I think I laughed more than I was supposed to at this episode. I wasn't a fan of the minimal dialogue approach and the format didn't work for me as an X-Files episode. It felt like it was trying very hard to be relevant and like Black Mirror. But unfortunately, I found it rather boring because of all of this.
This episode could have been a okay technological-thriller if it hadn't been for Mulder saying "we have to be better teachers". That just overdid it - the point was made perfectly clear without that dumb self-evident line. And then the end scene at the diner that really hammered home the message about relying on technology too much and that we have to stop staring at our phones and have Real Human Interactions was another moment that I couldn't take seriously. It's also a sentiment that's become such a joke, I have to roll my eyes when it's presented so wholeheartedly. Black Mirror has done it better.
Generally, this was a very one-note, surface level look at technology in culture. On top of that, It really did not feel like an episode of The X-Files. And while I'm sure it's important for the writers to experiment and try to break out of the expected formula, this episode went a little too far and missed the mark as a result.
