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Sweeps Day 25: HERC's Seen the Last X-FILES Ever!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
X-Files 9.19-9.20 FAQ
What’s it called?
“The Truth.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited solely to series creator Chris Carter.
What does TV Guide say?
“This seminal series about the paranormal and an FBI agent's obsession with an alien invasion closes its files. And after nearly a decade of teasing, ‘the truth’ is finally revealed. Or is it? Executive producer Frank Spotnitz says the two-hour finale ‘puts all the pieces together in as straightforward a manner as possible. We give a very definite answer about what's going to happen to the world. But then we pose the question: Can fate be changed? That's the heart of the [episode].’ Appropriately, David Duchovny returns to the role of Fox Mulder, who reappears after a yearlong absence and reunites with Scully (Gillian Anderson). Mulder is charged with murder, and Spotnitz says that the resulting military tribunal ‘creates the framework that allows us to explain what Mulder's been doing for the last nine years.’ Expect a lot of flashbacks, as well as the reemergence of some infamous characters. A second X-Files movie is contemplated after the series ends. ‘It's not like [the characters'] lives come to an end at the end of the TV series,’ Spotnitz says. ‘But I think they've all taken a journey and ended up at a place that feels like completion.’ Gen. Suveg: William Devane. Toothpick Man: Alan Dale. Skinner: Mitch Pileggi.”
What were Coax’s April 21 spoilers on the first hour again?
Fox Mulder returns in the series finale of "The X-Files" which begins on a military base that Mulder is on with a group of others. He break away from
his group and gains access to a door that leads into "the war room." It is
there he encounters Alex Krycek who appears to help him, but who quickly
disappears into the darkness as Knowle Rohr catches Mulder in the room.
Mulder darts off through the base and hides in a computer room where he
finds the information he has been searching for (or lack there of). The
information about the conspiracy we've known of for the past nine seasons.
When Knowle Rohr finds him, its a pure WWF scene but in the end, somehow
Knowle Rohr (who we thought was a supersoilder) ends up dead. Mulder is
taken back into military custody for the murder of Knowle Rorhr.
Deputy Director Kerch's office catches wind of this and phones Assistant
Director Skinner who calls Scully. Immediately they head off to the USMC
Base Brig in Quantico Virginia which is where Mulder is being held. Scully
is full of questions to Skinner, who doesn't know how to explain anything.
When they are given access to Mulder, he appears to be talking to himself.
As Scully doesn't miss a moment to run up to wrap her arms around him, he
calls her Dana and asks if she is all right. She attempts to kiss him, but
he doesn't respond in kind. He then looks over to Skinner and says "Walter
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Good to see you." They notice very quickly that Mulder is acting weird.
Mulder tells them that he is happy where he is and deserves to goto jail for
having killed Knowle Rohr. Skinner and Scully try to talk some sense into
him, as they are pushed out of the room by guards saying "Times up." When
the guards return, Mulder is again talking to himself ... but through
Mulders eyes we see he is actually talking to Alex Krycek. Mulder asks why he is helping him to which Krycek says "You cant do this alone." The Guards react to this and shove Mulder back to his cell.
Later that day in Skinners office, Reyes and Dogget are told the news of
Mulder being returned. Dogget cannot believe that Mulder is alive and Reyes
is in shock that Mulder is accused of murder. They are told by Kerch and
Follmer that a hearing will be held and they have all been asked to testify.
Scully is worried about what this may or not bring up from the past but it
is all she can do to help Mulder at this point, other than to offer proof that the person Mulder killed was either not killed by him, or not the person
they are claiming.
Kerch goes into a meeting with someone named Suveg who tells Kerch he is
going to "fix" the trial. Dogget, Reyes, Scully and Skinner go visit Mulder
at the brig again and Mulder tries to play it as though whats happening is
not serious. He spends most of the time acting unlike himself and joking
around with Scully and Skinner. They are convinced that something is wrong
with him and that he is being pressured into saying what he's saying. They
leave.
Scully goes to visit Mulder in his cell that night where he sits in the dark as though he's been waiting for her. They are not happy to see each other
there. Mulder tells Scully that he cant give her what she wants. Scully
tells him to make a deal - guilty on a lesser charge. Mulder says he would
rather die than give them what they want and Scully asks how he can do that
to her. Back to old school Mulder and Scully arguments, Mulder tells her
that it is greater than the both of them combined. That it is about
everything they've worked for - everything they've sacrificed. Scully tells
Mulder to expose what ever he is holding back, Mulder says he cant and wont.
The next day, Scully studies the information on Knowle Rohr and then heads
home to where Dogget and Reyes are going to meet her. Dogget and Reyes get
chased by a couple of men in black through Scullys to
prevent them from being able to testify the following day on Mulders behalf.
They fail and the trial begins and includes many familiar faces including
the
newly added conspirator... the toothpick man. As Scully presents the
information she's gathered on Rohr, the military court gets ready to present
its verdict on whether or not Mulder will be given the death penalty. As
Mulder is found guilty... the first hour of the series finale ends.
What were Coax’s April 25 spoilers again?
you know how in real life, if DC were nuked today, there is a shadow government set up in a bunker somewhere that would keep our country operating? That is where Mulder is trespassing into in the teaser. the teaser ends, and Mulder is being framed for the murder of Rhohr. the details you posted were not wrong, except for that Cary Elwes is not in the finale at all.
Mulder's trial is being judged by Kersh. Skinner plays defense attorney. a previously unseen agent is our prosecutor. The trial is held in secret with no witnesses because the crime took place in such a sensitive military operation. Mulder's defense is to prove the entire X Files conspiracy. He needs to tie together aliens, alien bounty hunters, the Syndicate, the bees, black oil, Samantha, Baby William, Scully's Cancer, and the SuperSoldiers. if he can prove that, he couldn't have killed Rhohr because Rhohr is a SuperSoldier. So the trial unfolds over about an hour, with every one you would expect to testify, plus some surprises. (Marita, Gibson)
Flashbacks from 9 seasons and the movie play over the testimony to really spell out the entire conspiracy.
