliac.) While there’s no real supernatural element, it’s still one of the creepiest episodes of the series, especially thanks to Nick Chinlund’s performance. To this day, any time I see Chinlund’s name in the credits in anything, I assume that he’s the killer.

20. “Triangle” (Season 6, Episode 3)

Chris Carter got a little self-indulgent at certain points during the show’s run, and not all of his directorial experiments hold up well. However, “Triangle” does remain an impressive bit of filmmaking, as Carter challenges himself to use a series of long single shots to tell a time-bending story set aboard a ghost ship. (Some filmmaking magic helped stitch together some of those shots, but the effect still comes through.) It doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense, but it’s a giddy experience — also, Anderson gets all dolled up in 1940s fashions, and Mulder gets to steal himself a kiss! Even if it doesn’t really count.

19. “Je Souhaite” (Season 7, Episode 21)

Some X-Files episodes are stressful to watch, but “Je Souhaite” is a real romp, as Mulder and Scully look into some strange phenomena that end up being connected to the appearance of a very snarky genie (Paula Sorge). There’s not a lot of room for Scully’s skepticism here (though her efforts to apply real science to a mysterious invisible corpse are delightful) — instead, Mulder gets his own chance at three wishes. Not only is it quite amusing, but it’s the last episode of Season 7 worth talking about before the game-changing events of the season finale. (Never watch the episode “Fight Club.” “Fight Club” deserves to burn in hell. Seriously, like Brad Pitt said, we do not talk about “Fight Club.”)

18. “One Breath” (Season 2, Episode 8)

Scully returns from Gillian Anderson’s maternity leave her abduction, but she’s in a coma and the doctors aren’t optimistic about her waking up. Mulder, as you might expect, isn’t prepared to accept that. While The X-Files would often skim over big character moments in favor of focusing on conspiracies, “One Breath” balances Mulder’s quest to get answers about what happened to Scully with him confronting just how much he actually cares about her — and Duchovny rises to the challenge, delivering one of his best performances of the series.

17. “Folie a Deux” (Season 5, Episode 19)

In an era where the layperson didn’t pay much attention to who wrote TV shows, Vince Gilligan became a favorite amongst X-Files fans for his particular brand of MOTW stories, since he never lost sight of the characters involved. “Folie a Deux” stands out in particular for how its central monster hides in plain sight, only visible to a select few. So when Mulder finds himself able to see the bug-like nemesis, his relationship with Scully is put to the test — specifically, whether or not she can believe him, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary, after all their years together. It’s a spooky episode, with compelling direction by Kim Manners, but more importantly a defining moment for Scully and the show itself.

16. “The Unnatural” (Season 6, Episode 19)

Fun fact: Duchovny actually accumulated eight writing credits over the course of the series — mostly contributing to mythology episodes. But he also wrote and directed two oddball installments that reflect his continued interest in stepping behind the camera. (His second film, Bucky F*cking Dent, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.) Season 7’s “Hollywood A.D.” is enjoyable but also incredibly goofy; “The Unnatural,” meanwhile, is more tonally consistent, combining aliens and baseball for a genuinely touching period piece. Also, while Mulder and Scully only appear briefly in the episode, their final scene together is one of the sweetest and…. let’s just say it, romantic moments of the entire show’s run.

15. “Little Green Men” (Season 2, Episode 1)

This is a big mythology episode full of great action, as Mulder defies the shutdown of the X-Files to seek real evidence of aliens in Puerto Rico. I’ve got a soft spot for watching smart people outwit their pursuers while investigating conspiracies — too much Pelican Brief as a kid, perhaps — and there’s a ton of that here. Also, one ongoing trope of The X-Files is how often the X-Files division gets shut down (it happens in four different finales, including Season 1 and what is currently the series finale). What “Little Green Men” made clear early on is that even without the FBI, Mulder remained dedicated to his quest — and Scully remained dedicated to him.

14. “Home” (Season 4, Episode 2)

So many X-Files episodes take place in a nice small town, but “Home” really chooses to explore what it means, when evil creeps up on the picket fence. When Mulder and Scully go to investigate the strange death of an infant discovered on a baseball field, they end up uncovering a dark secret on the outskirts of town, one with deadly implications. So disturbing that Fox decided never to rerun it, “Home” still has the power to unsettle modern-day viewers — and to this day, I know that I can’t listen to Johnny Mathis’s “Wonderful! Wonderful!” without thinking about Mrs. Peacock telling Scully “Maybe one day you’ll learn… the pride… the love… when you know your boy will do anything for his mother.”

