List of The X-Files characters

The X-Files is an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: The X-Files and The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The characters defined the overarching mythology of the series. They appeared in a range of episodes across several seasons.

The first seven seasons of The X-Files star Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, a medical doctor and hard-line scientist assigned to work alongside Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), an esteemed FBI profiler who left his coveted position to head up a unit that investigates the paranormal and the unexplained. Tasked with debunking Mulder's work, Scully eventually comes to question her own faith, while Mulder continues to search through the archives of the Hoover building in order to find out what happened to his missing sister. The first seven seasons feature recurring appearances by Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), conspiracy theorists The Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, and Bruce Harwood), and secretive informants Deep Throat (The X-Files) (Jerry Hardin) and X (The X-Files) (Steven Williams).

The eighth season and the ninth season represent a change in the direction of the show: Duchovny departs the regular cast and thereafter takes the role of intermittent lead. Scully, now a reluctant believer, is partnered with Special Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), a former NYPD detective and a strict skeptic who is still grief-stricken over the death of his son, Luke. As Doggett begins to work on the X-files, Scully continues her search for Mulder, while also carrying his child. At the end of the eighth season, Scully departs the X-files, accept a teaching position at the FBI Academy. Thereafter she acts as only a consultant to Doggett. Annabeth Gish (as Monica Reyes), and Pileggi (as Skinner), join the main cast during the ninth season after recurring previously. The tenth season once again stars Duchovny, Anderson, and Pileggi, while Patrick is notably absent. Gish guest-stars in the finale as Reyes.

Fox William Mulder is played by

Dana Katherine Scully is played by Gillian Anderson, a medical doctor assigned to debunk the work of Special Agent Fox Mulder. Together they work out of a cramped basement office at the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to investigate unsolved cases labeled "X-files". In contrast to Fox Mulder's "believer" character, Scully was a "skeptic", basing her beliefs solely on what science can prove. However, as the series progresses she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings. After Mulder is abducted by aliens, the eighth season sees the assignment of a new partner to Scully: Special Agent John Doggett. Later in the same season, she leaves the X-files office to teach at the FBI Academy. Scully departs from the FBI permanently in 2002. Sometime between then and 2008 she finds work as a surgeon. In 2008 she returns to consult with the FBI. She returns to the bureau permanently in 2016 alongside Mulder.

John Doggett is played by Robert Patrick, an FBI special agent who makes his first appearance in "Within," the eighth-season premiere. Doggett served in the United States Marine Corps during the 1970s and the 1980s. Later he joined the New York City Police Department and was eventually promoted to the rank of detective. After his son's death, Doggett took a job in the FBI working in the Criminal Investigations Division. In 2000 Deputy Director Alvin Kersh assigned him to the X-files office as Scully's partner after an unsuccessful task force attempt to find a missing Mulder in "Without". He grows to rely on Scully's friendship, even though he knows he can never replace Mulder. He is later partnered with Monica Reyes, and together they depart the X-files in 2002, when the unit is shut down.

Monica Reyes is played by

FBI assistant director Walter S. Skinner is played by Mitch Pileggi. He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. During this time he shot and killed a young boy carrying explosives, an episode which scarred him for life. Skinner is originally the direct supervisor of Mulder and Scully, and of the X-files. He later serves the same position for Special Agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes. Although he is originally portrayed as a somewhat malevolent character, Skinner eventually becomes a close friend of his subordinates. Skinner is responsible for the reopening of the X-files in 2016.

Brad D. Follmer is portrayed by Cary Elwes. Follmer was an assistant director at the FBI. He had a romantic history with Monica Reyes that he brought up while trying to keep her away from the X-files. His true motives were more political in nature and part of his sycophancy to Alvin Kersh. He did not believe in the X-files and deliberately showed disrespect to John Doggett by calling him "Mr. Doggett" instead of "Agent".^[1][2][3]

In 2002, new evidence concerning the

Diana Fowley is an FBI agent played by Mimi Rogers and first appeared in the fifth-season finale "The End".^[5] In keeping with the show's history of ambiguity, Fowley's motivations were never explained, although many viewers assumed her to be deeply associated with the Syndicate conspirators and working against Mulder in his pursuit of the truth within the X-files.^[6] As Fowley is an old fling of Mulder's, additional tension was generated on the show and among viewers because of a perceived rekindling of her former close personal relationship with agent Mulder and the possibility of Fowley coming between him and his trusted partner, Special Agent Dana Scully.^[5]

