It once seemed so far away – the truth, but now it has arrived.. and after watching the final episode four times, I can’t help but think I wanted more.

The end of the X-Files comes almost suddenly, but does leave room for a film… a lot of room. Mulder starts on screen from the very beginning, posing as usual in his suit and making fans of The Red Shoe Diaries all funny inside. He’s entering a secret government facility alone and in disguise! However things go wrong, and after discovering the truth he has so tirelessly fought to seek – he’s discovered by Knowle Rohrer and other fellow military men. During a rather pointless strike at Knowle, Mulder manages to get pinned over a railing. Thinking quickly, he manages to shift his weight and launches Knowle over the edge, onto some exposed power cables. The result is a rather toasty Military officer. Things can only get worse.

Let’s stop there for a second and ponder over the truth that Mulder saw. This is the crucial moment of the X-Files legacy. Mulder stands in front of a clear piece of glass, with writing projected onto it. We don’t see much, but we can clearly make out the first sentence:

December 22nd 2012, The date set for mobilization of alien forces…”</span>

Mulder’s face drops and for the first time he looks speechless as he freezes in front of the panel. It isn’t long before Knowle interrupts him and the glass is soon broken.

It’s now we can finally understand the path Chris Carter choose to take. The super soldiers begin to take a back seat from the alien invasion story that has haunted us for so long..

During Mulder’s daring escape from Knowle, he runs to an exit, only to find Krycek at the door! Confused and slightly disturbed, Krycek assures Mulder that he is alive and well, their reunion isn’t long as Krycek lets Mulder go on his way and slams the door in Knowles face. Mulder gets cornered with Knowle who then gets launched into the power cables and that’s the end of his escape.

Things start to get incredibly simple now. Mulder actually ends up in prison for his crimes against the government, and Scully gets informed via Skinner, who was informed by Kersh’s office. Naturally they head straight to visit him, where beforehand – we see some rather lengthily brainwashing techniques performed by the prison guards. Of course Mulder would never crack to such government trickery, and plays up to the guards in order to gain visits etc, however during Scully and Skinner’s visit, Mulder doesn’t tip his hand and has the agents worried that he’s been manipulated into believing he was looking for something that didn’t exist, killing a military officer in the process. After Scully and Skinner leave, feeling a little let down by the reunion with Mulder, we see Mulder asking Krycek why he’s helping him, to which Krycek replies “Because you can’t do this alone”, and with that… he’s gone.

As well as simplicity, things move quickly, Doggett and Reyes are informed of the situation, and we see Kersh meet with a military general (who played Carter from Pay Back), Kersh actually grants Scully’s wishes and begs mercy to the Marines in regards to Mulder’s case. The Military dude agrees to make certain arrangements as long as the trial happens in a military court. Kersh obviously notes that can’t be legal using the FBI’s prosecutor and judges, but a guilty verdict would mean his life may be spared.

Finally, Scully meets Mulder without the guards present, and can’t resist Mulder’s immediate snog on the lips. Skinner declines Mulder’s playful gesture of offering him a kiss and reminds Mulder he’s in mortal danger. After all, killing a Military man comes with a penalty of death. Mulder doesn’t seem bothered by this, because he knows that if they put him on trial, they will expose themselves. It all sounds like the trio have won, and that Mulder’s actions have finally got him to the truth he has been after for nine years – the government knows about the existence of extra terrestrials.

However not all can go smoothly, as Mulder is given the chance to stand trial… but not in a court of law, rather a Military tribunal, and guess who gets to defend him… non other then Skinner! Naturally Scully tries to talk Mulder out of it, but Mulder, for the first time is sure he can win this battle against the government, that is until Doggett informs them the Military have produced Knowle’s body. Scully starts to worry slightly and goes to see Mulder again, who chillingly tells her that they can’t win, and they can only hope to go out fighting. Scared by this, Scully worries she’s only just got Mulder back and is about to loose him again. Not only that but she tells Mulder about William… and that she gave up their son! Definitive proof that William was Mulder’s after all.

They share a rather long hug and Mulder explains he’s been in New Mexico. Scully’s pretty sure Mulder found something, but Mulder chooses not to tell Scully. It’s a rather pivotal moment now because based on what Mulder knows – the date of alien invasion, the end of the human race, it seems the truth is too big and too much for mankind to handle, he takes it on himself to keep this secret. For spreading the word will probably cause more problems then it will save.

From that point on, Mulder’s trial begins. Skinner’s feeling a little out of his depth as Mulder enters, but he continues with the rather good point of dismissing the trial based on the fact he’s not a lawyer, Kersh is not a judge, and they are not in a court of law. There also is no record and everything just has that spooky hidden feel to it. Skinner tries to call UN woman as a witness but no one seems to know where she is, Mulder on the other hand, seems happy that things will work out. We aren’t too sure what he’s planning, but he seems calm enough.

