Zero Sum (The X-Files) - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

"Zero Sum" premiered on the Fox network on April 27, 1997, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on February 11, 1998. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.7 with a 17 share, meaning that roughly 11.7 percent of all television-equipped households, and 17 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. A total of 18.6 million viewers watched this episode during its original airing.

The episode has received mixed to positive responses from critics. Zack Handlen, writing for The A.V. Club, rated the episode an A, calling it "utterly bad-ass". Handlen felt that the episode effectively toyed with the series' usual narrative structure, making lead character Fox Mulder seem "nearly as much of an antagonist" as The Smoking Man; Handlen also felt that "Zero Sum" gave significant insight into the character of Walter Skinner. Paula Vitaris, writing for Cinefantastique, rated "Zero Sum" one-and-a-half stars out of four, noting that its "pacing and tone are off". Vitaris felt that "Duchovny and Pileggi give good performances", despite Pileggi seeming "unintentionally comic" at times; though she noted that "an episode without Scully feels pretty empty". 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 four stars out of five, noting that "Pileggi looks much more comfortable here than he did in last year's showcase ". Shearman and Pearson felt that the episode's attempts to tie into the wider storylines—the appearance of Marita Covarrubias in particular—are where it "really stumbles"; noting that its success lies "in the shock value of seeing a deliberately familiar story through the fractured view of another character".