

"Je Souhaite" walks the line between cynicism and sentimentality - most people want what isn't good for them, but people like Mulder and Scully are still out there putting in the work. The hour introduces the agents to a genie who's seen the worst of humanity, pushing them to debate whether it's possible to make the world better. Mulder gets three wishes in this delightful Vince Gilligan episode, which marks Mulder and Scully's last standalone case as partners until the revival. From underrated favorites to Emmy-winning standouts, these are The X-Files' 25 best episodes.įox 25. That range also means that aside from the obvious classics, the details of any best-of list come down to personal preference. ">TV Throwback: The Best Shows to Rewatch Right Now For the most part, those are the episodes that have held up best, standing as examples of the show's impressive range. It was the mythology arc that gave The X-Files its emotional weight in the early seasons, but as the series evolved, the monster-of-the-week episodes took over as its creative center.

Structurally, the series helped pioneer the procedural balance between overarching mythology and standalone episodes, as Mulder ( David Duchovny) and Scully ( Gillian Anderson) unraveled a far-reaching government conspiracy one week and chased small-town monsters the next.

The X-Files could be a black-and-white fable, a satire of political corruption, or a time travel romp it could be absurd, funny, romantic, horrifying. Fox's iconic sci-fi drama churned out 218 episodes and two movies over a span of 25 years, experimenting with genre and form in a way that pushed the boundaries of what a TV procedural could do. No matter what mood you're in, there's an X-Files episode for that.
