Season 2, Episode 17
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
“Colony” bleeds into “End Game,” thus concluding the newest X-Files double feature, if you will. It ends just as you want these things to end with the second episode expanding on the ideas of the first part and escalating them to newer, dizzying heights. Whereas the “Duane Barry” / “Ascension” pairing started on such a high note that it became impossible to sustain, “End Game” amps up the suspense, the scale, and the ideas introduced within “Colony.” It’s a fantastic one-two punch that provides not only some of the best work in the series but also serves to strengthen The X-Files‘ emotional backbone.
The prologue kicks off as an American sub discovers the assassin’s spaceship from the first episode. After given orders to shoot and destroy, they are attacked, and all systems flatline, effectively leaving them stranded underwater beneath the Arctic ice shelf. It’s a chilling (no pun intended), claustrophobic beginning to the episode, and it appropriately sets the tone for what’s to come. We then revisit “Mulder” (the shape-shifting assassin) as he attempts to beat information out of Scully. He takes her prisoner and later has her call the real Mulder to establish an exchange: Scully for Samantha. Samantha gives Mulder some backstory about the assassin/bounty hunter: he has been sent to erase a collection of cloned alien colonists who are degrading their genetic makeup by mixing it with human DNA.
The exchange happens on a deserted bridge in Maryland. It is a tense sequence with Skinner and an FBI sharpshooter positioned in the nearby woods to take out the bounty hunter by shooting him in the base of the neck. Samantha agrees to be exchanged for Scully (more on this later), but the sharpshooter only wounds the assassin who pulls Samantha into the icy river below. The next day, Samantha’s body washes ashore, and, as it begins to warm, it deteriorates in a manner similar to the doctor clones from “Colony” – it’s not the real Samantha. Meanwhile, Mulder tearfully tells his father that Samantha has been lost again, and his father blames him for the event, leaving a note from Samantha which points the remorseful Mulder to a women’s clinic. There, he finds the truth: Samantha was another clone, and there are more of her in the clinic. Unfortunately, the assassin finds his way there, blows through Mulder, and burns down the clinic, killing the clones in the process.
Mulder proceeds to track down the assassin to prevent him from returning to his home planet by finding the submarine from the prologue. Scully uses both Skinner and X (who engage in an epic fight sequence) to find Mulder’s location, but she’s nearly too late. Mulder runs afoul of the assassin in the submarine and, after attempting to shoot him in the back of the neck, is infected with the viral blood of the alien, which is toxic to humans. The alien escapes in the submarine, narrowly killing Mulder in the process. This returns us to the first scene in “Colony” where Scully saves Mulder’s life thanks to her recently obtained knowledge of the virus. Mulder awakens, shaken by the experience but with renewed faith to keep looking for his sister as the assassin revealed she is still alive.
“End Game” covers a lot of territory, but it moves seamlessly and swiftly. The various set pieces (the bridge exchange, the submarine, the fight between Skinner and X) are substantial pieces of work both expensive looking and essential to the overall story. This episode feels like a turning point for the series in multiple ways. First, the metaphor of and consistent usage of ice or cold represents Mulder’s hardening sensibilities throughout Season Two. The government interference with The X-Files, Deep Throat’s death, Scully’s abduction – it all blended together to shift Mulder’s mindset, to make him resentful of his search for “the truth.” But Scully’s constant support and literal thawing of Mulder’s frozen body illustrates his renewed resolve, basically that he has warmed again to the idea that the truth is indeed out there, that is his sister is indeed alive, and that he must continue to search for her. It also further melts the icy professionalism between Mulder and Scully, something that admittedly has been happening for several episodes now. But with yet another attempt on Scully’s life and with Mulder’s near-death experience, the two appear to be completely linked now. There is no separating them.
Then, in terms of the craft of filmmaking, “End Game” feels like the most expansive episode they’ve done yet. It’s a signal that those financing the series realize what they have on their hands, and they’re starting to fund it well enough to take it to the next level. The episodes appear more polished, more assured in their cinematic qualities. I would argue that the two episodes could have been spliced together and made into a complete film that arguably would have been a better experience than the eventual films that came later.
Still, I do have a few quibbles with the episode, nothing terminal but minor annoyances. First, I remain unconvinced why the assassin had to remain tucked away in the submarine until Mulder found him. What exactly was he waiting for? Dramatic tension, I know, but there is apparently no stopping the creature, so why have him wait in hiding taking on the appearance of a submarine crew member? The bigger offense in the series is something I mentioned with my “Colony” review: the persistent victimization of the heroine Scully. She is made a plot point once more as she is kidnapped and used as bait by the assassin. Scully is smarter than that, but the writers felt it was still appropriate to make her the “damsel in distress” yet again, an event underscored by Scully’s cowering in Mulder’s car after being released by the assassin. The event wouldn’t seem so egregious had the director not chosen to include that shot. As it is, it feels cheap and out of Scully’s character.
Still, “Control” and “End Game” pack an amazing one-two punch as The X-Files further matures as a television series. Perhaps the most surprising event of the episodes was Mulder’s regression to boyhood in front of his disapproving father. It gave David Duchovny the opportunity to showcase a side of Mulder we’ve rarely seen, childlike vulnerability. It’s a reminder that the most important aspects of long-standing series aren’t necessarily the wiz-bang special effects but the emotional truths explored with characters you’ve grown to deeply appreciate. Emotional connections are sometimes the greatest special effects of all.