After an almost two year wait, The X-Files returned on 3 January, 2018 with a season opener that was written and directed by series creator, Chris Carter.

Viewers may have felt they got stiffed a little by the reveal that the season finale, My Struggle II, was actually just a vision had by Scully (Gillian Anderson) but there is evidence that it may have been sent to her as a warning. So who sent it? Their son William? All evidence seems to suggest that, and that the visions and seizures she is suffering are coming from her connection to him.

And what do we choose to believe as Mulder (David Duchovny) sets off in pursuit of CSM (William B. Davis) who seems intent on tracking down William for his own purposes, something Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) shows up to warn Scully about.

There are twists and turns aplenty as we learn that CSM’s plan to release a pandemic on the world is his plan, the aliens no longer want our world after we’ve ruined the climate and depleted its resources. But there are members of The Syndicate with their own plan, if they can convince Mulder to help them.

Meanwhile, Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) has an encounter with CSM and Reyes (Annabeth Gish) who drop a horrific reveal, if true, on the Assistant Director.

When Mulder and Scully are reunited, they are aware that they need to find William, but also that he may make his way towards them, so for now, they plan to sit tight, continue their investigations, and hope that each day brings their son closer to them.

This episode definitely shakes things up, and we are warned in the opening titles that things are changing when the usual tag The Truth is Out There is changed to I Want To Believe, and then morphs into I Want To Lie.

And if My Struggle was Mulder’s story, II was Scully’s, III is definitely CSM’s, whose name, he reveals in narration is Carl Gerhard Busch.

What’s truth, what’s a lie, and what do we believe? It’s time to begin the final season of The X-Files!

This was written by Glen Morgan, and debuted on 10 January, 2018. Erika Prince (Barbara Hershey) who was introduced in the previous episode as a member of The Syndicate returns in this episode in connection to a strange building, Titanpointe, that actually exists in New York.

Mulder and Scully, on the outs with the Bureau and Skinner, are having a relaxing night at home, until they are attacked by Russian members of a security team, moments after they receive a call from Langly (Dean Haglund), who’s supposed to be dead and buried in Arlington Cemetery alongside the rest of the Lone Gunmen.

What they find is a strange digital simulation that is using the uploaded personal data of users to create simulacrums who are virtual slaves in this digital environment. Langly, who was uploaded, reaches out to the only person he can think to, or has memory of working with, and sets Mulder on the case.

There are some great lines of dialogue, a cool mystery, and I love that it ties in with an actual mystery, as well as the possibility of a virtual realm, that doesn’t seem that far-fetched in today’s day and age.

The mysteries continue, the wait and search for William is ongoing, and the truth (remains) out there next week.