301 - "The Blessing Way"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 9/22/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man, Well-Manicured Man, Krycek, The Lone Gunmen, Deep Throat, First Elder
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: Scully searches for Mulder whom she believes is still alive, but her quest comes at a personal cost.
Thoughts: Season 3's opener, the middle part of a trilogy of episodes, is much more exciting than Season 2's opener with high stakes and feelings of paranoia. The "Trust No One" concept of the series is taken to the next level as Scully is warned she will be killed by somebody she knows.
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302 - "Paper Clip"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 9/29/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man, Well-Manicured Man, Krycek, The Lone Gunmen, First Elder
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: The pursuit of the computer hack comes to a close, and Mulder and Scully discover that the government conspiracies run deeper than they could have imagined.
Thoughts: The conclusion to this trilogy of episodes contains some great dramatic moments as well as some highly-anticipated series exposition.
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303 - "D.P.O."
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 10/6/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Giovanni Ribisi and Jack Black
Synopsis: A teenager with the power to control electricity goes homicidal
Thoughts: This standalone chiller is a great time capsule of mid-90s video games and alternative music, and Ribisi's villain is one of the best and creepiest of the series.
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304 - "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
Score: 10/10
Original Airdate: 10/13/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Peter Boyle
Synopsis: When a serial killer targets supposed psychics, Mulder and Scully, along with a famous TV psychic, are brought in to investigate. Along the way Mulder encounters Clyde Bruckman, an insurance salesman, who just might be the real deal.
Thoughts: Winning an Emmy both for writing and Boyle's performance of the titular character, this episode is a front-runner for best of the series. It will make you laugh; it will make you cry.
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305 - "The List"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 10/20/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: J.T. Walsh and Bokeem Woodbine
Synopsis: A man soon to be executed claims that he will avenge himself from beyond the grave on a list of those who wronged him. As promised, the people on the list start dying one-by-one.
Thoughts: Boring and ridiculous despite being directed by series creator Chris Carter himself. Skip this one.
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306 - "2Shy"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 11/3/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: A serial killer is using chat rooms to lure insecure, overweight women as his prey as he must consume their fat to survive.
Thoughts: Other than the whole fat-sucking thing, this sort of episode belongs on the likes of "Criminal Minds" or "CSI" more than The X-Files.
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307 - "The Walk"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 11/10/1995
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: A series of murders seem to be committed by a quadruple-amputee veteran. Mulder believes he can astral project.
Thoughts: This episode is worth watching for some gruesome effects and shock value, but the story is a little silly and the acting way over-the-top.
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308 - "Oubilette"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 11/17/1995
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Jewel Staite
Synopsis: A teenage girl is kidnapped and shares a psychic bond with one of her kidnapper's former victims.
Thoughts: This episode is terrible and nonsensical. One of my least favorite, despite my affinity for Jewel Staite.
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309 - "Nisei"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 11/24/1995
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, The Lone Gunmen, Mr. X
Notable Guest Stars: Raymond J. Barry
Synopsis: Mulder investigates the murder of a distributor of alien autopsy VHS tapes and becomes entangled in an international diplomatic conspiracy. Scully meets with a group of women, all of whom are dying of cancer, that she has a shared connection with.
Thoughts: There is a lot to process in this episode - alien autopsies, mobile labs hidden in train cars, and yet more proof of alien existence that Scully still chooses to ignore. Over all it's a solid beginning to a thrilling two-parter.
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310 - "731"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 12/1/1995
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man, Mr. X
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: In the thrilling conclusion to "Nisei", we find Mulder trapped with an explosive in one of the train car labs, and Scully digs deeper into the experiments that were conducted on her and the other women she met.
Thoughts: More action and tension-oriented than its predecessor and equally, if not moreso, enjoyable.
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311 - "Revelations"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 12/15/1995
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Kevin Zegers, Michael Berryman, and R. Lee Ermey
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investagate a series of murders of people who fraudulently claim to have stigmata. Their investigation leads them to a 12-year old boy, who is the real deal, and Scully believes it's her destiny to protect him.
Thoughts: Religious overtones make me nervous, and often uncomfortable, but this episode handles it appropriately. There are some excellent character moments for Scully, and Anderson shines here.
