When I finished my last review, I promised myself I'd talk a little about the series as a whole. But I'd been working on this piece for a few weeks already, and I kept stopping and starting over. I dunno how to talk about this show as a whole, because there's just too much to actually address, too much to try and put together into a coherent thesis. So instead, I want to talk about The X-Files and me.
AKA: The End. No, For Real This Time
The end of Season 10 and the beginning of Season 11 were marked by the series giving us a huge, life changing cliffhanger, which it then had to take back rapidly. And I don't want to speak too broadly, but my impression is that everyone hated it. If I was the creator of The X-Files, that would leave me with one major goal for what is the ultimate series finale; Don't go out on an incredibly unsatisfying cliffhanger you'll have to walk back if you get another season.
AKA: Jenna Maroney Starts A Cult
One of the things that happens as a series runs towards the end is they start to get melancholic and a wee bit meta. If it seems like I've said this before, it's because this would be the third time The X-Files has done this (because this is the third time it's come to an end). I will say that however that this time around the plot they landed on, about a pair of people desperate to extend their lifespans at all costs, is a little on the nose for a show that's nearly 30 years old and feels more than a little past its sell by date.
AKA: I Can't AKA This Episode, I'm Too Busy Watching For THAT FUCKING FACE
AKA: Apparently The Title Means "Followers" In Base 64 Code. Yes Wikipedia Told Me That
One of the most maligned episodes of the early X-Files was Ghost in the Machine, and rightly so. While it had the germ of a good idea (a haunted house where the house is an alive computer) the execution and style left a LOT to be desired. But honestly, in the nearly 30 years since that episode first aired, it's only felt more and more prescient, as elements of the internet and AI infect every single aspect of our lives. So maybe it might be worst idea to take another swing at the Evil AI concept.
AKA: Not One Cat In This Episode, Come On
What are we to make of Walter Skinner? He is, unquestionably, the most important heroic character outside of the core duo (sorry Reyes and Doggett) but he's also a very thinly sketched character. His backstory, his broader motivations, his inner world, for a character who first appeared in Season 1, they're all pretty opaque. With the series moving towards it final ending, doesn't it seem like a good opportunity to fill in those gaps?
AKA: This Is Probably The Best Slenderman Movie I Guess
What to do with William at this point? While I don't think he's the character who got the most jerked around by the whims of the plot, he's probably the one who spent the greatest percentage of his time in the show getting jerked around by the whims of the plot. And why not, for the first chunk of his time on the show, he was a literal baby, with no agency or personality. But that was back in 2001 and now that we're rounding towards the end of the show the 2nd time, it might be time to turn him into an actual character.
