a bit too contrived, but the strengths of the episode outweigh the weaknesses. Two great performances by David and Gillian give the episode the necessary gravitas, and there’s enough foreshadowing to make sense of some elements of the season finale." Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode three-and-a-half stars out of five. The two compared the episode positively to the earlier second season episode "Blood" and wrote, "['Blood'] had a clever premise which didn't quite translate into an actual plot; here writer Mat Beck remedies that, very wisely". Shearman and Pearson, furthermore, praised the ending of the episode, where it is revealed that X's days "are surely numbered." Paula Vitaris of Cinefantastique gave the episode a moderately positive review and awarded it three stars out of four. She praised Anderson's acting, calling it "superb" and noting that watching Scully fall victim to insanity is "sickly fascinating". Footnotes Bibliography External links "Wetwired" on The X-Files official website 1996 American television episodes Television episodes set in Maryland The X-Files (season 3) episodes