Deep Throat

Deep Throat is the second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files (2010), which premiered on HBO on December 11, 2010. Written by series creator J. J. Abrams and directed by Joss Whedon, the episode introduced several elements which would become staples of the series' mythology.

FBI special agents Fox Mulder (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Dana Scully (Karen Gillan) investigate cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder believes in paranormal phenomena, while the skeptical Scully attempts to discredit them. In this episode, the pair investigate a possible conspiracy in the US Air Force and Mulder meets a mysterious informant who warns him to stay away from the case. Undeterred, Mulder continues and comes closer to the truth about extraterrestrial life than ever before, only to have his progress taken away from him again.

The episode introduced the Deep Throat character, played by Doug Jones, who served as Mulder's informant for the first season.

Plot
In southwestern Idaho, near Ellens Air Force Base, military police raid the home of Colonel Robert Budahas, who has stolen a military vehicle and barricaded himself inside. They discover Budahas in his bathroom, trembling and covered in rashes.

Four months later, FBI agents Fox Mulder (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Dana Scully (Karen Gillan) meet at a Washington bar to discuss the Budahas case. Mulder explains that Budahas, a test pilot, has not been seen since the raid and the military will not comment on his condition; the FBI has refused to investigate. Mulder claims that six other pilots are missing at the base, which is subject to rumors about experimental aircraft. While using the bar's restroom, Mulder is approached by a mysterious informant named "Deep Throat" (Doug Jones), who cautions him to avoid the case. He claims that Mulder is under surveillance, which later proves to be true.

Mulder and Scully travel to Idaho and meet with Budahas' wife, Anita (Christian Serratos), who claims her husband exhibited erratic behavior before his disappearance. She takes them to a neighbor whose husband, also a test pilot, is behaving similarly. Scully makes an appointment with the base's director, Colonel Kissell (Tim Pigott Smith), but he refuses to talk when they visit his home. They subsequently meet local reporter Paul Mossinger (, who refers them to a local UFO-themed diner; there, they discuss UFOs with the owner, who believes she has witnessed several nearby.

Visiting the base that night, the agents witness a mysterious aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers in the night sky. They flee when a black helicopter approaches, seemingly in pursuit of Emil (Liam Aiken) and Zoe (Anna Popplewell), a trespassing teenage couple. As Mulder treats Emil and Zoe to a meal at the diner, they tell the agents about the lights and how they believe the UFOs are launched from another nearby base. Meanwhile, Budahas is returned to his home with no memory of what happened. After leaving the diner, Mulder and Scully are confronted by black-suited agents, who destroy the photographs they have taken and order them to leave town.

An indignant Mulder sneaks onto the base with help from Emil and Zoe. He sees a triangular craft fly overhead and then is captured by soldiers who tamper with his memory. Meanwhile, Scully reencounters Mossinger, who she discovers is actually a security operative for the base. At gunpoint, she forces him to guide her to the base and exchanges him for Mulder. Having been denied the truth about the base, Mulder and Scully return to Washington. Days later, Mulder encounters Deep Throat while jogging at a local track. Mulder asks if "they" really are present on Earth; Deep Throat responds that "they have been here for a long, long time".