From here on, the episode recites all the previous conspiracies that Mulder and Scully have brought to Skinners attention. If you truly are lost with the X-Files, it’s a great place to learn things fast. We start with Scully giving testament to Kersh and his band of cowboy judges, she starts from the beginning, being sent to spy on Mulder and debunk his work. The states “She came to believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life”. During her speech, we get flashbacks and clips of her story.

She mentions the facts that were brought to our attention during the X-Files movie, that alien life arrived on this planet millions of years ago, infected early man, died during the ice age and then reborn in our current time line. I picked up on a slight contradiction when Scully states the government learned of this in 1947 during the Roswell incident, however it’s been noted before that Deep Throat and Smoking Man agreed the Roswell incident was faked to divert attention from the war, the real incident took place in the 90’s. The UFO crash awakened the virus, which travels underground in petroleum products, known as the black oil – it has the ability to infect humans and travel around. From this crash, the government learned of plans to re-take the planet, and kill everyone in the process. Kersh isn’t to happy about all this, and Skinner also continues with the matter of Scully’s own abduction back in 1994.

She states she was taken by the Military, in corporation with the government conspirators to create a slave race of alien-human hybrids. The prosecution doesn’t really know what to say after all this, and after being denied an alien witness, brings out the alternative truth of Mulder and Scully falling in love, and having a ‘love child’. Something Skinner objects to! Still, it’s the most truth we’ve uncovered so far.

Next who should come to the stand by Jeffrey Spender! Looking rather flaky (almost as if someone shot him from point blank!), he goes to the stand to give his version of events. We learn how he was related to Cigarette smoking man, and how Mulder is he’s half brother. (Mother had an affair! Ummer!), meaning that Spender and Mulder share the same mother, but Cigarette Smoking man is not Mulder’s father! Spender also lets out that Mulder’s father (Bill) was in the same government conspiracy as CGB Spender, though Bill was a reluctant member who lived a life of shame… not for being in the conspiracy – but for letting go of his daughter Samantha. The reason being that the alien conspirators distrusted the humans, and were made to hand over members of their family as collateral. She was returned and lived with Agent Spender for a while, until she was taken again many times, and cloned also – making Mulder believe that sometimes he found her, she herself died in 1987 – meaning during Mulder’s entire career with the X-Files, Samantha was dead. Spender adds that he believes his father is dead (Krycek pushed him down the stairs).

Time to break from the trial and head to New Mexico where Mulder had been hiding and guess who’s there.. but Gibson! The chess playing freak of nature kid that’s living proof of alien life. Just what Mulder needs. After hearing that Mulder is in trouble, Gibson prepares to leave and assist. Meanwhile Mulder refuses to plead guilty and would rather die. Scully is even more confused then ever and wants in, Mulder still doesn’t give her anything to go with and she walks out, when who should appear.. but Mr X! Now this time, things are easier because it seems he’s just a premonition, that is until he hands Mulder a piece of paper with Marita Covarrubias’s contact details – yet another woman who can help, after all… she is crazy UN Woman!

She comes to Mulder’s aid and takes the stand to tell Kersh her place in the UN. She used her position to further the interested in a secret group of men called the Syndicate, who’s goal was to develop an alien virus using unsuspecting victims who were tracked through their smallpox records. But it doesn’t stop there, as Marita came to hate the conspirators (including Krycek), they punished her by using her as a test subject, for you see that the conspirators tricked the aliens into thinking they were developing a virus to convert the population to aliens, but were also secretly developing a vaccine… not for everyone, but selfishly for themselves.

This didn’t please the bounty hunters who protected the alien conspiracy on earth, and the renegade aliens who avoided infection by sealing their eyes and mouth shut. The conspirators were all killed and the conspiracy collapsed.

Skinner tries to get names out of Marita in the good old fashioned integration way until Mulder see’s Krycek again, informing him that she will be killed for naming them – yet another sign of Krycek’s loyalty.

Things get interesting now as Gibson makes his way to Doggett, and Mulder gets a little frustrated with his being there. After all, he’s trying to protect the kid. Gibson informs the circus court that he can read minds, and rather stupidly informs everyone that one of the judges isn’t human! With that, Mulder reaches for the name only to be jumped by multiple guards and demands he be examined. Things get back to normal when Doggett comes to the stand and provides a more sceptical view on things. He acknowledges the existence of the super solders and believes they must be some sort of secret military project, and that Knowle Rohrer, the man Mulder is accused of killing – is one of them. But when things turn to aliens, Doggett really is put on the spot since he can’t agree with Mulder’s claims to alien existence.

Reyes takes her turn to explain the last remaining part of the X-Files legacy – William. She states that when William was born, the super soldiers surrounded Scully as they understood how important William was. Scully’s baby was an alien baby, and expressed bizarre powers beyond that of a normal human, with her testament over, Reyes looses her temper with the prosecution and Kersh, giving them a pep speech about Mulder and Scully’s hard work over the last nine years.

