Case 09, File 07: John Doe

AKA: Honestly A Supernatural Cartel Sounds Pretty Rad

It wouldn't be clear by how much until much later, but by January of 2002, the media landscape was changing rapidly underneath The X-Files' feet. The first episode of 24 premiered 5 days before the first episode of Season 9 and ride the wave of paranoia and xenophobia in the aftermath of 9/11 to become one of the biggest shows of the 2000s. Season 9 therefore is, at least partially, the story of a series trying to adapt to the changing world while in motion, a tricky proposition at the best of time, but even more difficult for a show that's already clinging to life by its nails.

Case 09, File 06: Trust No 1

AKA: Nothing Compares 2 U

The problem with Season 9 isn't Doggett and Reyes. While perhaps not as good as Golden Age Mulder and Scully, they're both perfectly cromulent actors and they have decent chemistry, they could easily coast for a Season on that until people got to like them. The problem is, the show is not fully committed to them; Not only is Scully still hanging around (despite Anderson very visibly having one foot out the door), but the show keeps obsessively talking about Mulder. It's the TV show equivalent of trying to start a new relationship while your ex is still crashing on your couch.

Case 09, File 05: Lord of the Flies

AKA: No, Like, Actual Flies

With a show as long running as The X-Files, it's very hard for concepts and ideas to not repeat themselves. Coming up with a new monster every week is incredibly difficult, and if you need to sacrifice either having a unique monster or having a solid unique story, you're letting the story slide into cliche to work on the monster, so you'll probably end up copying elements from older episodes. But hey, if those episodes weren't very good, you might end up doing a better version of them,