Thoughts on The X-Files - Season 1, Episodes 1-6

I've been delving into X-Files for the first time in my life (yes, really) the past few months. For a while I've been wanting to do some sort of review or thoughts piece, but I could never figure out how to do it, until an idea struck me just yesterday.

One of my friends is also watching X-Files for the first time, though is a few seasons behind me, and is running into the same issues I did with certain episodes. Having pushed my way into Season 8, I really do feel that skipping some episodes in Seasons 6 and 7 are almost necessary.

So I'm going to work through the episodes as a series of posts, with just a quick blurb on my thoughts—did I like it, did I dislike it, did I skip it, etc. I think it'll be fun to do, too! I'll try my best to stay away from spoilers, but I can't guarantee. Without further ado, let's take a look at Season 1!

*I have color coded the episodes using green (I enjoyed it), yellow (I could take it or leave it), and red (I didn't enjoy it (or possibly didn't watch it—check the summary).

Episode 1: Pilot

The episode that started it all! Of course I watched it. Scully is hired as a part of the X-Files to debunk Mulder's work, and for this case, they investigate abductions of some students. At the time, I enjoyed the episode, and having seen Season 7 at this point, I was excited to see a few of the characters back in a particular episode.

Episode 2: Deep Throat

This episode introduced one of my favorite characters in the first season!  The episode seemed a little hokey at some points, and it was difficult to put aside the fact that some of the special effects didn't particularly translate that well with age. A bunch did, however, which was wonderful to see. Overall, I really enjoyed the episode, especially the ending with Deep Throat.

Episode 3: Squeeze

This episode is a fantastic episode. But for me, it's a "take it or leave it episode", because it is just too creepy for me! This is one of the few episodes that has stuck with me and still scares me. All Chaide has to say to me is "Tooms" and I start freaking out. If you enjoy scary episodes that raise your blood pressure and anxiety levels, then this is definitely the one for you. So creepy...

Episode 4: Conduit

I found the episode overall on the boring side, but I watched it because the backstory of Mulder and Samantha was intriguing, and obviously something that I felt would be a storyline carried through a few seasons (it ended up being seven of them before we finally get some finality!). Something to watch for the lore, but something that's a bit painful to get through with some of the acting and plot.

Episode 5: The Jersey Devil

This episode was largely a monster-of-the-week episode and was boring overall. They attempt to develop the partnership between Scully and Mulder, though somewhat ineffectually. The story was lacking, and it's not an episode that comes to mind immediately—I had to look up the summary, and then re-read it to even remember if I watched the episode. I watched it, but wouldn't do so again.

Episode 6: Shadows

Another monster-of-the-week episode, it deals with ghosts and paranormal phenomena. I can't say much more about it other than that without spoiling a large portion of the plot, but another episode I asked myself "Why did I watch this?".