Binge Guide: The 14 Standalone 'X-Files' Episodes To Watch Before Season 10

The truth can finally be told: after a 14-year absence, The X-Files returns to the airwaves on Jan. 24 for a six-episode 10th season starring your favorite paranormal investigators, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). And while die-hard fans have likely re-watched the entire 202-episode run multiple times during that lengthy hiatus, how can a newcomer possible hope to catch up on nine seasons’ worth of mythology in a little over a week?

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The answer is… don’t bother. As our spoiler-filled recap of the season premiere notes, the continuity slate has been largely wiped clean with a sweeping stroke of creator Chris Carter’s pen. Additionally, many of the new episodes will be standalone stories, which, frankly, tended to be the more enjoyable X-Files outings anyway, free from all that alien invasion nonsense involving black oil and super soldiers. With that in mind, we’ve spotlighted two notable “monster of the week” cases from each of the show’s first seven seasons — before Duchovny fled into hiding and was replaced by Robert Patrick for the final, forgettable two years. Want to believe The X-Files can be great again? Binge on these episodes, all of which are available on Netflix.

“Squeeze” (Season 1, Episode 3)
For the show’s first-ever “monster of the week” installment, stalwart writers Glen Morgan and James Wong dreamed up an all-time great creature: Eugene Victor Tooms (Dough Hutchison), who — as the title implies — can squash himself into tight places, a talent that’s aided and abetted his nearly century-long career as a serial killer. It was an early example of the series’ ability to generate scares on a (very) limited budget, and create adversaries that would fuel fan nightmares.

“Ice” (Season 1, Episode 8)
The X-Files channels John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic, The Thing, stranding Mulder and Scully in a wintry location with a deadly beast — in this case, a plague-ridden dog — on the loose. It’s a bottle episode that makes the most of its limited setting, as well as Mulder and Scully’s still-developing partnership.

“The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)
Flukeman, meet the Flukeman! “The Host” is guaranteed to turn your stomach with its central monster: a human-sized fluke, who sinks his teeth into victim after victim, injecting a parasite into their bodies. It’s got the mood and atmosphere of a vintage ‘50s creature feature, with a healthy splash of ‘90s bloodletting.

“Humbug” (Season 2, Episode 20)
Taking advantage of the circus setting, writer Darin Morgan (who was the guy inside the Flukeman costume earlier in the season) lightens the dark mood of The X-Files for a more comedic caper involving the freakish members of a sideshow. In doing so, he demonstrated that the series’ premise was elastic enough to accommodate laughter as well as scares. Going forward, The X-Files would make even funnier episodes, but the chuckles start here.

“D.P.O.” (Season 3, Episode 3)
As one of the ‘90s most successful series, The X-Files is a great place to see big-name actors in “Before They Were Stars” guest spots. Case in point: “D.P.O.” features a pre-Saving Private Ryan Giovanni Ribisi and a pre-High Fidelity Jack Black as a lightning-wielding video game fan and his arcade-owning pal, respectively. The case itself is a little routine, to be honest, but the episode highlights how The X-Files was a hot-ticket destination for young actors in the ‘90s.

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“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” (Season 3, Episode 4)
The late, great Peter Boyle won his only Emmy statue for playing the titular psychic, who reluctantly becomes Mulder and Scully’s partner for a murder investigation. With Boyle in career best form, the episode emerges a dramatic character study wrapped in paranormal procedural clothing. “Final Repose” stands so strongly on its own that you can watch it as a mini-movie without knowing a single thing about The X-Files.

“Home” (Season 4, Episode 2)
Real-life monsters replace supernatural critters in “Home,” in which the buried body of a baby leads Mulder and Scully to a Civil War-era house inhabited by an inbred clan whose own dark history dates back to the 19th century. A tense stand-off between the armed family and law enforcement promptly ensues, no doubt inspired by the still-fresh memories of the infamous 1993 Waco siege.

“Paper Hearts” (Season 4, Episode 10)
While “Paper Hearts” isn’t technically a mythology episode, it does incorporate one key element of the characters’ backstories: the mysterious disappearance of Mulder’s sister, Samantha, which drove him to become an obsessive alien investigator. Instead of extraterrestrials, this installment suggests that his long-lost sibling may have run afoul of a notorious child killer, chillingly played by Tom Noonan, who previously slayed audiences as Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon in 1986’s Manhunter. It’s another episode that eschews paranormal activity for Earthbound crimes, and is all the more disturbing for it.

“Chinga” (Season 5, Episode 10)
In addition to being America’s Best-Loved Boogeyman, Stephen King is also a top-shelf fanboy for the movies, shows, and comic books he’s passionate about. And he absolutely adored The X-Files during its run, so much so that he agreed to pen his own X-File, one involving a mother and daughter who have witch blood coursing through them. It’s an uneven episode, but also a fascinating case study in how an author with a clearly defined voice tries to work within a series that has its own distinct brand of horror.

“Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
Future Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan expertly channels Rashomon for his hilarious vampire story, where Scully and Mulder both recount very different versions of their close brush with a Texas bloodsucker. Guest star Luke Wilson also joins in the fun as a dashing sheriff who attracts Scully’s eye and Mulder’s ire.

“Drive” (Season 6, Episode 2)
Speaking of Breaking Bad, the alternate title for this Gilligan-penned episode should be: “When Bryan Met Vince.” The writer personally pushed for the then-little known Bryan Cranston to play the role of the mentally unstable driver who takes a kidnapped Mulder for a spin. Years later, Gilligan screened “Drive” for AMC when they wondered whether the dad from Malcolm in the Middle was really the right guy to play Walter White. Um…yes; yes he was.

“Triangle” (Season 6, Episode 3)
One of Chris Carter’s most ambitious episodes, “Triangle” was the Birdman of its day, unfolding in what looks like a single take. But it went and did that Best Picture winner one better by leaping between time periods, with Mulder stranded on a passenger ship where the year is still 1939, while Scully tries to lend a helping hand from the modern day.

“X-Cops” (Season 7, Episode 12)
Another high-concept stunt that yields big rewards, “X-Cops” is shot like a live episode of the long-running reality series Cops, right down to the “Bad Boys” theme song. As a bonus gimmick, it also takes place in nearly-real time as Mulder and Scully cross paths with L.A. officers while investigating a possible werewolf attack.

“Chimera” (Season 7, Episode 16)
The benign normalcy of suburbia is taken to task in “Chimera,” as a supernatural invader rips the placid veneer off a tiny Vermont community. It’s a little light on Mulder and Scully since both actors were helming their own episodes while acting in this one. But it’s a more entertaining excoriation of the ‘burbs than, say, American Beauty.

Past seasons of The X-Files can be streamed on Netflix. Season 10 premieres Jan. 24 at 10 p.m. on Fox.