But what do you expect from a trial over which Kersh presides?
Mulder is guilty, and faces the death penalty. Luckily for fans, and the franchise itself, he escapes with help of the most unlikely of people...someone thought dead for over 5 seasons...NO ONE DIES on The X Files.
I won't give away everything, but before the end, there is a long action scene being filmed this week with Mulder and scully (holding hands) being chased through the Anasazi Indian ruins by unmarked Black helicopters.
Is Duchovny’s name and face restored to the title credits?
It is.
The big news?
Herc suspects that the only people who are going to love this finale are the ones who have been jonesing for the Spooky-Dana love story. Talking to Mulder, Scully refers to William as “our son.” The pair spend an inordinate amount of time this episode smooching.
Do the Lone Gunmen live?
Who knows? They turn up in the finale, but only, like Krycek, as one of Mulder’s delusions.
Do we learn where Mulder’s been the past year?
He’s been in New Mexico, hanging with tiny chess prodigy Gibson Andrew Praise. Praise, you may or may not recall, has alien DNA and can read minds.
Is Mulder pissed when he learns of Baby William's fate?
No, he gets it.
Did Herc find this a satisfying wrap-up?
No.
Did it leave him salivating for the next X-Files movie?
No. It just left him with the impression that there’s no “there” there. And grateful that he no longer has to deal with this silly show.
We really want to see if Neleh or Kathy wins “Survivor IV” tonight. Can you just use Inviso-Text to tell us how it ends, spoiler boy?
Here's the last 30 minutes or so. Mulder is convicted and sentenced to death in the secret military tribunal. Skinner, Doggett and a surprising third party bust Mulder out of stir moments before a resurrected Rohr turns up. (Rohr is apparently anxioius to speed up the timetable on Mulder's execution.) Mulder tells everyone he and Scully are heading for Canada, but the pair secretly head for New Mexico instead. Doggett and Reyes return to find the X-Files office cleaned out: somebody even took away the office furniture. The last time we see Skinner, he’s called into the office of the deputy director.
Scully and Mulder arrive at a Pueblo constructed with loads of deadly-to-aliens “magnatite.” They find inside Cancer Man alive and hiding out and looking very Native American with his long white hair. He says the magnatite all around him keeps the aliens at bay. He says Indian wise men realized this too, and used the magnatite for protection 2,000 years ago. “Ten centuries ago,” adds Cancer Man, “the Mayans were so afraid that their calendar stopped on he exact date that my story begins: Dec. 22, the year 2012. The day of the final alien invasion. Mulder can confirm the date. He saw it at Mt. Weather [where this two-hour finale begins] where our own secret government will be hiding when it all comes down.”
Tipped off by the mind-reader kid, Doggett and Reyes arrive at the Pueblo via chopper. Rohr arrives almost simultaneously, but is quickly and dramatically consumed by the magnatite.
Doggett & Reyes warn Mulder & Scully that missile-laden helicopters are seconds away. Mulder & Scully flee in one SUV. Doggett & Reyes flee in another, and this is the last we see of them. The copters blow the Pueblo to kingdom come, but kill only Cancer Man and his faithful Indian companion.
The final scene is Mulder & Scully in a Roswell motel room, where they discuss where they succeeded and where they failed, and cuddle.
And that’s how it ends. Mulder presumably remains a fugitive, on the run with Scully. The aliens and their collaborators are not exposed or defeated. All Mulder really learns is the date a decade hence when the aliens finally arrive in force. The big happiness in the ending is Mulder and Scully are together and in love.
Herc’s rating for “X-Files” 9.19-9.20?
**1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
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yeehaa
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This is probably bad. X-files played itself out a long time ago anyway. It was probably best around season three and went downhill from there.
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I'm not saying this is going to be one of those times but I am hoping that it is. I can't believe that Chris Carter can't pull something off for his last episode. There has to be something that gives us a lead into the next movie. I, like many wished they had ended it awhile ago and then made some great movies but alas they didn't. I still have hope that even if this finale does suck, maybe they will make a good movie (if they make one at all.
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season 3 character that shows for trial is the original "Trust no one" guy that got 'killed'. That, or the Senator. I am going to watch... But I am disappointed they leave it hanging just to soak us for 9bucks later at the theater! After 9 frickin years... we deserve a *REAL* resolution. They shoulda done the story resolution here and saved the smoochies for the movie... at least then we coulda seen them naked and getting their groove on. HAHAHA
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..is the appropriate response to this. i stopped watching this show after season 7, cause it stopped being good after 6. if you got something out of the last two years, more power to you. but this ending sounds pointless. so he finds out the date of the invasion. nothing's changed, and nothing--NOTHING--seems to be explained. me? i guess i'll watch survivor.
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Yes, this was guaranteed to suck. I have to watch to conclude the YEARS I've put into this now crap show. But I can't be happier when, in about 6 hours, I'll never have to suffert hrough another episode of X-Files again. Chris Carter deserves testicular cancer for what he did to a once great product.
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I'm not inclined to care about a dissing of the show's finale (isn't his fave episode the lame genie one?). My hopes aren't high but as long as SOMETHING gets resolved I'll be a little happy. Then again, this IS Chris Carter - the master of dicking fans around - so this could be the ultimate slap in the face after all.
