 The episode received mixed reviews from television critics . Jessica Morgan from Television Without Pity gave the episode a B – rating . John Keegan from Critical Myth gave the episode a negative review and called it " easily the worst of the season " . He awarded it a 4 out of 10 and concluded that , " We can only hope that none of the remaining episodes are Shiban @-@ related , and pray that he can do a much better job when he writes for Enterprise next season . " 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 , and called the entry " solid and efficient " . The two complimented Shiban 's directorial efforts , noting that " as a director [ he ] makes ' Underneath ' shine " , but were critical of some of the " trademark X @-@ File moments " , citing " the surprise appearance of a face in the bathroom mirror " and " the climactic fight in a sewer " as examples . Shearman and Pearson , however , wrote positively of Shiban 's realistic depiction of Doggett . <unk> <unk> , in his book <unk> the Truth : <unk> The X @-@ Files after 9 / 11 , wrote that the episode felt " very familiar " but was impressed with the production design on the sewer set . 