The character of Diana Fowley subsequently vanishes during "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati". Her absence is explained by Scully, who states, "Diana Fowley was found murdered this morning." Her death is not witnessed, though.^[7]

As an assistant director, he temporarily became supervisor to Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully when they were assigned away from the X-Files unit.^[9] During this time, the Cigarette Smoking Man could be seen in his office, reminiscent of his silent presence in Walter Skinner's office in earlier seasons.^[10] Kersh assigned Mulder and Scully mostly to menial tasks, such as terrorist details and Federal background checks. When they did investigate an X-File behind his back, Kersh would charge them for expenses they incurred on the case, forcing them to pay out of their own pocket.^[11] He also attempted to separate Mulder and Scully, believing that Mulder threw away a promising career as a criminal profiler, but that Scully's career could still be saved.^[12]

When Mulder and Scully were reassigned to the X-Files Section, Kersh continued to climb the ladder, culminating in an assignment as deputy director. It was not long after his promotion that Mulder was

During the ninth season, the Toothpick Man, a key conspirator, could be seen in the company of Kersh, much like Cigarette Smoking Man before. In the end, Kersh showed a heroic side when during the season finale, he helped Doggett and Skinner free Mulder from a military prison. Following this, Kersh had to permanently close the X-Files to appease his irate superiors.^[16] The X-Files are still officially closed when Mulder consults with the FBI 6 years later when FBI Agent Monica Bannon goes missing, however, Kersh is noticeably absent.^[17]

Jeffrey Frank Spender is portrayed by

John Fitzgerald Byers is portrayed by

Byers appears to have some working knowledge of medicine, genetics, and chemistry; he is able to interpret DNA strands, instantly informing Mulder that Scully's blood had been tampered with in "One Breath".^[23] All three of the Lone Gunmen die in the episode "Jump the Shark," sacrificing themselves to save thousands from a terrorist created plague. Skinner arranges for them to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, as a tribute to their brave deeds.^[24]

Melvin Frohike is portrayed by

Richard “Ringo” Langly is portrayed by

Marita Covarrubias is introduced as an informant to Mulder after the death of his former source,

The character of Marita Covarrubias was portrayed by Laurie Holden in all her appearances. When auditioning for the role, Holden was not allowed access to an episode script, instead simply being told that her character worked for the United Nations and had an air of "intelligent seriousness".^[35] Writer Frank Spotnitz has described Covarrubias as "young, attractive, vital [and] dangerous" compared to the other characters working for the Syndicate.^[36] Holden has compared the character to Mata Hari, adding that "you can't really read what she's saying or what her intentions are".^[35] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, felt that the character was "used so perfunctorily since her introduction" that her appearances added little to the episodes she featured in, describing her as a "bad parody" of the earlier characters Deep Throat and X.^[37]

Deep Throat is the first of Mulder's informants, leaking information to him to aid his investigations. As a member of the then-unseen Syndicate, he is in a position to know a great deal of information. Deep Throat feels that the truth being kept secret from the public by the Syndicate needs to be known. He believes Mulder to be the one person capable of exposing this knowledge.^[38][39] However, he believes that there are certain truths that the public are not yet ready to know.^[26][40] In "The Erlenmeyer Flask," the finale of the first season, Mulder is taken hostage following his investigation into an alien-human hybridization program. Fearing for Mulder's life, Deep Throat helps Scully to gain access to a high-containment facility, where she manages to secretly remove an alien fetus for use as collateral in saving Mulder. In the subsequent meeting between the operatives and Deep Throat, he is shot and killed.^[41][42] The character later appears in dreams and visions experienced by Mulder during his recuperation on a Navajo reservation,^[43][44] and again years later while being experimented on by the Smoking Man.^[45]

Deep Throat was inspired by the historical Deep Throat,^[46] FBI Associate Director Mark Felt.^[47] Also cited as an influence on the fictional Deep Throat was X, the character portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK.^[46] The character was intended to bridge the gap between Mulder and Scully and the shadowy conspirators who were working against them; and was conceived as someone "who works in some level of government that we have no idea exists".^[46] Jerry Hardin was cast as Deep Throat based on his role in 1993's The Firm.^[48] Hardin's performance has been cited as "the spine of the series",^[49] and his portrayal of the character has been met with positive reviews from critics.^[50][51][52]

