Written By: Dan Geer
Two years ago, showrunner Chris Carter brought back his hit TV series The X-Files for a limited run of six episodes that generated a somewhat mixed reaction from the fan base, and left X-Philes with a giant cliffhanger that left no choice but for there to be another season in order to resolve it. While it contained a decent season finale, it would have been a terrible way to end the series if the Fox network would have opted to never bring it back again.
Thankfully (after two years of waiting) Fox brought back the show for another season, this time granting a total of ten episodes to really allow The X-Files to breathe and stretch its legs. The fans saw it as an opportunity to perhaps resolve that Season 10 cliffhanger, tell better stories than the previous season, and bring closure to a series that we never quite felt we received after ten seasons and two feature films.
But closure was not exactly what Chris Carter had in mind…
The Season 11 finale was not marketed as the end of the series. In fact, despite earlier reports of Chris Carter saying he would not do any more episodes of The X-Files without actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, he seems to have now changed his tune – despite Anderson’s decision to leave the character of Scully behind once and for all this time. He believes that “there are more files in those drawers” to investigate, with or without Anderson.
But is that really a good idea? After the way Season 11 ended, many, many fans are now questioning whether or not they even want the series to continue. Some feel that it ended in a decent place for it to be over, while others feel the season finale was terrible and they don’t want it back because they feel it can only get worse from here – especially if Anderson doesn’t return. Either way, they just want it to be over.
As someone who has been a die-hard fan of the series since it first aired back in 1993, Season 11 was definitely a vast improvement over Season 10. Even most people who didn’t care much for this season would agree. While some of the writing wasn’t perfect here and there, it was indeed overall “a return to form,” as various TV promos suggested – especially for most of the stand-alone, “monster-of-the-week” episodes. Episodes like “Familiar” and “Nothing Lasts Forever” in particular felt like they were of the same caliber as the show’s earlier seasons. It was absolutely thrilling to watch this season for that reason alone.
But it is the show’s overarching “mythology” that has always been the heart and soul of the show. At its core, the show was always about Mulder and Scully’s relationship, their search for the truth about extraterrestrials, the government conspiracy to hide that truth, and what happens when the truth is exposed. During that quest, they also had the good fortune of investigating other paranormal types of cases for the F.B.I. along the way. It was really a great formula that proved to work really well for so many years.
When the series originally came to a close at the end of its ninth season, the truth was exposed, but the problem of aliens coming to colonize the planet was never quite resolved. So for 14 years fans were left hanging, hoping that perhaps a third film would come along and address this problem that Season 9 left us with.
When that never came to fruition, Season 10 happened instead, which meant finding a way to somehow continue the mythology. Carter put an interesting, albeit derivative spin on it (see earlier episodes “Gethsemane,” “Redux” and “Redux II”), in that Mulder was presented with evidence that made him question whether or not there was ever an alien conspiracy to begin with. Of course, the audience wasn’t buying it for a second. We had already seen too much now – way more than Mulder and Scully ever witnessed – to not believe alien colonization was a fact in The X-Files universe.
The Season 11 premiere episode quietly resolved this by saying that aliens actually gave up on colonization, due to having no interest in a dying planet depleting its resources, and that it merely gave rise to a new conspiracy spearheaded by Cancer Man to end the world with a contagion made from an alien pathogen. Alien colonization became a non-issue. While it was sort of a disappointing way to resolve this plot line we had been following since day one, it at least meant that the mythology still worked. Seasons 10 and 11 actually just introduced us to a new mythology that was merely connected to the old one.
Chris Carter found a suitable way to continue the mythology these last two seasons. He knows that as long as there is more to the mythology, then The X-Files can continue. Herein lies the answer to the question this article poses. Without the mythology, there would be no real direction for the series to go in that develops, grows or concludes the characters or story in any way. How would you conclude a season, let alone the series without it? It cannot stay on the air forever, and without the mythology it would just end on a random X-file case with no real impact on anything. There has to be an overall mytharc to resolve.
So with the way Season 11 ended, can it really go on? With or without Gillian Anderson returning, sure it could. There’s always something that could be written for the mythology to drag it out for another season. But now Chris Carter has scaled down the mytharc to be nothing more than one man’s quest to destroy the earth, and Mulder and Scully’s attempt to stop him. It’s nothing bigger than that now because the quest to find the truth is over. There’s no more mystery to unravel.
