Chris Carter’s The X-Files is an iconic Science Fiction series that has been around since 1993. Lasting for a total of 11 seasons and 218 episodes, X-Files’s main cast consisted of Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.
The storyline of X-Files mostly revolves around Fox Mulder, a true believer in aliens and other conspiracies. Since Fox’s pretty much unwanted by the FBI, he is put into the “X-Files” division, which deals with events that normal science cannot explain. Along with Dana Scully, a doctor who’s not a believer, Mulder makes it his mission to explore paranormal occurrences.
While X-Files was a hit initially, over the years, its dragged plot had led to a decrease in quality and the ending that it showed in the series finale was sort of underwhelming, considering how absorbing X-Files used to be in its early days.
The X-Files: What Happens In The Series Finale?
In the X-Files series finale, we see that Scully keeps seeing visions in her head that somehow seem to be connected to her son, William/Jackson. Although both of them have never met, Scully and William get these violent episodes of images in their heads, and that’s how they can sense each other’s presence.
William recalls his past, and we’re shown that he grew up with special powers and eventually was targeted by the government. Kersh sees the live stream that shows Mulder talking about a conspiracy where the Aliens will be invading Earth and spreading disease soon, so he asks Skinner to find him and shut the X-Files down.
Dana reveals that it was she who posted information about the invasion online. Monica calls Mulder and asks him to come to Braddock ATCA so that he can save his son from being transported. Scully feels that this isn’t true and that William isn’t on the plane.
To avoid any risks, Mulder goes to the airport anyway. He tries to sneak into the facility but has to fight his way through after being spotted. Scully finds a way to find William’s location, and Mulder heads to the place right away. It’s now a race between CSM and Mulder to find William first.
Scully informs the Malley show about a contagion that would soon be unleashed on humans and was of alien origins. Mulder reaches William, but their father-son moment is ruined when they are attacked by the government agents. William escapes and later shapeshifts into Mulder to avoid being found by his mother. The real Mulder arrives and tries to stop William.
The X-Files: Ending Explained
As we approach the series finale of X-Files, Mulder is cornered by the Cigarette Smoking Man. He reveals that William was his child, whom he made with the help of science. CSM shoots Mulder, and he drops into the waters below.
In a surprising twist, we see that the person CSM shot was William, and the real Mulder arrives and shoots him. Scully finally lets Mulder know that William was an experiment by the government, even though she birthed him like a normal child.
Mulder is devastated to know that he’s not a real father, but then Scully reveals that she is pregnant once again, even though the chances were very low before. In later scenes, William comes back to the shore, alive and well.
Since he was created in a lab, William had alien DNA mixed in him, which is what made him somewhat immortal. The X-Files ending shows Mulder and Scully finally carrying a miracle child, who will hopefully be a normal human and not the product of some crazy experiment.
Scully and Mulder had brought William into this world back in season 8 after she was shown to be pregnant despite being infertile. When her first baby, Emily, died and went missing, Scully had given up hope of having another child.
It’s possible that later on, Scully decided to use methods like IVF to conceive William, but the CSM knew about this and used it as an opportunity to become William’s father.
When William was born, Scully and Mulder got to know he had special powers and gave him up for adoption to keep him safe and away from greedy eyes. Scully giving birth to William could also be the reason why she was fertile again and could have another child without any issues since he had otherworldly powers.
Now that William was old enough to fend for himself, he could live away from the government as he had always hoped for. The open ending of this FOX show leaves much unanswered, but it also gives us the chance to imagine our perfect ending for an intriguing show like The X-Files.
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