Case 08, File 14: This is Not Happening

AKA: Holy Shit, Mulder's Off The Spaceship

Although it seems in retrospect that Duchovny's return to The X-Files was as inevitable as the tides, when the Season Seven finale was written, they were trying to thread the needle of creating an exit that would let them bring back Mulder if they could reach an agreement with Duchovny while also keeping him away without having to explain too much if the agreement fell through. But when they managed to get Duchovny secured, they all knew they couldn't keep giving him cameos and flashbacks forever; Eventually they'd have to figure out how to bring him back to the main plot.

Case 08, File 13: Per Manum

 AKA: Is An It's Alive Reference Here Too Esoteric?

While I've been pretty obviously bummed out about Duchovny's departure from the series, it's nothing compared to what the series has been going through. The series is caught between the desire to move on and make a clean break from the Duchovny era and feeling completely lost without the actor and relationship that used to be the anchor that they could build scripts around. And while that's not necessarily the worst place to be in, their terror to move on has led to them failing to actually build on what should be the new core partnership.

Case 08, File 12: Medusa

 AKA: All Of My Attempts To Write This AKA Turned Into Covid Jokes

One thing that I think helped The X-Files gain so many fans and stay so popular is that, while its primary influence is horror, that's not the only thing it draws inspiration from. Romance, comedy, action, and especially thriller are all big parts of its DNA and what that means is that, depending on what you want out of an episode (or depending on what your actors strengths are) The X-Files can probably find something for you.