"Emily" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology. The episode premiered in the United States on December 14, 1997, on the Fox network, earning a Nielsen household rating of 12.4 and being watched by 20.94 million people in its initial broadcast. It received mixed 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 fights to protect her daughter’s life, while Mulder discovers her true origins. It is eventually discovered that Emily was created during Scully's abduction. Emily suffers from a tumorous infection and subsequently dies. "Emily" is the second of a two-part story that began with episode six, "Christmas Carol". The young actress who originally played Emily was terrified of the hospital setting in "Emily", and as a result the producers had to recast the role and reshoot all footage featuring her. Filming for the episode was also disrupted when angry demonstrators protested at one of the show's filming sites. Plot In a dream-like sequence, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) walks through a desert and picks up a gold cross necklace on the ground. Continuing from the previous episode, agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) arrives at San Diego County Children's Center, where Scully introduces him to Emily. Mulder tells Scully that Emily's surrogate mother is named Anna Fugazzi, but that fugazzi is slang for fake, and there are no true records of how Emily came into the world. Mulder is interviewed by a judge, regarding Scully adopting Emily. Mulder explains that Emily was conceived from Scully's ova, which were taken from her during her abduction; the judge is skeptical. Later, Scully and Mulder find that Emily has a fever, and they discover a green cyst on the back of her neck. In a hospital, a nurse pierces the cyst with a needle, and green liquid oozes from the wound. The nurse collapses from exposure to the liquid, but Emily appears unaffected. Mulder believes that Emily has the same body chemistry that they have seen before with