The X-Files (TV Series) My Struggle II (2016) User Reviews

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[Lejink · 7/10 · 21 March 2016]

Like so many, I was a fan of the original series although I don't recall following it all the way through to the end of its nine-season run in the 90's. I was very surprised but pleased to see it revived for another short, 6-episode run, helmed by creator Chris Carter and peopled with many characters from yesteryear. I enjoyed that there was no tampering with the title sequence or theme music, unlike say, recent episodes of "Dr Who". But would these shows echo the greatness of the early episodes when the programme was new...?

Looking back over the 6 episodes, I enjoyed it more than I dared hope. The big background story was Cancer Man's nefarious plan to kill off everyone on earth with a deadly alien virus bar a select few, including Scully but not Mulder. The cliff-hanging ending, with Scully trying to find the plague-infected Mulder on a gridlocked highway to administer an antidote only to be interrupted by what seems to be a flying saucer, certainly took me by surprise and I do hope that Carter and Co can write themselves out of this particular corner if they get the chance through another series.

In the preceding episodes there was an enjoyable mix of the serious and the light-hearted, the latter no doubt a nod to the "monsters from outer-space" origins of the show emanating from 1947 onwards. The plumb silly episode with the reverse lizard-man featured a voyeuristic image of Duchovny resplendent on a cheap motel bed in a pair of scarlet trunks I can't easily get out of my head together with another fantasy image of Anderson getting ravished in broad-daylight by the creature in human form. Then there was Mulder's Billy Ray Cyrus meets Saturday Night Fever drug-fuelled romp. I also loved the idea of the mini-me Mulder and Scully younger FBI agents who subsequently pair off with our heroes and who just scream "spin-off series". Amongst the more serious stuff, Scully lost her mother and pursued her given-up-for-adoption love-child with Mulder while the duo also got to interact with a truth-telling if sensationalist TV presenter acting as national whistle-blower.

As for the acting, Duchovny has definitely slowed down, almost to the point of coming across as self-consciously mannered although Anderson was just as she should be, long-suffering, sceptical but trusting of her partner.

The six episodes here were a bit hit and miss, but t'was ever thus. On the whole, I was glad to see the old truth-searching gang back again. Because it's still out there don't you know.

This is the end

[Muldernscully · 8/10 · 23 February 2016]

This is the end is the tagline that adorns the opening credits for My Struggle II, the final episode of season 10. Does the tagline refer to the end of the beloved television series or to the pandemic that is beginning to kill off the majority of the world's population as seen in the episode? Considering that the episode ended on a cliffhanger, we can only hope that the X-Files returns for another round to see if Scully's vaccine will be enough to save humanity.

As My Struggle showcased Mulder's struggle with his wanting to believe in a government conspiracy of the existence of aliens, My Struggle II has a double meaning, serving as a sequel to the first episode, but also showing that Scully has a similar struggle. Except, in Scully's case, her struggle is to use science to make sense of and fight the paranormal elements she encounters in her work with Mulder. The amount of science in this episode is overwhelming, which I guess is to be expected when you see that the two co-writers of the story with Chris Carter are doctors. I was lost in all the science jargon being thrown around.

Agent Einstein, who was very irritating in the previous episode, proves to be a competent companion to Scully this time around. Scully slowly gets her to see the light of the conspiracy and the existence of aliens, or at least, alien DNA. Scully powers this episode while Mulder is mysteriously beat up, not communicating with anyone, and traveling on his way to a rendezvous with CSM.

This episode had some tense, exciting moments as the pandemic was spreading and Scully and Einstein were racing to find a cure for it. It had me on the edge of my seat for most of the episode. We got to see Agent Monica Reyes return, whom many fans despised in the original run. I don't think this episode helped her cause, as it is revealed that she became CSM's lackey to save her own neck from the upcoming pandemic. Scully refers to Reyes as a coward, which she is. Reyes decision is a bit baffling, considering how passionate she was toward Mulder's cause originally.

