Case 08, File 11: The Gift

AKA: If I Put Something About Soul Eaters Here Will I Get SEO From The Anime?

I feel like I've been mean to the Season 8 episodes, and I don't mean to be, but I can't really help it; The X-Files' quality had been dropping since Season 6, and losing one of their key actors, and the relationships his character had means that bad episodes had less to lean on. But there are still things the series can do to make a damn fine episode if it wants to. And there's no reason the series can't still make a damn fine episode without Duchovny. Or even with him.

Case 08, File 10: Badlaa

AKA: I Couldn't Think Of A Safe AKA Title

The X-Files is consistently weird, often spooky, occasionally scary but rarely gross. I don't really know how to write down that distinction in terms of violence and content, it's mostly just a judgement call that makes Machete silly, Texas Chainsaw Massacre disturbing and Saw III gross; I may not be able to define gross in a horror context, but I know it when I see it. And more importantly, it's hard to nail down when exactly being gross is a bug and when it's a feature.