"The Amazing Maleeni" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files.

"The Amazing Maleeni" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.4, being watched by 16.18 million people in its initial broadcast.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.

So when he is later found without a head at all, Mulder and Scully arrive on the case and discover an angry ex-con, an unimpressed rival, and Maleeni’s twin brother.

Real-life magician Ricky Jay, who also was Spotnitz's favorite, was brought in to play the part of the titular Maleeni.

After the show, the carnival manager comes to the window of Maleeni's van, where he is apparently sitting silently, prepared to leave.

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) question LaBonge, who says Maleeni was a charlatan, using cheap child's-level tricks.

Meanwhile, LaBonge finds a bar owner named Cissy Alvarez, to whom Maleeni owed a large debt.

LaBonge says that he caused Maleeni's head to fall off, and that Alvarez will get the money owed if he helps him perform a magic trick.

As masters of sleight of hand and escapology, the two of them easily escaped, performed the robbery and transfer of money bags to the bar, and returned to their cells before being noticed.

After the two magicians make their exit, confident in the lack of evidence against them, Mulder reveals to Scully the true trick they planned to perform — that everything involving Alvarez was purely misdirection.

Mulder explains that the pair purposely acted in a high-profile manner to draw the attention of the FBI, and that if they had collected the badge number and thumbprint, they would have been able to perform EFTs.

For instance, the scene wherein Bill LaBonge's hand erupted into flames was created with the help of a stunt man, rather than through expensive and, ultimately, "less convincing" CGI effects.

"[7] Robert Shearman, in his book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated it two stars out of five.

[9] Vitaris compared the episode's plot to the 1999 movie Arlington Road, noting that while "the scheme is fun to watch while it unfolds, […] in the end, it's not credible; too much is left open to chance for it really to happen.

[11] Handlen also enjoyed the writing, noting that the "script also does a good job at doling out its secrets in a way that never makes either the magicians or our heroes come off as idiots".