My Struggle II had a couple of goofy lines that I don't think Chris Carter really thought through before putting them in. Scully tells looters to stop it and go to the hospital. Right. Like they are just going to stop and listen to some red head running through the streets holding IV bags. Also, CSM tells Mulder that he summoned Mulder to him to invite him to be one of the elect saved. Mulder tells CSM that he doesn't come when CSM calls him. Ummm, yeah, Mulder, you just did that. Speaking of which, I thought Mulder would have already been protected from this pandemic, based on him being exposed to the alien virus and CSM saying Mulder was immune to the coming viral apocalypse in The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati. I guess not.

As much as I liked this episode, there wasn't enough Mulder in it, and definitely too little Mulder & Scully interaction. But, with the episode ending in a cliffhanger, it gives us hope that the X-Files will return someday or Chris Carter will have X-Files fans rioting in the streets, just like in this episode. If not, he will have given us one of the biggest cheats ever.

Disappointing finale due to cliffhanger and poor writing, but still enjoyable due to tight pacing and plotting.

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 7/10 · 22 February 2016]

The episode starts out with a bunch of the stiff, exposition packed, emotionless and dumb dialogue that plagued the last episode and has been there in some capacity throughout the entire revival. It's painful to watch, and makes the plot seem stupider than it is. Once the plot really picks up, this dissipates a bit since the focus is more on action. While the writing was really off, the directing was great. The second half of the episode was very tense. Once they stop telling you how bad this conspiracy is and actually start showing you, it's hard not to get swept up in it.

There are some great tie-ins to the original series that make it seem more plausible. There is a great fight scene. The smoking man is scarier than ever, and his ultimate plan is finally revealed. Just when you think that you can forgive the stiff first half because you're enjoying the second half so much, the episode ends. It ends on a cliffhanger that will surely make a lot of people very angry.

To be fair, the X-files has always been about not giving us the answers. But what the later seasons and this revival have shown us is that simply teasing us is not enough when people start to feel like the show-runners don't know either. It shows how the X-files paved the way for modern television to the degree where it has now become obsolete. It's like the original telephone; worthy of recognition for being revolutionary for its time, but nothing compared to the things that have come after and built on it. Seeing it next to modern television now, that relationship becomes clear.

Ultimately, I did enjoy watching the episode. There is a certain campy thrill to all of it. But the writing and the ending will frustrate many and are perfect demonstrations of why the show has become obsolete.

Chris Carter doubles down on rewriting the mythology

[skiop · 23 February 2016]

I know I'm not alone in feeling icky after watching "My Struggle". Chris Carter seems to want us to forget all that happened in the first nine seasons: the black oil, purity control, the alien fetus, the alien rebels, the alien bounty hunter, the missing time, the staging, the supersoldiers, etc. Instead, we're led to believe that there was an alien crash in Roswell, but there haven't been aliens on Earth since then and everything else was just faked by the government with the alien technology taken from the Roswell crash. That would have been OK if done in season 1, but in season 10, it's just rewriting the complete story arc.

I was hoping in "My Struggle II", Carter would reveal to us that everything that we had learned in the first nine seasons hadn't been completely rewritten, but alas, he doubled down on it. There's no group of men conspiring with aliens, but just a group of men conspiring among themselves. I'm not going to reveal what the new conspiracy is, as it's revealed in the reviews with spoilers. Suffice it to say that it just doesn't match up with the first nine seasons.

I was blown away.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 20 March 2016]

I am speechless to read the highest rated review is a 1 star demolition. I thought this was utterly fantastic, it tied together for me what's been an incredible series. My Struggle II was fast paced, gripping, intelligent, brilliantly acted, and left me for one desperate for more. I loved that Mulder's Nemesis Smoking man made a return, great character. Great special effects once again, it felt like a huge budget blockbuster on times. Mulder and Scully Junior were once again good value, I can understand that die hard fans may not like them much, but I found them quite fun. That ending though, please don't leave us hanging there.

This has left me desperate for more episodes, so come on, another series please. 9/10

"I'm the most powerful man in the world"

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 22 February 2016]

So this is "The End". Some people may say "Thank Gh-d", and others like me will be depressed. Not much TV is made like this- This is Old School. Old School, but Carter does try to keep abreast of current events, just like the first 9 seasons.

