 Club", Zack Handlen rated the episode an A, noting that it was ""X-Files" in top form".He praised how the character of Samantha Mulder was presented, saying that "In the seasons to come, we end up with enough Samantha's to fill a clown-car, but here, the reveal is shocking, effective, and unsettling"; and also felt that the episode's flashforward cold open was particularly well-handled.Michelle Bush, in her book "Myth-X", wrote that "Colony" presents a moral dilemma for the characters, noting that "on the surface Mulder's quest appears righteous, however, the results of his quest would suggest otherwise", and adding "generally the ideology that focuses on a single life's (be that human or alien) importance is successful, whereas Mulder's ideology of finding the truth at all costs is not".