The X-Files has plenty of cool, gross, insightful, and outright disturbing episodes for dedicated fans to gush and theorize about - as well as a few enduring mysteries. Who is the notorious Cigarette Smoking Man? Did Scully's alien abduction make her immortal? Is The X-Filesactually a comedy? From conspiracy theories to inside jokes, the series has surprised, delighted, and scared us into finding out the “truth” about aliens since it first aired in 1993.
However, upon rewatching the series, you may notice that some aspects of the show don’t add up. The list below covers some of the weird things about The X-Files that no one really talks about.
Though The X-Files has made believers out of many of its fans, Dana Scully remains a skeptic of the paranormal throughout the show. You'd think that after years of investigating all manner of bizarre creatures and extraordinary occurrences, she'd become as much of a believer as Mulder. However, that's just not who Scully is.
Scully is a scientist through and through, so it’s going to take more than scares from a couple of “monsters” to keep her from conducting investigations the right way. Her refusal to just accept paranormal circumstances for what they are also shows Scully’s dedication to the FBI. Unlike Mulder, she has to write reports clearly stating the facts of each case. She regularly questions Mulder’s theories, not to undermine him but rather to ensure they report accurate findings that make sense.
Maybe that's why Scully maintains her skepticism - despite all the ghosts, aliens, and wild government conspiracies she's tangled with.
Ghosts Definitively Exist In The 'X-Files' Universe
Ghosts appear several times throughout TheX-Files. The first time is in Season 1, episode 6, when the ghost of a former boss protects a young woman from his evil business partner. A few episodes later, Scully’s father passes, and as she deals with a psychic inmate, he claims to be able to deliver a message from him. Scully comes close to admitting a belief in ghosts, which is in keeping with her character's Catholic faith.
The show definitively answers the question of whether ghosts are real in the Season 6 episode, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas." After Mulder drags Scully into a haunted house on Christmas Eve, the agents are met by the ghosts of Maurice and Lyda, a couple who try their best to turn the agents against each other. Luckily, they're unsuccessful, but that's almost beside the point. Mulder and Scully have seen and interacted with ghosts! There are aliens, flukemen, and an afterlife in the X-Files universe.
Mulder And Scully Don't Seem To Have Any Non-Work Friends
While we meet various members of Scully and Mulder’s families throughout the show, we never see them going out with friends. This could be because they’re both workaholics or because both agents have “distinctive” personalities.
Either way, it’s an under-explained aspect of the series that could give better insight into what Mulder and Scully are like outside of the X-Files department. And secretly, it could be fun seeing Mulder try to get along with Scully’s friends, or vice versa. But hey, at least they have each other.
Throughout the seasons, Mulder and Scully travel all over the United States - and eventually internationally - in their quest to discover if “the truth is out there.” While that’s made for some memorable locations on the show, a real-life understanding of federal budgeting makes this all but impossible.
How does an FBI department already in danger of losing funding fly all over the place? The show implies it's Mulder’s ask-for-forgiveness-rather-than-permission attitude that gets all these trips booked. Or maybe the FBI's just got a super lax travel department.
Unlike many government employees, Mulder and Scully never move up the ladder. This isn’t that surprising, considering Scully was brought into Mulder’s department to find reasons to discredit him. The department is also constantly under threat of being cut.
Mulder and Scully are reassigned several times throughout the series, so they've certainly made lateral moves. It also wouldn't be surprising to learn there's not a lot of upward mobility in the X-Files department.
Originally, Scully was meant to be Mulder’s sidekick. In early episodes, actress Gillian Anderson was even directed to stand and walk behind Duchovny on-screen. Over time, however, Scully’s character became such an important part of the show that the sidekick image vanished. Along with it, Anderson was able to close the pay gap between her and Duchovny.
The actress told The Hollywood Reporter, “I don’t know how long it lasted or if it changed because I eventually said, ‘F*ck no! No!’ I don’t remember somebody saying, ‘OK, now you get to walk alongside him.’ But I imagine it had more to do with my intolerance and spunk than it being an allowance that was made.”
The indignity didn't end with the show's original run, either. When the reboot was first announced, Anderson was offered half of Duchovny's pay. Reportedly, by the time both actors signed on, they were paid equal sums.