They know the truth about aliens, and they’re no longer invading. They know the truth about Scully’s son, William (for better or for worse), and he’s free. They know what Cancer Man’s plans were, and have at least delayed them for the time being. All that could really happen is that Cancer Man comes back, and the mytharc just goes through the “rinse and repeat” method indefinitely. Plus, with Scully now pregnant again (with Mulder, for real this time), we’d just be going through the “miracle baby” plot line we’ve already explored.
When taking this into perspective, it is the opinion of this writer that, despite a personal willingness to continue watching the series out of mere curiosity if it ever does come back – the show really should just leave well enough alone at this point. This new mythology, while interesting, has already run out of steam, and was never as satisfying as when it was about alien colonization and the conspiracy behind it (although I am quite partial to “Ghouli”).
Plus, we’re at a good place where the fans can just accept that Mulder and Scully are done with the F.B.I. and the X-files because Kersh took it all away from them. They can just walk away, living happily ever with their new child. There’s really nothing new left to the mytharc that would be even remotely interesting. Sure, there are a few loose threads left over (how is Cancer Man still alive again?), but they are threads that should’ve already been resolved by now. They’re not necessarily anything meaty enough to continue the show for another season. Perhaps a movie, but that’ll never happen now.
It is not the ending I ever wanted. I still wanted aliens, black oil and/or UFOs to still be a part of the mythology in some form, but it wasn’t meant to be. That plot ended long ago with Season 9. There will always be a curiosity to see where it goes if the series does continue, but Mulder and Scully are in a good place now, and the season as a whole was actually quite outstanding. So if Season 11 ends up really being the end, I am okay with that.
It is time to finally say farewell to The X-Files. Let’s just hope that Chris Carter will change his mind about future seasons, or that at least Fox will put a lid on it.
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As an extra bonus, I’ve included all of my “immediate, raw reactions” of each episode from Facebook. They are really just thoughts jotted down without any real editing to the writing. I wanted to capture how I felt in the moment for each one. Some of my opinions have changed on these slightly since re-watching them, or dwelling on them further, but I thought it would be fun to include them here, just for kicks:
SPOILERS Ahead…
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 1 – MY STRUGGLE III:
Holy Gees!
So really, this episode appears to be a “retcon to the retcon.” It seemed that Season 10 rewrote the mythology, and it didn’t make sense much at the time. Today, Season 11 seemingly has turned the mytharc back around to what it was before Season 10 – which is a VERY good thing, in my opinion – and yet still preserves what Season 10 established. Not sure exactly how every detail lines up with previous seasons, but it certainly lines up better now than it did in Season 10. They did not rewrite the mythology, but rather preserved the old and moved on.
The episode is admittedly a bit sloppy, in that just like the Season 10 mythology episodes, it moves WAY to fast, trying to cram so much into one episode that there is LITERALLY no time to breathe. I’m going to have to rewatch this with subtitles just to follow every detail that was unleashed here. It was mindblowing for a longtime fan like myself, but moved much too quickly.
It also still did not answer how Cancer Man survived that blast from the Season 9 finale, although I have had a few theories over the last two years that line up quite well with what we’ve seen before in the series. Hopefully Season 11 will provide the answer at some point.
At least “My Struggle III” resolves some things that the previous season appeared to mess up, and gives some startling revelations to boot. We also find out what Cancer Man’s alias “C.G.B.” actually stands for (Carl Gerhard Bush), and his overall intro in the beginning was fantastic (serious money shot with the moon landing!).
I am very pleased overall with what went down, and how they reset everything so that Mulder and Scully can get back to work. The question is, will ANY of Scully’s premonitions actually come to pass, or at least some version of it? She still seems convinced…
Overall,.not perfect, but a vast improvement over the last season’s mytharc for sure.
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 2 – THIS:
So after having to hold my breath during the entirety of “My Struggle III,” we finally get a break with Glen Morgan’s “This.” It was great to finally slow down, breathe, and take in the atmosphere of what feels like a classic X-Files episode. Plus, it directly relates to the mythology, which is a good thing. We can’t just ignore the mind-blowing plot points of the previous episode and act like it never happened and just start investigating monsters (although we’ll get there).
