Season Five is certainly a continuation of the excellence we expect from "The X Files", with the strongest mythology episodes since season 2 and a few memorable Monster of the Week episodes. I feel like there's something missing here though. One of the things that set "The X Files" apart was that it always had a sense of humor about itself, and despite containing what is perhaps the funniest X-File of all, "Bad Blood" ("Oh now what did you DO THAT for?! When I'm done you're in BIIIG trouble!") and perennial feel-good classic "The Post-Modern Prometheus", this season mostly feels joyless, and quite frankly, sometimes the drama isn't strong enough to substitute for the almost complete lack of humor present in most episodes here. That's not to say season 5 isn't great, because it really is a terrific bunch of episodes with several outright classics, perhaps more than all but one or two seasons, just that it feels a little... angsty.
I thought the best episodes were:
Redux II- everything an X-phile should expect from a good mythology episode
Unusual Suspects- The Lone Gunmen's own episode? Of course it's great. You have to love the presence of disoriented young Mulder.
The Post-Modern Prometheus- Sure it's gimmicky. It's also genuine and sweet and effective and hilarious.
Bad Blood- One of the best X File scripts. How can anyone dispute this episode's greatness? Folie a Deux- BUG ZOMBIES.
The End- a perfect episode, one of the very best. Too bad this would mark the end for Vancouver and the move to LA. The mythology arc would stay good all through season 6, then fall apart.
Average rating based on ratings for all episodes: 7.8/10