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As tv here in the states is slowly growing less and less imaginative (i.e. more filming of actual people's lives, and less writing and acting), the end of X-Files kinda brings a smile to my face. This is one less show for militant tv geeks to croon about and go to talkbacks for other tv shows which I may happen to like, and say THIS SHOW SUCKS, WHERE'S THE X-FILES NEWS HERC! No, I dont think X-files sucks, the show had alot of spark that got a little diluted in the end, but hey what do you expect when most of the original staff and cast fled. But maybe when Buffy and Angel are cancelled, I will no longer have to worry about the militant tv geeks bitching about the lack of news for their most beloved shows in the talkback of shows I like, which out of respect to the people who still like x-files, I wont mention. Toj out.
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The big happiness in the ending is Mulder and Scully are together and in love.
awwwww thats beautiful
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Hopefully, some day, we can at least expect a decent finale out of Simpsons. Hopefully not any time soon.
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I would like to say that for someone who likes teen pop culture trash like Roswell, Buffy, Angel, and the rest of that shit, I think Herc's opinion is the least valid of any of our's here.
Now, with that out of the way... It will be no suprise to me whatsoever if tonight's X-Files is terrible. Why is Carter and Co. giving so much screen time to Scully and Mulder? Mulder hasnt been in the show all season. No one even cares about him anymore. All we want are answers to the many many mysteries Carter has thrown in our laps these past 9 years, and it doesn't even look like we are going to get that. I suppose it was too much to hope for to think this show would exit with any class. Chris Carter is absolutely terrible as a writer, and I blame HIM for ruining this once incredible... dare I say perfect show. Oh, I'll be watching tonight, yet I think just like millions of X-Philes out there, once the finale ends, I'll be dusting off my Season One and Two DVD's, and set a date when I can pop em in the player and watch the introduction of the little show the could; and did. -
Oh this was the x-files? Never mind. I gave up on this show a couple years ago. Bring back the Lone Gunmen!
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There will be another movie for certain and it will close all the loose ends that tonite's finale fails to take care of? I have to say this is half disappointing and half expected. But let's be honest here, is there really gonna be that big of an audience for a movie? I doubt if it will enough money to break even. Anyway, back to my question, is there going to be another movie, and if so when will it be released?
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wow. that was bad. no real wrap up. no real resolution. they could have at least had Scully get buck naked or maybe a scully/reyes sandwich or something. I guess now all I have to look forward to is maybe Kim finally taking a shower on 24.
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That was horrible...I am glad I gave up on this show 3 years ago...
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I'm not sure what your problem was Herc, Mulder and Scully kissed once when they are alone near the beginning and they lay on a bed together at the end. How is that smooching throughout the show? Also we got what we wanted out a ending, things wrapped up and yet somewhere to go for a movie. I thought it was the second best series finale I've ever seen (the first being M*A*S*H) and as good as a good episode of the X-Files at least. I wish they could have spread it out over at least another episode so they didn't have to rush things so much but still all in all, not bad.
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I don't know how Carter could have wrapped up these many years of the X-Files. I don't mind that he didn't. Seeing this final episode made me realize what has been so horrible about the last two seasons: no Mulder and Scully. No unit. No center of gravity. Carter flirted with trying the X-Files without the unit, but these last two flailing seasons have been proof of that impossibility.
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May 19, 2002 10:08:06 PM CDT
kinda balsy to leave it off on a defeated note like that, and I
by tall_boy
call me slow, but I like a little connect-the-dots now and then. Still, I'd rate this half a star more just so you could see how it ends. Ending actually left me wanting for more closure in films. (which we probably won't get). Still, this series was, at times back in the day, one of the best to see air on television. Seeya later, Spooky.
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But with Chris Carter penning it, I'm grateful the finale had some moments to it. If it didn't tie up the show's plot threads - and it's actually unforgiveable that it didn't - at least it gave some sense of emotional closure to the show. I liked the fact that Mulder - the ultimate quixotic hero - is nine years later still the failure he was always meant to be. There were some good lines throughout and the final irony that the FBI is being totally co-opted by aliens was fine by me. But still, in so many ways this finale confirms that Carter either has total contempt for his audience, total insecurity that he can't sustain interest (or maintain his creative stronghold) in the franchise unless he keeps twenty different plot threads up in the air, no ability to tell a coherent story, or - most likely - all of the above.
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As a casual fan, this show has become so beyond me. But the more I watch, the more I come to think that Carter isn't as talented as we all thought, but rather that he lucked into something early on, and then has been struggling to maintain it for the past five years.
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Having now seen it, I tend to agree in some respects with Herc (master of his own conspiracy and cover-up here on AICN): The M/S stuff was a bit harsh. And the midfield of the ep was a drag, since it was a bunch of info those of us who've followed the show are familiar with. Plus the tribunal dialogue was iffy. But Holy Shit - (Spoilers I suppose) - CSM's final scenes were amazing. WTF did those chopper shots cost? And him sitting there, awaiting his fate with a final smoke - William B. Davis has, over the past nine years, brought to life the best bad guy in all of television, and that final montage alone made the episode worth watching. He stole the show. I was worried, after the first hour and a half, that it would go out with a whimper - but there was a bang, after all.
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May 19, 2002 10:56:40 PM CDT
all anybody on xfiles talkbacks talks about is how much it sucks
by evilbunnyfrank
Yeah, we all know it jumped the ole shark a long time ago, but i acutally liked the finale, and it helped me get over how sucky things have been since duchovny left and took 75% of the audience with him. and it was worth watching to see CSM alive in the anasazi ruins, even if only to be blown to bits moments later. And, of course, the best part was CSM asking Scully if she wanted to sit on his lap. Oh, I've missed him!
