"Herrenvolk" is the fourth season premiere of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on . It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Herrenvolk" featured guest appearances by Roy Thinnes and Brian Thompson, and introduced Laurie Holden as recurring character Marita Covarrubias. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Herrenvolk" earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.2, being watched by 21.11 million people in its initial broadcast. FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is shown more evidence of his sister's abduction by the mysterious Jeremiah Smith (Thinnes) and makes a desperate attempt to rescue her, whilst being pursued by the Alien Bounty Hunter. Mulder's informant X is found out by those he has betrayed—with fatal consequences. "Herrenvolk" is the second part of a two-part episode, continuing the plot from the third season finale, "Talitha Cumi". "Herrenvolk" saw the death of Steven Williams' character X, and featured another appearance of Mulder's sister Samantha, a character described by Carter as the "lifeblood" of the series, who last appeared in the second season double episode, "Colony" and "End Game". The episode featured scenes filmed using swarms of bees, which caused problems due to the difficulty of taming and directing the animals. Other special effects in the episode were achieved through motion control photography. Plot In rural Alberta, Canada, a telephone lineman is stung by a bee as he works at the top of a pole. Five identical boys approach and watch as the lineman adversely reacts to the sting, causing him to fall to the ground and die. The boys look down at his body, then walk off silently. At a remote industrial site, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), and Jeremiah Smith (Roy Thinnes) are approached by the Alien Bounty Hunter (Brian Thompson). Mulder and Smith flee with both Scully and the Bounty Hunter in pursuit, eventually reaching a waterfront. Mulder sneaks up on the Bounty Hunter and stabs him in the neck with the alien stiletto. Both he and Jeremiah escape on a boat, leaving Scully alone with the seemingly dead Bounty Hunter. When she approaches the body, the Bounty Hunter wakes up and chokes her, demanding to know where Mulder and Smith are heading. He releases her after realizing she has no such knowledge. On the boat,