Three Words (The X-Files)

"Three Words"
The X-Files episode
The titular "Three Words": Fight the Future. The phrase is an important recurring motif in The X-Files universe and was the subtitle for the 1998 film.
Episode no.	Season 8 Episode 16
Directed by	Tony Wharmby
Written by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Production code	8ABX18
Original air date	April 8, 2001
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Adam Baldwin as Knowle Rohrer Joe Basile as Lead White House Guard Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Gary Bristow as Howard Salt Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Dwight Hicks as Armed Prison Guard Nelson Mashita as Dr. Lim JC Murad as FBI Guard On Intercom James Pickens, Jr. as Deputy Director Alvin Kersh Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Walter Skinner Ric Sarabia as Marion Judson Scott as Absalom
Episode chronology
← Previous "Deadalive" Next → "Empedocles"
List of The X-Files episodes

"Three Words" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season (and the 177th episode overall) of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It first aired in the United States and Canada on April 8, 2001, on Fox. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Tony Wharmby. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology and earned a Nielsen rating of 7.6 and was viewed by 7.77 million households, receiving mixed to positive reviews from television critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and John Doggett (Robert Patrick) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder secretly conducts his own investigation after a man is gunned down on the White House lawn attempting to inform the President of a planned alien invasion. However, he is soon in over his head as he tries to expose further evidence of colonization.

The episode was written as a way to signal Mulder's exit from the FBI. The producers and writers felt that, if Mulder's character was given a clean exit, the show could more easily focus on the characters of John Doggett and Monica Reyes in the following season. Former series star and recurring actor David Duchovny later declared that he had been happy to see his character depart in this manner.