The truth about the plague is revealed as the Cigarette Smoking Man’s plans come to light…

Okay, it’s going to be virtually impossible to discuss this episode spoiler-free, so if all you want is an idea whether to watch this season or not – particularly if you weren’t best impressed by the 2016 return of the show – then the quick answer is: this changes the rules (yet again) and connects aspects of the show that previously might not have seem as connected as they are. It’s a typical talky and sometimes preachy Chris Carter written and directed episode, and it leaves as many questions as it answers…

For those who have seen it, or aren’t worried about being spoiled:

The initial resolution of the cliffhanger is something of a cheat – but that’s nothing new with The X-Files. I’m constantly reminded of discussing the series with the showrunners on set 20 years ago, where they revealed that they’d gone into the season closer the previous year with no idea of how to resolve it (that one had Mulder apparently dead on the floor). My Struggle III presents its immediate predecessor effectively as a dream sequence experienced by Scully – although it seems, from comments at the end of the episode, that it’s happened thanks to a link with William… her son, whose fate is finally coming to light. It appears that everything within that episode hasn’t actually happened – yet.

This presents the writers with something of a problem, since it means that for Scully to persuade Mulder, and others, of its veracity, she has to become the believer rather than the sceptic. It’s happened before with the series, and Gillian Anderson can pull it off, but it’s going to be hard for Scully to “go back to work” to find the answer in the X-Files and maintain her dramatic position as the one querying if fundamentally she’s now believing. And this retcon of the arc episodes of season 10 means that we don’t necessarily know if everything within the “vision” (ie My Struggle II) is what the characters believe – and Annabeth Gish’s Monica Reyes and Bill Davis’ Cigarette Smoking Man certainly aren’t quite the same. “I Want to Believe” loses the outer two letters of the final word in the titles, and once again, we have no real idea whether what we’re hearing in the CSM’s monologue is the truth or yet another lie. But this version seems to have more legs to it than the one we had two years ago.

It’s a fast-paced season opener with car chases (including Mulder really not thinking straight when he’s following one of the bad guys – does he really think he’s not noticed in the entire cross-state pursuit?), attempts on the main characters’ lives, new elements to the Conspiracy – and the arrival of Barbara Hershey’s new conspirator. (Oh please, let her be the same character as in Damien – that crossover would brilliantly rework the series top to bottom!)

Verdict: Yet another retcon – will this one be more pleasing to the fans disappointed by the last return? 7/10

Paul Simpson