Ryan Reynolds' Forgotten X-Files Episode is Much Darker Than Fans Remember

Ryan Reynolds is best known for playing wise-cracking heroes and lovable troublemakers. Whether he's starring as Deadpool, leading action-comedies like Free Guy, or entertaining his fans online, Reynolds has built a reputation as a charismatic and humorous star, which is exactly why many fans often forget that he once appeared in a very dark episode of The X-Files.

Long before becoming a household name, Reynolds appeared in The X-Files Season 3, which aired 30 years ago in 1996. Fox's iconic sci-fi show centers on Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who are tasked with investigating the titular paranormal cases. While Mulder and Scully's will-they-won't-they arc is a slowburn that runs throughout the series, they're up against new threats every week. In one particularly dark episode, Reynolds' character suffers a horrific fate.

"Syzygy" is An Uncomfortable X-Files Episode

Reynolds' Jay "Boom" DeBoom Has a Dark Storyline

"Syzygy" kicks off when two teenage girls become the victim of a horrific crime that leaves another student dead, which leads some residents to believe it was the doing of a local Satanic cult. As highschoolers in the small town of Comity grieve their lost friend, Ryan Reynolds' Jay "Boom" DeBoom offers a ride home to his friends Margi and Terri. The girls talk to him about the cult, prompt him to turn off the road, and get him alone, and the very next scene shows Boom hanging from a cliff. Meanwhile, Margi and Terri laugh wickedly.

Mulder and Scully spend much of "Syzygy" bickering, but as they spend time in Comity, multiple murders and bizarre crimes begin taking place. As their investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that something very strange is afoot. The Satanic cult is more of a red herring, and instead, a rare planetary alignment is influencing Comity's residents, amplifying their negative emotions and encouraging increasingly irrational behavior. While teenagers become jealous and aggressive, adults become suspicious and hostile, and relationships throughout the community begin to deteriorate. Rather than centering on a single monster or villain, "Syzygy" presents an entire town's descent into paranoia and chaos. Thanks to the astrologist Madame Zirinka, Mulder and Scully eventually learn that Terri and Margi are influenced by an abundance of cosmic energy thanks to the planetary alignment, which is causing their killing spree.

Reynolds' storyline in this X-Files episode might only be minor, but his appearance is key in helping "Syzygy" become a surprisingly bleak episode. Much of the Season 3 installment focuses on how quickly trust dissolves, the dangers of paranoia, and how people treat each other when their emotions are pushed to extremes. The atmosphere becomes even more unsettling when the alignment begins affecting Mulder and Scully. They're usually the emotional anchor of The X-Files, but their disagreements escalate to the point where even they struggle to distinguish rational thinking from impulsive reactions. For longtime viewers, watching their typically stable partnership unravel is really quite uncomfortable and much darker than fans might remember.

It's a Surprisingly Bleak Role For Ryan Reynolds

"Syzygy" doesn't showcase the comedic timing or playful sarcasm that would eventually define the actor's career. Instead, it places Reynolds in a story about paranoia, violence, and the dark side of human behavior, and that disconnect is exactly what makes the X-Files episode such an interesting rediscovery for longtime fans. The Deadpool actor may only appear briefly, but the episode surrounding him is one of the more cynical and psychologically uncomfortable entries in The X-Files' early seasons.

While Mulder and Scully typically deal with a traditional monster or alien encounter, "Syzygy"'s threat comes from ordinary people who have lost control of themselves. Considering the episode aired so long ago, many fans may have forgotten about Reynolds' role in The X-Files, but if you want to see a dark, dramatic turn from the actor in a bleak storyline with an abrupt and tragic end, it's a great, albeit brief, display of his talents.