The First Elder is portrayed by

After Mulder shot Department of Defense agent Scott Ostlehoff in his head to obscure his identity, Mulder and Scully used the situation to effectively fake Mulder's death. CSM spoke with the First Elder at a horse track about Mulder's death, which CSM saw as unfortunate and unhelpful. However, the fact that Mulder was alive soon became known to both men, upon which the First Elder ordered one of his operatives to carry out a specific task. The operative followed CSM as he tried to recruit Mulder to work with the Syndicate, watching their movements through the scope of a sniper rifle. Shortly after the discovery of Scott Blevins' betrayal, the First Elder's operative shot CSM, who had been holding a photograph of Mulder and his sister.^[54] He was killed along with the rest of the Syndicate by a group of Alien rebels in 1999.^[20]

Alex Krycek is portrayed by

When escaping a gulag in Russia, where Krycek pursues a mysterious rock, his left arm is amputated to prevent some experiments on him.^[58] Later in the series, Krycek can be seen switching sides as it suits him, occasionally helping Mulder, Cigarette Smoking Man and other people. He attempted to blackmail Skinner by infecting him with lethal nanotechnology,^[59] but ended up being thrown into a Tunisian prison when the Cigarette Smoking Man discovered that Krycek had stolen an alien artifact from him. In the last season 7 episode, "Requiem", Krycek apparently kills the Cigarette Smoking Man by pushing him down a flight of stairs.^[34] Later, when Mulder was abducted by aliens and returned in a deathlike state, Krycek attempts to again blackmail Skinner, offering the means to save Mulder's life in exchange for Scully's baby. Skinner refuses, and Krycek has a violent confrontation with John Doggett before escaping.^[13] In the last season 8 episode, "Existence", Krycek is shot between the eyes and killed by Skinner during an unsuccessful attempt to kill Mulder.^[15] Krycek's ghost briefly showed up to help Mulder escape a military base in the series finale.^[16]

Knowle Rohrer is portrayed by

C.G.B. Spender, best known as the Cigarette Smoking Man, is portrayed by

The Well-Manicured Man is a British member of the Syndicate. An Englishman, he is an important member, along with

The Well-Manicured Man was portrayed by John Neville in all his appearances. Conceived as the "voice of reason" within the Syndicate,^[68] the character has been seen as representing an opposing viewpoint to that of The Smoking Man.^[69] The character has been positively received by critics. MTV's Tami Katzoff has called him a "legendary TV character", noting his "moral ambivalence about the work of his shadow organization" and his ability to show "empathy for Mulder and Scully".^[70] The San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Graham has praised Neville's portrayal of the character in the feature film, calling his expository monologue "a Wagnerian demonstration of the art of declamation".^[71]

X, sometimes referred to as Mr. X, serves as an informant to Mulder, replacing Deep Throat in this capacity. While X's loyalties and his own agenda were often unclear, he has more than once proven that he at least does not want Mulder dead. In the episode "End Game", he is approached by Scully, who pleads that she needs to know where Mulder is, believing his life to be in danger. X reluctantly gives her the information after a fight with Skinner.^[72][73] In "731", X's loyalty to Mulder is further confirmed. Trapped on a train car equipped with a time bomb, Mulder is attacked by an assassin. X fatally shoots the assassin as he is about to step off the car, and boards with only enough time left to save either Mulder or the alien-human hybrid the car was transporting, opting to save Mulder.^[74][75] In the season 4 opener "Herrenvolk", X's position as an informant is discovered by the Syndicate, and he is assassinated, but not before leading Mulder to his successor, Marita Covarrubias.^[28][29] After his death, X appears two more times—in The Lone Gunmen origin story "Unusual Suspects," set before his death, and as a ghost in the series finale, "The Truth".^[16][22][76]

X is portrayed in the series by

He is possibly the only member of the Syndicate to like or trust the Cigarette Smoking Man, as they are shown as having a slightly more cordial and far less adversarial relationship than with the other members.

