Top Rated Episodes of The X-Files
Explore the highest rated episodes of The X-Files ranked by viewer scores and vote count. Discover fan favorites, standout episodes, and the most popular moments from the series.
#1. The Erlenmeyer Flask
Deep Throat directs Mulder and Scully to a news report concerning a fugitive presumed drowned. Initially, the case appears unremarkable, yet at his urging, they pursue it. Their investigation unearths evidence of…
#2. Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Amidst the unsettling atmosphere of a paranormal investigation, Mulder and Scully seek the aid of a man rumored to possess genuine precognitive abilities. He claims to foresee the manner of a person's…
#3. Bad Blood
The agents returned to Washington, D.C., burdened by the weight of a terrible error. They had pursued and killed a young man they believed to be a vampire, and now faced the…
#4. Anasazi (1)
The arrival of an encrypted disk, bearing the Defense Department’s most guarded secrets regarding extraterrestrial life, casts a long shadow over Mulder. He is swiftly drawn into a dangerous current, becoming a…
#5. Ice
Deep within the isolated confines of an Alaskan outpost, a profound sense of solitude hangs heavy in the air as Mulder and Scully delve into the disturbing deaths of several scientists.
#6. Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
The Lone Gunmen unveil to Mulder and Scully a history of the Cigarette Smoking Man, one perhaps shrouded in fabrication. Their account traces his path from a young captain in the U.S.…
#7. Paper Clip (3)
A tense impasse exists between Agent Skinner and Agent Scully when Mulder bursts into the room, discovering Skinner in possession of the digital tape. With the evidence recovered, Mulder and Scully journey…
#8. War of the Coprophages
A wave of fear swept through the close-knit community as a series of deaths were traced back to an unusual culprit: aggressive cockroaches. The unsettling connection quickly led to the discovery of…
#9. 731 (2)
Trapped within the confines of a train car, Mulder faces a terrifying confluence of threats: a suspected alien-human hybrid and a ticking bomb. Meanwhile, Scully’s pursuit leads her down a path to…
#10. Squeeze
Mulder and Scully investigate a series of brutal murders, each occurring with unsettling regularity every thirty years. The killer’s methods are baffling; there is no discernible way they enter or leave the…
#11. The End
Mulder’s investigation leads him back to the enigmatic Cigarette-Smoking Man, as he delves into the attempted murder of a young boy possessing extraordinary abilities – a potential validation of everything Mulder has…
#12. End Game (2)
The extraterrestrial bounty hunter abducts Scully, intending to exchange her for Mulder's sister, who is revealed to be a clone. When the transaction sours, and Mulder uncovers the truth about Samantha, he…
#13. Colony (1)
A series of obituaries, each detailing the same man, arrived in Mulder’s inbox. Shortly thereafter, the agents received an unexpected communication from a clandestine CIA operative. He spoke of a bounty hunter…
#14. Field Trip
The skeletal remains of a couple, missing for less than a week, were found. Mulder suggested that the unusually rapid decomposition might be linked to the recent surge of paranormal activity in…
#15. Dreamland (1)
Near the infamous perimeter of Area 51, a peculiar craft drifted overhead, and in an inexplicable turn of events, Mulder found himself inhabiting the body of an Area 51 "Man-in-Black," while the…
#16. Dreamland II (2)
Imprisoned within the confines of the Area 51 facility, Mulder is eventually released after it's determined the flight data recorder he’d acquired was a fabrication. Scully, regaining clarity, begins to suspect the…
#17. One Son (2)
Driven by a desire for his son, Jeffery Spender, to inherit his legacy, the Cigarette-Smoking Man divulges decades of government secrets—the last fifty years of them. Mulder discovers that the conspiracy's culmination…
#18. Ascension (2)
The news of Scully’s abduction by Duane Barry ignited a fierce resolve within Mulder. He disregarded the potential repercussions from his superiors and the thinly veiled disapproval of Agent Krycek, determined to…
#19. Gethsemane (1)
Mulder struggled to demonstrate that a find preserved in the Canadian mountains constituted undeniable proof of extraterrestrial life. Yet, his pursuit of truth propelled him deeper into deception, ultimately revealing a conclusion…
#20. Tooms
Upon his release from the sanitarium, Eugene Tooms becomes a focus of Mulder's attention. Driven by a need to prevent further harm, Mulder dedicates himself to ensuring Tooms is apprehended while attempting…
#21. Nisei (1)
A video depicting an alien autopsy draws Mulder and Scully into a shadowy conspiracy. It surfaces a clandestine operation from World War II, where Japanese scientists were brought to America to pursue…
#22. Talitha Cumi (1)
Following his mother's sudden stroke, an event shrouded in unsettling circumstances, Mulder embarks on a quest for an unusual being – a benevolent alien said to possess extraordinary healing abilities. Through the…
#23. Duane Barry (1)
The call came in for Mulder: a hostage situation complicated by the presence of Duane Barry, a former FBI agent convinced of his own alien abduction. Barry’s demand was singular: passage back…
#24. Piper Maru (1)
A French salvage vessel, scouring the depths for a downed World War II fighter, unexpectedly raises something other than wreckage. A viscous black oil surfaces, coalescing into an alien form with a…
#25. Small Potatoes
A strange phenomenon gripped the town: five newborns were born with tails. Whispers quickly turned to accusations, and the local obstetrician-gynecologist became the target of suspicion, blamed for manipulating fertilized eggs. But…
#26. E.B.E.
