Recap: ‘The X-Files’ – My Struggle III
The X-Files is back and appears more ready to tackle the truth than ever before following its slightly disappointing run in 2016.
The truth is certainly still out there, but as the main credits rolled it seems that it may all become a lie in itself. Within just a few minutes of the first episode, there was a point where it became clear that a vast majority of viewers and die-hard fans must have been shouting ‘come on, I’ve had to wait two years for that’ at their screens. This, of course, doesn’t come as a shock for a series widely known for delving into implausible cases.
Special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) reunites with his partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) at a hospital, only to find her unconscious after a seizure. The doctor attempts to explain her “extremely abnormal brain activity,” – which the latter itself isn’t surprising following the many years of the show exploring Scully’s state of mind and body post-abduction in Season 2. Scully’s scans showed her brains hypothalamus flashing green, initiating a panic. What does this mean? FBI Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) hit the nail on the head. “I don’t know what I’m looking at, but I’m reading this flashing as code: six dots, two dashes – him, find him,” he exclaims.
‘Him’ refers to Scully and Mulder’s son William, who was briefly mentioned in the Season 10 finale. Last season’s outrageous cliff-hanger saw us witness Mulder on death’s door after an alien virus had begun to infect the human race, as Scully races against time to find a cure she realises that she needs William’s DNA to save humanity against the infection. The episode ultimately ended with Scully staring into the eye of a UFO ship.
Obviously, the show’s creator Chris Carter was playing us all along. It turned out that Scully had witnessed a vision, one she believes will happen in the future. Though, the question that remains is did the vision come from the mind of Scully herself or the one of her genetically gifted son who is possibly here to send the vision as a warning of upcoming events? And, here we are yet again, caught up in more complicated yet captivating shenanigans curated by Carter.
‘My Struggle III’ proves that William is a crucial part of the narrative. Not only because he has similar abilities to his mother but his being in the world highlights the best version of Mulder and Scully’s relationship – the personal connection between the FBI agents. When an unknown man comes to attempt to suffocate her, Mulder comes to her rescue. We see that there is clearly no love lost between the pair, shown in a shot where both protagonists are holding one another’s hand. Ever since The X-Files started in 1993 we have been huge stans of the agents and rooting for their happiness. If one thing is to come from the series, please just let them have the happy ending they deserve.
While the episode focused mostly of Mulder and Scully and the depiction of her vision, the character that stole the show was the Cigarette Smoking Man, who saved his biggest revelation – regarding his link to Scully’s son – for the end. This episode was needed and truly revitalised our need for The X-Files. Despite parts being predictable, it had a good chunk of action and even managed to shock us at times. Thankfully I still believe that the truth is out there (somewhere).
The X-Files continues Wednesdays 8pm ET on Fox (US) and Mondays 9pm GMT on Channel 5 (UK).