As "My Struggle I" was Mulder's narrative, Part II is Skully's. This gives a nice comparison of Perspectives, as Skully has almost never seen what Mulder has seen (Her head always turned away, or she left the area, or she believed while Mulder didn't believe in one season), the believer and the skeptic always battling it out, resolving it, and solving it. Whatever "it" is at the time. This time, it's about certain events from part I. And, once again "Fringe" is mentioned in this passing narrative, another salute by Carter toward a show that could have been as great as this. Was as great as this, in some respects.

And of course, the return of the young Doppelgangers, and Monica Reyes. Skully and Einstien, the Skeptic vs the Super-Skeptic. Monica and Cancerman. "The world will go on, just in my image, not God's".

Mainly this is Skully's show, it's her kind of x-file, needing her kind of solution. Mulder has his Arse Kicking moves on with Matrix skills, for all the good it does him.

The science in this episode is very interesting, sounding almost plausible. This show has always excelled at giving good background.

The X-Files has embodied for me the best parts of Television, it doesn't take a lot to get me interested, but this show has gone way beyond interest, we get involved in it, which is why people have had such diverse reactions to it, usually because it is telling The Truth at some basic level, sometimes which we don't even know or agree with at the time. In the case of these 6 samples, we have heard things about Climate Change, overpopulation, and man's encroachment into Nature. The X-Files gets my Highest ratings and regards. It has been the subject of heated discussions and speculations for years, and I'm glad I can participate in this in even a small way.

As we go out on this episode, I try to remember all of the things I have ever loved about this show. And they all might be right here in this final offering, this one episode gets back the mysteries of Seasons 1-3, the solutions also baffling.

After my mind returns from initial shock and numbness, I may to edit this a bit, I can't put in words the emotions in me right now, it's too much.

Well, so all of the positive reviews are being down voted and the negative ones are being up voted and, the bad reviews repeated and parroted apparently by different people even though they are the same person. That doesn't mean this episode is bad it just means that there are trolls about

from one passionate fan to another

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 10 April 2016]

1. Fox can fight! Don't mean to blow this out of all proportion but I watched every episode of the first nine seasons and was known to comment on more than one occasion, gee, you would think that somewhere in FBI training they would have taught this guy to throw a punch? Well Carter (or someone) heard my plea and here we have the only instance I know of where Mulder actually shows some MMA. Loved it.

2. A lot of effort went into this script and the shame is that the effort is not immediately obvious on first viewing. Someone tried not only to tie up loose ends from the first 9 seasons but also incorporated more recent news, like the aluminium dust they are always dropping on our heads, no I am not a conspiracy nut, tests have been done that show this is real.

3. The switch from the semi-comic irony of the earlier episodes to "serious as a heart attack" is a bit sudden. All fans should be treated for whiplash.

4. The underlying gestalt (a problem much bigger than one TV series) is that as a culture, as a society, we have not only lost our belief that our rules want to help us but, worse, most of us subliminally feel they want to hurt us. Scary. And possibly true. Which makes it even scarier.

5. As for a rating, this episode, in spite of the whining of the fans, was entertaining as heck and kept this fan glued. What more do you want? Free pizza?

6. Over 2 dozen IMDb reviews for a single episode? No way this is anything less than a success.

Worst episode EVER

[doorsscorpywag · 1/10 · 23 February 2016]

The last couple of series of the X Files were pretty poor and sullied what started out a brilliant idea. It's two leads had an electricity about them and the writing was intelligent and exciting. Then we had the alien conspiracy nonsense that eventually killed a great show and its death throes really did stink out the brilliance that went before. It ended poorly and should have been left alone so those that loved the show could remember the huge amount of good episode that were thrilling and funny and cutting edge TV. Then someone thought it would be a good idea to milk the X Files one last time. Disguised as some attempt to explain what all that alien nonsense was about they decided to forget most of what had happened a la Dallas and just made up some crap about how the aliens were really nice and it was men like Smoking dude who were the real monsters.

