Table of contents:
- 9 “Did you really think you could summon the devil and tell him to act?”
- 8 “I saw Elvis in a potato chip once.”
- 7 “Scully, this is a classic case of demon embryo harvesting.”
- 6 “Sometimes the only rational answer to a mad scientist is madness.”
- 5 “So, of course, nobody believes me. I… I’m a nuisance to my bosses, a joke to my peers. They call me ‘nervous.'”
- 4 “If we fail to expect the unexpected or expect the unexpected in a world of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be easily programmed, categorized, or denoted.”
- 3 “If the coincidence is a coincidence, why does it seem so contrived?”
- 2 “You know, they say when you talk to God it’s prayer, but when God talks to you, it’s schizophrenia.”
- 1 “Sorry, no one here but more junk than the FBI.”
From 1993 to 2002, fans religiously followed Chris Carter’s ongoing sci-fi drama The X-Files To find out what David Duchovny’s character, Agent Fox Mulder might say next. Often thoughtful as he was sarcastic, Mulder was a man who had been through it and seen it all. Despite eyewitness accounts, there were few who actually believed him. This led him to be incredibly introspective and bitter, navigating the larger mysteries of both the normal world and the galaxy.
Beginning his career in the FBI as a criminal profiler, he soon found that his position within the government could be used to delve deeper into the hidden secrets of his troubling past, but the mysteries didn’t stop there. The popularity of the series’ terrifying and unexplainable material resonated with audiences in a way they hadn’t before, and much of that had to do with the balance between the show’s two main protagonists: Agent Mulder and his partner, Dana Scully. At opposite ends of the scale between fantasy and science, the unlikely duo is paired up by high-ranking officials in hopes that, as a doctor, Scully can provide scientific thinking for Mulder’s often bizarre work and theories about things like aliens, ghosts, and ghosts. cryptides.
Over the years, Agent Mulder left The X-Files Viewers who have a lot to think about. Some of his profound statements still resonate today, along with some of his hilarious observations about the nature of the world around him. Let’s take a look at nine of the most in-depth and interesting Fox Mulder quotes, ranked.
9 “Did you really think you could summon the devil and tell him to act?”
After the Satanic Panic of the 1980s breaks out, Agents Mulder and Scully investigate Milford Haven, New Hampshire, after the mutilated body of a teenager is found in the woods in Season 2, Episode 14, “Die Hand Die Verletzt.” After discovering the murder committed during a ritual sacrifice, they reveal the dark nature of the city’s occult Satanic practices, but even Mulder is horrified by their behavior, stating that the Church of Satan has abandoned acts of torture and murder.
With Satan running rampant all over Milford Haven, Mulder’s observation that evil is not a game one can simply play with and then throw away when bored is as cynical as it is true. There are consequences to every action, and even the devil will have his due when all is said and done.
8 “I saw Elvis in a potato chip once.”
In Season 8, Episode 17, “Empedocles”, Agent Monica Reyes asks Fox Mulder to help her investigate a killer she believes may be responsible for the death of Agent Doggett’s son. While pushing Agent Doggett and Mulder to see what relationship she’s drawing, she suggests it might be a thread of evil, to which Mulder replies, “I saw Elvis in a potato chip once.”
This scathing response does little to convince Doggett to listen to Reyes, or him for that matter. This is classic Mulder, who hides behind equivocation and sarcasm because he often feels ashamed of his beliefs and experiences.
7 “Scully, this is a classic case of demon embryo harvesting.”
Sometimes the things Mulder says come across on the other side of the absurd, as in Season 6, Episode 7, “Terms of Endearment.” When she is called to investigate a mysterious miscarriage, during which an expectant mother dreams that a demon has come and snatched her baby from her womb. As they dig into the facts regarding the woman’s husband, Wayne (Bruce Campbell), Mulder deduces that he is a demon who only wants to have a normal child and terminate pregnancies that reveal abnormalities.
There’s nothing classic about demons harvesting a fetus, as far as Scully is concerned, but when they realize Wayne has a pregnant second wife as well, the truth comes to the fore. It was really a classic case of harvesting a demonic fetus after all.
6 “Sometimes the only rational answer to a mad scientist is madness.”
Mulder deduces that the phantom soldier responsible for Lt. Col. Stans’ suffering appeared through astral projection in Season 3, Episode 7, “The Walk”. When he tells Scully that maybe the ghost needed something physical, like a message, to psychically connect him to the place where he was astrologically projecting himself, she tells him that’s crazy.
