Herrenvolk (The X-Files)

"Herrenvolk"
The X-Files episode
X naming Fox Mulder's next informant. The death of X was called "shocking" by one reviewer.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 1
Directed by	R. W. Goodwin
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	4X01
Original air date	October 4, 1996
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner William B. Davis as The Smoking Man Roy Thinnes as Jeremiah Smith Brian Thompson as Alien bounty hunter Steven Williams as X Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias Rebecca Toolan as Teena Mulder Vanessa Morley as Samantha Mulder Don S. Williams as First Elder Morris Panych as Gray-Haired Man Brendan Beiser as Pendrell Michael David Sims as Senior Agent Ken Camroux as Second Senior Agent Casey Murphy as Young Blond Boy Sean Murphy as Young Blond Boy Garvin Cross as Repairman Liza Huget as Nurse
Episode chronology
← Previous "Talitha Cumi" Next → "Home"
List of season 4 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Herrenvolk" is the fourth season premiere of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on October 4, 1996. It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Herrenvolk" featured guest appearances by Roy Thinnes and Brian Thompson, and introduced Laurie Holden as recurring character Marita Covarrubias. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Herrenvolk" earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.2, being watched by 21.11 million people in its initial broadcast.

FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is shown more evidence of his sister's abduction by the mysterious Jeremiah Smith (Thinnes) and makes a desperate attempt to rescue her, whilst being pursued by the Alien Bounty Hunter. Mulder's informant X is found out by those he has betrayed—with fatal consequences. "Herrenvolk" is the second part of a two-part episode, continuing the plot from the third season finale, "Talitha Cumi".

"Herrenvolk" saw the death of Steven Williams' character X, and featured the first appearance of Mulder's sister Samantha, a character described by Carter as the "lifeblood" of the series, since the second season premiere, "Little Green Men". The episode featured scenes filmed using swarms of bees, which caused problems due to the difficulty of taming and directing the animals. Other special effects in the episode were achieved through motion control photography.