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The ending was prefect. Mulder spent close to a decade getting Scully to believe in the X-Files and in the end she got him to believe in God. The end wasn't their love, it was his acceptance of Christ. There will be a second movie and it will be all about the second coming before the alien invasion in 2012(the date on the message). Gibson/William will have some prophet/christ figure action. The ending was great. Mulder found that the only thing left to believe in was God and that God will be the one to save His people. It was an odd way to go and unexpected , but I liked the twist. Mulder holding Scully's cross was great as well. Well done Chris Carter. The show was dying. It was nice to have one final big twisted. Also kudous for keeping to X-Files cardinal rule. No one ever dies on the X-Files.
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Yeah, I would have liked a bit more resolution to the conspiracy arc, but if the last episode did anything else, it shows who the most evil son of a bitch is in the history of TV is....one C.G.B. Spender.
What a great guy....he keeps his own son alive to see him broken.
Now THAT is evil! -
It had its ups and downs, but it was still the best drama of the past decade, so 1013 should get some credit. Just though I'd add that before we see too many posts complaining about this or that. Hope the finale fared well against the soap opera otherwise known as Survivor.
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They have a canned trial scene which attempts to summarize the show... at least here there was some point to it. Frankly I thought they explained too much. It was all to convoluted and uninteresting. They should have dropped the whole alien conspiracy thing a long time ago and focused on idividual cases of hoodoo. I'm pretty sure they've killed whatever chance they had of making another movie... even if is going to be a stand alone story. What are they going to so... make Mulder and Scully renegade paranormal investigators/lovers? Or will they mercifully ignore all the crap they've been dropping on us the past couple of seasons. If they had dropped the show a couple of seasons ago to start focusing on movies they might have had a decent franchise with some legs. But I think it's too late for that now.
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Rumors have been circulating the press for weeks. Honestly, even if the finale were to be dead last in ratings for the night, you can expect another flick. For one thing, this is FOX, they milk their cash cows for every drop. For another, look at all the Star Trek movies getting done - that show had far less impact in the ratings than The X-Files. No ST series competes ratings-wise, yet there's still a franchise. Another X-Files movie would be just as profitable. You've got a decent (if declining) television viewership, strong syndication numbers, strong DVD sales, and a world-wide following. It would be profitable, if the budget were comparable to the last one. It doesn't need to get blockbuster numbers, just decent ones. Plus, you don't need to pay anyone twenty million to star. What's Duchovney done since he left the show? Evolution? A cameo in Zoolander? Blah, I say, Blah.
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That's the most positive I've ever heard him sound about the show, in recent interviews. Not what a burden it is to be Mulder, how he thinks M & S should never get together, etc. etc. Not as many good roles or steady jobs out there as he thought! If there's a movie, he'll do it. Bet on it. Just as Shatner will always be Kirk, no matter how much other work he's done, DD will always be known as Mulder. That's his part, it belongs to him, as Scully belongs to GA. Maybe he knows now how lucky he is - most actors never get to make that kind of impression on the popular culture. I would love to see RP and AG continue in another show - they were really good, especially RP, but they never had a chance in hell of taking on a show that belonged to other people. Maybe some genius at Fox will snag them for their own show, and hopefully give them good writers! They have the goods, just not the fair chance to use them. Adios, X-Files, it was great while it lasted...
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Good thing Julia didn't marry him or else she'd be "Julia Gulia." From scumbag whoremonger to prosecuting attorney. He's the most believeable character there!
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I really have lost all credability. But I don't think I ever said X-Files jumped the shark because it's my firm belief that all but the slowest children stopped using the phrase "jumped the shark" two years ago. Good luck with that SAT.
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And I don't mean good as in "eh." Or good as in compared to the last four years. I mean good as in this being a worth ending, a worthy "truth," to the show's 9 year tease (if only it'd been a 5 or even 6 year tease!).
I was impressed so many loose ends were able to be tied up. We dared Carter to do it and he did. Not anti climatic at all. Sure, enough was left unresolved for the movies....as in the characters were left living and the aliens are still coming. BUT.......stopping the aliens was never what the show was about. It was about, as the final's title suggests, THE TRUTH, which we got tonight. Now it will be up to the sequels to have Mulder and Scully stop the aliens. -
May 20, 2002 12:19:57 AM CDT
ISN'T SCULLY SUPPOSED TO BE IMMORTAL NOW? WHAT EVER HAPPENED
by orbitus
There was an episode years ago where some old guy could tell how people were going to die. At the end of the episode he asks Scully if she wants to know. She reluctantly said yes as I recall and he told her that she didn't, leaving her a bit confused. In a later episode there was a guy who would show up right when someone was going to die and take a picture of the event. He had apparently almost died once, but was passed over by the literal figure/person/being of death, leaving him in all respects immortal. At the end of that episode Scully got shot and was dying, but when 'death' came for her, the 'undead' guy got in the way and finally died, thus leaving Scully in all respects immortal. These were real episodes for any doubters, I just don't recall the exact titles of them. I guess my question is now what? Will Scully live forever or will Carter tie this up in the next movie (highly unlikely since it seems he may have forgotten about it). Later.
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Unlike Herc, who never liked The X-Files in the first place, I was there since day one.. and pretty much watched until Chris Carter made a mess of things a couple of seasons ago. Tonight's series finale was a malaised, poorly scripted affair which offered no satisfying resolution to 9 years of conspiracy theories and assorted intrigues. The first hour was a weak 'courtroom drama', which gave the writers an excuse to bring back long gone characters to recap the show. The trial was a joke and they didn't bother to make the legalities of a murder trial credible. Then.. off to the second hour, where Mulder is busted out of the pen so he and Scully can race to some Pueblo in the west and have a half-assed conversation with Cancer Man, who, of course, didn't die when he was thrown down those stairs seasons ago. The series ends with no resolution.. the Pueblo is blown up along with Cancer Man.. And though I would have cheered aloud at this years ago.. Now I just raised my eyebrow and let out a BLAH. The final scene.. has Mulder and Scully having a heart to heart in a motel in Roswell New Mexico. They never found the truth.. Earth was never outright invaded. Nothing was resolved. So that's that--The X-Files goes down into the Tv history books.. as a show which was once a phenomenon but became yet another mediocre sci-fi show that ran on for too long. And after this unfragant mess of a series finale.. Chris Carter expects to make another movie? He won't be getting my 9 bucks.. that's for sure.
