The X-Files has made its glorious return to television after a hiatus which lasted over a decade. With its return, comes a wave of nostalgia for episodes past. (This is especially true after the #201DaysOfXFiles binge watch sessions many fans engaged in to prepare for the revival.) Although we can only guess at what will come from this series revival, we can hope to see a few nods to some of the odd creatures invented in past seasons. I’ve compiled a list of my favorite alien concepts from The X-Files, which are also some of the weirdest. In case you missed it, check out our interview with series creator Chris Carter right here!
The Faceless Aliens
One of the greatest aspects of The X-Files is how complex it can get. (If you’ve watched the entire show and experienced the assorted story arcs, then you know what I mean.) The faceless alien “rebels” first appeared in Season 5, Episode 13 “Patient X”. They were eventually explained as being aliens who had mutilated themselves to avoid being taken over by the black oil. (The “black oil” extraterrestrial virus is, of course, an entirely different alien-based can of worms). Overall, the faceless aliens were pretty horrifying both in appearance and in action. The fact that they mutilated themselves made their appearance and existence even more disturbing.
Jeremiah Smith was an alien/human hybrid, and a clone. While having a missing link character that stood between aliens and humans is not necessarily that odd for a science fiction or horror show, the fact that he was presented as being a clone as well as having both shape shifting abilities and healing powers made him a very unusual case, indeed. It’s also worth noting that he was one of the few aliens in the show who was portrayed positively, and was another example of an alien being who was in danger from other alien species on Earth. Jeremiah Smith was not a regular fixture but he was an enduring character. He first appeared in the third season, in episode twenty-four “Talitha Cumi“, and his final appearance was in season eight, episode fourteen “This is Not Happening”.
Lord Kinbote
The X-Files has a tendency to get very meta, and often forced viewers to dig deep inside their own heads. Whether this is a trend that will continue has yet to be seen, but one of my favorite representations from the old episodes appeared in “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space”, the twentieth episode of the third season. In this episode, we never get an ironed out true account of the events that took place. With that said, although Lord Kinbote was presented as an alien species, he may or may not have existed. Unlike other aliens, Lord Kinbote was said to have come from the center of the Earth, rather than from space. According to Lord Kinbote, after death the soul descends to the center of the Earth. The more pure the soul is, the deeper towards the center it goes. If the soul is pure, and it can escape the lava men, it will be allowed to engage in a large soul-sex orgy. This alien, as well as his depictions of the afterlife, are the epitome of weird, and couldn’t be skipped.
Obviously, over the course of nine seasons and two films there were numerous types of aliens that were introduced, and many more that could have been included on this list. Who would you nominate as the weirdest alien from X-Files lore? Let us know in the comments section, below.