Despite everything she’s seen as his partner by Season 3, it probably isn’t as crazy as it might sound to an average, everyday person, but he’s still pretty cool out there. Frighteningly enough, the evidence Mulder presented to prove his theory included a death threat in a disguised voicemail and traces of radiation. A mad scientist is, in fact, Agent Mulder.
5 “So, of course, nobody believes me. I… I’m a nuisance to my bosses, a joke to my peers. They call me ‘nervous.'”
1998 movie The X-Files: Fight the Future Really put the primary plot arc of the entire series front and center. Of course, by this point, fans already knew that the only truly intimidating thing about Mulder was how accurate his facts usually are. However, the above response is not exactly the kind of conversation one would like to have while making small talk at a pub. Lesson 1: Be careful when asking someone what they do for a living while at the bar.
Not only may the answer be a little surprising, but it may completely deter the questioner from any further conversation. The saddest part about Fox Mulder’s sheer self-awareness is how true he is, and how no matter how loud he yells, the powers that be will do everything they can to ensure that no one hears the warnings.
4 “If we fail to expect the unexpected or expect the unexpected in a world of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be easily programmed, categorized, or denoted.”
This Mulder quote is another gem from The X-Files: Fight the Future It includes pretty much everything it stands for. Everything he has encountered since the beginning of the series falls under unexpected and unexpected labels, yet he often finds himself at the mercy of those things because of the people around him. The people at the top of the FBI work tirelessly against him, especially every time he gets closer to exposing the truth.
His partner will often use reason and logic to convince him that there are logical answers to explain the unexplained. Mulder walks into almost every situation expecting the unexpected and expecting the unexpected, even when it comes to Scully. Deep down, a part of him expects her to believe him one day, even though it’s the most unexpected thing in the world, given her nature.
3 “If the coincidence is a coincidence, why does it seem so contrived?”
One of the best ready-made quotes from Season 3, Episode 4, “Clyde Brockman’s Final Relief,” Mulder and Scully find themselves face-to-face with Clyde Brockman (Peter Boyd) who discovers the dead body of palm reader Madame Zelma in the dumpster outside his apartment. The nature of the existence of psychic phenomena is the nature of Mulder and Scully’s discussion throughout the episode, which leads Mulder to ask the infamous question about coincidences. Scully tells him to ask the psycho-philosopher before leaving, but she can’t stop herself from asking Brockmann questions about her death while playing cards with him.
Coincidence is still a topic of social debate, with some believing that coincidences are random coincidences, while others find signs within them that indicate a higher power or nature constructed them for a reason. Mulder clearly falls into the latter category. Unfortunately, it is doubtful he will ever get answers as to how and why.
2 “You know, they say when you talk to God it’s prayer, but when God talks to you, it’s schizophrenia.”
Religion has been a strange point of contention between Mulder and Scully, who was raised Catholic, since the founding of their partnership. Her belief in God was a deep part of her, though it conflicted with her strict belief in science. In Season 5, Episode 17, “All Souls,” she is asked to help investigate a mysterious case by Father Mackey regarding the death of a sixteen-year-old disabled girl who got out of her wheelchair in the middle of the night and walked in the rain only to have her eyes burned with a character Mysterious.
When the couple began to investigate, they discovered that she was one of the quadruplets, and that her sisters were in danger. While Father Gregory interrogates a possible suspect about his involvement, Mulder mocks his religion with a quote from Hungarian psychiatrist Thomas Zaz, but the father’s faith is unwavering. One of the mysteries about Mulder is how easily he believes in things like cryptids, aliens, and psychic phenomena, but he struggles mightily with the concept of belief.
1 “Sorry, no one here but more junk than the FBI.”
Over the years, television has given fans plenty of memorable character introductions, but never more so than when Scully first met Mulder. Scully was instructed by her superiors to find scientific explanations for his bizarre pregnancies known as the X-Files, and he was given all kinds of warnings about Spooky Mulder before they met.
As the FBI’s most unlikable, Mulder presented himself perfectly from his desk, which was hidden in the basement in the hopes that it would eventually be forgotten. Totally willing to play devil’s advocate in his outlandish theories and proposals, fans could tell right away that an immortal partnership was in the works in that basement. It isn’t long before Scully also finds herself among the FBI’s most unlikable.