13. “Drive” (Season 6, Episode 2)

The fact of the matter is, Breaking Bad and everything that comes with it do not happen without this episode — Gilligan literally showed it to AMC execs when they questioned casting Bryan Cranston to star in Gilligan’s landmark series. Even outside its important place in history, “Drive” would still make this list, in which Mulder’s held hostage by a man who insists on them driving west, as the man believes that his head will explode if they don’t. Perhaps the definitive white-knuckle adrenaline-ride of the series, anchored by an incredible performance by Cranston (who at that point was best known as the dad from Malcolm and the Middle).

12. “Anasazi” (Season 2, Episode 25)

One of the other ways a season of The X-Files tended to end was with Mulder in some sort of life-threatening peril. (It happened approximately four to five times, across eleven seasons.) This was the first example of that, and easily the best, as Mulder’s fate hangs in the balance for an intense cliffhanger. Leading up to that moment, though, is some of the show’s best mythology storytelling, including a shocking confrontation between Mulder, Scully, and Mulder’s ex-partner Krycek (Nicholas Lea) that doesn’t go how you’d expect.

11. “Tooms” (Season 1, Episode 21)

Not a lot of MOTW episodes got sequels, especially so close to each other. However, it was rare that a MOTW episode featured a villain as compelling as the long-living liver-eating Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchinson), who we first meet in Season 1’s “Squeeze.” That’s a great episode, very much worth watching as the first part of this two-parter, but “Tooms” makes the list because it explores an exceptionally compelling question: Once Mulder and Scully have successfully stopped a bad guy like Tooms, what happens next? The answer is Mulder beefing his testimony at Tooms’ parole hearing, Tooms going free, and Mulder becoming obsessed with making sure that Tooms doesn’t kill again. It’s a captivating cat-and-mouse game, capped off with a gruesome (yet satisfying) climax.

10. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)

The 30 Best Episodes of The X-Files, Ranked (1)

The X-Files (Fox)

9. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)

It’s the rare pilot that does it all: Sets up premise and characters, delivers a captivating story, and makes the viewer desperate to find out what happens next. There is some awkward pacing and less-than-great dialogue here, as everyone involved is doing their best to figure out what this show even is. But despite those flaws — maybe even because of them — it’s a perfect set-up for the series, containing everything that would make it iconic in just 45 minutes. Plus, Duchovny and Anderson’s chemistry smacks you in the face from their first moment on screen together (well before that scene in the motel).

8. “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space'” (Season 3, Episode 20)

Darin Morgan is credited with writing six episodes of The X-Files, and all six of them were serious contenders for this list, as Morgan’s idiosyncratic scripts all somehow hit that perfect bullseye between terror, comedy, and heart. “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space'” is his most daring effort structurally, as “the truth” of an alien abduction is investigated not by Mulder and Scully, but the titular Jose Chung (Charles Nelson Reilly), an acclaimed writer working on a book in which “Reynard Muldrake” and “Diana Lesky” end up becoming characters. It’s a dizzying blend of unreliable narrators, pointed in-jokes, bizarre celebrity cameos, and self-satire, all coming together with the sad, yet profound reminder the search for meaning and connection is one that drives us all — a much tougher quest than the search for extraterrestrial life.

7. “Ice” (Season 1, Episode 8)

There are a few episodes that feel directly inspired by other films or shows, and in the case of Season 1’s “Ice,” the inspiration is pretty clearly John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing. It proves to be quite fertile material, though, as the agents head up to Alaska to look into a brutal murder-suicide at a remote scientific outpost. With a mind-controlling parasite being the likely cause of those deaths, the question becomes “who can you trust?” — something which pushes Mulder and Scully’s young partnership to the brink.

6. “Duane Barry”/”Ascension” (Season 2, Episodes 5/6)

This two-parter is a major tentpole of the mythology arc… and it also happens to be fantastic television. Mulder and Scully may not be working on the X-Files anymore, but a hostage situation quickly involves them both when the hostage-taker claims to have been an alien abductee. The stakes start big and only get bigger, as Mulder comes to believe Duane Barry’s story — while Duane Barry decides that what he needs is another hostage, to save himself from being taken again. Duchovny’s acting in particular really shines here, but it’s also a tightly constructed narrative that packs in a lot of twists and proves seismic for the show for years to come.

5. “Monday” (Season 6, Episode 14)

There have been some great time loop episodes over the years, with Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Cause and Effect” largely heralded as one of the greatest. But “Monday” belongs in that pantheon as well, an elegantly crafted Groundhog Day riff that gets a lot of its power from an outside point of view. It’s not Mulder or Scully who’s aware they’re trapped in a day that gets a whole lot worse after Mulder’s waterbed springs a leak — it’s Pam (Carrie Hamilton), the girlfriend of a would-be bank robber who’s living in her own special hell, and Hamilton’s performance goes a long way towards investing you in this edge-of-your-couch installment.

