What is the name of the episode where Mulder and Scully investigate a creature in the Alaskan wilderness? The episode is “Ice.” It is the eighth broadcast episode of The X-Files’ first season and originally aired on November 5, 1993. The story sends Mulder and Scully to a remote Alaskan research facility after a team of scientists is found dead.
At the base, the agents discover that an aggressive parasitic organism has been released from the ice. The creature can enter a host’s body and trigger violent, paranoid behavior, forcing the investigators to question whether their colleagues—or even each other—are infected. The tense premise makes “Ice” an early showcase for the show’s growing focus on mistrust and psychological pressure.
The episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by David Nutter. Its isolated Arctic setting and uncertain identity of the threat were strongly influenced by John W. Campbell’s novella Who Goes There? and the films The Thing from Another World and John Carpenter’s The Thing. “Ice” is often remembered as a landmark early bottle episode, even though its production ultimately exceeded its intended budget.