The episode—reportedly Carter's least favorite—was very poorly received. Frank Lovece, in his books "The X-Files Declassified", called it "perhaps the series' dullest, least suspenseful episode", citing the spectral antagonist's "highly unclear motivations". Keith Phipps, writing for "The A.V. Club", reviewed the episode negatively, rating it a D+. He felt that the episode's special effects were "pretty decidedly unscary", and that the episode's premise was confusing and "a little tasteless" in its treatment of the "Challenger" disaster. In a retrospective of the first season in "Entertainment Weekly" the episode was similarly derided, being rated a D- and described as "one dead hour". Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, reviewed the episode negatively, feeling that it was "nothing much to write home about", and that the episode's antagonist was "distinctly unimpressive, lacking any true sense of menace or intrigue".