Even though Langly is no longer alive, it was so much fun to have him live on in this sort of simulated world. I loved the mystery Mulder and Scully had to unravel to try and figure out how Langly could possibly be communicating from beyond the grave, and WHY. It really kept me interested the entire time, and it helps greatly that we got to see Mulder and Scully have a little fun with it all. Some really great comedic exchanges of dialogue between the two of them. They’ve still got it!
I’m only now wondering why only Langly would want to live on in a simulation, and not all three of The Lone Gunmen. Yes, Langly was the one presented with this “opportunity,” and wanted to live on with his female acquaintance (I take it she was a love interest, which is random), but living on in a computer simulation seems like something all three of the Gunmen would be intrigued by, and that Langly would’ve told them (maybe he did, and they rejected?). Oh well. At least there were some good Frohike jokes in the episode.
It was also fantastic to have the episode not only reflect on the death of Mulder’s first secret government contact, Deep Throat (and reveal his real name), but also lead back to the Erica Price character we met in My Struggle III and connect it to the Syndicate’s plan to colonize outer space. I hope we get more of her (and Mr. Y), and get to explore more details of their ultimate plan to flee earth and kill CSM. It’s wacky, but interesting nonetheless.
Overall, in terms of pacing, the episode is a vast improvement over the first. However, I personally still enjoyed My Struggle III over this episode, despite the fact that “This” episode flows and works better in its overall narrative. But that’s a matter of preference. I’ll probably almost always be more intrigued by the mytharc than the stand-alones.
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 3 – PLUS ONE:
I don’t really have a ton to say except that the episodes this season keep getting better and better as they go. Major shout-out to Karin Konoval, who also played Mrs. Peacock in HOME (one of the most well-renowned and creepiest X-Files episodes), knocks it out of the park in her role as the twins (yes, that was her playing both male and female roles). Couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed her acting in this. Incredible. Really wanted more!
The story was very well-paced, and really kept me engaged the entire time, although it always takes me a second viewing to follow every detail. It really plays out like putting together a puzzle before the timer goes off, which is refreshing, and at the same time pretty intense. The way the very end “hang-man” game was playing out was especially clever and kept me on the edge of my seat.
Of course, the Mulder and Scully “shipper” moments are definitely long overdue, and what the episode was really heading towards. While not every bit of dialogue was wonderful, for the most part, it was well-written. The overall chemistry and endgame between the two characters in this episode is one for the books. Really glad to see the two of them getting much more screen time together (like last week), getting along famously and possibly interested in each other once again. It was classic Mulder and Scully, for sure.
Can’t wait to watch this one a second time!
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 4 – THE LOST ART OF FOREHEAD SWEAT:
One of THE most irreverent, yet highly entertaining X-Files episodes of all time. Simply hilarious from start ’till finish. Darin Morgan does it again!
It really took me back to Morgan’s “Jose Chung” episodes from The X-Files and its sister series “Millennium.” Lots of half-truths, rumors or hearsay portrayed on screen in a way that you can’t help but be amused with every scene. It’s really in the way that every story that Reggie (played hilariously by Brian Huskey) tells is portrayed with such an over-the-top sense of exaggeration. It’s also very similar to Guy Mann from “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster” from last season (also written/directed by Darin Morgan). Some stuff is true, other stuff is a twisted version of it or not truth at all. Every scene was brilliantly executed.
Gosh I loved how they spliced in Reggie into classic X-Files episodes! And poking fun at almost every fan that hates the “killer cats” episode… well, I found that funny (I’m probably the only X-Phile that enjoys that one).
Duchovny and Anderson really own the roles of Mulder and Scully in this episode. It is mostly due to the humor that Darin Morgan is so great at writing for these characters that makes the chemistry gel so well. He GETS these characters. Whatever it is that Morgan does, and however he is able to direct Duchovny and Anderson, it works – EVERY time.
I will say I was actually slightly disappointed in the reveal of who Reggie actually was (although Skinner makes us question it at the end), in that it wasn’t actually a parallel universe that Reggie is from. After all, outside of The X-Files being, well, The X-Files, Season 9’s “4-D” episode gives plenty of license for a parallel universe existing in this series.
