"Never Again" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by producers Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode aired in the United States on February 2, 1997, on the Fox network and in the United Kingdom on BBC One on December 3, 1997. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 13 and was viewed by 21.36 million viewers. It received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Scully leaves town—and Mulder—for a solo assignment. She soon meets Ed Jerse, a man who is being mentally controlled by a drug-related side effect of his tattoo. His tattoo, affectionately named Betty, does not want to share him, especially not with Scully. Although "Never Again" was directed by Bowman, it was originally scheduled to be directed by film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino was unable to direct the entry due to a dispute with the Directors Guild of America. Gillian Anderson was particularly pleased with the episode showing a different side of Scully; she had specifically asked Morgan and Wong to write an episode that explored Scully's dark side. Several cast members from Morgan and Wong's series Space: Above and Beyond were cast in the episode. Plot In Philadelphia, Ed Jerse loses a divorce settlement to his ex-wife, who has sole custody of his children. After getting drunk at a bar, Ed wanders into a tattoo parlor and impulsively receives a tattoo depicting a Sailor Jerry-like pin-up girl with the words "Never Again" under her image. At work the next day, Ed hears a woman calling him a "loser"; he has a violent confrontation with a female co-worker—who denies saying anything—and is subsequently subdued. In Washington, Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully conduct a discreet meeting with a Russian informant, Vsevlod Pudovkin, who claims to have seen a UFO at a secret research center. Upon returning to FBI headquarters, Mulder heads out on vacation to visit Graceland, leaving Scully to follow up on