 In a season review , Michelle Kung from Entertainment Weekly wrote that " 4 @-@ D " was one of the few ninth season episodes " worthy " of praise , but that it was overshadowed by the show 's " ludicrous conspiracy plots " . Other reviews were more critical mixed . Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a " C " and called it a " mediocre to bad hour of television " , but one that could have been better had more effort been applied to it . Handlen was particularly critical of the editing , structure , and sense of urgency . He wrote that " ' 4 @-@ D ' shows what happens when this creative team has a legitimately cool concept : it wastes the opportunity . " M.A. Crang , in his book Denying the Truth : Revisiting The X @-@ Files after 9 / 11 , felt that the interactions between Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish were the " highlights " of the episode , but he was critical of the ending for wrapping things up " far too conveniently . " 
