"Lord of the Flies" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, and the show's 187th episode overall. It first premiered on the Fox network in the United States on December 16, 2001, and was subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. The episode was written by Thomas Schnauz, and was directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. "Lord of the Flies" earned a Nielsen household rating of 6.2, and was watched by 9.9 million viewers. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics, with many critical of the episode's reliance on humor.