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What a fucking letdown. What the fuck did it resolve? Mulder and Scully's lovestory, and that's about it. I mean, that's fucking it???
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Wrong. The most overrated writer on TV is Joss Whedon. Without a shadow of a fucking doubt.----As far as final episodes go...it was...okay. I'm not terribly disappointed. Everything wrapped up in a tidy package, with an opening for more in future. It could have been much worse. Or a bit better...----For the movie, they should probably go in an unexpected direction. Why fuck around with alien conspiracies at all? Make it more like one of the hoodoo episodes (as someone else put it). A creepy mystery of some sort. Or a straight crime drama, without any obvious supernatural elements (emphasis on OBVIOUS, as it wouldn't be X-files without something weird going on). And get a director who hasn't directed the show. THe last thing anyone wants to see is a two hour TV show at the theater. Wouldn't a David Fincher X-files movie be cool? Extremely unlikely, but cool.
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I guess there are a lot of ignorant television viewers who don't understand different styles of storytelling. ---For one thing, this finale worked because it showed us flashbacks with supporting dialogue by Skinner and the witnesses. Marita, Gibson, and former Agent Spender were the greatest suprise witnesses, with Skinner being the main information giver. I found greater clarity with this finale's format. The way Skinner and the witnesses told us, in order, every important fact of this alien conspiracy worked because all the X-Files were the result of this shadow government. Mulder even said something like this in an episode: 'In trying to hide the alien conspiracy, CGB Spender was the man behind the curtain pulling all the levers and pushing all the buttons to keep Mulder busy to prevent him from exposing everything the Syndicate has worked for (saving their own asses).' Even Mulder's visions seemed right. I loved seeing them giving Mulder suggestions from the dead, and X was awesome to see again. Some of you might be crying now because you didn't get your closure on this main issue. But if there was closure for it, and the public was shown to have found out about this alien invasion, the main story would be GONE!!!!!!!!! No more suspense and intrigue about what's going to happen next with the alien invasion/colonization, but more public chaos that really isn't worth getting into because of it's broad reach. Why show the public in mass hysteria when we can see Mulder and Scully panic and try to stop this all by themselves while the rest of us live our normal lives. I prefer to see the heros *try* to conquer the baddies. I don't want closure with this alien thing, because it hasn't even hit its stride (evidenced by that famous date: Dec 12(?), 2012). I now understand the whole mythos about what the X-Files stand for, but it's too bad some of you don't.
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How is it he can communicate with the dead? Maybe I missed something but how come Mulder never used this gift when he was working on the X-FILES? And anyone who watches Survivor deserves to be beaten with a rabid pitbull while wearing a bloody steak. And anyone who says I should watch Survivor over the series finale of X-Files needs to be hit with a sledgehammer the size of St. Louis. Overall I was happy, all my questions were answered (The Gunmen are dead...use brains!) and something little was left for the movie. The only little questions are: A) How to stop the invasion and B) Are Kersh and Skinner alive? To give the season finale [and thankfully SERIES] of DARK ANGEL a higher rating than the SERIES finale of X-Files is just as sick as suggesting we watch reality tv not involving Ozzy yelling "SHARON!"
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Do you honestly think the public would believe the story about alien conspiracies?? The conspiracy is too broad and too deeply rooted to be exposed.
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May 20, 2002 1:26:43 AM CDT
Did Anyone Else's Affliate Let All The Credits Play Out OR..
by jollydwarf
Yeah, what was with that nonsensical clip of Bob Newhart tossing and turning in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette right after the Fox Fanfare? Oh well...was Scully's "Why are they doing this to you?" line supposed to be a Star Wars nod?...Will we see Scully in the X-Files movie doing a slow-mo bullet time flying kick at an Alien?...How can an idea based on pre-millenium tension succeed WITHOUT its star and after the change of the millenium? Rhetorical question...Do you do the movie ASAP to squeeze the last few bucks out of the series before it becomes remembered as a marred icon for "That's Sooo '90s Show" or do you wait five or six years for its "retro value" to skyrocket? I Still Want To Believe, don't get me wrong, but I don't know what another PG-13 X-Files film can accomplish in this age where the stars HAVE TO look convincing doing double backflips and running off of walls. And don't even THINK about a revision of the show a decade from now. It was and always will be the "Fox and Dana Show".
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Shark Sandwich
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Can anyone out there tell me what the hell happened to Kersh in this episode? Skinner went from skeptical hardass, pretty much a villain, to ally, but it took about 4 seasons. Kersh does a complete 180 in one episode? Did I miss something? He prevents Scully from introducing evidence that would exonerate Mulder, effectively getting him the death penalty singlehandedly.... then he helps him escape! Alrighty then! The rest of the episode I actually quite liked. I was upset when CSM seemingly died by being pushed down stairs, I was glad he finally got to go out in style. But if anyone has figured it out PLEASE tell me what the hell was up with Kersh. (Oh... and did Rohr just get magnatite dust in his open wound or did Doggett fire a magnatite bullet!?)
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It was excellent and perfectly wrapped up the big themes we've seen the past 9 years. If you didn't really enjoy this then you are not a true X-fan and you probably never were. There's no pleasing some people I guess. Sad.