Information from Deep Throat reached Mulder and Scully regarding a downed extraterrestrial craft, purportedly recovered from Iraq and moved to the United States under strict secrecy. Yet, Deep Throat’s subsequent guidance proved…
#27. Redux II (3)
The Cigarette-Smoking Man facilitates Mulder’s access to a cure for Scully, and arranges a meeting with his sister, an encounter that proves less joyful than Mulder had hoped. In exchange for these…
#28. Drive
Confined within the confines of a vehicle, Mulder finds himself with a passenger afflicted by a peculiar affliction: an ear condition so severe it demands a specific remedy – sustained high-speed travel…
#29. Home
The infant was discovered buried in a shallow grave, and initial observations suggested congenital anomalies consistent with the effects of prolonged inbreeding. This grim discovery draws the attention of Mulder and Scully,…
#30. Humbug
To investigate the death of Jerald Glazebrook, known as the Alligator Man, Mulder and Scully journey to Gibsonton, Florida – a town founded and sustained by those who once performed in circuses…
#31. The Blessing Way (2)
Scully’s position with the FBI is precarious; Mulder’s disappearance endures, and the Cigarette Smoking Man continues his pursuit of the stolen files. Deep in a cave, Navajo elders discover Mulder’s body and…
#32. One Breath
Scully’s sudden arrival in a Washington hospital, alive yet in a coma, is shrouded in mystery. Mulder must struggle to sustain her, desperate to uncover the truth behind her condition and the…
#33. Pusher
The FBI calls upon Mulder and Scully to investigate a disturbing case: Robert Patrick Modell, a man convicted of murder and possessing the unsettling ability to exert psychic control over others. As…
#34. Apocrypha (2)
Mulder relentlessly pursues Krycek, oblivious to the extraterrestrial entity inhabiting his body, driven by the need to recover the DAT tape containing the MJ documents. Simultaneously, the shooting of Agent A.D. Skinner…
#35. Tempus Fugit (1)
On the occasion of Scully’s thirty-third birthday, an unusual woman informs Mulder of the recent death of Max Fenig, a NICAP member (detailed in “Fallen Angel”), in a plane crash. Following a…
#36. Two Fathers (1)
The man with the cigarette detailed the Syndicate’s operations to a silent companion, outlining a worldwide conspiracy forged in alliance with extraterrestrials. As he spoke, Cassandra Spender materialized once more, pursued by…
#37. Darkness Falls
The disappearance of a logging crew in the Washington State National Forest echoed a tragedy from half a century prior, prompting Mulder and Scully to join the investigation. They soon found themselves…
#38. Triangle
News reaches Mulder of a remarkable event: the Queen Anne, a British ocean liner lost during World War II, has resurfaced in the heart of the Sargasso Sea. He sets out to…
#39. Paper Hearts
Driven by unsettling dreams, Mulder discovers the body of a young girl – a grim find that stirs dormant memories within him. The case immediately pulls him back into the Violent Crimes…
#40. Tunguska (1)
Mulder receives a lead regarding possible paramilitary activity within the United States. During the ensuing operation, however, he is taken aback to discover the identity of his enigmatic informant: Alex Krycek. Distrustful…
#41. Herrenvolk (2)
As his mother’s life ebbed away and the extraterrestrial bounty hunter continued his relentless pursuit, Mulder resolved to endanger Jeremiah Smith, the alien healer, in the hope of finally exposing the full…
#42. Pilot
Special Agent Dana Scully is partnered with Special Agent Fox Mulder on the X-Files, a deliberate arrangement intended to expose the flaws in his theories concerning the paranormal. Their initial assignment leads…
#43. Eve
An unsettling coincidence draws Mulder and Scully into a case of inexplicable violence. Fathers, situated on opposite coasts, have been murdered – victims of identical methods, at precisely the same moment. The…
#44. Wetwired
Mulder and Scully find themselves investigating a string of murders, each seemingly connected to an enigmatic device. This device manipulates television signals, inducing vivid, paranoid hallucinations in its victims. Tragically, one of…
#45. Requiem
Returning to the town that marked the beginning of their work with the X-Files, Mulder and Scully find themselves confronted by a new enigma: a crashed extraterrestrial craft deep within the woods.…
#46. Unusual Suspects
The year is 1989. The genesis of The Lone Gunmen is recounted, beginning with the unlikely convergence of a meticulous federal employee, a technician with unconventional desires, and a socially awkward computer…
#47. Arcadia
Returning to active duty on the X-Files, Mulder and Scully undertake an assignment that requires them to assume a false identity: a married couple. Their mission takes them to a meticulously planned…
#48. Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"
The repeated accounts of two teenagers' alleged alien abduction, each remarkably similar, ignited a spark in a science fiction novelist. He resolved to craft a book detailing the incident, but those involved…
#49. The Host
Agent Mulder is dispatched by Assistant Director Skinner to investigate a body that has washed ashore and subsequently entered the New Jersey sewer system. Mulder views this seemingly routine, blue-collar assignment as…
#50. The Unnatural
Mulder found himself meeting with Arthur Dales’ brother, also named Arthur, and was presented with an extraordinary story. It concerned a gifted Black baseball player from Roswell, New Mexico, active in the…
Best Episodes of The X-Files
This ranking highlights the best episodes of The X-Files based on viewer ratings and audience votes. The list includes fan favorite episodes, top ranked moments, and the highest rated entries in the series.
Whether you are looking for the most popular episodes, revisiting standout moments, or exploring every episode ranked from best to worst, this guide provides a complete overview of the show's strongest episodes.
Every Episode Ranked
These top rated episodes of The X-Files are ranked according to audience scores and vote totals. The ranking highlights fan favorite episodes, the most popular episodes, and the highest rated moments from the series.
If you are looking for the best episodes of The X-Files, this list showcases the strongest entries ranked from highest to lowest based on viewer feedback.