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312 - "War of the Coprophages"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 1/5/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Definitely Not
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Tyler Labine
Synopsis: Mulder and Dr. Bambi investigate a town whose residents are either being killed by cockroaches or really bizarre coincidences (as explained by Scully).
Thoughts: This is one of the funniest episodes of the series. An X-Files must.
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313 - "Syzygy"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 1/26/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Ryan Reynolds
Synopsis: Two teenage girls with psychic powers wreck havoc on their school. Mulder and Scully investigate and find that they too are not behaving normally, along with the rest of the town.
Thoughts: Teenage Ryan Reynolds is worth the price of admission, and "The Craft"-ish vibe is a lot of fun.
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314 - "Grotesque"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 2/2/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner
Notable Guest Stars: Kurtwood Smith
Synopsis: Mulder is brought in by a former mentor to investigate a string of murders seemingly being committed by a man already imprisoned for a string of murders that occurred several years before.
Thoughts: This took about three tries to get all the way through. It's that boring. The saving grace is Kurtwood Smith's performance and the small nuggets of Mulder's backstory from his days at the Academy.
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315 - "Piper Maru"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 2/9/1996
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Spoilers
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate a conspiracy surrounding a WWII aircraft found in the ocean.
Thoughts: This episode introduces the alien "Black Oil" and should not be missed.
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316 - "Apocrypha"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 2/16/1996
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Spoilers
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder pursues the clues regarding the sunken aircraft while Scully pursues her sister's killer.
Thoughts: The conclusion of the first Black Oil adventure has one of the best scream-out-loud scenes and one of the most chilling final moments of the whole series.
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317 - "Pusher"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 2/23/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully get entangled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a serial killer who has the a super power of persuasion.
Thoughts: Vince Gilligan creates some amazing villains, and this episode's Robert Patrick Modell is no exception.
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318 - "Teso dos Bichos"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 3/8/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Definitely
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: An archeologist team disturb the remains of a female shaman, which brings about a curse on them. Specifically, a spirit cat kills them one-by-one.
Thoughts: Awful. Just awful. Coming off of "Pusher" makes it feel even worse. Speaking of worse...
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319 - "Hell Money"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 3/29/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Definitely
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: BD Wong, Lucy Liu, James Hong
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate a Russian Roulette sort of game happening in Chinatown.
Thoughts: Equally terrible as its predecessor, but at least "Teso" had a monster and at least felt like an X-File.
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320 - "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 4/12/1996
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Charles Nelson Reilly, Jesse Ventura, Alex Trebek (seriously)
Synopsis: Scully is interviewed by a famous author who is researching his next book about UFO encounters.
Thoughts: Told through "dramatic reenactments" not unlike those on the History Channel, this episode is simultaneously poignant and hilarious.
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321 - "Avatar"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 4/26/1996
Episode Type: Technically Both. Going with Mythology, though, because it's more about Skinner's back story than the monster.
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder comes to Skinner's defense when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder.
Thoughts: Not a bad monster episode, but the drama and character moments are what shine in this one.
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322 - "Quagmire"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 5/3/1996
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Tyler Labine
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate several deaths near a lake in a town that believes they have their very own version of the Loch Ness Monster.
Thoughts: Another funny and enjoyable stand alone with some great interaction between Mulder and Scully, and even some genuinely scary moments.
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323 - "Wetwired"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 5/10/1996
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man, Mr. X, The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder believes a string of murders is a result of a government mind control test through the use of television signals.
Thoughts: I watched this episode barely a week before writing this, and I couldn't even remember hardly anything about it. Does that make it worse than "Teso" or "Hell Money"? At least I could remember the badness. It all came back to me after reading a synopsis online, but this is a truly forgettable episode.
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324 - "Talitha Cumi"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 5/17/1996
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man, Mr. X, Deep Throat, Alien Bounty Hunter
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder's mother has a stroke, and upon learning that there are more aliens already here like the shape-shifting bounty hunter we've seen several times already AND that they have healing powers, he searches for one he believes to be benevolent and will heal her. The Cigarette-Smoking Man is in pursuit of all of them as he sees the second alien shape-shifter as a threat to the Endgame.
Thoughts: A fantastic season over all comes to a thrilling conclusion with the first of a two-parter.
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