So we had 5 episodes to attempt this before a grand finale. Four were pretty awful and one was worthwhile (the lizard one) and then the Final Insult episode 6.

For no discernible reason soldiers suddenly seem to be becoming anthrax infected lizards and everybody else has flu. The Smoking mans nose has fallen off and the world is going to end. Scully decides that her DNA is the cure and with barely 10 minutes left begins to put together a vaccine.

Then a badly beaten up Mulder and the other bloke from last weeks utter drivel end up 'two blocks' from Scully on a Washington bridge in desperate need of Scully DNA and with the world starting to die around her she realises that her son is probably the saviour of the human race. Where could he be? Maybe he is in the car three down from Scully? Or probably he is on the triangular spaceship that appears just before the end credits.

And that folks hopefully IS the end of the X Files because it has been exhumed and abused once too often. It should have ended at Series 7 with Mulder disappeared.

I have watched every episode of this programme and some garbage appeared in series 8 & 9 but this one turned out to be the worst ever. So instead of saving the best for last they did the opposite. Whomsoever wrote this crap should hang their head in shame.

One of the best TV ideas ever deserved better than this pile of utter sewage.

A good and exciting ending!

[hasaninadres · 10/10 · 26 April 2016]

It is very good to see a renewed season of The X-Files after all these years.

I do not agree with the negative reviews because when I watched the finale episode I was not bored at all. The way Mulder, Scully, Skinner and Cancer Man changed is really interesting because we can see how years may change people. I would like to see the cigarette man more, he is dark and full of conspiracy.

It could have been fun to see the son of Mulder and Scully, William, performing some "alien like" skills.

To sum up, it was really nice season. I only hope to see new seasons.

So rushed...

[WKYanks · 4/10 · 23 February 2016]

Well, I guess I'm a little underwhelmed with these latest 6 episodes of our beloved series.

It just felt so different than the original. Some really good parts, but the seemingly forced humor throughout hurt the effort I think.

This latest one felt like it could have EASILY been a 2 hour episode, cliffhanger notwithstanding. The whole thing was a rush job from the start. I enjoyed it, as the first episode, but ....

I just wanted Scully to punch Einstein in the mouth. My god girl, shut up. I could not watch a series with her as the star.

I don't know if I hope there is more or not. That's kind of sad, as hyped as I was waiting for these. It appears that Fox has told Carter they want more, so here's hoping find whatever is missing from the original run.

S10: Generally very weak set of episodes that makes me doubt the original

[bob the moo · 2 July 2016]

I used to watch the X-Files, like everyone else back when we only had 3-4 channels open to us; I also had quite a few VHS boxsets but was not a die-hard fan. So the news that it was returning made me interested but not sweating with hype and hope. Even though there are only six episodes here, I did struggle to get through them. In particular the opening couple and the conclusion (although it is anything but) are really poor. There are one or two episodes in the middle which are okay, and of course there is the wonderful lizard- man episode in the middle which has a great sense of fun and energy.

Otherwise though it is mostly po-faced stuff which is clunky in the writing, uneven in the presentation, and presented with low energy by those involved. The connections back to the wider conspiracies of the previous season really don't work particularly well, and they sit uneasy next to the feel of this season as a standalone return. The conclusion is typical of the show in that it feels half-done; it pushes a rushed global threat with call-backs but yet doesn't convince even within itself – and the open nature of the ending is particularly annoying.

The lizard-man episode is so good that it makes the rest almost worthwhile, however mostly this was an unnecessary return for the show. The low quality of it took me by such surprise that it made me doubt if the original was any better or if my memory was just making it feel better than it was.

Better than the reviews

[thhuening · 10/10 · 28 February 2016]

I honestly don't get the poor reviews of this episode. Sure, it has some flaws like Mulder not being immune, Monica's turn, little screen time for Mitch Pileggi and Annabeth Gish, CSM still alive. Arguable the dialogues are a little stilted and Chris Carter tries to explain to much. Also no revival can bring back the exact feeling of the past. Overall this episode is thrilling and the 43 minutes fly by. Surely the score contributes to that feeling. The pace his certainly higher than in My Struggle. The cliffhanger is the biggest of all season finales, especially when the date of the continuation has TBD yet. My Struggle 2 deserves at least a better rating of 0.1 over My Struggle

Lauren and Joel: the revival.

