201 - "Little Green Men"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 9/16/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: Raymond J. Barry
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully are reassigned to surveillance and teaching duties respectively. Mulder leaves his post when he learns that a space satellite may have received a transmission that may provide the proof of extra-terrestrial life.
Thoughts: If Season 1 ended with a bang, Season 2 starts with more of a whisper, primarily due to the neutering of Mulder after the X-Files are closed. There is a good exchange between Mulder and Senator Richard Matheson (Mulder's friend in high places) and a somewhat exciting climax, but it's a slow journey to get there.
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202 - "The Host"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 9/23/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: A humanoid creature that dwells in the sewers seeks to reproduce by implanting parasitic worms into human hosts.
Thoughts: This is a solid episode with a great "ick" factor. An excellent throwback to old school creature features.
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203 - "Blood"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 9/30/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guess Stars: William Sanderson
Synopsis: In a small town, several acts of violence and murder are being committed by people with no history of violence. Mulder believes it to be caused by a chemtrail being spread by crop duster plane and that the local government knows about it.
Thoughts: The motif of the digital words on various devices coupled with that loud music note stinger got old by about 20 minutes in. Not a great episode; not horrible.
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204 - "Sleepless"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 10/7/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Krycek, Mr. X, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: Tony Todd, Jon Gries
Synopsis: After a string of unexplained and impossible murders, Mulder and his new partner, Alex Krycek, uncover another government cover-up: experimentation on Vietnam soldiers that removed the chemical in the body that requires sleep.
Thoughts: The premise of this episode is silly, even by X-Files standards. Tony Todd is scary as always, and Mulder's repeated attempts to ditch Krycek are humorous - both of which make this episode worthwhile.
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205 - "Duane Barry"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 10/14/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Krycek
Notable Guess Stars: Steve Railsback, CCH Pounder (in an Emmy-nominated role)
Synopsis: Mulder and three other people are taken hostage by an escaped mental patient who claims to have been repeated abducted by aliens.
Thoughts: This otherwise fantastic episode is plagued by two things. The first is Railsback's screaming and overacting. The second is the depiction of the aliens in his alleged abduction experiences is just too on-the-nose. A solid beginning to a thrilling two-parter.
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206 - "Ascension"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 10/21/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Krycek, Mr. X, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: Steve Railsback
Synopsis: Mulder and Krycek pursue Duane Barry after he kidnaps Scully.
Thoughts: Railsback still overacts in this episode, but the high stakes, intense action, and growing intrigue behind Barry's motivation make this a nail-biter. The meta knowledge of watching this, even if for the first time, 20 years later lessen the impact of the shocking events of the the climax, but it's so well done that it's engaging anyway.
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207 - "3"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 11/4/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Uh... Not Sure (See "Thoughts" Section)
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Perry Reeves
Synopsis: Mulder investigates a string of murders committed by three people who claim to be "an unholy trinity" of vampires and falls for a fourth who wants to escape the vampire lifestyle.
Thoughts: I'm conflicted here, and I may watch it again to be sure I wasn't accidentally on crack or something. I really enjoyed this episode - one of the only completely Scully-less episodes (she was on maternity leave) - because it had a film noir vibe to it, as well as trashy vampiry goodness.
That said, this episode appears on most, if not all, "Top Worst Episode Of The X-Files Lists" so I have to question my own judgement on this. Granted, most of the comments/reasons for this is due to the fact that Mulder sleeps with another woman, and many of the hardcore fans are NOT down with that. I can't help but wonder had Mulder not slept with his vampiric seductress, would the negative reaction be as strong to the whole episode?
As for me, of course I want Mulder and Scully together, but we aren't there yet, and no romantic involvement or commitment has happened yet, so Mulder is well within his rights to have a romantic encounter with another woman. If this were a Season 9 episode, I would feel much more strongly against it.
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208 - "One Breath"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 11/11/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man, Mr. X, The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guess Stars:
Synopsis: Scully is found in a hospital, and nobody seems to know how she got there. She is comatose and near death.
Thoughts: This episode is over-the-top with melodrama, which is a huge detriment despite many important things that happen in this episode. From the opening flashback sequence of Scully killing a snake with her brothers (that doesn't matter to anything related to the story) to Duchovny's constant tonal changes from screaming and swearing vengeance to crying alone in his apartment, to a ghost nurse (yes, a ghost nurse), this episode is mel-o-drama.
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209 - "Firewalker"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 11/18/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Bradley Whitford, Leland Orser, Shawnee Smith
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully are brought in to investigate the death of a scientist at an isolated study site at a volcano. At the site, the scientists may or many not be infected by a deadly spore that was unearthed by their excavation. Paranoia of who's infected and who's not ensues.
Thoughts: Sound familiar? That's because it's the exact same plot as last season's phenomenal "Ice" episode, substituting hot temperatures for arctic ones. The same story beats are present, but the senses of terror and mistrust don't achieve the same levels as last time around.
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210 - "Red Museum"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 12/9/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate a string of incidents where a teenager disappears and reappears hours later with the words "He/She Is One" carved into their backs.
Thoughts: There's too much going on (peeping tom, anti-meat cult, crashing airplanes, experimentation on children, ties to a Season 1 major event), and there are too many red herrings in this episode. Had they stuck to one thing and went all in with it, this could've been one of the greats.
