The X-Files season 11 episode 6 live stream: Watch online

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FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner goes on a creepy, unapproved vacation in “Kitten,” the latest episode of The X-Files. Here’s how you can watch it online.

Have sympathy for poor, beleaguered Walter Skinner. He probably started his career thinking he’d be a loyal public servant. Undoubtedly, he worked hard to make it all the way to FBI Assistant Director. What did he think he was going to do? Detain drug lords? Prevent election fraud? Uphold the rule of law and justice in the U.S. and beyond?

Certainly, that kind of patriotism was what led him to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps when he was only 18. The violence of his time in Vietnam, however, shattered much of that faith. Much of his character arc has been informed by the long-lasting PTSD stemming from that era.

One might wonder if he hoped to get some of it back, or only wanted a steady government job. For all that episodes like “Avatar” give us background on his service during the Vietnam War, we don’t know much about his early work with the FBI.

Instead, he gets wrapped up in the X-Files. It’s not clear exactly how that starts, but Skinner becomes Mulder and Scully’s supervisor by the end of season 1. Eventually, he proved himself to be a strong ally to the duo, despite interference from villains like the Cigarette Smoking Man, Alex Krycek and , during one memorable occasion, a possible succubus.

Season 11, however, has made Skinner into a more muddled figure again. The CSM has showed up in his office, plotting and stinking up the place while Skinner scowls at him. Mulder and Scully have noticed that Skinner is more evasive than usual, too. Perhaps the events of “Kitten” will not only shed some light on Skinner’s time in Vietnam, but also his current-day loyalties.

Here’s the synopsis for “Kitten”, courtesy of TV Guide:

"Skinner goes AWOL when his past comes back to haunt him. As Mulder and Scully try to track him down, their growing mistrust of him reaches its apex."

Here is when and where you can watch “Kitten”:

"Date: Wednesday, Feb. 7Start time: 8 p.m. ETEpisode: “Kitten”TV Channel: FOXLive Stream: Stream 1 | Stream 2"

What will Skinner find on his quest? Is he going to completely torpedo his government career? What does a cackling Haley Joel Osment have to do with all of this anyway? He seems far too young to have crossed paths with Skinner in Vietnam, after all. Or is he?

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And, of course, we have to ask: what does the word “kitten” have to do with all of this? A cruel part of me hopes that this is Skinner’s nickname from his time in the Marine Corps. However, the tone of the previews don’t seem terribly comedic. Hopefully, at least some of these questions will be resolved this week as we watch “Kitten.”