Reception
"Grotesque" premiered on the Fox network in the United States on February 2, 1996. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.6, with a 18 share, meaning that roughly 11.6 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. This totaled 18.32 million viewers. The episode had the third highest ratings of the third season. Cinematographer John Bartley received an Emmy nomination for his work on this episode.
The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Reviewer Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode a A− and noted that while the episode is "ponderous and pretentious", this aspect of the entry turns it into "a benefit". VanDerWerff wrote, "here's the thing: 'Grotesque' is absolutely self-serious, just as much as I feared it would be. It also, unquestionably, works. The reason it works is very simple: It's pretty scary". Critical Myth's John Keegan gave the episode a largely positive review, awarding it an 8 out of 10. He noted, "Overall, this is a solid effort by Howard Gordon. It’s good to see some of the methods that earned Mulder his nickname, and the underlying dynamic between Mulder and Scully is very well played. The central premise is vague enough to fall within the confines of the unusual, if not necessarily paranormal, and the supporting cinematography and score rise to the occasion." Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode five stars out of five, and praised the themes of the episode, writing that, "Because 'Grotesque' certainly surprises, and shocks, and even appals —this is the closest The X-Files ever gets to staring into the face of insanity." Furthermore, Shearman and Pearson praised Duchovny's acting, calling it "his best performance yet seen in the series". Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a positive review and awarded it three-and-a-half stars out of four. She referred to the episode as "one of the darkest ever" and called it "a triumph for director Manners, cinematographer Bartley, and The X-Files art department." Vitaris, however, was critical of the episode's closing monologue, noting that " spells out what the camera is saying a hundred times more effectively with its finale shot of a pairing of a gargoyle."
Not all reviews were positive. Author Phil Farrand was critical of the episode, rating it his fourth least favorite episode of the first four seasons in his book The Nitpickers Guide to the X-Files. Entertainment Weekly gave "Grotesque" a D, labeling it as "ponderous, oblique, and featuring one of Mulder's always annoying, easy-way-out soliloquy summations".
Read more about this topic: Grotesque (The X-Files)
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