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211 - "Excelsis Dei"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 12/16/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Frances Bay (Happy Gilmore's Grandma)
Synopsis: After a woman claims to be raped by an invisible entity, Mulder and Scully discover some paranormal x-tivity at a Senior Living facility.
Thoughts: This is easily one of the worst episodes. It's boring, nonsensical, confusing, and it treats a rape victim with hostility.
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212 - "Aubrey"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 1/6/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Terry O'Quinn
Synopsis: When a decades old corpse of a murdered FBI agent is found by a woman who can't explain how she found it, Mulder and Scully investigate.
Thoughts: This episode looks at the nature vs. nurture debate, siding on the side of nature and that violent behavior can be passed on through genetics, even if said person has no contact with violent offenders in their bloodlines. Mostly nonsense.
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213 - "Irresistible"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 1/13/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: When a fetishist obsessed with dead hair escalates from grave robbing to killing his own victims, Scully is especially affected by the case.
Thoughts: Chris Carter's narrative into the darkest and evilest corners of the human mind is hampered by the weird and unnecessary flashes of the killer as a literal monster. It sufficed as a metaphor.
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214 - "Die Hand Die Verletztz"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 1/27/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: If you are bothered by depictions of witchcraft, the occult, or the devil, then absolutely. Otherwise, no.
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Laura Harris
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a high school student who appears to be the victim of a satanic ritual.
Thoughts: This is one of my favorite episodes as it is definitely one of the scariest and closest resembles a horror film. Chilling. Trivia: the title translates to "The Hand That Wounds".
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215 - "Fresh Bones"
Score: 3/10
Original Airdate: 3/10/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: Mr. X
Notable Guess Stars: Callum Keith Rennie
Synopsis: Mulder believes that voodoo is the cause of two military deaths.
Thoughts: Two occult-laden episodes in a row is too much. Plus, it's silly and boring, and has that terrible tribal-yell score that they used in Season 1's "Jersey Devil".
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216 - "Colony"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 2/10/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Alien Bounty Hunter
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: A woman claiming to be Mulder's sister Samantha is being pursued by the shape-shifting Alien Bounty Hunter.
Thoughts: This episode is tense and gripping, with a fantastic performance by Duchovny.
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217 - "End Game"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 2/17/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Mr. X
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder pursues the Alien Bounty Hunter to find his sister.
Thoughts: A thrilling conclusion to this storyline with an epic fight between Skinner and Mr. X.
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218 - "Fearful Symmetry"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 2/24/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Most Definitely
Recurring Secondary Characters: The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guess Stars: Jayne Atkinson and Lance Guest
Synopsis: When exotic animals appear out of nowhere in random places, Mulder believes they are being abducted from a zoo by aliens who are experimenting on them.
Thoughts: One must want to believe to enjoy The X-Files, but there is a limit. This was absurd.
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219 - "Dod Kalm"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 3/10/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: John Savage
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the crew of a ship who have all rapidly aged, and begin to age themselves.
Thoughts: This is an average episode, not great not terrible. It's fun to see a geriatric Mulder and Scully, but the potential claustrophobia and suspense that this episode could have achieved is hampered by over-the-top and unlikable guest stars.
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220 - "Humbug"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 3/31/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Vincent Schiavelli
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the murders of slideshow performers.
Thoughts: This is The X-Files ode to the classic film "Freaks", and it's great fun. Two parts "Freaks" and one part "Basket Case".
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221 - "The Calusari"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 4/14/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: No
Notable Guess Stars: No
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate a Jewish family who seem to be under a curse.
Thoughts: The Jewish exorcism scene is well-done, but this is one of those episodes where Scully can NOT in any reasonableness be a disbeliever. It's better to skip this one altogether.
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222 - "F. Emasculata"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 4/28/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette-Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: Dean Norris and Charles Martin Smith
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully race to find two escaped prison inmates who are infected with a deadly contagion that could start an outbreak
Thoughts: Another tense episode that builds upon other government conspiracies outside the alien cover-ups.
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223 - "Soft Light"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 5/5/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Mr. X
Notable Guess Stars: Tony Shalhoub
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully hunt for man whose shadow is composed of dark matter that disintegrates anyone who touches it.
Thoughts: The effects are pretty terrible in this episode, but Shaloub nails it as the tormented man-on-the-run.
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224 - "Our Town"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 5/12/95
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate deaths that seem to be tied to the Chaco Chicken Corporation, a company that employs most of a small Arkansas town.
Thoughts: This is an amusing, if not average, filler episode before the finale.
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225 - "Anasazi"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 5/19/95
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Krycek, Cigarette-Smoking Man, The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guess Stars:
Synopsis: Mulder obtains a computer hack that contains all government files related to the existence and cover-up of extraterrestrial life, leading to a personal tragedy. Meanwhile, a Navajo teenager finds a buried train car full of dead extraterrestrials, and Scully learns more about her abduction.
Thoughts: Part 1 of 3 of what could have been an amazing theatrical movie if released together, this episode is tense, heartbreaking, and exciting. We have the benefit of DVD and Netflix for immediate viewing of the next episode, but oh man what a cliffhanger this must have been in 1995.
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