What saves “My Struggle IV” in the end is a genuine moment on the pier between Mulder and Scully. The jury is still out on whether the c atharsis of Mulder lighting up CSM was earned and milked for dramatic effect as well as it could have been. I did enjoy the final moments of the episode, from Jackson’s embrace with Scully to Mulder finally smoking the Smoking Man. Carter’s instincts with this arc were on point ( and you can read his explanations about the episode in our interview with him), but my major takeaway from the revival mythology will always be a sadness that the great X-Files directors Rob Bowman or the late Kim Manners weren’t behind the camera. Y and Erika Price’s faction of the Syndicate, which now feels like a wasted opportunity as I watched their blood senselessly splattered all over the place. “My Struggle IV” couldn’t help but feel rushed across the finish line, leaving more to be desired of the action, special effects, and development of Mr. did well to stretch things out this time around by putting a major piece to the mythology puzzle in episode 5, “Ghouli,” one of the best episodes of either revival season.
The X-Files mythology episodes were always a slow burn. The X-Files is known for taking huge risks in tone, but the “My Struggle” episodes are wannabe action flicks that don’t come anywhere close to warranting the intensity they thought it did. There’s little room for nuance in these installments because the pacing was totally out of whack. That’s on top of the troubling revelation that she was raped, “scientifically,” by CSM.
Xfile season 10 episode 2 series#
So a character that already had plenty of shitty things happen to her over the course of the series essentially lost a major connection she had with Mulder. But it also took an unnecessary leap that didn’t sit right by fans: CSM claimed he was William’s real father. The third chapter righted some wrongs by re-introducing the Smoking Man and some promising shadowy figures in Mr. Breaking up “My Struggle I” and “My Struggle II” as bookends in season 10 was fine, but gimmicks like the entire second part being a vision shared by William and Scully tend to not work well in the moment. Throw in a challenge from a government contractor who want the boy for their own nefarious purposes and a rejuvenated Smoking Man who is hellbent on “saving” the planet by destroying its citizens, and let a manhunt for William begin. A case leads them to William (now known as Jackson), who they realize is the key to stopping the virus because of his alien DNA. Scully gets visions of the virus outbreak, leading her to jump into the investigation head on with Mulder. Whistle-blowers catch wind of the spartan virus, giving Mulder and Scully a reason to reunite. On paper, I could see how the outline for the four “My Struggle” episodes would have played out like a great script for an X-Files movie. It’s a shame because they really did get it right on the monster-of-the-week side by paying homage to the show’s history in jest while approaching standalone episodes with real-world implications. After 25 years, the four most recent episodes that chronicle the show’s alien mythology fail to live up to the series’ original run. Sadly, the final part in Carter’s mythology saga, “My Struggle IV,” does not live up to what came before it. Hell, maybe someday I’ll get around to writing that list myself. When the series is finally dead and buried (although no one is ever really dead in The X-Files), a handful of episodes from this season deserve consideration to be included in the show’s 50 best episodes ever. The season 10 training wheels came off, and the series responded by pulling off some daring tricks. Over the majority of those 10 episodes, The X-Files season 11 was a stunning return to form. The network gave Chris Carter a larger canvas, a 10-episode order for a second revival season, and with him came some fresh writing and directing talent. Cooler heads than mine thankfully prevailed at Fox.
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