[fluffyx_x · 8/10 · 3 May 2016]

I'm surprised to read such bad reviews on this episode. I think the series get people too much emotional. We love it or we hate it. Anyway, I put an 8 on this episode for these reasons:

"The following review isn't objective (or impartial) nor English quality material (not my first language).

1- Scully point of view.

Not that it matters, but "scientific facts" captivate us. Science has this power: the power to fascinate people (because we often don't understand it). The alien paranoia and conspiracy of Mulder was a little bit outdated for me. When I see science and epidemic warfare. Well... it gets me. We're in a time of Zombies conspiracies, not alien. Seriously, I think it was a great opportunity to give the X-Files another energy. Success.

2- Chris Carter did his homework.

There's solid documentation behind the script. His theory get a new breathe and, even though a lot criticized him for his directing and writing skills, I say: good job (for what it worth). It can't be easy to sum up 9 seasons of mythology and give us such good quotes and background story. Even if I always loved the monsters episode a little bit more, this one was surprising and really enjoyable.

3- Actors

We all see it coming with the doppleangers. This is the "end" of Gillian and David and the arrival of Joel and Lauren for season 11 (Yes... they have names.) In this episode, it wasn't as obvious. I clearly sense they had a character of their own... Lauren (Einsten...really? I forgive you Chris, you need to laugh sometime) did offer us a great performance.

4- Gillian Anderson

Well. That's the point.

5- X-Files

7 seasons (+2) of magical moments.

1 Movie and a half.

6 episodes of nostalgia and great television.

Now... there's a big down-point: cliffhanger... WHY? What have you done Chris! So easy to blame you for that! I hate you.

And this is how goes this non-constructive review...

Why are some people upset about this finale!?!?

[gavintelford · 10/10 · 23 February 2016]

I genuinely have to believe that the only individuals that did not approve of this episode are those who are new to the show. Sure, Babylon wasn't their strongest episode, (I still honestly enjoyed it and I think most people missed the point and what it was trying to say) but as a whole, this season was brilliant and exactly the type of revival that I was hoping for.

They maintained strong adaptation to characters, plots and sub-plots without acting like this was a final wrap up. I went into this season expecting that this was going to the beginning of the end - a way to introduce us to how Chris will potentially give the two greatest characters on TV a satisfying and absolutely final conclusion.

So everyone who wasn't satisfied by this episode or season, you need to go back in time and watch the original seasons (at LEAST the mythology episodes). Because this was perfect. And it breaks my heart that some people thought it was anything but.

do not mess with fans

[volpato-lorenzo · 1/10 · 24 February 2016]

I'm old enough to had seen the first episode of the first season, aired in Italy in the far 1993.I always loved this series, maybe because I grew up with it. I had the "I want to believe" poster on my wall. This "new season" sounded strange from the beginning.Readind at the comments about the last episode,I saw that a lot of people is sure that it will be another season,'cause the end of the last episode is open to something else. I do not think(even if I wish)there'll be a further season.come on......get a look at all the 6 episodes..........nothing to do with the original x-files.The majors are not stupid and they'll soon understand that this tenth season disappointed X-fans all over the world! there won't be, on my opinion , another season, and X-files will go with all those TV series that have being canceled without a real ending. I guess I'm wrong,but, today, I prefer to consider the last two episodes of season 9 as the real , and worthy , end of the best TV series ever made

What a episode

[tylerfarmer-25136 · 9/10 · 31 March 2019]

They did such a good job modernizing the show in this day and age. So proud of them

This is what you call a cliffhanger at its best!The horror!

[casamarijan · 1/10 · 23 February 2016]

For all those real and true fans 'Out There'of the X-files,I'm thinking of those 'old school' fans...

