The Best X-Files Episode From Every Season

The X-Files ran for nine seasons before a revival in 2016 added two more seasons to the sci-fi alien conspiracy theory anthology series. The first six seasons remain known as the best of the best, with a good split of Monster of the Week episodes and the alien mythology sprinkled in. The last two seasons of the original series fell off thanks to the departure of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s reduced role. The reboot in 2016 and 2018 was hit-and-miss, with the alien storylines mostly wrapped up in the movies, but there were still entertaining and often brilliant episodes in those seasons as well, with Duchovny and Anderson back in the lead.

Here is a look at the best episode of each X-Files season, ranked.

11) Season 1 – “Tooms”

The best episode of the first season of The X-Files was a Monster of the Week episode that also had the first successful returning villain for the sci-fi anthology series. This villain was liver-eating, hibernating Eugene Victor Tooms (last seen in “Squeeze”). When he gets released from prison, Scully and Mulder attempt to stop him from killing again, but Tooms is too smart and makes things hard for them as he tries to gain access to the organs he needs to nest for another 30 years. The ending here is disgusting in the best way, and features Tooms meeting his end thanks to an escalator.

10) Season 2 – “End Game”

The best X-Files Season 2 episode is “End Game,” and it is a strong part of the overall alien abduction mythos of the series. An alien bounty hunter (Brian Thompson) kidnaps Scully, and Mulder decides he will offer his sister, Samantha (Megan Leitch), as ransom to get Scully back. This is the second part of a two-part story, which began with “Colony,” and it is here that Mulder learns more about the human-alien hybrid project. It is a masterful conclusion to the story, and it is a perfect look at what the alien mythology was, just as brilliant as any Monster of the Week episode.

9) Season 3 – “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”

The third season X-Files episode, “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” is not only the best of that season, but it might be the best of the entire series. This is a story that is funny, scary, mysterious, and brilliant all at the same time. Peter Boyle plays Clyde Bruckman, an insurance salesman who might have psychic abilities. He then offers Mulder and Scully help as they investigate the deaths of other psychically enabled people. This is a heartbreaking episode, but it is also one that starts Scully’s ultimate turn to believe more. It is a masterpiece of sci-fi horror television.

8) Season 4 – “Home”

Released in Season 4, The X-Files episode, “Home,” was one of the most horrific ones, and it was so depraved that it was the first in the series to carry a viewer discretion warning for graphic content, and it would have a TV-MA rating, but was released before that was in effect. The plot sees Mulder and Scully investigating the death of a baby born with severe birth defects, only to find a family of inbred farmers who have not left their house in over a decade and live with their dominating mother. The complaints that it was overly graphic add to its allure for The X-Files horror fans. That it was based on a true story makes this X-Files episode even more shocking.

7) Season 5 – “The Post-Modern Prometheus”

The X-Files Season 5 episode, “The Post-Modern Prometheus,” pays homage to the sci-fi and horror tales from the past. It is also a stand-alone episode that is a Monster of the Week episode, and it borrows from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (hence the title’s use of Prometheus). It was even filmed in black and white to homage the classic Universal Horror movies. The ending with the song, “Walking in Memphis,” was arguably the best final moments in the entire series. This episode earned seven Emmy Award nominations and won one.

6) Season 6 – “Triangle”

The sixth season of The X-Files had a time-travel episode, and what better way to deal with it than by using the Bermuda Triangle as a plot device? What resulted was one of the most inspired and creative episodes in the show’s history. Mulder disappears into the Bermuda Triangle, and he finds he is now on a cruise liner full of Nazis and several characters played by the show’s actors in different roles. The episode ends with a question about whether it was real or all a dream, and that makes it so special.

5) Season 7 – “Requiem”

The X-Files Season 7 saw the end of Fox Mulder’s story, for a time, as he left in the eighth season. In “Requiem,” Mulder and Scully return to Oregon, which was the location of their first case in “Pilot.” This was the finale of the season and saw the alien mythology front-and-center again, and it ends with Mulder walking through an energy field to a UFO, where he ends up abducted with everyone else there. This wrote him out of the series, and when it ended with Scully pregnant with his child, it opened up more questions for the future. The episode was an incredible experience, and it was good enough to be the series finale if Fox hadn’t brought the show back with a new partner for Scully.

4) Season 8 – “The Gift”

The X-Files Season 8 marked the beginning of the end of the series, as the departure of David Duchovny turned away many fans. However, there were a few hidden gems, with the best being “The Gift.” The best parts of the season involved Doggett (Robert Patrick) and his entry into the series as Mulder’s replacement. While it’s strange seeing Scully as the believer and Doggett as the skeptic, it works in episodes like this, where Doggett is investigating Mulder’s disappearance. This was Duchovny’s first appearance of the season, and the emotional impact of this episode is one that works masterfully, a rarity for late-era X-Files seasons.

3) Season 9 – “Sunshine Days”

The last season of The X-Files (before the reboot) left a lot to be desired. Not only was David Duchovny gone, but Gillian Anderson was also reduced to a part-time role. However, the penultimate episode of the series had a lot going for it, including having Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) as director and Michael Emerson (Lost) as a man who turned his house into a duplicate of that from The Brady Bunch TV show. John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) could never replace Mulder and Scully, but this was one of their better outings.

2) Season 10 – “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster”

The first season of The X-Files reboot was polarizing in episodes, but the best of them was “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster.” The title clearly shows that this was not an episode that took itself seriously, but at the same time, it was a fun time and an interesting concept. Kumail Nanjiani and Rhys Darby guest star in a story by Darin Morgan (“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose”) about a lizard-creature. However, when Milder meets the actual were-lizard, things just get bizarre. This reboot episode reminded fans of how good The X-Files was when it just tried to have fun.

1) Season 11 – “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat”

The last season of The X-Files reboot was up and down, but it had a brilliant episode called “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat.” This was the fourth episode and saw Mulder and X-Files, and it plays as one of the funniest, as it deals with the Mandela Effect and parodies what the show is really about. While this is a polarizing episode, and many fans hated the idea that the show was poking fun at itself, it was brilliantly done. Adding a never-before-seen character to scenes from previous cases as a partner to Mulder and Scully, who no one remembers, was hilarious. When Skinner shows up and says, “Where the hell are they taking Reggie?” it is the perfect punchline to the episode.

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