July 1, 2012. According to Nielsen ratings, an audience measurement system that determine the audience size and composition of television programming, the episode's initial broadcast in the United States was viewed by approximately 2.2 million viewers and earned a 0.7 rating/2 percent share in the 18–49 demographic, meaning that it was seen by 0.7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds and 2 percent of 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. In the United Kingdom, the episode obtained 182,000 viewers, making it the fifth most-viewed program for that channel. Writing for HitFix, Alan Sepinwall deemed a scene from the previous episode, "Game Day", "more powerful" than Emma's storyline in "Slack Water". He called the personal and police stories in this episode "predictable", adding: "It was clear, for instance, that Hannah was right and the other adults were wrong about what Emma wanted." Speaking of the guest stars, Sepinwall praised Innes' "excellent" performance, calling it "the episode's strongest moment". He also appreciated the cultural reference to The X-Files, but observed that "none of the episode titles shown were from actual X-Files installments". The A.V. Club Zack Handlen was largely critical of the episode, but commented that Bobadilla portrays Emma well, saying she is "low-key and pleasant". Despite this, Handlen was not appreciative of the character's pregnancy plot, because it was handled in a "crass or blatantly exploitative way". He was critical of the shooter storyline, calling it a "bland, utterly impersonal murder mystery which basically wraps up ten minutes early and then has to play for time." Handlen appreciated the reference to The X-Files as well, and concluded of the episode: "While 'Slack Water' was well-acted, and had some well-observed exchanges, it came off as flat in the worst possible way, exposing not just the flaws in its own script, but the potentially insurmountable difficulties which face this series in the weeks ahead." Largely positive of the episode, Matt Fowler of IGN opined that Michael's two reality storyline was "undiscussed", in turn lacking the "emotional and thematic connector between the two worlds; making them feel totally separate and not part of an individual's enclosed psyche." While Fowler appreciated the "green reality" being in a "suitable and satisfactory manner", he "didn't care all that much about [it]". He was disappointed with the absence of Michael's "thriving" therapy sessions in this episode. Fowler was more positive of the "red