About this final episode(My Struggle II),I do not want to spend even one letter on it,apart from that I say that they have invented a new sweater arts to achieve superior cliffhanger..The horror!

Now,season 10 is finally over,I've done one thing,I completely deleted season 10 and remained still faithful to the original first 9 seasons.Trying to completely forget I ever saw it,the season 10th.Repressing deep down.

OK,I'm not sure whether in season 10,really starred Mulder and Scully or did 'THEY' find some bad replicants.

Was Mr.Carter and his team involved in the creation of season 10 or were they mentally absent.

In short, this season 10 does not belong to an original X-Files flow, but instead has been completely converted into American fast food for dulling the brain.Commercialized to the sky,where it is now ranked alongside the worst garbage that Hollywood can offer..Bones,CSI and so on ...

You lost that 'OUT THERE' feeling,my darling.

All in all,too MUCH bad script,performance,editing,acting,just too much...What just happened,'This is not happening' !!

She has lost all originality,attractiveness of the original series and it was announced a sensation,remember??Commercialized at it's best.

The only consolation I have is to try to forget all of this,and 'Squeeze' that play button and start s1 e01 pilot,where waiting for me,is my real Mulder and Scully ...

The truth is still out there.

Great Finale

[stevenfreekin · 10/10 · 22 February 2016]

The season finale was great. It ends in X-Files fashion, a cliffhanger.

What i hated about this episode and the previous one are agents Einstein and Miller. Their characters are weak and frankly not compelling to watch or care about. Please Chris Carter stay with Mulder, Scully, and Skinner. I wanted to reach into my TV screen and punch agent Einstein in the face. She was so annoying, stupid, pretentious, and not great to look at it.

Other than that, the episode was thoroughly enjoyable and scary. It was great to see Monica Reyes again and It would have been nice to have gotten more time with Skinner.

CSM also returns in this episode but it's still hard for me to believe how he could have survived through an explosion from a helicopter missile. But as Chris always say, "no one really dies in The X-Files." Great job to the crew and cast. Can't wait for the premiere of season 11.

It's hanging on a thread..

[wirbel · 8/10 · 27 February 2016]

The ending of the 6 episode season picks up the new storyline that was introduced in the first episode. Although it has the downsides we've read in other reviews with the introduction of the new FBI agents Miller and Einstein who are not very believable characters so far and who make us fear they are put as replacements, they do add to the story in this episode. Also the 'Youtube' conspiracy video network is a bit too far stretched and is like a version of the Alex Jones show. However it does a good job of picking up on the conspiracy theories we've come to hear in recent years, with the elites wanting to reduce the world's population. I think it's clever the X-files picks up on this and makes it's own version of this elites' plan with the cigarette smoking man as the logical man behind all this. The cliffhanger leaves us with the hope of a continuation of this story. I think this episode deals with current affairs in a clever way although it still lacks a bit the feel of the old seasons. I hope they can bring this back more in a new and longer season where there would be less need to put too much storyline in a few episodes. It looks though like Scully and/or Mulder might get abducted once again in the cliffhanger, so I do hope that Carter doesn't replace them with the new agents in a new season!

A great finale

[brian-wiz · 9/10 · 30 May 2019]

Season 10 starts by telling us this is a conspiracy of men....and although I wish it had been the alien colonization we were promised in The Truth, it is still a riveting finale.

My Struggle III takes a disappointing turn by making it all a vision, but this finale really took us there.

Season Ten

[zkonedog · 1/10 · 12 July 2019]

The X-Files is one of my favorite television dramas of all-time. For its first six seasons, it presented some incredibly intriguing/interesting stories as well as pretty much pioneering the concept of over-arching plots from season to season. For its last three seasons, it managed to still be at least watchable despite actor issues, network waffling on an end-date, and a general lack of the solid writing that had been present in its hey-day. So, when it was announced that the show would return after a 14-year absence, I was ecstatic...with a touch of panic thrown in. Would David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson be able to slip into their old roles? Could Chris Carter write himself out of the corner that the show had "ended" on back in 2002? Would the team as a whole be able to re-capture that late-90s magic and translate it across time (something a show like 24 was unable to do)?

