The new episodes of The X-Files are not airing in their original order, the show's creator revealed this week.
According to TV Line, creator Chris Carter said that episodes of the new season have been shuffled around. That took effect this past week, as the episode that aired on Monday was actually intended to be the fifth episode. Episode 4 was originally the second episode, and episode 5 was originally the fourth episode.
This change apparently wasn't due to network interference, though, but rather it was done for storytelling purposes.
“Because we have a story arc that runs through the middle of the series…we were concerned that, coming right off a mythology episode [and] going right into a standalone episode, people would say, ‘What’s happened?’” he said. “So, it actually worked out."
Once this decision to reorder the episodes was made, Carter said he had to cut out some dialogue from episode 2 to make it fit within the continuity. Next week's outing will be the first standalone adventure of the new revival: "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster." Carter explained that we should expect a mix of stories that are thrilling, scary, emotional and comedic throughout the season.
The X-Files revival has been doing quite well for Fox so far, taking in 13.5 million viewers on Sunday night and 9.7 million on Monday night, as we previously reported. Carter has said that if the ratings are solid, another season is possible.