Via Negativa

"Via Negativa" is the seventh episode of the eighth season and the 168th episode of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on December 17, 2000, on Fox and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom. It was written by executive producer Frank Spotnitz and directed by Tony Wharmby. It is a Monster-of-the-Week episode, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.3 and was viewed by 12.37 million viewers. It was generally well received by television critics, with many positively commenting on the "eerie" atmosphere of the dream sequences; one critic referred to it as a "superb X-Files episode." The series centers on FBI special agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and her new partner John Doggett (Robert Patrick)—following the alien abduction of her former partner, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)—who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Scully takes time off to deal with the early stages of her pregnancy, and Doggett and Walter Skinner attempt to avert the mysterious murder spree of a religious cult leader who kills his victims in their sleep. Eventually, the cult leader's essence of evil possesses Doggett, who is urged to murder Scully while he sleeps. Spotnitz was inspired to write the episode after being intrigued by the mental image of a tube of toothpaste that, when opened, oozed blood. Because Gillian Anderson was not available for most of filming, the recurring characters of Walter Skinner and The Lone Gunmen were brought in. The episode's title, "Via Negativa"—which means "Negative Way" in Latin—is a theology that attempts to describe God by characterizing what God is not. Plot In Pittsburgh, two FBI agents, Angus Stedman (Lawrence LeJohn) and James Leeds (Kevin McClatchy), are observing a house when Leeds falls asleep. When he awakes, he discovers that the front door of the house is open. The two agents investigate and stumble upon a room filled with dead bodies. Suddenly, a man wielding an axe and possessing a third eye murders both agents with a blow to the head.