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I used to love "X-Files" but I quit watching it around about the same time that "Fight the Future!" sucked my ass. I can't believe Herc laid down talkbacks for this and "Survivor" and completely ignored "Six Feet Under" which offered up a truly incredible episode this evening -- that was EXTREMELY good TV. A truly surprising and moving turn of events.
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Didn't anybody else notice this? It was just a cheesy way of getting everybody back on the show, including the dead people (although it was nice to see Mulder and Krycek eyeball to eyeball once again). Jeez, they even used the stupid courtroom setting. And for the record, both finales were singularly disappointing, although I did like the M/S face suckage (even though it was total anti-climax). Where was the farewell Doggett/Reyes face suckage, Carter? Bogus...
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the conspiracy really didn't have anywhere to go after that so they killed them off half a season later. balsy. stupid, but balsy. even after watching this ep, I guess the conspiracy was just taken over by the aliens in an "invaders of the body snatchers" type of deal. still, kudos for leaving it open ended.
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Wow! That was soo good, it explained everything, and gave us one final mystery that will last another 10 years. I don't think this show could have done any better! I salute 9 years.
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May 20, 2002 2:39:37 AM CDT
Farewell! THE X-FILES had a long run and ended it all with a dec
by psyclops
It wasn't as bad as I'd feared it would be. I used to watch this show every week up until the movie was released back in '97 (a film that I really enjoyed as a fan of the show), I just never had the time or the patience to keep up with Mulder and Scully after that. I watched a handful of episodes over the last few years and decided to watch the finale... for old times sake. I'm glad. It was a decent episode that basically ended with an honest resolution... Mulder's ultimate search is for his faith, possibly his belief in God. I think it was a strong enough ending, really, it's what life all comes down to in the end anyway. I do hope that there is a second X-Files movie that will tie up the loose ends and give us a happier ending but coming from a long time fan who had almost lost faith in the show... I thought it ended well. Farewell!
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Very few of ya "got" the ending, and I'm not surprised...
During 9 seasons of a television show, there's bound to be some stinkers, and X-Files was no exception.
But rather than accept the chaff for the wheat, you all tune out...never gave Doggett and Reyes a chance to develop a chemistry similar to Mulder and Scully, resulting in this SERIES finale...and then you bitch about it because you didn't get it.
Was it GREAT for the entire two hours? Heck no. Did it wrap up the cruxt of the series? YES. Mulder found the TRUTH. And hell, we were rewarded with the TRUTH about Scully and Mulder.
Which, we've known for years, but you probably didn't notice because it wasn't during a four star episode....you had to use your brains.
Thank you Chris Carter, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the rest of the supporting cast and crew for 9 years of entertainment. May you all be blessed in your future endeavors.
As for you talkbackers, try throwing your remote controls away and giving other decent shows a chance to survive your inattention.
Corben -
*sigh* I'm at a loss. I guess to preface this, I'm a hardcore Buffy/Angel fan (if you've seen those TBs) because those shows hit my mystical/supernatural button just right, and before I had them, I had X-Files. Hell, for a couple summers in an XF chat room I was a member of a cyber-FBI group that took down such lunatics as Yakko Warner, et al.. As for this swan song, the episode had some serious issues, but it stayed thematically true. 1) I thought Skinner shot Krycek because Ratoby was being a real Rat last year. And now he's being canonized in this ep? Ermm.. Don't get me wrong, Nick Lea's cuteness helped draw me into the series early on and I loved seeing my beloved Krycek in episodes, any episodes, including this one, but it seemed like there was a bad continuity error there that can't be ignored. 2) Scully's testimony brought into question very simply by her relationsip with Mulder. A very big Screw You to the shippers (of which I am not one). Their relationship called into question the very integrity of their work, jeopardizing the X-Files (very clear reference to the FBI side of it). 3) Um, yeah, no one dies on XF, except of course for the very best characters: Krycek, Lone Gunmen, X, Deep Throat, Well-Mannicured Man.... 4) I'm glad that's the last time Chris Carter will probably have the chance to get away with such flowery writing, yech! Until I got tuned in elsewhere, I had no idea why my equally-flowery papers weren't getting A's. Who on earth talks like that, who isn't full of himself? Now for the thematic stuff, the last scene was pretty darn nice. Ok, so things were spelled out, how much of this didn't we already know and discuss to death? I mean, we're about the only ones left watching, it could've been a touch more intelligent like it used to be until it got dumbed down for Sundays. Anyway, the thematic stuff was good, M/S's overall searching arcs, no longer wanting to believe, just believing. Back together again, back to the beginning. And life goes on, nothing much is wrapped up (a very good thing), there will always be mystery, no one really all-knowing. Who needs closure? With something like the X-Files, how could anything be closed but only a few of the MOTW cases, if any? Things don't just end, movie or no movie. Could any of the characters fit into a classical definition of a hero? In all, despite the writing and the few flaws, it ended on the right note, and I'm content with that. Nothing to geek about now, move along.
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So what, the aliens are still coming? So what, the public still doesn't know? So? The point is the viewers know and M/S know. The 9 years have been wrapped up (both the conspiracy and the M/S relationship). But, as in life, things will also continue to develop in the future. I.e. the invasion is still coming and the aliens appear to have infiltrated most of the FBI (and probably other agencies as well). Nevertheless, the series' main points were wrapped up and apart from a few niggles, it was a good episode.
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Wrapped up a few things, left many others open for the movie. I'll write more later but wanted to throw in my support for it. I loved seeing them all together again and as for the conspiracy, aliens, super soldiers, New Mexico, mind-reading, Skinner, Reyes, Doggett, Kersch... we'll find out soon enough!