But that’s not really the point of this episode. The point was to poke fun – in a mildly innocent fashion – at politics, fandom, and the The X-Files series itself, and Darin Morgan succeeds with flying colors here! No matter what side of the fence you’re on, or somewhere in-between – everyone can have a laugh at it all. It is a little TOO on the nose at times in these areas, but the wacky tone of the episode makes it forgivable.
It’s funny though… what’s with the Morgan brothers’ sudden desire to joke about “taint” this season?
🤔 Darin’s brother, Glen Morgan, also wrote/directed this season’s “This” (Episode 2), in which Mulder also uses that word. Not complaining, as I laughed out loud each time. But just wondering if there’s an inside joke somewhere between the Morgan brothers that inspired them this season…
🤣
Anyway, for more Darin Morgan, see the following:
The X-Files: “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’ ” and “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster”
Millennium: “Jose Chung’s ‘Doomsday Defense’.”
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 5 – GHOULI
Went into this thinking it would be primarily a monster-of-the-week episode that loosely connects to Mulder and Scully’s son William, but did NOT expect it to end up being a full-on mythology episode! Fantastic.
This was definitely the best mythology episode of the new seasons thus far. Better pacing, well-written and masterfully directed by James Wong (Chris Carter co-wrote).
It was particularly clever how this all tied back in a way to Season 3’s “Nisei/731” two-parter about the Japanese’ failed experiments with creating alien-human hybrids. I thought the series would NEVER again touch upon that wonderful arc from way back when, but here we are, 20+ years after those two episodes aired, talking about it again! If you have never seen that Season 3 mytharc, I suggest you check it out.
My gosh, Scully breaking down in tears as she pours her heart out over William’s “corpse that was not a corpse.” Gillian Anderson did a wonderful job acting here, and I sincerely hope she gets more moments like this, especially with Mulder, and hopefully with William down the road.
The “Ghouli” monster was a cool design. Loved the horror sequences. While I’m still waiting for an ACTUAL new creature/monster episode for this season, I will say that I loved how it connected to William here, showing us where he’s at in his life now, and how developed his alien powers are as a teenager.
If the rest of the season is this good, then I’m all in. If it’s not, well, I’m still all in. I just hope we get great episodes like this for the rest of the season, especially with the season (or series?) finale. I know Wong is not directing the finale, but hopefully Chris Carter takes his cues from how awesome this episode worked and how it flowed, and applies that to the finale in March. I loved “My Struggle III,” but it was pretty flawed in its pacing and logic in some areas, so I hope “My Struggle IV” doesn’t make the same mistakes.
Overall, this might be my favorite episode this season thus far, and I’ll be watching it many times in the next week. Wow, that ending!
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 6 – KITTEN
I absolutely love the fact that they devoted an episode entirely around Skinner this season. We haven’t had that since Season 6’s “S.R. 819.” This time, we find out a bit of history on Skinner.
I’ll admit that I went into this episode thinking we’d actually see a flashback of Skinner’s near-death experience he mentioned way back in Season 2 – but alas, it was not meant to be. Instead, we got something more: The origin of just why exactly he’s stuck by Mulder and Scully all this time – other than the fact that Mulder and Scully have been so convincing when making their case for the truth over the years. Really enjoyed finding out something new and significant about the Skin-Man! As always, Mitch Pileggi is awesome here.
Haley Joel Osment. Man, aside from the fact that he’s almost unrecognizable from the last time I saw him in a film (“Secondhand Lions”), he was spectacular in this episode! Just goes to show you that child actors can still be great if you give them the chance. He made me chuckle, creeped me out, and also had a great death scene. What more could an actor ask for? Loved him in this, and I want more roles for Haley like this!
James Pickens, Jr. has also still got it, playing the same Deputy Director jerk that he was back in the day. However, there’s information missing as to why he is this way again. After all, he freed Mulder from being sentenced to death at the end of Season 9 because he was persuaded by the truth, or at least it seemed. Did he let Mulder and Scully only think he was letting them go for good reason, when really he had evil intentions? Or was he simply persuaded in the MOMENT by the truth back then, but over the years changed back his tune on the matter? In tonight’s episode, he seemed to be back to mocking Mulder and Scully. What the heck, dude? So much for redemption, I guess.
Anyway, minor quibbles aside, I definitely enjoyed this episode. Not quite as much as last week’s “Ghouli,” but it was pretty great nonetheless. Too bad we have to wait 3 weeks to see the next episode. Bring on February 28th!