Unfortunately, what I quickly found (right away from the first episode) was that none of those above questions were answered in the positive. Not only that, but the entire revival was nothing more than an embarrassment to a show that once feature quality drama, interesting plots, and developed characters. None of those things were even in sight this time around.

Before I get into the more specific reasons why this revival failed (and failed miserably), I think the big concept behind the failure is that the show writers didn't seem to understand what made the show so successful in the first place. To be honest, that boggles me a bit in its own right, as it was Chris Carter himself and many of the original writers that had a hand in this slop. It's almost like they made a caricature of the success of the original show, but a caricature is obviously just a crude (if sometimes funny) over-exaggeration of a person or thing's real features. That's exactly what happened here, and here are a few more specific reasons why:

-The earliest faux pas is re-opening the X-Files office in the FBI in the first episode. That stretches the bounds of credibility right off the map. This entire series could have operated outside the realm of "official FBI business" (and it would have made more sense to do so), but instead the creators took the easy/lazy way out.

-In a similar vein as above, the entire mythology was ret-conned in that first episode as well. In a show where aliens have been seen and examined from many angles, you can't just say "well, now I think it was just the government all along". Heck, the show even tried that itself back in Season Five! That's an unforgivable ret-con that spits in the face of fans who marveled at the complex alien/government mysteries of the show at its peak.

-The two episodes are supposed to be the solid "stand-alones" are easily the worst episodes of this revival..."Founder's Mutation" and "Home Again". The Band-Aid Nose Man? Again, just embarrassing.

-Yes, comedy was part of The X-Files all along, but only as a subtle counter-point to the fact that most times the show was deadly serious. So, the comedic "Were-Monster" and "Babylon" episodes fail here because there isn't any actual strong material to back them up. I mean, Mulder dancing to "Honky-Tonk Badonkadonk"? It's almost as if Carter & Co. were intentionally trying to sabotage the show at that point.

-The show consistently teases the return of Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), the Smoking Man (William B. Davis), and the Lone Gunmen, but then gives them nothing interesting to do. A terrible waste of some potentially great possibilities.

Finally, and I wanted to save this point for its own paragraph, perhaps the biggest failure of this entire revival was the complete and utter lack of chemistry between Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Anderson). For years and years, Chris Carter always maintained that Mulder and Scully would never get romantic because "the best relationships are the ones rooted in friendship". That worked for the show for a long, long time...until Carter ran out of really good material after Season Six. At that point, he started pushing the romantic angles even further because, frankly, he caved to the "shippers". The show was running on empty and instead of "writing his way out of the problem", he just went for the quick fix and played up the romance angle. In this revival, he tries to do the same thing, but it comes off just as stunted and stilted as it did back in the day. The over-reliance on William (the son the pair had together) despite that character never being seen is a good example of this. That was the only thing the writers could think of to bring Mulder and Scully together...a plot line ("baby William") that failed so miserably in Season Nine that it sunk the entire season.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that my take on this "Season 10" of this show can be boiled down to a single word: Embarrassing. These six episodes are a caricature of the show's former success, and a cheap knock off at that. The mythology is ret-conned, the characters are drone-ish, and the stand-alone episodes are either dull or almost obscenely stupid. The original run of The X-Files will always hold a special place in the TV-watching portion of my heart, but this effort I will try very, very hard to forget. If these are the "great new stories" that Chris Carter wanted to come back to tell, then I hope this show truly never comes back, as the creative team behind it has lost their bearings.

"Everyone still dies in the end."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 5 September 2017]

Everyone may die at the end, but apparently not the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), who somehow managed to survive a guided missile attack on a New Mexico cave in the second X-Files movie. The X-Files removed the certainty of death long ago, so it shouldn't be any surprise that the Cancer Man would show up again, but what's with the disfigured face and phony nose? Man, he looks terrible.

