The X-Files, S1E11 - "Eve"

An eight-year-old girl named Teena Simmons is witness to her father's murder by bloodletting, but remembers no details of the crime. Mulder compares the details of the father's death - rapid draining of blood with no traces, puncture wounds in the neck, no memory from witnesses - to cases of cow mutilation, drawing a potential connection to UFO's. Mulder and Scully travel to Greenwich, Connecticut to interview Teena, who talks about seeing red lightning and "men from the clouds" that wanted to hurt her father. The agents then get a call about an incident near San Fransisco involving a father named Doug Rearden, also killed in front of his daughter in an identical manner. That night, Teena Simmons is abducted. Mulder and Scully visit Doug Rearden's wife and daughter, discovering that his daughter, Cindy, looks exactly like Teena Simmons. The agents learn that Cindy Rearden was conceived in vitro, and decide to investigate the Rearden's fertility clinic, the Luther Stapes Center, seeking a link between the murders.

At the Stapes Center, Scully discovers that both the Simmons and Reardens used the services of a doctor named Sally Kendrick, who was fired for genetic experimentation on fertilized eggs at the Center. Scully speculates that Kendrick and an accomplice are responsible for the murders. Mulder meets with Deep Throat, who tells him about the Litchfield Experiment, a Cold War-era project in which a group of children, all codenamed Adam or Eve, were engineered to be super-soldiers. Mulder and Scully meet with the last survivor of the project, Eve 6, in a hospital for the criminally insane. Eve 6 looks exactly like Dr. Kendrick and reveals that Eve 7 and 8 escaped from Litchfield and are still free. Mulder and Scully determine that Dr. Kendrick is Eve 7, and that she cloned Teena and Cindy from herself. The agents stake out the Rearden house, where Cindy is abducted by Kendrick. Kendrick brings both the girls to a motel, where it is revealed that they killed their own fathers. Kendrick tries to convince the girls to let her help them, but they poison her.

Mulder and Scully arrive at the motel, where the girls tell them that Kendrick tried to poison them. Mulder and Scully take custody of the girls, who attempt to poison the agents at a truck stop. Mulder notices a trace of poison, outwitting their plan. The girls attempt to escape, but are unsuccessful. The girls, identified as Eve 9 and Eve 10, are sent to the same mental institute as Eve 6. The episode ends with the Eves receiving a visitor: the still-free Eve 8.

What "Eve" lacks in contribution to the series as a whole, it makes up for in being a tightly plotted standalone episode. The Eves, played by Sabrina and Erika Krievans, swing from innocent to sinister effortlessly, and there's a certain brilliance to the way Teena plays on Mulder by telling him exactly what he wants to hear about her father's death. The background of the Litchfield Experiment and the performance of Harriet Harris as the adult Eves, meanwhile, address societal fears about the dark potential of new technologies, and the idea of creating something we do not fully understand and cannot control.

The X-Files, S1E10 - "Fallen Angel"

The town of Townsend, Wisconsin is evacuated due to an alleged toxic spill. Mulder speaks with Deep Throat, who suggests that the government is actually covering up the crash of a UFO. Mulder ventures out on his own and enters a government quarantine zone in Townsend, witnessing armed government forces cleaning up the remains of a craft. Mulder is detained by Colonel Calvin Henderson, who reiterates the story about a toxic spill. While in detention, Mulder meets Max Fenig, a member of a UFO investigation group. The next morning, Scully arrives and informs Mulder that his actions have resulted in an inquiry from Section Chief McGrath, who wants to terminate Mulder and shut down the X-Files. She tells Mulder that the official, classified story about Townsend is that a Libyan fighter jet with a nuclear device was shot down, and that the military are searching for the pilot; Mulder is disbelieving.

The agents return to Mulder's hotel room to find Max Fenig searching it. Fenig reveals that he has been following Mulder's career and research on the X-Files. He plays the agents a recording of a police radio broadcast from the night of the UFO crash, which captures the apparent death of a Deputy Wright and several firemen at the hands of an unknown entity. The agents visit Wright's wife, who refuses to tell them anything, saying that the government is holding her husband's body and has threatened her not to speak about his death. Back at the quarantine zone, the military pick up a figure moving around in the dark; they attempt to find and terminate it, but are attacked by the invisible figure, which emits a blinding light. The agents then visit the local ER doctor, who tells them that Wright and the fire crew were brought to the hospital dead and covered in burns, and that their bodies were seized by the military. As Mulder and Scully leave the hospital, several soldiers are brought in, covered in burns from the entity's attack. Mulder attempts to convince Colonel Henderson that his attempts to catch the being are causing it to attack in defense; Henderson has Mulder removed from the hospital.

