of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 20.86 million viewers. The episode has received largely positive reviews from television critics. Author Phil Farrand rated the episode as his fourth favorite episode of the first four seasons in his book The Nitpickers Guide to the X-Files. Reviewer Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave "Small Potatoes" an A, saying that it "isn’t the very best X-Files episode (though it’s certainly up there), but it’s perhaps the easiest episode to call your “favorite,” the most approachable episode, if you will" and that while Gilligan penned better X-Files installments later, "he’s never written one as effortlessly playful and inventive as this one. VanDerWerff later called the episode one of the "10 must-see episodes" and named it "Gilligan’s finest comedic achievement". Topless Robot named "Small Potatoes" the eighth funniest episode of the series. Starpulse listed it as the eighth best episode of the series. The episode is popular with fans, specifically for the scene where Eddie, who has changed into Mulder, tries to seduce Scully in her apartment. 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 five stars out of five and wrote that "this is what Vince Gilligan has been working towards all season." The two praised Gilligan's writing, applauding his decision to critically examine Mulder rather than merely tell jokes. Furthermore, the two commended the acting of Morgan, calling his casting "apt". Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a rave review and awarded it a rare four stars out of four. She described it as a "four course meal of comic riches" and praised the writing style of Gilligan, calling him "the believer who writes from inside the characters' heads". The episode, however, was not without its critics. Tor.com reviewer Meghan Deans was more critical of the episode, writing that it had a "flawed construction that diminishes what should have been one of the series' smartest and most affectionate demonstrations of self-parody". She found the way it attempted to depict Van Blundht as a sympathetic villain and play rape for laughs to be unsettling. However, she did praise the way the episode continued the comedic tradition of making fun of Mulder. Cyriaque Lamar from i09 called Eddie Van Blundht one of "The 10 Most Ridiculous X-Files Monsters".