The season 6 episode "One Son" features a scene where Scully recounts the activities of

He is almost certainly named after Hubertus Strughold, a Nazi scientist who came to the US during Operation Paperclip after the end of World War II. (The original episode to show the mine in West Virginia was season 3's "Paper Clip", although Strughold himself did not appear in this episode, or in any television episodes of the show).

Section Chief Scott Blevins is portrayed by Charles Cioffi. Blevins was a top official in the Federal Bureau of Investigation who was bankrolled by Roush Pharmaceuticals, the same group that bankrolled Michael Kritschgau.^[62][54] In 1992, then Division Chief Blevins assigned Dana Scully to work with Fox Mulder on the X-files, cases that involved paranormal or unexplained phenomena. Blevins believed that Scully would help provide a more scientific analysis of the X-files cases.^[62]

The following year, Blevins recommended that Mulder be removed from the X-files due to Mulder's personal agenda regarding the cases.^[87] Later that year, Section Chief Joseph McGrath went over Blevins's head in an attempt to order a shut down of the X-files.^[88] Mulder and Scully would be later placed under the supervision of Assistant Director Walter Skinner,^[89] and Blevins would be placed in the position of Section Chief.^[90]

In 1997, Blevins led a joint FBI committee that was investigating the legitimacy of Mulder's work on the X-files and his apparent suicide.^[90] After Mulder was discovered alive, he testified before the committee naming Blevins as the FBI mole responsible for giving Special Agent Scully cancer and working with the government conspiracy. Blevins was subsequently killed by another member of the committee who made his death appear to be a suicide.^[54]

Dr. Charles Burks is portrayed by Bill Dow, and appeared in a total of six episodes between 1995 and 2001. First appearing in "The Calusari"^[91] as a digital photo expert and using the nickname Chuck, Dr. Burks was occasionally returned to as an open-minded expert more in line with Mulder's belief in the paranormal than Scully's skepticism. His contributions to X-Files investigations include aura photography^[92] and sonic analysis,^[93] however he also delved into languages^[94] and mysticism^[95] (in the episode "Badlaa", in which he is introduced to John Doggett as an old friend of Fox Mulder's).

Luis Cardinal is portrayed by Lenno Britos who appeared in a total of four episodes. Cardinal was a

Max Fenig, portrayed by Scott Bellis, was a member of NICAP who met Fox Mulder in a military detention, after being captured while investigating a possible UFO crash site. Mulder eventually discovered that Fenig was more than a UFO fanatic, despite Dana Scully's suspicion that his abduction experiences were the result of hallucinations or epilepsy – an illness that was revealed after Fenig suffered a seizure during the episode. Max Fenig lived in a trailer, which was parked at Townsend, Wisconsin, full of UFO material.^[88] Besides being an epileptic, he was constantly in fear of being abducted again and had a red scar in the shape of a triangle behind his ear. Fenig had already heard about Mulder and the X-Files. After being captured in his trailer, Fenig was seen for the last time by Mulder in a waterfront dock floating in the air encased in blue light – he vanished seconds later. He reappeared much later, in a two-part episode during the fourth season, where he died in a plane crash.^[100][101]

Theresa Hoese (

Later that year, Mulder went to Matheson's office in an attempt to contact him to gain information about Scully's abduction, but he was intercepted by X, who told him that Matheson could not give him the information he wanted without risking himself.^[105] He later gave Mulder a lead that led him to government program to import Japanese scientists to the US after World War II.^[106] Mulder ran into Matheson years later while investigating a mysterious illness contracted by Walter Skinner. Matheson was directly involved in an illicit deal concerning nanotechnology. The incident further soured relations between Mulder and Matheson.^[59]

Billy Miles, portrayed by Zachary Ansley, appeared in five episodes of the series. First seen as the apparently comatose son of a detective from the town Bellefleur, Oregon, Billy was later revealed to be unwittingly assisting in the abductions and deaths of several of his former high school classmates whilst controlled by another presence.^[62] Eight years later, having recovered from these events, and now a sheriff's deputy, Miles contacted Mulder and Scully to seek their aid investigating a possible UFO crash. During the course of this investigation, Miles, and Mulder, were abducted.^[34] Miles' body was later recovered, in an advanced state of decay, from which was he not only revived, but recreated as a "super soldier", an advanced form of alien-human hybrid.^[13] In this new form, Miles set his sights on killing all of those involved in monitoring Scully's abnormal pregnancy, eventually targeting Scully herself.