Just when things start to look bad for Mulder, his team of investigators get him a break. Doggett gets somewhere with the body of Knowle Rohrer and Scully learns from records that the body isn’t Knowle! They move to dismiss the case to which Kersh denies it. Scully quite rightly states he cannot deny the new evidence. Kersh orders everyone out and Skinner, Mulder, Scully and even the prosecution are left looking a little confused. It’s about this time they realise things might be to go another way. Kersh delivers the verdict of guilty which supposedly comes from a fair and impartial trial. Mulder gives his speech congratulating Kersh and stating that a bullet to the head would have been better then the charade of court. He reminds us that the truth is out there, and that no lie can continue forever. Krycek and Mr X stand behind, and support Mulder as he gives what sound like his last words to the judges. Things look pretty bleak as Scully hears the news, of the sentence, death by lethal injection, as she starts breaking down in tears.

But this is the X-Files! Mulder can’t die, not yet anyway, and the government can’t win. With the verdict delivered, Doggett and Skinner take matters into their own hands, breaking into the base and busting Mulder out with them. Bad timing ensues when Knowle Rohrer comes looking for him, alive and well of course. As they head for the exit, who should meet them, but Kersh! He joins their side and helps lead them through the base to the outside where Reyes is waiting with the getaway car. It looks like a clean escape as they drive to meet Scully and Gibson, Kersh admits he should have done this a long time ago and informs Mulder and Scully to get to an airport in Canada. It’s quite a sight to see Reyes, Doggett, Skinner and Kersh all standing together as Mulder reminds them they will not be safe now, to which Doggett replies “Let us worry about that”. Scully and Mulder take the car, and they head off, but not north as Kersh said, rather South.. to see a man about the truth.

Doggett and Reyes return to the X-Files office with Gibson with the plan to destroy his files and hide him, only to find the X-Files office has been stripped clean of anything, only a few books and Mulder’s “I Want To Believe” poster remain scattered on the floor. They head up to see Kersh, only to find one of the judges which Gibson fingered as being an alien! Gibson reads his mind once more to know that this alien judge knows where Mulder and Scully are.

Mulder stops in the desert to drain the little lizard only to have his final vision of my favourite X-Files characters – The Lone Gunmen. After a few pee jokes, Frohinkie, Byers and Langley suggest Mulder turns around, and go enjoy a life with Scully. After all, he already knows the truth. Mulder states he wants to know if he can change it, The Lone Gunmen just think it will get him killed, and they are most likely right.

They arrive at a strange Indian complex, thousands of years ago to meet a wise man who is the keeper of the truth. Mulder learned of his existence from the Indians in Mexico, whoever this man is, he gave Mulder the means to get into the Military facility and learn the truth. Now here he is, and who should it be… Cigarette Smoking Man! He’s slightly shocked that Mulder hasn’t told anyone the truth he learnt. Not even Scully, and after all these years of keeping secrets from people, surely now Mulder understands why the Smoking Man lived the life he did. However it’s all too late, and now he’s seeking refuge in a mountain made of magnetite (or something like that) which the aliens fear, the ancient Indians knew this, and also seeked refuge there, watching their race die out. As Smoking man goes to tell Scully the secret, Mulder urges her to leave, but she wants to hear it, and so Smoking man confirms the date which Mulder saw on the screen, December 22nd 2012. He also states he protected Fox Mulder for all these years, to finally see him broken and afraid of the truth, and now he can die.

Which is highly convenient since Knowle Rohrer and a few black helicopters followed Reyes and Doggett to the location, but unlucky for Knowle, the place is full of magnetite and he explodes into the rock. Now only two black helicopters armed with missiles remain. They all pile into cars and drive off making their escape, as the helicopters blow the crap out of CGB Spenders’ hiding place, killing him for good.

The episode (and the X-Files) ends in Roswell, New Mexico with Mulder and Scully in a motel. Mulder feels defeated, and reminisces about when they first met. He succeeded in making Scully believe in his cause and believes, but in every other respect, he failed. He admits he kept the truth from Scully because it may have crushed her spirit, Scully reminds Mulder she will not accept defeat if he wont, and that’s what she noticed when they first met, and why she followed him, and while she’d do it all over again – Mulder’s commitment to not giving into defeat, is the driving force of everything, and this is no different.

They rather sadly remember the fact they’ve really gotten nowhere, and if he accepts this as the truth he’s been looking for, then what is left to believe in. Mulder reminds himself of the people he’s seen to help him through this final X-File, and that they have the power to save themselves through some power greater then everything.

With the final scene, Mulder gets onto the bed with Scully, and they cuddle up, holding her necklace and kissing gently.

Maybe there is hope.