 " Ice " was praised by critics . In The Complete X @-@ Files , authors Matt Hurwitz and Chris Knowles called the episode a milestone for the fledgling series . An Entertainment Weekly first @-@ season retrospective graded " Ice " as A − , calling it " particularly taut and briskly paced " . On The A.V. Club , Keith Phipps praised the episode and gave it an A. According to Phipps , the cast " plays the paranoia beautifully " and the episode was " as fine an hour as this first season would produce " . " Ice " was included on an A.V. Club list of greatest bottle episodes , where it was described as " us [ ing ] its close quarters as an advantage " . A third A.V. Club article , listing ten " must @-@ see " episodes of the series , called " Ice " " the first sign that this show had a shot at really being something special " and said that it " makes great use of claustrophobia and the uneasy but growing alliance between the heroes " . 