William "Bill" Mulder is portrayed by

In 1995, William planned to divulge all his secrets to his son after encountering a clone of Samantha fleeing an alien bounty hunter. However, the Syndicate learned of his intention to reveal the truth to Mulder, and Alex Krycek was sent to prevent it. Krycek murdered William in his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard.^[56]

Elizabeth "Teena" Mulder (née Kuipers) was portrayed by

In 1996, she suffered a stroke at the Mulder family's former summerhouse in Quonochontaug, Rhode Island. She survived thanks to a quick emergency call from X, paramedics were able to save her life, but she remained in a coma.^[107] The Cigarette Smoking Man later convinced a bounty hunter to heal her.^[28][29] Years later in 2000, Teena committed suicide after learning that she was terminally ill with a disfiguring disease called Paget's Carcinoma. Before her death, she subtly requested that Fox accept that Samantha was gone and move on with his life.^[108]

Special Agent Sean Pendrell is portrayed by actor Brendan Beiser. Agent Pendrell first appeared as an employee of the FBI's Sci-Crime Lab who assisted Agent Scully in her investigations in the third season.^[109]

Pendrell shows a helpful demeanor, a self-deprecating nature and nurses an obvious crush on Agent Dana Scully. He provides analytical assistance to Mulder and Scully over the course of several episodes, showing a particular aptitude for working with computers and biological materials.^[109] His feelings for Scully, however, remain unrequited; in the fourth-season episode "Tempus Fugit", Pendrell runs into Scully in a bar. He seizes the opportunity to buy her a birthday drink. On his way back to Scully's table, Pendrell is caught in the crossfire of a shootout with a Syndicate assassin, taking a bullet. He subsequently dies of his wound, leaving Scully to mourn that she had never even learned his first name.^[101][100]

Gibson Andrew Praise is a character portrayed by

In 2000, Scully found Gibson living in Arizona in a school for the deaf, where he was apparently in hiding from alien bounty hunters or a New Syndicate like organization, who wanted him because he was "part alien".[8] At the end of the episode, John Doggett said Gibson had become a ward of the state, and had been put under special protection.^[110]

His final appearance was in the series finale, where it was revealed that Mulder had been hiding with Gibson in New Mexico for the duration of his ninth season absence. Gibson volunteered to be a witness at Mulder's trial, despite Mulder's objection that he should stay hidden. After Mulder and Scully leave to make their final escape, Agents Doggett and Monica Reyes vowed that they would try to keep him safe – a promise that Gibson took with a grain of salt, knowing the capabilities of his past captors.^[16]

William "Bill" Scully, Jr. was portrayed by Pat Skipper and Ryan DeBoer, and Joshua Murray during childhood flashbacks. He was the eldest son of Bill and Margaret Scully and brother to Dana, Melissa, and Charles Scully. Bill, Jr. had followed in his father's footsteps and joined the U.S. Navy. Bill, Jr. was never impressed with Fox Mulder and got angry with Dana when she did not tell him about her cancer. He did not understand why she had not told anyone or why she was still at work. Dana told him she still had responsibility to the people in her life, even though she had not told them about it. Bill angrily asked Dana if her responsibility was to Mulder, and if so, why was he not with her after she was pushed down the stairs by Michael Kritschgau. She ignored his question.^[90]

Dana Scully ended up in the hospital after she collapsed at the hearing into Mulder's death. Mulder first met Bill Jr. when he and his mother came to visit Scully. Bill asked Mulder to leave the work out of Scully's illness, to "let her

Bill became increasingly worried about his sister when she stayed with him and his wife Tara one Christmas. Dana received a strange phone call that lead to the house of a woman who had apparently committed suicide. Scully believed that the voice on the phone was Melissa's. She disappeared from the house, physically and emotionally, quite a bit over the Christmas holidays, and Bill became worried when she told him she believed Melissa rang from beyond the grave to get her to help Emily Sim, and that she believed Emily was Melissa's daughter. He sympathized with Scully's desire to have a child, because he and Tara had not been able to become parents for years until the time of the episode. He tried to convince her Melissa was not Emily's mother and showed her a photograph of Melissa obviously not pregnant about four weeks before Emily was born, to which Dana replied that there may have been surrogate motherhood and that the family did not know much about Melissa's whereabouts at that time. Bill and Mrs. Scully are shocked to learn that Dana Scully is in fact Emily's mother.^[111] They all attended Emily's funeral and were distraught for Scully.^[112]