Mulder returns to Fenig's trailer to find him having an epileptic seizure. Mulder assists Fenig and notices a scar behind his ear. He searches the X-Files and finds two alien abductees who showed similar scars. Scully notes that Max was taking anti-psychotic drugs and suggests that he is schizophrenic; Mulder counters that Fenig does not believe himself to be an abductee, but that his epilepsy could be a side effect of abduction, adding that Fenig could have been drawn to Townsend by the craft that crashed. Mulder and Scully return to Fenig's trailer and find him gone, but they overhear a police radio call regarding a trespasser at the waterfront. The agents drive to the waterfront and find two soldiers burned to death. Mulder finds Fenig hiding in a warehouse, bleeding from the ear and in pain. Colonel Henderson's team arrive and observe the presence of an additional person besides Mulder and Fenig in the warehouse. Mulder is thrown away from Fenig by a blinding light; he recovers in time to see Fenig suspended in the air before vanishing. Colonel Henderson is unable to find the invisible entity and orders Mulder arrested.

Back in Washington, Scully and Mulder are interviewed by McGrath at Mulder's conduct hearing. Mulder defends his actions as an attempt to uncover the Truth, decrying the government cover story about a toxic spill and stating that he will eventually uncover and reveal the Truth. McGrath attempts to have Mulder terminated and the X-Files closed, but is prevented by a higher authority: Deep Throat. McGrath questions his actions, and Deep Throat replies that keeping Mulder in the FBI will be "safer" than if he were to reveal what he knows "to the wrong people."

"Fallen Angel" is an important episode for several reasons. We begin to get an idea for the depth of the government conspiracy, capable of formulating both a public cover story and a secondary cover story for those within the government. For the first time, we see an alien in action, moving invisibly and attacking with bursts of heat. Deep Throat is revealed to have connections to the FBI, even having the power to dictate their decisions, increasing his mystique and making his true agenda even grayer: he has saved Mulder's career, but his reasons remain inscrutable. The influence of Deep Throat also solves a narrative issue for the series: his protection provides a justification for Mulder and Scully to continually break FBI protocol with minimal consequences.

The X-Files, S1E9 - "Space"

A space shuttle launch commanded by Colonel Marcus Aurelius Belt is aborted three seconds before launch due to a mechanical failure. Two weeks later, on the eve of a new launch, Mulder and Scully are contacted by Michelle Generoo, a communications commander at NASA's Mission Control. Michelle reveals that the failure of the launch was due to a malfunctioning power valve; she shows the agents an X-ray of the valve she received from an anonymous source, which shows that the valve was deliberately sabotaged. The agents travel to Houston to investigate the possibility of a saboteur within NASA. They meet with Colonel Belt, a personal hero of Mulder's; he is dismissive of the idea of a saboteur. The agents stay at Mission Control to watch the shuttle launch, which is successful. Several hours later, Michelle informs them that communications with the shuttle have been lost. The agents follow Michelle back to Mission Control, but Michelle is attacked by an apparition resembling the Face on Mars and crashes her car. Mulder and Scully rescue her and return to Mission Control.

Due to the communications issue, Mission Control is unable to rotate the shuttle properly. Ground control establish that the problem could be on their end; Mulder, Scully, and Michelle investigate the data storage room to check for an intruder, but find nobody. Michelle and Belt decide to abandon control of the shuttle and allow the astronauts to perform the rotation themselves, which they do successfully. Belt gives a press conference, but does not disclose the communications malfunction. Mulder confronts Belt, who states that he lied to protect the future of the space program. Belt returns home and has a flashback to an encounter with an apparition that entered his body while on a spacewalk. The apparition leaves him and rises into space.

