William (The X-Files)

"William"
The X-Files episode
Fox Mulder appears as a reflection in Dana Scully's eye. This scene marked the first appearance of David Duchovny since his departure at the end of season eight.
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 16
Directed by	David Duchovny
Story by	David Duchovny Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Teleplay by	Chris Carter
Production code	9ABX17
Original air date	April 28, 2002 (2002-04-28)
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearances
Cyd Strittmatter as Dr. Whitney Edwards James Riker as Baby William Travis Riker as Baby William Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender/Daniel Miller Adam Nelson as Mr. Van De Kamp Shannon Hile as Mrs. Van De Kamp David Fabrizo as ER Physician Dallas Munroe as ER Nurse Annie Abbott as Older Social Worker Kiersten Van Horne as Young Social Worker Dan Shor as Second ER Nurse Jason Waters as The Breather Photo Double[1]
Episode chronology
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The X-Files season 9
List of episodes

"William" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which originally aired on the Fox network on April 28, 2002. The teleplay of the episode was written by series creator Chris Carter, from a story by former series star David Duchovny, Carter, and executive producer Frank Spotnitz; the entry was directed by Duchovny. "William" helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 5.8, being watched by 6.1 million households and 9.3 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics, many of whom were unhappy with the episode's conclusion.

The show centers on FBI special agents who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files; this season focuses on the investigations of John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). In this episode, Doggett finds a strange, disfigured man (Chris Owens) in the X-Files office and, on his whim, they test his DNA. They learn that the man shares DNA with Fox Mulder (Duchovny), and may possibly even be him. The answers become even more surprising when Scully's son, baby William, is put on the line.

"William" marked the return of David Duchovny to the series, after his departure following the eighth season finale "Existence". The genesis for the episode was a storyline Duchovny had developed during the series' eighth season; he originally pitched an idea featuring a mysteriously disfigured person introducing himself to Scully and admitting that he possessed a connection to Mulder. Chris Owens, whose character Jeffrey Spender had previously been killed off in the sixth season episode "One Son", was asked to return to the series for the episode.