Born Again (The X-Files) - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

"Born Again" premiered on the Fox network on April 22, 1994, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on February 23, 1995. This episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.2, with a 14 share, meaning that in the US, roughly 8.2 percent of all television-equipped households, and 14 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 7.7 million households.

Writer Howard Gordon has expressed his disappointment with the episode, feeling that it was too similar to his earlier work on the episode "Shadows", and finding that it was "not done particularly interestingly". Series creator Chris Carter also felt that "Born Again" was "just not one of favourites", adding that he "thought the direction was a little sloppy, but it's one of those episodes that plays a little closer to reality and I like that about it".

In a retrospective of the first season in Entertainment Weekly, "Born Again" was rated a B−, with the episode being described as "engaging but ultimately just serviceable", although Andrea Libman's casting as Michelle was called "inspired". Zack Handlen, writing for The A.V. Club, felt negatively towards the episode, feeling that its plot was too reminiscent of earlier episodes, such as "Eve" or "Shadows". However, he found the scene in which an image is found in the static of a video recording to have been a highlight, calling it "a cool combination of hard science and the inexplicable". Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, was favourable towards the episode, again praising the performance of Libman as Michelle. He also drew comparisons to "Shadows", but felt that "Born Again" was the better episode of the two.