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 7 – Rm9sbG93ZXJz
“So all of this because Mulder didn’t tip the Sushi Bots? We really need to watch our A.I. intake…”
This was a tweet from me tonight on the latest episode of The X-Files… which deals with the dangers of letting technology take over our lives. What’s funny is how I didn’t realize the irony of my tweet until after the episode was over, and this realization only came after reading someone else’s tweet about it.
And that’s the point.
Purposefully executed to have little dialogue to simulate how anti-social we have become in a culture dominated by technology, “Rm9sbG93ZXJz” (translates to “Followers” in Base64 tech-speak) is basically a modern update on an episode from Season 1 way back in 1993 called “Ghost in the Machine.”
So while not an entirely original concept for The X-Files, its execution, as well as the time period it takes place in are what make it unique. Not only does it convey our current reliance on tech making us distant from one another, but it also comes complete with a robot-operated sushi restaurant (do these actualy exist?), a self-driving car (are those available?), Scully’s house entirely operated by A.I. (she has her own house?!), and TONS of drones chasing them down because Mulder didn’t tip those darn Sushi Bots at the restaurant.
Sounds like a dumb premise when you break it down like that, but the idea is that the more we as a society let A.I. take over, the more likely people could face such ridiculous circumstances like this. Of course, this idea only works if A.I. can indeed grow more and more intelligent to be so self-sufficient that they can act out of line because someone treated them the “wrong” way (like not tipping them because they’re droids). And it only works if we really let it go that far.
What’s terrifying is that I can totally see this happening. We’ve really become that stupid.
It’s a pretty clever update on that original Season 1 premise, although it took a while to get used to Mulder and Scully barely speaking, and there being NO other people around until the very end (this was mainly because most of the episode took place in the middle of the night). It shows how far we’ve come with technology since ’93, and yet how far back we’ve fallen because of it.
It was great that the episode ends the next morning with actual people hanging out at an old-fashioned diner, with simple, yet wonderfully affectionate hand-holding between Mulder and Scully.
The message is clear: Technology cannot replace human interaction.
Weird episode, but nice social commentary. I’m really scared of drones now. And Sushi Bots…
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 8 – FAMILIAR
Frickin’ Mr. Chuckle Teeth.
This is easily the best “monster-of-the-week” episode this season (although there haven’t been many “monsters” prior to this episode). Let’s just call it the best “stand-alone.”
If I didn’t know better, “Familiar” could really be some long-lost episode from a really early season of The X-Files, where Mulder and Scully travel to a small town with a dark, “cult-like” mystery they have to unravel. It has that type of classic vibe to it that just WORKS.
Based on sheer ambiance and creep-factor, the episode feels like James Wan directed it, but instead it comes from X-Files newby Holly Dale, who pulled it off superbly! Really impressive. Everything from the classic atmosphere, to the way the episode was lit and shot – it immediately draws you in and takes you back to the early days of the show.
It easily borrows from other classic “scary doll” stories from The Twilight Zone, Wan’s “Dead Silence,” and even The X-Files itself (Stephen King penned “Chinga” from Season 5, which also had a creepy doll). But the story as a whole seems entirely new here because it’s not really ABOUT the doll.
It should also be noted that we have some really great character moments here from the guest stars. You really feel for the parents that lost their children, and are shocked by the actions of other characters as they take matters into their own hands and do the unthinkable. I could easily watch another episode with these same characters.
This is what monster-of-the-week episode of The X-Files should feel like. Scary monsters, ghosts, witches, etc. lurking in lush, foggy forests in the cool temperatures of Vancouver. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Maybe if we get a Season 12, Wan should direct an episode. We need more talent like Holly Dale on this show if we get more seasons. Heck just hire Dale back!
I am still, however, trying to wrap my head around any parent intentionally buying their kid a Mr. Chuckle Teeth doll…
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 9 – NOTHING LASTS FOREVER
Wow, director James Wong and writer Karen Nielsen! Congrats, you made a disgusting, yet wonderful episode of The X-Files, every bit as good as “Familiar” or “Ghouli” (Wong directed the latter of the two), and every bit as comfortable as a classic stand-alone episode from the 90s. Loved it.
