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TV Review: The X-Files 1.6 “My Struggle II” (Finale)
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X-Files 106-11

The X-Files
Season 1 Episode 6: “My Struggle II”
Written & Directed by Chris Carter
Created by Chris Clark
Starring David Duchnovy, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Robbie Amell, Joel McHale, Lauren Ambrose.
FOX
Air Date: Monday, February 22nd, 2016, 8:00pm

Two decades after the world was introduced to FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), we unfortunately must say goodbye again tonight… although hopefully not forever. Tonight marks the sixth and final episode of FOX’s mini-reboot. And the show did not miss a beat. Like we never left them, Mulder and Scully are right back in the midst of government conspiracies, telepathic kids, clay totem killers, and human sized horned lizards… you know, The X-Files as usual. We return to the story that reintroduced us to our heroes; that of Conservative TV host Tad O’Malley (Joel McHale) who recruits the two to discuss his conspiracy theory; one that shatters Mulder’s long held expectations of the truth, and puts all of them and mankind in danger. That conspiracy: After the alien crash at Roswell, the government has been using alien technology and DNA to conduct biological tests, and create super weapons, all the while keeping us afraid of outer worldly boogeymen.

Spoilers below.

Scully gives a brilliant introduction (complete with photos and scenes from episodes long since past) detailing everything from her introduction to Mulder, to her abduction and government induced sickness and cure; a cure she now traced to alien DNA. The opening credits ring up with one slight alteration; the end where it normally says, “The truth is out there” and replaces it with “This is the end.” O’Malley is back on air with another scary claim – all of us have had our DNA tampered with and altered by the government. Mulder is missing, his house torn apart. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Agent Einstein aka Mini-Scully (Lauren Ambrose) are there joining in the hunt for Mulder. When we finally see him, he is driving at high speeds having been beaten pretty badly.

Scully and Einstein go the hospital where they are approached by a soldier with strange lesions on his arm. Scully leaps to the conclusion that the soldier was given a faulty anthrax vaccine, and that the vaccines we’ve been given can be controlled by an outside force to shut down our immune systems and create a global pandemic. Great, hope the anti-vaccers aren’t watching! Einstein argues she’s jumping to conclusions just when Scully gets a mysterious call from an old ally. Mulder, however, is still driving, en route to South Carolina with Agent Miller (Robbie Amell) hot on the trail. I love that Einstein and Miller are more than just once off characters. My first thought when seeing them was that if this is the end for Mulder and Scully, they would fit perfectly in their shoes for a continuation/spinoff.

Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) was there for Scully after her abduction. They meet and she confirms the plot, led by the Cigarette Smoking Man, CSM for short (William B. Davis) that Earth will be depopulated and only the chosen will survive. Davis has been the quiet evil for over 20-years. He has a unique ability to convey ultimate evil with minimal dialogue. The look on his face as he inhales cigarettes through the hole in his neck is so disturbing. Oh yeah, and the face thing… yikes. Scully is a chosen one, but Mulder goes to war with his “inviter” in a completely ridiculous fight scene that looks half WWE and half Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in order to get to CSM.

In true Bond villain fashion, the CSM unveils his plan to Mulder and… its vaguely familiar, because I heard it in Kingsman: The Secret Service. A plot by the world’s plutocrats (super wealthy) to deplete Earth’s population as a survival measure, since it’s humans ourselves that are systematically destroying the planet. Here’s the problem… it’s not the worst idea in the world! The issue is it’s of course the super wealthy who through their vast resources cause most of the damage. Scully comes to a realization. Her alien DNA is what’s saving her. Her and Einstein figure they can use Scully’s DNA to create a cure. Apparently this whole process only takes a few hours. Scully finds Mulder and on the brink of death and realizes she needs to administer stem cells directly to have any hopes… and that’s when the ship descends”¦

My first thought was an audible “WTF!” But then I realized… what was I expecting? This is The X-Files! This was the original mindtrip show, the one that invented obscure plot-twisty cliffhangers that LOST would use to great success later on. Is the ship a government ploy to destroy them like it did to Sveta at the end of the first episode? Was the ship actual aliens there for Mulder right as he was about to pass from this Earth? Was William, Scully and Mulder’s son, on the ship? In many ways the ending and this whole episode were the best and worst of The X-Files.

My final verdict; I loved it. Sure there were parts that were absurd, but the second the first episode debuted I was hit with overwhelming nostalgia. Spending six weeks with Mulder and Scully again was a breath of fresh air on TV. I hope these six episodes were a launch pad to something greater within The X-Files universe, but if not, I think I’d be okay.

Will we see them again?

As Mulder’s poster famously reads, “I want to believe.”

Image Gallery

Videos

THE X-FILES | Who Sent You? from “My Struggle II”


Mulder is attacked at home.

THE X-FILES | A Mass Panic from “My Struggle II”


People begin to freak out about what Tad O’Maley is saying on his show.

THE X-FILES | The Question Of The Day from “My Struggle II”


Agent Einstein has trouble believing what Scully is saying.

2 Comments »

  1. Uhm, tiny little detail; if there are no ‘aliens’ and haven’t been since 1947, what happened to “The Syndicate” in that airplane hanger? . . . . . ;)

    Comment by Timothy Rigney — February 23, 2016 @ 3:50 am

  2. Chris Carter needs to do like George Lucas and get the hell out of the X-Files.

    Comment by heinrich6666 — February 23, 2016 @ 7:18 am

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