Well the current myth arc deals with global contagion which attracts Scully's suspicions, tying all the way back to those childhood vaccinations of the Fifties, but the human/alien hybrids seem to have been disavowed. Quite honestly, it was confusing enough trying to keep up with the mythology when the series was brand new. A couple decades later and it's near impossible unless you go back and re-watch the episodes over and over again.

Be that as it may, The X-Files had a good run for nine years and this 'tenth season' add on had it's hits and misses. It's hard to replace the Mulder and Scully dynamic of the first seven seasons, and the strain in their relationship in 2016 makes for some uncomfortable watching at times. Still, I'll be along for the ride for as long as the show continues, but wouldn't mind if the conspiracy stuff just went away altogether in favor of those good old monster of the week episodes.

comparison with old episode with the same story

[napouser · 3/10 · 30 October 2016]

so i wasn't really excited about the 10th season judging by how awful 9th was it was quite obvious that the series was tired enough to not worth watching like pretty much all the series no exceptions at some point going bad

i was stunned however by how bad those episodes were

the last episode in particular reminded me of a very good one episode of the 2nd season called emasculata. the similarities in story are so close that it makes perfect for comparison

so 10th season , the whole production was cheap like u watching an episode of friends everything in focus everything supposedly perfect lined up lighting etc going back to 2nd season all the angles have something unusual weird lenses shots from above or below movement etc lighting again the old series knew how to take a simple setup and turn it into a horror scene with dark lighting that's nowhere to be found in the new series

acting new series have a scaly that is too bored and a molder that makes jokes like a clown nowhere near the old series were Sculley was always dramatic to Oscar levels and molder was funny but not too much almost to James bond type of thing u know small jokes just enough

Cancer man . again new series a bunch of useless talk that make no sense. u get the idea that this guy must be the bad guy but that's it. old series always limited words and to the point example molder "-u withhold information from us we could have prevented all this " Cancer man "-how?"

editing pace .

new series is horrible back and forth from one person to the other with editing that causes u to get tired and too much discussion that turns the series into a Mexican soap opera

old series simple slow shots that rarely change therefore when something happens out of the blue u are indeed surprised very few words. story is unfold mostly by the things that u Don't say than the thing u do. mostly by insinuations

all in all i would say that the new series is basically THE X-FILES for children comedy with a bit of stupid conspiracies

also an other issue about the politics

i don't really know why but the new series has a thing with liberal propaganda the bad companies the good environment the bad wars and a bunch of political stereotypes that not even Hillary would say maybe just sanders

old series could easily create a dramatic situation for instance a bad pharmaceutical company that kills people to pass the FDA tests and has the government to cover her and still not make a party- political statement that takes skill the first thing is the easy and too cliché way

Don't listen to the haters

[doorloblin · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

This episode is amazing!!! And I am a hard core fan of the series, old and new, along with both movies. This episode has an excellent twist in the mythology of the show and a superb cliffhanger. Super cool sci fi basis and overall riveting episode. One of the series best. And if it was a little rushed, who cares? Personally I did not think it was rushed, but to all those who say it was, chris carter was given 6 episodes to restart the series. So calm down people. GREAT EPISODE!!!!

I actually loved it...

[matthewhemmings · 9/10 · 1 October 2016]

...and I'm surprised how many of the first page of reviews here didn't. That's what prompted me actually.

A lot of loose ends get tied up in what works hard to be a thrilling and fitting finale to, what 23 years of television? To do that, still leave a frankly genius final scene and plot for who knows what comes next (we can only hope, though I doubt we will be lucky)? Well, I am sold.

I thought the whole series was a fitting final tribute. They didn't throw them in willy nilly but still went old school on some fun cases (and threw in an excellent dig at the early days). The baton handing was the one thing that grated on me but it was only slight and in fairness Tad is a great future-season redshirt (one thing you have to say, they take no prisoners and their sfx guys really are top notch).

Special mention to Cigarette Smoking Man, by far one of the best evil geniuses of recent decades. He is a monster, now he looks like a monster.

If you just wanted them to come out and trot out their hits ad infinitum you were plum out of luck boyo; Chris, thank you for that.

M