George Avalos and Michael Liedtke from the "Contra Costa Times" both reacted positively to the death of Alex Krycek at the hands of Skinner, saying it was the best scene of the eighth season finale, "Existence". Another review from the same site and writers said the season eight episode, "Via Negativa", said the story "clicked" largely thanks to Skinner along with Alvin Kersh, saying that Skinner "delivered another Mulderesque". In a review of "The X-Files" feature film, Soren Andersen from "The News Tribune" said the character was "underused" both in the series and film. "Entertainment Weekly" reviewer Bruce Fretts said Skinner brought "a real element of danger to the show."