Two Fathers (The X-Files)

"Two Fathers"
The X-Files episode
Cassandra Spender's wound oozes green fluid and then heals itself.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 11
Directed by	Kim Manners
Written by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Production code	6ABX11
Original air date	February 7, 1999 (1999-02-07)
Running time	45 minutes
Guest appearances
William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Mimi Rogers as Diana Fowley Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender Brian Thompson as Alien Bounty Hunter Veronica Cartwright as Cassandra Spender Don S. Williams as First Elder George Murdock as Second Elder Al Ruscio as Fourth Elder Frank Ertl as Fifth Elder Nick Tate as Eugene Openshaw James Newman as Lead Surgeon Damon P. Saleem as Pick Up Player[1]
Episode chronology
← Previous "Tithonus" Next → "One Son"
The X-Files season 6
List of episodes

"Two Fathers" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season and the 128th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 7, 1999, on the Fox Network and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.5, a total of 18.81 million viewers. The episode received mostly positive reviews.

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. "Two Fathers" follows a story which would lead to the destruction of the Syndicate: with the unexpected return of Cassandra Spender and the alien rebels, members of the Syndicate prepare themselves for the final invasion.

"Two Fathers" was written in order to eliminate the Syndicate and relaunch the series' mythology. With the series being shot in Los Angeles, many members of The X-Files crew had to adjust scenes and filming techniques in order to achieve the "dark and gray feel" that had been a result of filming in Vancouver, British Columbia. The episode is the first of a two-part episode and continues with the episode "One Son".