on Google Preferred Source Google News Link copied to clipboard By Brian VanHooker Published Sep 17, 2026, 12:02 AM EDT Analysis He debuts in the show’s second episode
Image: 20th Century Television Add Us Add on Google Preferred Source Google News Summary Generate a summary of this story Jump links Jump Links “Deep Throat” Deep Throat on The X-Files Deep Throat's legacy Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap The Cigarette Smoking Man came about unexpectedly. In the first episode of The X-Files , we see the pivotal scene where FBI Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is reassigned to the FBI’s paranormal cases unit — nicknamed “the X-Files” — to assist Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder has seemingly become obsessed with these cases, and the FBI seems to be indirectly assigning Scully to discredit his work.
The scene takes place in the office of FBI Division Chief Scott Blevins (Charles Cioffi) and it contains four characters: Blevins, Scully, another man who asks her questions along with Blevins (Ken Camroux), and a silent man who only stands in the corner, puffing away on a cigarette.
As William B. Davis, who played the Cigarette Smoking Man, has explained , he was merely cast in a non-speaking part for the pilot episode without any hint of what the character would become. But something about his steely look made the writers on The X-Files want to bring him back again and again. In time, the Cigarette Smoking Man became one of the most intriguing, important, long-running characters in the entire series.
By contrast, in the second episode of The X-Files , another mysterious figure was introduced that was intended to be a major recurring character in the series. And while he didn’t last as long in the show as the Cigarette Smoking Man, he certainly made an impact that fans still remember.
Image: 20th Century Television In the second episode of The X-Files , named “Deep Throat,” Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearance of an Air Force pilot in Utah, which comes after a string of similar disappearances with servicemen stationed at the same Air Force base. At the beginning of the episode, Mulder briefs Scully on the case in a crowded DC bar, fearing that someone at FBI headquarters might try to listen in. When Mulder goes to the bar’s bathroom, he is met by a mysterious man (Jerry Hardin) in a suit who warns him not to investigate this case. “The military will not tolerate an FBI investigation,” he cautions Mulder, before explaining that he can be of use to Mulder in the future.
Mulder ignores the advice and investigates the case anyway. Once he and Scully are in Utah, they discover that Air Force pilots are being used to test out aircraft built with alien technology. Mulder even sees an experimental, triangular craft before he is apprehended by servicemen and gets his memory wiped.
After that, Mulder and Scully abandon the case, and the same man from the bar bathroom approaches Mulder again while he is running on a track in a DC park. Mulder tells him that he saw something, but that it was erased from his mind. The man reiterates his offer to aid Mulder on the X-Files. “I can provide you with information, but only so long as it's in my best interest to do so,” the man says. Mulder asks, “What is your interest?” and the man simply replies,…