For a show that has been very adamant about the existence of extraterrestrial beings, it has been very scarce with actually showing us any proof of this. They have constantly been flirting with the introduction of aliens, often showing UFOs or other signs of life, but it's like they've been keeping their audience at an arm's length so that we would also question Mulder's beliefs. However, leave it up to the writers of this show to finally deliver that reveal in the first episode back. And for what it was, this was quite the episode to finally reveal that the truth is actually out there.
The episode builds on a concept that the show has explored in the past, which is the claustrophobic setting in the midst of growing pressure. The entire episode has Mulder and Scully largely separated, which gives them some individual time to shine and show off their competence in a world that seems full of less-than-capable FBI agents, who are either clumsy or just foolish. Scully is as intelligent as ever, and Mulder is as stubborn as ever, although he suffers from a certain lack of faith throughout the episode. The idea of seeing someone who has always stood by his beliefs doubt is a very powerful image and it actually hit a little deeper than I expected it to. But the structure of the episode was fairly enjoyable for those reasons, although it would have been nice to see the duo spend just a little more time together on screen. This was also a great episode in terms of acting for the two, with David Duchovny stepping up his game a bit. He has always been great as this character, but he fits into the category of an actor who has a certain style of acting that may not always be believable; however, it works for this role. He actually pulls off some very emotional scenes with a lot of grace in this episode. Gillian Anderson is brilliant as always, but doesn't get that much time to show it here, although even at her lowest energy level, she still bursts at the scenes with grace.
"Little Green Men" is a nice reintroduction to these characters and a good start-off to the season's overall story arc which will be very interesting. Some new characters enter the stage, but it's still the dynamic of the lead characters that keep us coming back; hopefully, they'll share the stage a little more going forward.