Walter Skinner

Skinner is a former Marine and a Vietnam War veteran. In the war he once killed a boy at a very short distance, an experience which has scarred him for life.^[1] He is married to Sharon Skinner. He has been treated at a sleep disorder clinic, suffering from recurring dreams of an old woman, which may either be a hallucination arising from drug use during Vietnam or a succubus.^[2] Skinner's hobbies include jogging and boxing, the latter of which has been shown in his ability to outfight Fox Mulder and X and to defend himself reasonably well when he was attacked by Alex Krycek and his men.^[3]

Skinner took personal administrative charge of the X-Files in the latter half of Season 1, replacing Section Chief Scott Blevins. Initially, Skinner acts solely as a supervisor to Agent Mulder and Dana Scully's investigations of the paranormal. In the early episodes, it is unclear whether he is entirely independent of his actions or controlled by men such as the "Cigarette Smoking Man".^[4] Eventually, Skinner begins trusting Mulder and Scully and becomes their ally, saving both of their lives on multiple occasions. He stands up to the conspirators that tried to control him, for which he frequently pays throughout the series.^[5][6]

After Skinner has long broken free of the "Cigarette Smoking Man", he is again forced to take orders, this time from Alex Krycek. He is covertly infected with nanotechnology, which gives Krycek the leverage to control him.^[3] Two years later, Skinner is finally able to rid himself of Krycek, when during an attempt by Krycek on Mulder's life, Skinner fatally shoots Krycek.^[7] At Mulder's murder trial, Skinner is asked to act as Mulder's lawyer, having become a supporter of Mulder's cause. Later, Skinner and Deputy Director Alvin Kersh confront the "Toothpick Man" in Kersh's office, after Agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes discover that the X-Files office had been emptied out. This results in another, apparently permanent, closing of the X-Files division.^[8] Six years later, with the X-Files still closed down, Skinner assists Scully in finding Mulder after he goes missing while consulting on the FBI's investigation into the disappearance of a missing agent. Mulder and Skinner are shown to still be on friendly terms, despite Mulder's animosity towards the FBI for the events following the trial.^[9]

When Season 10 begins in 2016, 8 years after he assisted Scully in finding Mulder in 'X-Files:I Want to Believe' Skinner is shown to still be working at the FBI as Assistant Director. He convinces Mulder and Scully to return to active duty, and re-opens the X-Files. He sets up the meeting between Mulder and Tad O'Malley, setting up the key mythology for the season. Although he plays a limited role in this season, he appears in Babylon, reprimanding Mulder for crossing the line by using drugs. In 'My Struggle II', Skinner is present when Scully realises that Mulder is missing.

In Season 11, Skinner plays a more main role within the Mythology episodes. In 'My Struggle III', Scully is hospitalised, and Skinner works alongside Mulder to find out what happens. He decodes the abnormal brain scans and discovers Scully's brain is sending a message in morse code that reads: "Find him", referencing her son, William. When leaving the hospital, he is ambushed by and held at gunpoint in his car by Monica Reyes and Cigarette Smoking Man. CSM offers Skinner a dark "deal with the devil". Help him find William, and receive immunity from the upcoming Spartan Virus that he has designed to wipe out humanity. It is also revealed to Skinner that CSM is the biological father of William, and he used alien technology to artificially impregnate Scully. When he returns to the hospital, Mulder smells cigarette smoke on him and they fight each other in the hospital room. Mulder demands to know which side Skinner is on, but Skinner doesn't reveal anything, instead he leaves. In the second episode, 'This' Skinner is shown to be an ally, but still distrusted by both Mulder and Scully. He advises them to surrender, and travels to the woods to help them. He provides them with information about the group that is pursuing them and gives them some money, as they refuse to travel with him by car. He later meets with them, and provides them with access to online scans of X-File cases. In 'Ghouli' (11x05) Skinner tries to protect Mulder and Scully from going into a deeper government trap by advising them to stop investigating the top-secret test files that Jackson Van de Kamp had. Mulder, however, refuses Skinner's orders. He then reveals to Skinner that Jackson was actually William. Kitten (11x06) focuses on Skinner as a character, and his backstory. He receives a human ear in the mail, and subsequently goes missing. It is revealed that during the period that he served in the Vietnam war, he was tasked with guarding a top-secret crate that accidentally leaks a chemical gas, causing his squadmate John 'Kitten' James to hallucinate and see monsters, driving him to kill many people. Skinner feels guilt for this, as he stayed quiet to protect his career, letting Kitten end up in a mental institution for decades. He travels to Mud Lick to investigate, but ends up falling into the trap set out by Kitten's vengeful son Davey, and gets stabbed in the stomach by a wooden spike. He is rescued by Mulder and Scully. At the end of the episode, he declares his ultimate loyalty to Mulder and Scully, explaining that it is not their fault that he has not moved up the rankings in the FBI. The season ends with 'My Struggle IV' In which Skinner plays a role. He is pressured by Director Alvin Kursh to shut down the X-Files due to the information leak about the man made pathogen. He then joins Scully in the hunt for William (and Mulder), directly disobeying Kursh and choosing his loyalty to Scully and Mulder. Skinner and Scully follow Mulder's car to a factory. Whilst Scully goes off to find Mulder and William, Skinner spots CSM and Monica Reyes in a car. He steps out to block their car, drawing the gun and aiming for the windshield. Monica attempts to stop the car, not wanting to kill Skinner, but CSM seizes the wheel, and accelerates towards Skinner. He stands his ground, and shoots Monica in the head. He tries to dive out of the way of the car, but CSM ruthlessly hits Skinner. It has not been confirmed whether Skinner was killed or survived the incident.

The character received critical acclaim from fans and critics alike and since became a fan's favourite of the show. Mitch Pileggi received acclaim for his portrayal of the character.

While not winning or getting nominated for any of his work alone in The X-Files, Mitch Pileggi and several other cast members were nominated in the category "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" by the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 1997,^[15] 1998^[16] and 1999 but did not win.^[17] Following the broadcast of "One Breath", in which Skinner recalls serving as a US Marine during the Vietnam War, Pileggi received several fan letters from Vietnam veterans.^[18] Ben-Rawson Jones named the character of Skinner a "Spy cult icon" in 2008, describing him as the "corporate middle man".^[19]

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".^[20] 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".^[21] 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.^[22] Entertainment Weekly reviewer Bruce Fretts said Skinner brought "a real element of danger to the show."^[23]