4. “Memento Mori” (Season 4, Episode 14)

A mythology episode that’s also an important spotlight for Scully, “Memento Mori” was seismic on a number of levels, weaving together some plot threads established over the past four seasons so elegantly that you could almost believe that those responsible had planned it from the beginning. (Spoiler alert: They hadn’t, and that lack of planning would bite them in the ass repeatedly over the years.) The best mythology episodes are the ones that don’t lose sight of the characters in favor of long, drawn-out explanations as to what’s going on, and that’s why “Memento Mori” is the highest-ranked mythology episode on this list. Scully’s journey following some shocking news feels grounded and relatable here, even while she and Mulder try to figure out if and how aliens might have been involved.

3. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” (Season 3, Episode 4)

The X-Files received 61 nominations and 15 wins during its original run, mostly for below-the-line work and Gillian Anderson’s acting. However, two of those wins were for this very well-deserved Darin Morgan episode, which features a reluctant psychic (Peter Boyle, winning Guest Actor that year for his performance) who gets roped into the investigation of a serial killer who’s killing psychics. Morgan’s script also won an Emmy, and watching it the reasons why are clear: The dialogue is sharp and funny (one of the best examples yet of “auto-erotic asphyxiation” being used as a punchline), the story is packed with gruesome twists, and it all comes together with a denouement so packed with meaning and emotions that it still brings a tear to the eye.

2. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)

It was clear very early on that while Duchovny might have been the bigger star when the series began, Anderson was an acting powerhouse. “Beyond the Sea” is the reason why that was clear, a brilliant showcase not just for her talents, but for some of the show’s most important things. The core of any story is conflict, and the central conflict of The X-Files at its peak was always “what can convince a skeptic to open her mind?” In this episode, it requires a dead loved one, a partner in danger, and a death row inmate (the always incredible Brad Dourif) whose claims of psychic powers become hard for Scully to disregard. There’s only one episode that surpasses it, when it comes to capturing The X-Files at its very best.

1. “Pusher” (Season 3, Episode 17)

It’s everything you want in anX-Filesepisode: A fascinating case, a worthy villain, dialogue like “Please explain to me the scientific nature of the whammy,” and Mulder and Scully doing their best to stay one step ahead. Robert Patrick Modell (Robert Wisden) has unlocked an ability to control minds through the power of suggestion, and he’s using it in all the worst ways. In order to stop him, the agents have to put themselves right in the line of fire — knowing full well that he might have the ability to turn them against each other.

On a personal level, this was the episode that made me a fan of The X-Files, by which I mean it reached inside me, grabbed hold, and in some ways has never let go. Beforehand, I’d seen episodes like “Die Hand Die Verletzt” occasionally but hadn’t felt compelled to keep tuning in — however, watching Mulder and Modell’s final confrontation, one of the tensest sequences the show ever produced, felt like falling in love.

Because that’s exactly what happened. And not even Season 11 can take that away.

The X-Files is currently streaming on Hulu. Below, please find this list arranged chronologically, in case you want to use it to guide your own viewing.

Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”
Season 1, Episode 8: “Ice”
Season 1, Episode 13: “Beyond the Sea”
Season 1, Episode 21: “Tooms”
Season 2, Episode 1: “Little Green Men”
Season 2, Episode 5, 6: “Duane Barry/Ascension”
Season 2, Episode 8: “One Breath”
Season 2, Episode 13: “Irresistible”
Season 2, Episode 14: “Die Hand die Verletzt”
Season 2, Episode 25: “Anasazi”
Season 3, Episode 4: “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”
Season 3, Episode 13: “Syzygy”
Season 3, Episode 17: “Pusher”
Season 3, Episode 20: “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space'”
Season 4, Episode 2: “Home”
Season 4, Episode 12: “Leonard Betts”
Season 4, Episode 14: “Memento Mori”
Season 5, Episode 3: “Unusual Suspects”
Season 5, Episode 4: “Detour”
Season 5, Episode 11: “Kill Switch”
Season 5, Episode 12: “Bad Blood”
Season 5, Episode 19: “Folie a Deux”
Season 6, Episode 2: “Drive”
Season 6, Episode 3: “Triangle”
Season 6, Episode 14: “Monday”
Season 6, Episode 19: “The Unnatural”
Season 7, Episode 21: “Je Souhaite”
Season 8, Episode 19: “Alone”
Season 9, Episode 7: “John Doe”
Season 11, Episode 7: “Rm9sbG93ZXJz”

The 30 Best Episodes of The X-Files, Ranked
Liz Shannon Miller