Case 02, File 05: Duane Barry

AKA: Duane Barry Is Not Making This Up

Right from the get go The X-Files had linked episodes in the form of its mythology episodes, but for the first season or so, they were mostly one off episodes, perhaps interconnected but not paired up. But, as the series progressed, a new dynamic for how they produced and aired Myth Arc Episodes. Namely, they would make two or more episodes paired together, making a single longer story. And this is beginning of the first multi-episode arc in the show.

Case 02, File 04: Sleepless

AKA: Not in Seattle Though

The X-Files' has a tendency to dehumanize it's villains, even its more human villains. That's not really a complaint, most of them ARE literal monsters, but it occasionally struck me as a missed opportunity. Some of the best episodes are ones where we got to see inside the mind of the monster. And even when we don't devote the episode to it, the episodes are usually better when we get some insight into the monster, even when they're not particularly sympathetic.

Case 02, File 03: Blood

AKA: No, It's Not a Vampire Episode

The X-Files usually avoided doing episodes that were of their moment in history, which usually worked out for the better. "Ripped From the Headlines" tends to date your story, while except for the the technological limitations, most episodes of The X-Files are timeless. There are a couple of exceptions, most notably The Field Where I Died, which pulled most of its plot from the Waco standoff. But, while Blood doesn't pull much of its plot from then-relevant events, it seems to get dated by its details.

Case 02, File 02: The Host

AKA: The Grossest Place to Die

Over the course of nine (now ten) seasons, The X-Files acquired a reputation for being weird, and that reputation began to really grow in the second season. Sure the first season had some weird monsters (the glowing bugs from Darkness Falls and Eugene Tooms were both pretty weird) but this is the season where we started getting the truly strange episodes. And The Host was strange enough to become iconic.

Case 02, File 01: Little Green Men

AKA: They're Actually Grey, But Whatever

And thus we enter Season 2. Season 2 is an important step in The X-Files' evolution. It's not only the season where the series began to really develop the voice and identity that would carry it forward, but also the season where it began to shift from being a well reasonably well reviewed and watched cult show, to a full blown cultural phenomena. It's also got a solid number of the episodes that most fans consider to be some of the classics. And it all starts right here.

Case 01, File 24: The Erlenmeyer Flask

AKA: I Don't Know Why It's Called That Either

One of the more charming aspects of The X-Files to me is that it always seems to suddenly remember it has an overarching plot right at the end of each season. After 24 episodes of spinning the wheels and Monster of the Week episodes, it suddenly remembers it needs to move the plot forward and forces what amounts to half a season's worth of plot development into 45 minutes. But, if nothing else, it usually makes for an entertaining season finale.

Case 01, File 23: Roland

AKA: Gold Medalist in the Gross Ways to Die Event

I mentioned a couple episodes back that The X-Files has an awkward history of addressing non-white races, and I was all prepped to say the same thing about its attempts to address people who are mentally challenged, but that might be a little unfair, because that issue is far from isolated to The X-Files. The Hollywood system means that people who have mental challenges rarely get to write, direct or act their own stories, so its left to writers trying to write them from the outside, which can lead to an over-reliance on cliches and ugly stereotypes, which can not only perpetuate said stereotypes but can damage the overall story the writer are trying to tell.