One Son
"One Son" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of the American science fiction television series "The X-Files". It first aired on February 14, 1999, on the Fox network. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. It explores the series' overarching mythology and concludes the Syndicate story arc.

The series centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who work on "X-Files"—cases deemed "unsolvable" by the FBI, usually dealing with the paranormal. Although Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, and the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work, the two have developed a deep friendship. While Cassandra Spender (Veronica Cartwright) reveals the truth about the alien conspiracy to take over the Earth to Mulder, that her ex-husband, the Smoking Man (William B. Davis), does the same to her son, Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens), in an effort to convince him to work with the Syndicate. Even as Mulder is deceived by Special Agent Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers), Scully stays true to the investigation, and the two find Spender to be a surprise ally. Meanwhile, the Syndicate reaches the climax of its plans, only to have its members systematically exterminated by the faceless alien rebels, who oppose colonization.

"One Son," a direct continuation of the previous episode "Two Fathers," was written, along with its predecessor, to eliminate the Syndicate and relaunch the series' mythology in a different direction. Both the opening of the episode and the climactic scene featuring the demise of the Syndicate were filmed at the Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in Tustin, California. Spotnitz was particularly critical of some of the visual effects used in the episode, expressing a desire to one day revisit and redo them. The episode has also been analyzed for its thematic examination of family. "One Son" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, and its first broadcast was watched by 16.57 million people. The episode was well received by critics, who applauded the way the Syndicate's story arc was wrapped up, although others felt the resolution was too simplistic.
Q3469051
sixth season
MEDIA
Q2744
The X-Files
MEDIA
Q166419
Fox
ORG
Q437267
Chris Carter
PER
Q2558191
Frank Spotnitz
PER
Q693016
Rob Bowman
PER
Q6949230
mythology
UNK
Q899021
Syndicate
MEDIA
Q8333
FBI
Concept
Q2738
Fox Mulder
MEDIA
Q484365
David Duchovny
PER
Q2741
Dana Scully
MEDIA
Q485298
Gillian Anderson
PER
Q2744
X-Files
MEDIA
Q13443130
Cassandra Spender
ORG
Q283872
Veronica Cartwright
PER
Q3683506
alien conspiracy to take over the Earth
Concept
Q1071461
the Smoking Man
MEDIA
Q444312
William B. Davis
PER
Q1109033
Jeffrey Spender
MEDIA
Q504028
Chris Owens
PER
Q13443130
Diana Fowley
ORG
Q233054
Mimi Rogers
PER
Q7858948
Two Fathers
MEDIA
Q6764074
Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
LOC
Q1618101
Nielsen
UNK
Q7093210
One Son
MEDIA
Q7093210
One Son
MEDIA
Q7093210
One Son
MEDIA
1999-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1999
DATE
+14^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
14
NUMBER
+10.1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
10.1
NUMBER
+16.57^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16.57
NUMBER
season
part of the series
screenwriter
screenwriter
director
part of the series
follows
part of the series
employer
performer
unmarried partner
characters
performer
characters
main subject
cast member
cast member
performer
child
performer
performer