We cross the halfway point with The X-Files event series.
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| Scully. I'm sorry. But this new series just isn't working out. I think I want to do a Californication rehash. |
Question. What the hell is going on with The X-Files? If this is the best Carter and his team can do, I'm quickly losing any and all interest.
Last week's episode was a divisive one. Some loved it because it called back to the old monster of the week entries of the original series. Others thought it was too camp and didn't fit in with the direction that we wanted this short run to take. Myself, being of the latter camp, wanted to see them continue down the path that the first two weeks had taken, establishing a fresh mythos in which Mulder and Scully would try to solve a new conspiracy. With Home Again, fans are most likely let down with not only the encroaching conclusion but are given a ham fisted episode that does nothing to move this mini-arc forward. Audiences are handed a story that feels way too unfocused and emotionally void of the effect they were going for.
To say this was a letdown is a vast understatement. For a returning show that could have had so much to offer, Carter's continuation of the series is lacking something that the original run had a lot of. This season ten of The X-Files is lacking the heart that pumped black blood through most of the entire nine year run. With so much build up and so much at stake, Home Again sits idle as David Duchovny still struggles to figure out whether he's still playing Hank Moody or if he's actually back as Agent Fox Mulder. Parts one and two brought us into the modern era of X and made us think the whole ball of wax was going to unravel before us, spewing some epic mystical energy that would reinvigorate the franchise and leave the Doggett and Reyes years in the dirt. It's hard for me to say, but those last episodes of the original run were much more satisfactory than this.
Introducing a new monster that had little explanation, some really corny acting, a death that lacked emotional impact, a modern story about gentrification, and an underdeveloped script, The X-Files is flailing. While the premise they introduced this week was at least mildly interesting, it appears that something is definitely amiss. With Duchovny and Anderson beating around the bush regarding further episodes, the answer to the great mystery is becoming quite clear. If the concluding chapters don't find a way to bring this thing full circle and give us more of what the first couple weeks offered, this might mean the end for our beloved franchise. With only six parts to work with, this should have been a succinct effort that didn't give us any sideline stories. Where's Skinner? Where's CSM? And when the hell are we going to get some answers.
Right now, I'm sad. This is not The X-Files I was hoping for. This is no better than average genre programming.
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Score
-CG