This December, we’re taking a trip back in time to review the ninth season of The X-Files.
As The X-Files trundles towards its finalé, there is a sense that the production team do not understand “closure.”
There is, of course, a cheap gag to be made here. Long-time fans of the show might joke that the show never understood the concept of “closure”, as demonstrated by the fact that the show’s mythology frequently resembled a precariously-balanced tower of Jenga bricks gently swaying in a light breeze. This is perhaps a bit unfair; episodes like Requiem and Existence had done a good job of bringing the television show to a point where it might end, only for the show to be picked up for another season.
Shot down in their prime… time slot.
The end of the ninth season differs from the ends of the seventh or eighth because the production team know that the show is going to end. There will be no last-minute reprieve, no green-light give mere days before the last episode is actually broadcast. This is, in many ways, the end of The X-Files. With that in mind, the final episodes of the ninth season begin tidying away dangling plot threads and narrative loose ends in the hopes of satisfying the audience. The show seems to be running through a checklist. Lone Gunmen now. William next. Luke Doggett after that.
The problem, of course, is that none of these concepts are really calling for definitive “closure.” There is no reason for the show to draw a line under these supporting characters or plot arcs. It is possible for fans to imagine life beyond a television show for many characters without engaging in ruthless pruning. The Lone Gunmen do not need an epic send-off. In fact, the idea of an epic send-off seems to represent a misunderstanding of the characters themselves.
“Chris Carter said we’re invited to the wrap party…”
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Filed under: The Lone Gunmen | Tagged: 9/11, anthrax, Byers, frank spotntiz, Frohike, heroism, john gillnitz, john shiban, Jump the Shark, Langly, terrorism, the lone gunmen, the x-files, vince gilligan, x-files | 8 Comments »
