Ryan's Top 5 X-Files Episodes (And Why They Happen to Inspire Great Designs)
Ryan, our designer and resident night owl, does some of his best work after 10pm. iPad out, house quiet, The X-Files glowing in the background. There is something about the moody lighting, the strange mysteries, and the Mulder-and-Scully energy that just works as creative fuel. While the rest of us are winding down, he is fully in his element.
We finally asked him to rank his top 5 episodes. It took a minute. He has opinions. Here is where he landed.
- Unusual Suspects — Season 5, Episode 3
A Lone Gunmen origin story told entirely in flashback. No Mulder, minimal Scully, and somehow one of the most charming episodes in the whole series. Ryan loves this one for the tone. It is weird, it is funny, and it somehow makes you care deeply about three conspiracy theorists you just met.
- Bad Blood — Season 5, Episode 12
Two competing accounts of the same night, told back to back. Mulder's version and Scully's version are completely different and both completely believable. It is sharp, self-aware, and honestly a little ahead of its time. A fan favorite for good reason.
- Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster — Season 10, Episode 3
The show returning to itself after years away and somehow nailing it. This episode is funny, strange, a little melancholy, and a reminder of why people fell in love with The X-Files in the first place. Ryan says this one always gets him in a good creative mood.
- Home — Season 4, Episode 2
Not for the faint of heart. This episode is genuinely unsettling in a way that holds up decades later. It was controversial when it aired and it still is. Ryan respects it for being completely committed to its own dark vision. No apologies.
- Jose Chung's From Outer Space — Season 3, Episode 20
The one. A UFO story told through multiple unreliable narrators, a deadpan author, and a cameo from Alex Trebek. It is absurd, brilliant, and somehow also moving. Ryan says if you have never seen it, clear your evening. If you have, you already know.
If you have been paying attention to some of our more paranormal and sci-fi designs lately, now you know where that energy is coming from. Late nights, strange episodes, and an iPad that never quite gets put away.