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You have got to be kidding me. One of the best shows on television goes out with not a bang, but a whimper. So we get to see that Scully and Mulder have faith in each other and in themselves. And we needed two boring hours of rehash to get it? What did we really learn in the culminating episode of nine years of my devoted attention? One date that means absolutely nothing. The fact is, The X-Files was always at its best when Mulder and Scully were investigating the non-conspiracy episodes. So why did we have to watch that trash tonight? Absolute garbage. Chris Carter didn't write anything. He might as well have had monkeys typing random letters. There was nothing original. No vision. Where did it all go? It left with David Duchovny is the answer. This show should have ended with him rather than with Chris Carter surfing on a beach somewhere while his millions in stock quotes pile up in the bank. If I wanted to be screwed up the a**, I can think of a million better ways to do it. As a loyal fan, I think I deserved more, and yet, just as in real life, I got nothing in return. I wanted to be sad to see The X-Files go, but in the end, all I am really left with is relief that the canon cannot be screwed with any more by hack writers fresh out of UCLA killing my favorite supporting characters or having Doggett, er, Scully, er, Reyes, er, um, who? visit the Brady Bunch house or meet up with Burt Reynolds and the Love Boat crew or Ponch from CHIPs or something. Relief and bitterness too, it seems. It's like what one of my fellow talkbackers proclaimed, it's time to pop in the DVDs and recapture the reason I loved The X-Files and try to forget the last two or three seasons even existed. The truth is out there. . . and I want to believe that the final glimpses of Scully and Mulder were nothing but a bad dream. Or a mass cover-up by a conspiratorial shadow government. I will miss this show dearly. The X-Files RIP.
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Twenty-four hours later, and the last images of CSM are still burning in my mind. That tells you something about the impact The X-Files can have at its best. I might forget a lot of the finale, but I'll never forget his final words about breaking a man (which parallel a speech he gave to Agent Spender back in season six), nor his final moments. When shit like that sets in, its a lot easier to judge a show.
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Admittedly I only watched the first hour. I had to skip over 6ft Under... About 6 months ago or so, I visited a Millenium/X-Files fan site. They speculated about the ending of the X-Files and it's interconnectedness with Frank Black. They nailed the ending and the whole alien invasion thing in 2012. Anyone who thinks this episode was bad, try watching the David McCallum "documentary" on the end of the world. That whole Mayan prophecy, with the blenders and computers attacking the suburban family was chessy yet priceless.
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Those who did not see any resolution: what were you looking for? This conspiracy that has existed for thousands, across galaxies, and you expect one man and one woman to end it in some gloriour two-hour explosion-after-explosion destruct-o-thon? The resolution to the "conspiracy" is that colonization begins in 10 years. The X-Files world is fucked. But that isn't the resolution of the show. The resolution came with the discussion in the motel room at the end of the show. This scene took the whole series full circle. In their first scene in a hotel room together (In "Pilot" some 9 years ago), Mulder believes in aliens but not God, and Scully believes in God but not UFOs. It ends with each of them believing in both. Sure, this show had conspiracies, and monsters, and aliens -- but the show was ABOUT Mulder and Scully. When Duchovny left 2 years ago, the show lost a large faction of its viewers: the people who watched the show for Mulder and Scully. For us, this episode was the perfect resolution. They are together again (at last!), and they both know the trush, even if they can't do anything about it. Mulder was seeking the Truth, and he found it. The Truth sucks, but have faith that there is something about the aliens that will pull you through it all. The End. Needless to say, I liked it.
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May 20, 2002 11:32:10 PM CDT
Who said this was the end? Hopefully not Chris Carter and 1013..
by diskatopia
Not being a rabid fan but rather a scattershot fan for the past 5 years after watching the first 3-4 seasons complete (the first 3-4 years did rock, didn't they :) ), I am not displeased with the final epsiode. I can understand how someone who has seen it all, every episode, would want closure at this point, but if Mr. Chris Carter is not a jerk... and if there will be movies ( preferably 5 between now and "calender end" 2012, with the last three being Mulder & Scully-- and whoever isn't killed while saving M&S in the first two movies ;) -- taking care of the horrific alien invasion problem)... and if he and 1013 will do the right thing... the final episode is a great starting off point for the movies. Mulder and Scully now know The Truth, pretty completely-- and only they and a few others can possibly save the Earth somehow! Mulder's impetus has now fully transformed from the slightly selfish "I've got to know The Truth" to the onerous and mind-boggling "ohhh crap, now I know it all... but is there anything I can do to stop it?" So if we get 3-5 movies from this series ending point, with a final film of Mulder and Scully foiling the Invasion in 2012 (my silly-fanboy-early-clueless-guess: say, by using a thermonuclear weapon to obliterate some, ahem, "magnatite" atoll in the pacific to dust and into the jet stream and thus spreading magnatite dust over the Earth and in the oceans, making the planet too inhospitable to alien DNA), if we get a film finale, it could be awe-inspiring-- Mulder and Scully will have gone from just "finding The Truth", which works well for episodic TV, to saving EVERYTHING, EVERYONE, and all the truths of the series' world, which works damn well on the big screen. This is the kind of character mission you need to drive blockbuster big pictures, saving the world before a deadline (2012)! Pretty excellent, if it happens. Fingers and toes crossed. To paraphrase Mulder's thoughts at the episodic end: "There is hope." May Chris Carter and 1013 bless us :) ......... Long Live the Lone Gunmen... .
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May 20, 2002 11:52:11 PM CDT
Any "inside" word on what Carter's plan may be? ( I know, I
by diskatopia
My subscriptions to Variety and Hollywood Reporter lapsed months back, and I just this week resubbed, so what's the word in the trades? Any words from the offices of 1013? What's the scuttlebutt on the future of the X-Files franchise? Any insider leaks floating around?