The next morning, the shuttle experiences an oxygen leak. Belt fails to show up to Mission Control; Mulder and Scully go to his apartment, where they find him, seemingly unwell. Belt directs the astronauts to complete their mission of delivering a payload before returning to Earth, angering Michelle, who believes that astronauts will run out of oxygen if the continue the mission. Scully speculates that Belt knows that the shuttle was sabotaged, and is putting the future of the space program over the lives of the astronauts. Mulder and Scully begin reading through documents on other failed space missions to find proof that Belt knew about the sabotage. The astronauts report seeing a ghost outside of the shuttle, causing Belt to have a breakdown.

Mulder and Scully discover a copy of the X-ray Michelle received in an archive and learn that it was ordered by Colonel Belt. They also discover evidence that Belt could have known about that Challenger disaster beforehand. The agents and Michelle discover Belt having a seizure in his office. He reveals that the shuttle has been sabotaged and will not survive reentry, his face temporarily morphing into that of the apparition. Mulder demands that Belt tell him how to save the astronauts; he reveals that the shuttle must change its trajectory to survive. Michelle directs the astronauts to reenter at 35 degrees, resulting in a successful landing. That night, Michelle gives a press conference, stating that the mission was a success. In an effort to stop the apparition from causing further harm, Belt jumps from the window of his hospital room, killing himself. Mulder speculates that, while the apparition caused the damage to the shuttle, Belt sent Michelle the X-ray as a means of warning her, and that he gave his life to protect the future of the space program.

"Space" is not a good episode, reportedly being Chris Carter's least favorite. The idea of the antagonist being a space spirit that looks like the Face on Mars is fairly ridiculous, not helped by the fact that the spirit has no established motivation for wanting to keep humans from exploring space. The result is an episode nearly devoid of real suspense or tension. Additionally, tying Belt and the spirit to the all-too-real tragedy of the Challenger disaster is an exploitative move that pushes what would otherwise merely be a boring episode into the realm of the distasteful.

The X-Files, S1E8 - "Ice"

Mulder and Scully are called upon to travel to Icy Cape, Alaska to investigate what happened to the scientists of the Arctic Ice Core Project, who have gone silent after sending a disturbing transmission. Mulder and Scully travel to Icy Cape along with a physician, Dr. Hodge; a toxicologist, Dr. Silva; a geophysicist, Dr. Murphy; and a pilot named Bear. Upon arriving at the base, they discover the project team all dead; two are determined to have committed suicide. While investigating, Mulder is attacked by a dog, which bites Bear. The agents and doctors discover that the dog has black nodules on its skin, as well as something moving visibly inside its neck. Bear examines himself and discovers he has developed the same nodules. The doctors discover a living micro-organism in both the blood of the dead scientists and their ice samples. Bear and Hodge desire to leave the base immediately, while Mulder counters that they could be infected with this unknown organism and run the risk of spreading it if they return to civilization. He suggests that they all be tested for infection. Bear resists, attacking Mulder; the others realize that Bear is infected, and Hodge removes a wormlike organism from his neck. Bear then dies. Mulder attempts to call for help, but is informed that a storm will make rescue impossible for several days.

The agents and doctors speculate on the nature of the parasite, with Hodge postulating that it survives on acetylcholine, causing those infected to act violently. Mulder believes that the origin of the parasite is extraterrestrial, considering that it was extracted from ammonia-rich ice in a meteor crater. Mulder and Scully argue about whether to destroy the parasite, while Hodge and Silva begin to distrust Mulder and Scully. To remove suspicion, the survivors inspect each other for the black nodules before going to bed.

In the night, Mulder wakes up to the sound of a door closing. He investigates and discovers Murphy's dead body shoved in a freezer. The other survivors arrive, and Hodge accuses Mulder of killing Murphy; Mulder declares that one of the others is infected and refuses to allow Hodge to give him a blood test, claiming that Hodge could be infected and cannot be trusted. Mulder, Hodge, and Scully have a standoff that results in Mulder being locked in a storeroom. Hodge, Silva, and Scully continue to examine the parasite and discover that two parasites introduced to the same host will kill each other. They infect the dog with one of the two surviving worms, and it appears cured. Scully and Mulder inspect each other, discovering that neither is infected. Scully declares that either Hodge or Silva must be infected. Hodge and Silva attack Mulder and attempt to infect him with the worm, but at the last minute, Hodge sees a worm moving within Silva's neck, realizing that she is infected. Silva runs from the others and attempts to fight, but Mulder and Scully overpower her and Hodge administers the worm to her, curing her.

