Shearman and Pearson awarded the episode three stars out of five and called it "one of best". Furthermore, the two praised many aspects of the script, particularly the "real anger" that made the episode "something special". Despite this, they felt that the plot "offer[ed nothing unexpected" and that its position, after the revelation that Scully has cancer in "Leonard Betts" caused it to look "as if it's cheating on the consequences of Scully's illness". Paula Vitaris from "Cinefantastique" gave the episode a positive review and awarded it three stars out of four. She called it a "flawed yet unusually affecting episode". Vitaris cited the Golem's disintegration as "a leitmotif, a reminder of death, a beautiful way to translate into visual terms the depth of Ariel's grief."