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At least regarding The X-Files on TV. But why, OH WHY did that overrated fuck-worthless hack Carter have to remake that horrible Seinfeld finale? This SUCKED! IT FUCKING SUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKEEEEEEDDDDDDDD!!!! Goddamned fucking moron, Carter! That stupid star-chamber "trial" (a military tribunal--yeah, right!) was nothing more than transparent piss-poor excuse for a massive summarization of the previous NINE years. Almost no fan who has stuck with this series needs to have their memory refreshed on all the high plot points reiterated in the testimonies. The best we got was sort-of confirmation of certain things like Mulder being CSM's son and that heavy implication that baby William is "not of this Earth." In spite of CC saying (and this has gone on the record, being printed on more than one X-Files site) that Mulder's the father of William, AND Scully's referring to his as "our son." ****** And not only do we have a worthless show trial, we have a curtain-call for past supporting characters--living AND dead. Not only do the dead ones give Mulder moral support, they hand him physical data to help him out. Fucking insulting that. Carter must think we're all imbeciles, or else he's such a fucking imbecile he will never get it. ****** Worse, he leaves our heroes all alone, on the lam, and with no one left back in the FBI or elsewhere to count on. How the hell are they to pursue the paranormal in the next movie when they can barely support themselves in this state? Carter should really have had them reinstated in the FBI somehow. Hey, he's pulled bullshit deus ex machinas before. Why not a bigger one than Kersh suddenly changing his tune and helping out our heroes. ****** Carter's basic problem is this: he pitted his noble, honest-to-a-fault heroes against such a vast, complex array of evil that they couldn't possibly win. Almost all the time the Bad Guys simply knocked Mulder's and Scully's legs out from under them. Are we supposed to care about protagonists who hardly ever win a victory? Carter's rampant anti-government paranoia and obsession with aliens and incompetency to plan and write decent stories and let his character evolve as they should under the circumstances ultimately doomed the series. I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT about the next movie. The most the finale on TV did was satisfy my curiosity. And that ain't enough to insure my loyalty from here on out. I can jerk myself off a lot better, thank you very goddamn much. ******* Love ya, Mulder and Scully, but GOOD RIDDANCE, Chris Carter, you talentless asshole!
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What ends weren't wrapped up, as about 90% of you are complaining about? The aliens are coming in 2012... this is the "truth" that is out there. What the fuck else would you asses preferred to have answered in the finale? Please be specific.
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"X-Files is a silly show" - and beautiful models karate kicking bad guys in Buffy and Alias is the height of seriousness. "We never learn any answers" - yeah right, a tv show will answer for you all questions about the mystery of life the universe and everything. If you wanted closure then I guess the initial storyline ending with the X-Files film gave you one and some people jumped off the series...so be it. "I gave up on X-Files after season so-and-so" - so why do you feel the need to come here and badmouth the show...especially since you haven't been watching in the years since and have no idea what's been happening on the show? The fact is X-Files was one of the best shows ever created and there will now be an empty space on Sunday nights now never to be matched. There were clunker episodes like in all series but I thought each season had very good shows up to last year's with only this season as consistently weak (including...sigh...the finale). That's the genuine feeling of someone who actually LIKES the series and didn't come here spewing hate for it each week. Peace, out.
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May 21, 2002 2:00:18 AM CDT
It's Seinfeld's fault. When that show became a hit, X-F
by domi'sinnerchild
I'm glad I didn't watch the finale. So did the bees have anything to do with anything?
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May 21, 2002 2:00:18 AM CDT
It's Seinfeld's fault. When that show became a hit, X-F
by domi'sinnerchild
I'm glad I didn't watch the finale. So did the bees have anything to do with anything?
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Orbitus, Scully's missed shot at Death... we never truly knew if by recovering the photographer guy Death might have 'figured out' he'd missed someone. It's not necessary that he 'stole' Scully's death, although that definitely seems to be what's implied... but since she hasn't died yet, there isn't really an issue. Whatever... it all led to her performing the same sacrificial service, but since most everyone's forgotten about that... revisionist imagination is where it's at. :) Anyone else wonder what the hell happened when Skinner let himself enter the alien's office? Like it or not, Skinner has been the X-Files resident badass for 9 years. Mitch Pileggi has been the man. I'd hate to lose Skinner from the series.
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Overall, this episode felt the closest to "old X-files" as I had seen in a while.
This content should have been part of a second movie. The series should have ended at the first movie.
I really was pleased to see all the characters working together.
Things got a little too New Agey when Mulder started talking about learning lessons by listening to dead people, "I see dead people..."
I think that if they play their cards right, you have some epic movies coming down the pike. They should let things settle for at least a year before doing anything.
Did I miss something? Are TLG dead? Mulder envisoned all dead people up until them...then I had a start.
I remember a few episodes back, some lady super soldier blew the hell out of their van, but I seem to recall them surviving.
Someone please let me know what the hell happened to them!!
Good episode. I wonder what happened to Kirsh and Skinner?
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So, there's a set date now floating in the air.
This is both a good thing. Good in that it will cause future tension to everything going on, bad in that there isn't much mystery to it.
Damn, all the cool characters were killed.
This episode threw me when I first saw Krychek. I saw him and didn't understand right away he was only a vision. I was whooping with joy! I was like, "Good, I am glad he didn't die in that cheap way in the parking lot, getting gunned down like a thug."
The vision thing got a little out of control when Mr. X hands Mulder a concrete object...that somehow is still in his hands! That got taken a little too far!
I knew CSM was still alive. It's BS though that he could have still survived with that kind of bad cancer. A little far gone on that front, too.
I thought that he kind of had a begrudging respect for Mulder...so I was slightly taken aback when he was like, "Now I can watch your fear and watch you be broken."
Oh well...just some things to ponder...
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