The truth is still out there, but finding it involves digging through over 200 hours of television. If you look at the list of X Files episodes today, it's honestly overwhelming. You’ve got the dark 90s gloom, the slicker late-series production, and those weirdly bright revival seasons. Chris Carter’s brainchild didn't just change TV; it basically invented the modern "fandom" and the "monster-of-the-week" vs. "mytharc" dynamic that shows like Supernatural or Fringe later copied to death.
Why Some X-Files Episodes Still Hold Up (And Others Don't)
Most people assume you have to watch every single thing. You don't. Seriously. The list of X Files episodes is a chaotic mix of absolute genius and "what were they thinking?" moments. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had this lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry, but even they couldn't save some of the late-season slog when the writing team started chasing their own tails regarding alien conspiracies and "Super Soldiers."
The "Mytharc" Problem
Basically, the show operates on two tracks. The mythology episodes—the ones with the Black Oil, the Syndicate, and Mulder’s sister—started out incredibly strong. By the time you get to Season 6 or 7, though, the plot gets so tangled it’s hard to remember who is betraying whom. "The Erlenmeyer Flask" (Season 1) is tight, scary, and groundbreaking. By "Provenance" (Season 9), you’re mostly just watching Mulder-less scenes and wondering where it all went sideways.
The Monster of the Week Gold Mine
If you want the best experience, you focus on the standalone episodes. These are the weird, creepy, or funny one-offs that don't require you to know about the "Cigarette Smoking Man’s" tax returns. Episodes written by Darin Morgan or Vince Gilligan (before he did Breaking Bad) are usually the ones that end up on everyone’s "Greatest Hits" list.
Navigating the Early Seasons: The Essential List of X Files Episodes
The first few seasons are peak television. Period. It was 1993, the internet was barely a thing, and Fox was taking a massive gamble on a show about UFOs.
📖 Related: Gwendoline Butler Dead in a Row: Why This 1957 Mystery Still Packs a Punch
Squeeze (Season 1, Episode 3)
This is the one that proved the show could survive without aliens. Doug Hutchison plays Eugene Victor Tooms, a guy who can stretch his body to fit through air vents and eats human livers. It’s gross. It’s claustrophobic. It’s perfect. It established the "Monster of the Week" formula that kept the show alive for a decade.
Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (Season 3, Episode 4)
You’ve got Peter Boyle playing a grumpy insurance salesman who can see how people die. It’s hilarious but also deeply depressing. This episode won two Emmys, and for good reason. It’s one of the few times the show tackled the idea of fate without feeling cheesy. Honestly, if you only watch one episode from the entire list of X Files episodes, make it this one.
Home (Season 4, Episode 2)
Fox only aired this once and then banned it for years because it was too disturbing. It deals with the Peacock family—inbred brothers living in a decaying house in Pennsylvania. It’s the closest the show ever got to pure slasher horror. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a masterclass in building dread.
The Mid-Series Shift and the Move to LA
Around Season 6, the production moved from the rainy, moody forests of Vancouver to the sunny streets of Los Angeles. The vibe changed. It got "brighter," and the writers started experimenting more.
👉 See also: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
- Triangle (Season 6, Episode 3): This one is shot in four long takes to look like a single continuous shot. Mulder ends up on a 1939 luxury liner in the Bermuda Triangle. It’s a technical marvel for 1998 TV.
- Bad Blood (Season 5, Episode 12): Written by Vince Gilligan. It’s a vampire story told from two perspectives: Mulder’s and Scully’s. Luke Wilson guest stars as a local sheriff. Mulder sees him as a buck-toothed idiot; Scully sees him as a total heartthrob. It’s the funniest episode in the series.
When the List of X Files Episodes Gets Complicated
Let's be real: Season 8 and 9 are divisive. David Duchovny left as a series regular, and Robert Patrick (Agent Doggett) and Annabeth Gish (Agent Reyes) stepped in. People hated Doggett at first, but looking back, he was actually a great character. He was the "skeptic" who actually did police work instead of just jumping to "it’s aliens" every five minutes.
