If you’d like to spend the evening with Mulder and Scully, this list is for you. I’ve compiled the best X-Files episodes for light watching. Yes, Anasazi is a classic and those episodes featuring the Smoking Man are always phenomenal… but sometimes, kicking back to watch a ‘Monster of the Week’ episode is better. It just is.
So, I’ve rewatched the entire show to figure out which episodes I think are the best. Below you’ll find my top 10 episodes, in chronological order.
Along with my list of the cosiest video games to play this autumn, this is an article you’ll definitely want to come back to this October for spooky season.
P.S. if you can’t find this show to stream in your country, you can always buy or rent it to stream on Amazon.
War of the Coprophages, S3 E12
“Her name is Bambi?!” is one of Scully’s best lines. She can eloquently explain how the very notion of intelligent extraterrestrial life is anti-Darwinian and get crazy jealous of Mulder spending time with another woman in the same episode – and I love that about the character.
War of the Coprophages is crawling with cockroaches but never makes my skin crawl. It’s witty, fun and has a generous dose of mystery. It’s everything that I love about The X-Files and it was the first episode where I really began to ship MSR.
Quagmire, S3 E22
Next, Quagmire, an episode rich with classic Mulder Scully dialogue. The premise is simple – Mulder wants to spend the weekend solving the mystery of the lake monster and with a missing persons case filed, he finally has a legit reason for the FBI to get involved. Of course, he’s not going without Scully.
Mulder ultimately finds his “Big Blue”, but not before it’s devoured Scully’s cute dog Queequeg. I’ve always thought that Mulder owed Scully a dog after this episode, but besides Mulder’s fish, the agents never get more pets. Sad times.
Also in this episode: Scully waxes poetical about the Ahab-like similarities between her father and Mulder (Freud, eat your heart out), and Mulder wants a peg leg.
Home, S4 E2
Now we’re into season 4 and kicking it off with Home. Did you know that this episode was banned from TV after the first showing? It’s considered one of the scariest episodes and certainly one of the most controversial.
Yes, this episode is unsettling, but the light-hearted banter between our favourite agents is pure gold. Personally, I think both Duchovny and Anderson look their physical best in seasons 4 and 5, which certainly doesn’t harm the viewing experience either.
Home reveals that Mulder would prefer a quiet life in a small American town if he wasn’t obsessed with finding the truth, and Scully wants to have his babies. If you haven’t seen the deleted scene that never made it into this episode, you can watch it on YouTube here:
Unusual Suspects, S5 E3
Let’s take a break from Scully. Unusual Suspects is the Lone Gunmen origin story, featuring a shady woman and everyone’s favourite goofy Special Agent. I love this episode, set in 1989 when baby Mulder and the Lone Gunmen first meet. It adds a little more depth to the side characters and is a feast of a conspiracy theory.
If you love this episode as much as I do, follow it up with Three of a Kind (S6, E20) to see the return of Susanne Modeski and a flirty Scully in Vegas.
Random trivia: you can see David Duchovny wearing his wedding ring in this episode.
The Post-Modern Prometheus, S5 E5
AKA, the episode that won an Emmy. Filmed entirely in black and white, The Post-Modern Prometheus is a monster-of-the-week episode featuring The Great Mutato and the music of Cher. It has some sweet moments between Mulder and Scully, as well as the typical Scully-scepticism and Mulder-enthusiasm.
I highly recommend reading about how the episode was filmed while you watch it. The cinematography is incredibly detailed and there are so many references to cult Hollywood films and literature that you might otherwise miss. The Wikipedia filming section alone is quite a read.
Chinga, S5 E10
Scully never goes anywhere without an emergency blazer stashed in the trunk of her car. This episode, written by Stephen King, is a fan favourite that sees Agent Dana Scully head to New England on a weekend getaway, leaving Mulder to taste-test old orange juice and decorate the basement office ceiling with pencils while he pesters her with phone calls.
Creepy dolls and gruesome deaths should be cold and scary – but it just isn’t. I must admit, I was a little disappointed by this episode. I was expecting something far more sinister from Stephen King, but it felt a little tame.
Nonetheless, Mulder and Scully’s dynamic is on point. And by the way, Scully doesn’t say no to Mulder’s marriage proposal. I love that detail.
Bad Blood, S5 E12
If War of the Coprophages was Scully’s chance to be jealous, Bad Blood is most definitely Mulder’s turn. This episode, in which the agents’ recount different versions of the same event, sees Mulder and Scully investigate possible vampires, pizza delivery guys, and trailer parks.
It pairs a sense of whimsy with vampirism that I just love. Perhaps it’s because I lived through the Twilight era during my teens, but I am just a sucker for anything vampire themed.
Also in this episode; Mulder tells Skinner he was drugged, Scully has a thing for overbites, and baguette crosses are about as useful as chocolate teapots.
How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, S6 E6
A Christmas-themed X-Files episode? Don’t mind if I do. In classic Mulder style, he’s dragging Scully away from her family on Christmas eve for a stakeout at a haunted house. And in classic Scully style, she’s not very convincing when she complains about it. There’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
This episode mixes silliness with spooky ghosts and unspoken truths finally being spoken – though not by the main characters themselves. It seems that, finally, Chris Carter has realised that his characters are anything but platonic.
If you want to know what Mulder and Scully gifted each other at the end of the episode, Redditors have a range of ideas, but most agree that Scully’s gift to Mulder was probably a porn tape.
Arcadia, S6 E15
It wouldn’t be a list of the best X-Files episodes without mentioning Arcadia. This is the last episode on my list from the original series, with my final episode from the Series 10 revival. Yep, we’re totally skipping over Doggett and Reyes – while they had their moments, they never made an episode quite as good as Mulder and Scully.
Arcadia sees Mulder and Scully go undercover to investigate a series of deaths in a gated community. There’s lots of banter, some mailbox abuse, and a double bed that they don’t share. Also in this episode: Scully makes Mulder a sandwich.
Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster, S10 E3
This final episode is a brilliant one. It’s quirky, funny and has all the Mulder-Scully interactions we missed in the interim years between the original series and the revival. They’re older, for sure, but they’ve definitely still got it.
I’m no internet sleuth, but I do usually see the twists and turns coming in X-Files episodes – I guess the real killer before the show reveals it. But not this episode. I was far too caught up in enjoying the story to figure it out. That’s part of why it is one of my favourites.
P.S. did you notice that the two junkie extras at the start of the episode were also in War of the Coprophages and Quagmire too?
7 More X-Files Episodes That Almost Made the List
If you’ve scrolled through my top 10 and can’t settle on an episode to watch, you might be in the mood to watch one of these instead:
- Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, S3 E4 – autoerotic asphyxiation.
- Jose Chung’s From Outer Space, S3 E20 – Mulder screams.
- Small Potatoes, S4 E20 – Eddie Van Blundht ruins everything.
- Detour, S5 E4 – Mulder doesn’t want to wrestle, Scully sings.
- Triangle, S6 E3 – A trip to the Bermuda Triangle, oh brother!
- The Rain King, S6 E8 – “I do not gaze at Scully.”
- Plus One, S11 E3 – Scully’s still got scoot in her boot.
If you couldn’t spot your favourite X-Files episode on this list, let me know in the comments below.