One Son

"One Son"
The X-Files episode
A Syndicate surgeon is revealed to actually be a faceless rebel. Episode co-writer Frank Spotnitz cited this visual effect as one that did not please him.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 12
Directed by	Rob Bowman
Written by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Production code	6ABX12
Original air date	February 14, 1999
Running time	45 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner James Pickens, Jr. as Alvin Kersh Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender Mimi Rogers as Diana Fowley William B. Davis as The Smoking Man Veronica Cartwright as Cassandra Spender Peter Donat as William Mulder Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Don S. Williams as First Elder John Moore as Third Elder Al Ruscio as Fourth Elder Frank Ertl as Fifth Elder Scott Williamson as CDC Leader Jo Black-Jacob as Nurse Mark Bramhall as Surgical Team Member
Episode chronology
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List of The X-Files episodes

"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, 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 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.