 Nina Sordi, writing for Den of Geek, ranked the episode as the eighth best in the series' run, calling it "just too unforgettable".Sordi added that "verbal sparring matches between Mulder and Scully's equally feisty sister, Melissa, created an interesting dynamic in the absence of Scully's perspective".Nick De Semlyen and James White of "Empire" named it the fifteenth "greatest" episode of the series, considering it a "testament to the X-Files writing staff's ability to turn the temporary loss of one of the stars into a compelling, suspenseful and worthwhile piece of the overall mythology".