The graphic nature of the brutal and sickening way we see the surgeries is reminiscent of the Season 4 episode “Sanguinarium,” and the story much like the film “Ravenous,” where cannibals live forever by feasting on the blood of the living. “Nothing Lasts Forever” is, at its core, a modern-day vampire tale (it is totally appropriate, of course, that these monsters are getting destroyed by a stake to the heart!).
I think it is safe to say that actress Fiona Vroom, who played the forever young cult leader Barbara Beaumont, is the stand out performance of this entire episode – although Jere Burns as Dr. Randolph Luvenis was pretty creepy as well (he’s always creeped me out ever since I saw him for the first time on “Bates Motel”). Both actors were perfectly cast, and every bit as strong as the guest stars in last week’s “Familiar.”
We got some clever, lighthearted and funny moments between Mulder and Scully, which were fantastic (the bits about Mulder’s glasses and Scully’s hair, especially). However, the very last scene with the two of them was more the opposite – very sentimental and touching. They are finally realizing (I think?) that they are destined to be together. Wonderfully written and directed.
The question is, will next week’s season (or series) finale actually seal the deal on that?
The Truth Is Out There…
Immediate, raw reaction for:
The X-Files: Season 11, Episode 10 – MY STRUGGLE IV
One thing is for sure: We need a Season 12 after this episode. No resolution of anything – whatsoever. Everything is left open-ended. EVERYTHING.
We’re actually BEHIND where we were in “My Struggle II” where we saw the alien contagion getting released in what we now know was just a premonition of a possible future. In reality, it has been delayed at best. I don’t buy that it has been prevented. Cancer Man is more than likely still alive. If he can somehow survive that missile blast from Season 9, he can survive Mulder’s bullets and continue his plan. No question.
By the way, Cancer Man’s inhuman abilities should’ve been explained by now, but Chris Carter seems to hold back on that. I think there are a few very good possible “X-Files” explanations for it, but we need it to be revealed in the show. Fans are still up in arms about it, and we just need a good official reason that makes sense so that we can move on. He didn’t just “survive.” There HAS to be more to it than that.
Is Skinner and/or Reyes dead? It’s possible, but I’m not buying it for Skinner as least. He’s too good a character, and we didn’t see anything but his legs sticking out from underneath the car, so he could just be knocked out. Heck, it could even be one of William’s trick projections!
It was touching to see Mulder reunite with William, even though the episode confirms that Mulder is not the father. It was, however, pretty crappy that we barely see anything between William and Scully, aside from him posing as Mulder when he talks to her. He seems to not want to show his face around her for various reasons. This time, he is trying to convince Scully to let him go, and feels posing as Mulder was the best way to try and do that. I get it, but I think we all still wanted that moment where he’s just himself, with his mother.
It was also pretty crappy that Mulder and Scully were, yet again, split up for most of the episode, when here they really had no reason to be. In My Struggle III, she was in the hospital, so that’s fine. Here, she should’ve just gone with Mulder to look for him. Chris Carter just seems to love splitting them up in these new seasons, and this time, for no reason whatsoever that I can see.
In the last of the crappy stuff, why kill off Mr. Y and Erika Price? They seemed like they could’ve been pretty good villiains to carry on to a future season. With everything else being left open in this episode, why not leave their characters in tact as well? Why kill them off now?
Aside from Mulder really meeting William for the first time, the only good parts of the episode were seeing Mulder and William take out bad guys at a fierce rate, and the touching revelation of Scully somehow getting pregnant again (this time by Mulder – for real). But really, that’s all I enjoyed? Maybe I just have to watch the episode a second time. I want to like it much more than I do currently.
As of right now, this was honestly my least favorite “My Struggle” episode, and one of the most disappointing mythology episodes of the entire series. While I thought the pacing in My Struggle IV was a bit better than the other three, and it wasn’t the most terrible hour of television I’ve ever seen – the story was just very unsatisfactory for a season finale, as it really needs a part 2 (which we may or may not receive) to really make it feel whole.
With Gillian Anderson saying she’s not returning to the show, how will that be possible, given the way this season ended? The show HAS to come back now, as does Anderson, in order to salvage this.
If we get more to this story arc in the future, it may help this episode. My Struggle III really helped me to enjoy My Struggle I & II much more, so we’ll see. For now, the truth is out there…
