How An X-Files Episode Created TV’s Scariest Villain

Written by Chris Snellgrove | Published 6 seconds ago

Everyone (even those who’ve never watched the show) knows that’s the big bad X-Files He is the Cigarette Smoking Man, a shady nicotine villain played by William B. Davis. This character has been on the show since the pilot episode, so many assume he was always meant to be Mulder and Scully’s archenemy. But in a twist worthy of this conspiracy-obsessed show, Davis was originally set to be an unstated threat, and wasn’t cemented as the show’s main villain until the excellent second season episode “One Breath.”

Let’s start from the beginning; In this case, the first episode of X-Files. William B. Davis appears in this episode but never says anything. In the scenes where Scully meets with her FBI bosses, the Cigarette Smoking Man lurks in the background, forcing the audience to wonder what this creepy man’s deal is.

Evil finds its voice

The character did not speak until the first season episode “Tooms”, which effectively cemented his identity as a CSM. This is important because Davis previously appeared as a CIA agent in “Young At Heart,” making it seem as if the actor was just an extra to be glorified!

For this reason, the director of the second season episode “One Breath” (Robert Goodwin) was concerned that the script gave William P. Davis more to do. X-Files than he had done before. Others on the production team shared his concerns that the actor would not be up to the task, and episode writer Glen Morgan had to convince the director that Davis (who was then a drama teacher) knew how to give a good performance. This was enough to calm Goodwin, who was ultimately impressed by the actor’s performance.

The truth is here

But why, specifically, was Goodwin so concerned about whether Davis had the acting chops in this episode? The short answer is that “One Breath” established Cigarette Smoking Man as the series’ ultimate villain, someone willing and able to manipulate the lives of our favorite FBI agents whenever he wanted to. In this episode, Mulder deduces that the CSM was behind Scully’s recent kidnapping and is doubly angry with him because she is currently in a comatose state; After convincing Deputy Director Skinner to give him the man’s address, Mulder ambushes the Cigarette Smoking Man in his home.

Despite being held at gunpoint, the Cigarette Smoking Man is completely at ease, and informs his would-be killer that he loves Mulder and Scully, which is the only reason Scully returned to Mulder after her previous kidnapping. Even when he admits that he’s starting to respect Mulder, CSM claims that the other man won’t pull the trigger because it would mean killing the only man who knows the truth. He claims that’s why he always wins, and a defeated Mulder ends up leaving the house, no closer to saving Scully or learning anything about who took her.

Mulder’s dark reflection

this X-Files The scene is relatively short, but it positions the Cigarette Smoking Man as the ultimate villain: he knows the elusive truth that Mulder is always searching for and can kill him and Scully when the mood strikes him. To make matters worse, he also implies that the only reason those two annoying FBI agents aren’t dead is because he loves them. In this way, Mulder learns that his fate is in the hands of a ruthless killer who begins to become his number one fan!

As director Robert Goodwin later pointed out, William B. Davis does just that surprising The action is in this scene, where the cigarette-smoking man serves as a mirror image of Mulder himself. He also “wants to believe” and has dedicated his life to a cause he believes is just, and is willing to kill to protect it. Davis’ performance gives the character a steely menace and even a brief hint of vulnerability, emphasizing him as a very human threat who is nonetheless more dangerous than all the aliens and monsters on the show combined.

From now on, the cigarette smoking man will appear more and more X-Files Episodes, including the series finale, the first film, and even the show’s controversial revival. This would never have happened if William B. Davis hadn’t demonstrated his ability to bring television’s most terrifying villains to life. In this sense, he owes his fame and the popularity of his character to “One Breath”, a forgotten tale that is secretly considered one of the most important episodes in… X-Files date.