The X-Files: Talitha Cumi (3.24)

Season three's finale returns to the convoluted and shamelessly confused Colony/End Game two-parter, with emphasis once again placed on shapeshifters, clones and Samantha. However, and it sucks to say it because of how strong a lot of this season has been, Talitha Cumi doesn't go anywhere. It's a script frantically searching for some kind of point, with a cliffhanger that's ridiculously lame.

The X-Files: Wetwired (3.23)

Thematically, this isn't dissimilar to last season's Blood, another exercise in technology sending innocent people crazy. But while the first half of Wetwired tows the company line in the relentless paranoia of its characters and some suitably intriguing mystery, it suddenly develops into something far more interesting as soon as Scully is removed from the script, twisting into one of those unexpected detours down conspiracy alley.

The X-Files: Quagmire (3.22)

The best Darin Morgan episode not written by Darin Morgan, Quagmire is just a hell of a lot of fun. From the cool fishing-community locale to the townspeople dropping like flies, it's entertaining in its simplicity, while at the same time rewarding to long-time viewers with some wonderful interaction between our two leads, stuck in the middle of nowhere with time to kill. And that adorable fluff ball Queequeg gets eaten alive by a sea monster. How can you not fall in love with this episode?

The X-Files: Avatar (3.21)

It's reflective of how far the show has come in three years that it has the confidence to hand over an episode to a supporting character, especially one who we know so little about. That's part of the fun about Avatar. While the relationship between our two protagonists and A.D. Skinner is now at the point where they steadfastly support him and respect him as a colleague, a supporter and a friend, it's pretty surprising to discover little details that actually give him a personality outside of his stock character traits as a "higher-up ally to the leads". He's a Vietnam veteran, depressed, and in the middle of divorce proceedings. It entirely changes the character, and allows us as an audience to be moved by the events of the episode.

The X-Files: Jose Chung's From Outer Space (3.20)

Everybody knows the stock characteristics of an alien abduction. You've got the short little aliens with the enormous heads and giant eyes; the metal slab you're pasted to; the wacky sci-fi leather outfits you're dressed in; the mysterious men in black watching your every move. This episode, another Darin Morgan masterpiece, beautifully subverts those clichés, creating an episode that works not only as a comedy X-File, but also as another brave commentary on humanity and everyday people.

The X-Files: Hell Money (3.19)

I remember disliking this episode a lot when I first watched it years ago, so I was surprised that it turned out to be pretty good second time around. I've gained an appreciation of the every-once-in-a-while episodes where Mulder and Scully investigate a case firmly rooted in reality, and Hell Money was one of the those very cases. There were a couple of red herrings and representations of cultural urban legends, but nothing all-out supernatural this week.

The X-Files: Teso Dos Bichos (3.18)

Hahahahahahahah. Lord, this episode was stupid. Not since season one has there been an hour so lacking in anything resembling The X-Files as we now know it. The story is uninspired, the mythology as generic as it comes, and numerous contrived depictions of crazed violence and shocking murder try to fill in the gaps of a ridiculous script. It moves along at a brisk pace, but yeesh this one blew.

The X-Files: Pusher (3.17)

Based on Pusher and his first scripted effort Soft Light last season, it's clear Vince Gilligan is an "ideas man", creating an ingenious science-fiction idea and running with it. While Soft Light was in various ways flawed, Pusher's central idea works so well because Gilligan puts Mulder and Scully directly at the center of it, showcasing their compassion for one another during a nerve-jangling final act.

The X-Files: Apocrypha (3.16)

While it improved on Piper Maru, a lot of Apocrypha towed the company line: minor revelations, convoluted attempts to tell a simple story, some decent scenes of intrigue. I'm still a little lost in the mythology of the show as a whole, but knowing where the series is headed, I'm not sure I'm actually missing out on anything. It must have been crazy disheartening for the fans who actually cared about the intricate details of the show's villains and conspiracies, especially when so much of it in the end seemed to be made up as the show went along.

The X-Files: Piper Maru (3.15)

It's always difficult reviewing the first part of a two-part episode, especially when it's pretty clear that everything that happens in part one is merely an opener to the major action in part two. But, judged on its own, I really didn't like Piper Maru. What's even more disappointing is that it started so well, with an intense teaser sequence and a great Scully moment.

