Reception
"John Doe" first aired in the United States on January 13, 2002. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.0, meaning that it was seen by 5.0% of the nation's estimated households and was viewed by 5.28 million households. "John Doe" was the 66th most watched episode of television that aired during the week ending January 13. The episode later aired in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2002 on BBC Two.
The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics. Jessica Morgan from Television Without Pity gave the episode an A– rating. Juliette Harrisson of Den of Geek named "John Doe" the best stand-alone episode of season nine and called it "a refreshing change of pace". Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, gave the episode a glowing review and rated it five stars out of five. The two praised Gilligan's script and Patrick's performance, noting that the former "writes the script with a dirtiness that gives it real power" and the latter's acting was "extraordinary". Furthermore, Shearman and Pearson wrote that "'John Doe' shows that there's still a fresh take to be had on The X-Files after all". Meghan Deans of Tor.com applauded the episode and called it "a clear bright spot in a dark and dismal season, both in its script and in its shooting." She felt that the focus on Doggett was effectively done, and the the script focused on "strong character arcs", which worked towards its advantage. In the end, she concluded that the episode was "part of the X-Files, moreso than would an alien or a mutant" because it focused on the idea that "pain makes you, more pain makes you better, and living within that pain keeps you alive."
Read more about this topic: John Doe (The X-Files)
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