... which is not saying a whole lot.
So far as the overarching "myth-arc" went, though, 'The X-Files' was really resolved in mid-season 6, with the conclusion of the Gibson Praise arc and the killing off of the syndicate. In hindsight, however, given that the writers felt obliged to continue, we can really say the introduction of Praise was the show's jumping of the shark: I mean, really, a kid who can read minds perfectly is impossible to top for a series that wants to showcase the paranormal and retain some sort of verisimilitude to its look and feel. Not surprisingly, subsequent attempts to revive or re-explore the series's alien mythology never really took off or built up to any sort of grander coherence, and the standalone "Monster of the Week" installments became increasingly self-referential.
None of it was necessarily *bad*, but neither was it even remotely so gripping as had been the first five and a half seasons. But surely season 9 could have done better with just about any stupid or disjointed story arc than the one it actually played out: the search for Mulder and the invasion of the supersoldiers. Weren't these points already hit in season 8, for crying out loud? It was a mess of a season but to the writers' credit they seemed resolved to tie it up however they could. I suppose that's why the finale gets so much flak: tying up this mess was a dirty job but somebody had to do it, and really, there's not much else it could have done.
At any rate they hit all the essential plot points encapsulating the ninth season and indeed, the series as a whole. The missing Mulder turns up suddenly and naturally, he's in trouble. In his quest to expose corrupt, shadowy powers lurking behind the scenes in our lives and our society he has been unjunstly put on the hook by those same powers, who are determined to keep their dark secrets hidden whatever and whoever the cost. Scully will play the key role in getting him out, helping him as the two have always helped each other, aided indispensibly by Skinner as well as Doggett and Reyes (the latter of whom notwithstanding the writer's stated intentions to make a central character never really rose above being Scully's midwife and then nanny).
When she does get him out, life won't go back to normal at the FBI as it always does at the close of such a problem, for the simple reason that there will be no more X-Files and so we can't have such a non-closing closure. Mulder and Scully are to go into exile. And in the appropriate meta-style they are seen off by a consortium of all the important people in their careers: Skinner, Doggett, Reyes, Hirsch and Praise. Along the way they even encounter the Ghostly Trio of the Lone Gunmen. It's a farewell that couldn't be cheesier if everyone were throwing flowers as Mr. and the new Mrs. Mulder sped off in a Ferrari with "JUST MARRIED" scrawled on the back, but it's strangely appropriate and satisfying. So too is the conclusion, on the bed at almost the same cheap motel the two stayed in on their first case, meditating on the implications of their work, of Christianity and of each other for the future of humanity and indeed of themselves.
It's a scrappy couple of episodes but that's really the whole point. It's about picking up the scraps of a once-solid narrative which had grown weary and senile, notwithstanding the often-impressive afterglow in the last two and a half years. They could have done worse. Maybe they could have done better, but I'd say worse was more likely. Bravo, Ten-Thirteen!
So far as the overarching "myth-arc" went, though, 'The X-Files' was really resolved in mid-season 6, with the conclusion of the Gibson Praise arc and the killing off of the syndicate. In hindsight, however, given that the writers felt obliged to continue, we can really say the introduction of Praise was the show's jumping of the shark: I mean, really, a kid who can read minds perfectly is impossible to top for a series that wants to showcase the paranormal and retain some sort of verisimilitude to its look and feel. Not surprisingly, subsequent attempts to revive or re-explore the series's alien mythology never really took off or built up to any sort of grander coherence, and the standalone "Monster of the Week" installments became increasingly self-referential.
None of it was necessarily *bad*, but neither was it even remotely so gripping as had been the first five and a half seasons. But surely season 9 could have done better with just about any stupid or disjointed story arc than the one it actually played out: the search for Mulder and the invasion of the supersoldiers. Weren't these points already hit in season 8, for crying out loud? It was a mess of a season but to the writers' credit they seemed resolved to tie it up however they could. I suppose that's why the finale gets so much flak: tying up this mess was a dirty job but somebody had to do it, and really, there's not much else it could have done.
At any rate they hit all the essential plot points encapsulating the ninth season and indeed, the series as a whole. The missing Mulder turns up suddenly and naturally, he's in trouble. In his quest to expose corrupt, shadowy powers lurking behind the scenes in our lives and our society he has been unjunstly put on the hook by those same powers, who are determined to keep their dark secrets hidden whatever and whoever the cost. Scully will play the key role in getting him out, helping him as the two have always helped each other, aided indispensibly by Skinner as well as Doggett and Reyes (the latter of whom notwithstanding the writer's stated intentions to make a central character never really rose above being Scully's midwife and then nanny).
When she does get him out, life won't go back to normal at the FBI as it always does at the close of such a problem, for the simple reason that there will be no more X-Files and so we can't have such a non-closing closure. Mulder and Scully are to go into exile. And in the appropriate meta-style they are seen off by a consortium of all the important people in their careers: Skinner, Doggett, Reyes, Hirsch and Praise. Along the way they even encounter the Ghostly Trio of the Lone Gunmen. It's a farewell that couldn't be cheesier if everyone were throwing flowers as Mr. and the new Mrs. Mulder sped off in a Ferrari with "JUST MARRIED" scrawled on the back, but it's strangely appropriate and satisfying. So too is the conclusion, on the bed at almost the same cheap motel the two stayed in on their first case, meditating on the implications of their work, of Christianity and of each other for the future of humanity and indeed of themselves.
It's a scrappy couple of episodes but that's really the whole point. It's about picking up the scraps of a once-solid narrative which had grown weary and senile, notwithstanding the often-impressive afterglow in the last two and a half years. They could have done worse. Maybe they could have done better, but I'd say worse was more likely. Bravo, Ten-Thirteen!