The survivors are rescued by air, with Silva being taken to quarantine and Mulder, Scully, and Hodge being released. Mulder expresses a desire to return to the base to investigate the parasite further in case it is ever released somehow. Hodge informs him that the base was destroyed after their rescue.

"Ice" is perhaps the first truly great episode of The X-Files. The script is essentially a retelling of John Carpenter's The Thing; we have a group of people in an isolated arctic setting, the presence of an entity that corrupts and takes over those infected with it, and the resulting breakdown of trust among the survivors. There's also an element of Lovecraft present in the idea of an ancient extraterrestrial organism that predates man lying dormant for millennia, only to be reawakened with disastrous consequences. The themes of isolation and distrust raise the stakes to life-or-death levels, with Mulder and Scully pitted against each other for the first time, escalating the suspense and tension to sublime levels.

The X-Files, S1E7 - "Ghost in the Machine"

Mulder and Scully are contacted by Mulder's former partner, Jerry Lamana, about helping to investigate the death of Benjamin Drake, the CEO of tech company Eurisko, in mysterious circumstances. The agents arrive at the Eurisko building, but get temporarily stuck in an elevator; Scully attempts to call for help, and the building's Central Operating System, a computer that controls the entire building, uses this as an opportunity to log her name and search for her home phone number. The agents are shown the crime scene by building operator Claude Peterson, who explains that Drake was electrocuted by an intentionally short-circuited lock. Mulder notes that the phone in the bathroom is off the hook, speculating that a phone call lured Drake into the bathroom. Mulder writes up a profile of Drake's killer, but it goes missing; Jerry later submits the profile as his own, angering Mulder.

The agents pay a visit to Brad Wilczek, Drake's former partner at Eurisko and the developer of the COS. Wilczek acknowledges that he fought with Drake, but maintains that he is innocent; Scully remains unconvinced. Mulder confronts Jerry about stealing his profile, and Jerry admits that he has been jealous of Mulder's talent and success. Using voice analysis software, Scully matches Wilczek's voice to the voice that made the call to Drake, declaring him to be responsible for Drake's death. Jerry moves to apprehend Wilczek, following him into the Eurisko building. Wilczek attempts to take control of the COS, which reveals itself to be out of his control. The COS traps Jerry in an elevator and drops it, killing him. The next day, Wilczek confesses to the murders of Drake and Jerry, although Mulder believes he may be lying. Mulder attempts to visit Wilczek's house, but is met by agents who turn him away, declaring the case a Code 5 Defense Department investigation. Seeking answers, Mulder meets with Deep Throat, who informs him that Wilczek has been developing artificial intelligence; an interview with Wilczek confirms that the COS is self-aware and that it killed Drake to prevent him from shutting it down. Scully believes that Wilczek is covering up for himself, while Mulder gets Wilczek to create a virus to shut down the COS.

Mulder arrives at the Eurisko building, and is soon joined by Scully, who has discovered that her computer is being accessed from within Eurisko. The agents infiltrate the building, only to be stopped at a security door with an electrified lock. Scully crawls into an air duct to find a way through, but is nearly killed when a ventilation fan activates. Mulder is let into the building by Claude Peterson, who brings him to the COS. Mulder attempts to connect the virus to the COS, but Peterson pulls a gun on him, revealing himself to be a Defense Department agent on a mission to seize the COS for the government. Scully arrives and threatens Peterson, allowing Mulder to load the virus and destroy the COS. Subsequently, Mulder meets with Deep Throat again, who reveals that Wilczek is still in the hands of the government, who want him to develop artificial intelligence for military purposes. Meanwhile, Peterson attempts to restore the COS, unaware that a part of its consciousness has survived.

It's very difficult for anyone to write a story about a malevolent artificial intelligence without drawing comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and "Ghost in the Machine" is not different: the COS definitely has shades of HAL 9000. Wilczek is clearly modeled after the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and his conversation with Mulder about feeling towards his AI what Oppenheimer felt about the atomic bomb provides some social commentary about the role of machines in warfare. Jerry Lamana is cut from similar cloth as Tom Colton from "Squeeze" - he is a figure from one of the protagonst's pasts whose personal ambition causes friction, and who is ultimately dispensable for plot purposes. Lastly, the presence of Deep Throat in this episode allows for some ties to the bigger picture, suggesting that the government's secretive dealings extend beyond the alien conspiracy and into many other areas as well.