The 2016 and 2018 revivals (Seasons 10 and 11) are a mixed bag. "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" is a classic, but the mythology episodes in the revival (the "My Struggle" arc) are almost universally disliked by hardcore fans. They retconned too much and felt rushed.
Understanding the Production Context
The list of X Files episodes wasn't planned out like a modern Netflix show. They were making 22 to 24 episodes a year. That’s an insane grind. That’s why you get "filler" episodes like "Space" or "First Person Shooter" that feel incredibly dated now. You have to view the list through the lens of 90s broadcast television—they were building the plane while flying it.
The "Must-Watch" Shortlist for Newcomers
If you’re trying to get a friend into the show and don't want them to get lost in the 218-episode abyss, here is the curated path.
✨ Don't miss: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
- Pilot (Season 1, Ep 1): Obviously. The chemistry is instant.
- Beyond the Sea (Season 1, Ep 13): Brad Dourif is incredible as a death row inmate who claims he can talk to Scully’s dead father. This is the first time Scully’s faith is really tested.
- The Host (Season 2, Ep 2): The Flukeman. It’s a man-sized fluke worm in the sewers. It’ll make you never want to go to the bathroom again.
- Jose Chung’s From Outer Space (Season 3, Ep 20): A meta-commentary on the show itself. It’s weird, colorful, and features Lord Kinbote. It’s basically the writers saying, "We know this show is crazy."
- Memento Mori (Season 4, Ep 14): A heavy one. Scully deals with her cancer diagnosis. It’s one of the few times the show feels grounded in real, human stakes.
- Small Potatoes (Season 4, Ep 20): A guy can shapeshift but only uses it to impregnate women by pretending to be their husbands (or Luke Skywalker). It sounds dark, but it’s played for laughs and features writer Darin Morgan as the lead guest.
Misconceptions About the Show
People think The X-Files is just about aliens. Kinda. But at its core, it’s a show about the relationship between a believer and a skeptic. If you look at the list of X Files episodes and only watch the UFO ones, you miss the psychological depth. The show is about the search for meaning in a world that feels increasingly cold and bureaucratic.
Also, there's a common myth that Scully was just there to be "the woman." In reality, the "Scully Effect" is a documented phenomenon where the number of women entering STEM fields spiked because of her character. She wasn't just a sidekick; she was the anchor that made Mulder’s craziness believable.
How to Watch the Show in 2026
If you’re diving in now, you’ve got options. You can stream it, but the Blu-ray remasters are actually better because they maintain the original film grain and color grading that the early seasons were famous for.
- Watch the movies in order. The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) happens between Season 5 and Season 6. If you skip it, the start of Season 6 makes zero sense.
- Skip the second movie? I Want to Believe (2008) is a standalone monster movie. It’s okay, but it doesn't add much to the lore.
- Don't feel guilty about skipping. If an episode feels boring in the first 10 minutes, it probably stays boring. Life is too short for "3" or "Teso Dos Bichos."
Actionable Strategy for Navigating the Series
To get the most out of your viewing experience, start by watching the Pilot, Deep Throat, and The Erlenmeyer Flask. This gives you the DNA of the show. From there, pivot to the "Monster of the Week" episodes from Seasons 2 and 3. Use an online "Mythology Guide" if you want to follow the alien plot, but don't be afraid to break away and just enjoy the weirdness.
The best way to appreciate the list of X Files episodes is to treat it like a buffet. Take the bits that work—the horror, the romance, the government conspiracies—and leave the 90s CGI "digital ghosts" behind. The show is a time capsule of pre-9/11 paranoia, and in many ways, it’s more relevant now than it was thirty years ago.
Start with the Season 1-5 run. That is the gold standard. If you make it through those and still want more, then you can start worrying about the Super Soldiers and the later seasons' convoluted twists. But for now, just enjoy the fog, the flashlights, and the feeling that something is lurking just out of sight.