This episode is the season finale and represents the beginning of a new alien mythology arc. A strange artifact is discovered with mysterious writing that leads to the theory that aliens brought life to earth.
In some respects, this episode is reminiscent of “Anasazi” though not as good. Hosteen even makes a brief appearance. Having said that, it was still a good episode, it’s just that there were a few things that bothered me. In this episode, Mulder seems to become strangely affected and even debilitated by a rubbing of the object. This all seemed just a little too contrived and Mulder not being quite himself was more a hindrance to the episode than a help. It was still a solid episode and a hopeful start to a new arc in the mythology.
I would give this episode 4/5 stars. Not as good as the best in the mythology arc but still pretty solid and of course, being the season finale you are left hanging.