Margaret "Maggie" Scully was portrayed by actor Sheila Larken. Margaret, or "Maggie" as she was called by her husband, Bill Scully, is the mother of Dana Scully and her three siblings: William "Bill" Scully, Jr., Melissa Scully and Charles Scully.^[23][113] Margaret was widowed early in the series, since her husband died of a massive heart attack.^[113] She may have a bit of psychic intuition – when Dana is kidnapped, Margaret confessed to Mulder that she had had a premonition about Dana, but was afraid to tell her skeptical daughter.^{[105][23][114]} In 2016, Margaret suffered a heart attack and went into a coma. Dana revealed that Margaret's advance healthcare directive allowed life support to be applied, however she was unaware that Margaret had revoked it and replaced it with a DNR a year earlier. After hearing Charles Scully's voice on the phone, Margaret briefly awoke from her coma before passing away, with Mulder and Dana by her side. Her last words to Mulder were "My son is named William, too".^[115]

Melissa "Missy" Scully was portrayed by

Dana eventually detained and arrested Cardinal during his assassination attempt on Walter Skinner while Skinner was being transported in an ambulance. Upon being questioned by Dana, Cardinal denied involvement in Melissa's death, implicating Krycek as her killer.^[96] However, Cardinal was in fact the trigger man.^[43] Cardinal later died in his cell, his death made to look like a suicide.^[96] Some time after her death, Scully began to receive mysterious phone calls from someone sounding mysteriously like Melissa. After discovering Emily Sim, Scully is at first under the impression that the young girl is in fact Melissa's daughter, before discovering that she is in fact the child's mother.^[111]

The Second Elder is portrayed by

Smith resurfaced in 2001 after being discovered by Monica Reyes. In Montana, he was found amongst a cult based on the belief that the apocalypse was near and would be brought about by aliens. He helped the cult's leader, Absalom, heal returned abductees. Scully realized he was involved after observing the remarkable healing of the abductees and the fact that someone appeared to change their appearance on a security video. Upon the mysterious return of Mulder, Scully sought out Smith to heal him, but Smith was abducted by the UFO that appeared over the camp.^[102]

Cassandra Anne Spender is portrayed by

Toothpick Man is portrayed by New Zealand actor Alan Dale.^[117] His role in the series was the leader of the New Syndicate. During the ninth season he worked within the FBI.^[2] He is noted for consistently fiddling a toothpick. Although he appeared human, he was exposed to be an alien by Gibson Praise in the final episode (albeit the viewing audience was earlier shown the characteristic alien 'super-soldier' bumps on the back of his neck at the end of the season nine episode "Providence").^[2][3]

Toothpick Man was created to replace

Jackson Van De Kamp (born William Scully III) is the son of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully and Fox Mulder as well the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Van De Kamp. He was born in the eighth-season finale, "Existence". Throughout the last two seasons of the series William was encompassed by an aura of mystique, ranging from his origin to the apparent supernatural abilities he possessed.

At some point, Scully made the decision to have a child through

Eugene Victor Tooms is portrayed by Doug Hutchison. Tooms is an immortal genetic mutant who subsists entirely off of human livers and able to elongate and contort his body to inhuman degrees, hibernating for 30 years between his feeding periods. Tooms frequently steals personal items from his victims, keeping them as trophies.^[121]

During his latest feeding period in 1993, Tooms is pursued by Mulder and Scully. Tooms decides on Scully as his final victim and breaks into her home in an attempt to murder her, only for Mulder to arrive. The two are able to incapacitate Tooms and he is subsequently incarcerated in a sanitarium.^[121] Tooms is later released and resumes his job as a dog catcher while staying at a halfway house. Tooms's efforts to feed on another victim are hampered by Mulder's vigilance. After framing Mulder for assaulting him and filing a restraining order against him, Tooms murders and feeds on his psychologist. Mulder and Scully track Tooms down to beneath a mall built over his apartment complex and previous lair. After a confrontation with Mulder in his newfound home, Tooms is trapped beneath an escalator and crushed to death when it is activated.^[89]