‘The X-Files’ season 10 finale review: Is Mulder’s son William key to his survival?
Tonight’s “X-Files” season finale was a continuation of the “My Struggle” storyline from the season premiere, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are. We feel personally as though the premiere was the weakest episode of the season, mostly because there was so much going on and so little that was tangible compared to the were-monsters or the mythology that we saw in the middle episodes. Heck, we preferred Mulder line-dancing.
After watching the finale, we still think that if we hear the words “alien DNA” one more time, we will vomit as Mulder and Scully tried to prove once and for all the existence of something supernatural … while the Cigarette Smoking Man did his part to try to organize a takeover that would expand outward with him at the epicenter. It was basically a classic post-apocalyptic epidemic; a disease was starting to spread, and there was only so much time for the heroes to figure this out.
Where they ultimately able to? With Tad O’Malley broadcasting from within his studio, we heard stories about hope for a vaccine (though there was really no resolution on O’Malley at all). Everything started to come together in the final few minutes, Scully found Mulder and Miller, and then … the light from the sky. Roll credits. Boom. Talk about a way to end the season.
In the end, we’re feeling somewhat mixed about this finale still, largley because we just needed more time for tie it all up rather than a brief action scene and then a supposed UFO sighting. The ending was a cliffhanger if there ever was one (Mulder’s fate is somewhat left up in the air, as he needs stem cells from his child William), and given that Chris Carter didn’t know the future of the series at the time in which this episode was written, this was a ballsy move to end all ballsy moves. Personally, we wanted a little more payoff, just as we wanted more of Mulder and Scully together. Do we like Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose? Definitely, but we would have preferred to see the original pair together long than just a few minutes.
Despite feeling at times divided over this episode and wanting more of a conclusion, we’re still every bit as hopeful / excited for season 11 as we were previously. We feel confident that it happens; dare we say we want to believe? Grade: B.
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