The X-Files: Grotesque (3.14)

I remember that as a kid, back in the dark ages of the 1990's, that I actually read the novelization of this episode before I saw the episode itself. Yep, remember novelizations? Heh. Grotesque is almost a spiritual successor to last season's Irresistible, both of which help lay the groundwork for Chris Carter's Millennium, especially with the insight into the criminal mind. Grotesque is arguably a better episode than Irresistible, if only because it has far more ideas, and we don't have the seemingly requisite "Scully-in-peril" third act twist.

The X-Files: Syzygy (3.13)

I always wonder what happens to the creator/executive producer of a show when a writer suddenly appears and entirely exploits the potential the show has, raising the bar to such an extent that it leaves everything else out in the cold. Was Chris Carter a little intimidated? A little bruised? This is clearly his attempt at a Darin Morgan script, from the wacky supporting characters to the exaggeration of Mulder and Scully's on-screen "personas". But, and it's especially unfortunate considering the episode it followed, Syzygy ends up a mess unsure of which direction to exploit.

The X-Files: War of the Coprophages (3.12)

Darin Morgan's third episode lacks the warmth of Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, but damn if it isn't a comedic tour-de-force. Combining some of the grossest, most repulsive bug moments that I've ever seen on television with some ridiculously fun insights into the Mulder/Scully relationship, War of the Coprophages surprised me in its genius. Especially since it's usually considered the black sheep of the Morgan episodes.

The X-Files: Revelations (3.11)

This episode is all over the place, but the weight of its ideas mostly overcomes the shallow mystery Mulder and Scully find themselves investigating. That doesn't discount the fact that a lot of the episode is extremely frustrating, but Revelations at least hinges its last twenty minutes on the religious angle to Scully's character, something that hasn't been utilized in a while.

The X-Files: 731 (3.10)

This was another episode where my enjoyment was hampered by my knowledge of the rest of the series. I was always a casual X-Files viewer, and this is my first time watching the show unfold episode-by-episode, but I'm already aware that literal aliens do come into play at various points down the line, which affected how I viewed 731. It would have been pretty heartbreaking to have Mulder proved wrong in his beliefs, but it would have been equally as daring. Having The Conspiracy creating these elaborate and grand red-herrings to cover up brutal, human evil at its worst? It takes a lot of guts to do that, and I can't help but wonder if it might have really worked.

The X-Files: Nisei (3.9)

For at least half of the episode, Nisei follows a now typical pattern for the X-Files conspiracy episodes. Mulder discovers some improbable lead, relentlessly pursues the mystery, Skinner steps in to warn him, Mulder does something reckless. It's become a little formulaic, but it's still aggressively fun. But, at the same time, Scully experiences something a whole lot more original, and a whole lot creepier.

The X-Files: Oubliette (3.8)

Oubliette is an episode that I remember vividly from my childhood. Maybe it was the kid getting abducted from her bedroom, or the creepy class photographer responsible? Whatever the reasoning, it stuck in my head for years after. Watching it again, it's not exactly the masterpiece I remembered it being, but it at least featured an intriguing hook which overshadows an unspectacular mystery.

The X-Files: The Walk (3.7)

There are some interesting attempts at exploring real-life disturbances through this episode, first with the government's treatment of war veterans (lock them up and keep them quiet), and then with our own passive view of war itself: "turn right over to the TV page", as that song goes. But as this is another mildly generic X-Files tale, we also have a villain desperate for revenge. Unlike so many other underwhelming episodes, however, The Walk features some stand-out moments of shock and awe.

The X-Files: 2Shy (3.6)

This show really likes goo, am I right? Thinking about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire episode came about after a big tub of goo became available. They'd clearly want to use it, so here's an X-Files episode built all around it. Outside of the goo, 2Shy is a standard procedural hour with more than a couple of throwbacks to Squeeze. Besides a couple of key differences, it's pretty much the same episode.

The X-Files: The List (3.5)

This is the kind of episode that The X-Files can do in its sleep. All of the themes displayed here; "revenge from beyond the grave", "intrigue and conspiracies in a prison"; have been presented in at least two or three previous episodes. So, in that regard, The List is disappointing. But what really drains the episode of any success is the fact that it's so inconsequential.