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PLOT:A young chess prodigy with inherent psychic abilities avoids an assassination attempt. Mulder and Scully investigate and discover that he may be the target of the Syndicate as well as the "key" to everything in the X-Files.
An excellent episode that showcases all the elements of what makes the X-Files stand out among all other science fiction shows of today. It was well written, finely acted, highlighted a paranormal phenomenon, perpetuated the X-Files mythology, featured Mulder/Scully angst and brought back evil personified: Cancer Man.
This episode ended an era for the show as it was the last one produced in Vancouver. Chris Carter has stated in interviews that he wanted to thank the city for the past five years by staging the opening scene of the chess match in Vancouver with thousands of local residents as extras. Though even he admitted that the FBI has no jurisdiction in Canada, it was a way to thank the city for embracing the show as it has. It was a very nice gesture.
"The End" really features two plots: Gibson Praise and his psychic abilities and the stress of the Mulder/Scully relationship with the introduction of Mulder's old flame, Diana Fowley. Carter expertly interwove these two plots together to make it flow effortlessly throughout the episode without straining the overall quality of the show. Though this season finale was well done, the plot did not translate to the feature film. Just the overall conspiracy and the involvement of the Syndicate were the elements apparent in the film, but that is for another review.
Though the case was not categorized as an X-File, Skinner believes that the exclusion of Mulder's investigative skills on the case warranted his intervention. Agent Jeffrey Spender, whom we last saw in "Patient X" and "The Red and The Black," was somehow assigned the case from someone outside of the Bureau. "The Kid" as Skinner describes him specifically did not want Mulder on the case. Even though Spender may state that Mulder will just make the case into some "alien fiasco," he really is in fear that Mulder will reveal just how inexperienced Spender is on such a high-profile case. Of course, Mulder does make him look bad, and the look on Spender's face when he realizes this is extremely revealing of his grudging admiration of Mulder's talents, no matter how "Spooky" he may be.
The introduction of Diana Fowley in this same scene only hints at the repercussions for Mulder and Scully. From Mulder's acknowledgement of her presence in the room, it is obvious they had a history. As this trio first meets Gibson Praise, that history becomes more evident as the young boy easily reads Mulder's mind as wandering towards "one of the girls." This is just speculation on which "girl" he was thinking of, but I believe it must have been Scully. Throughout this, he has never mentioned Diana to Scully. Mulder may be feeling slightly off-balance that Diana suddenly appeared in his life again unannounced and is subconsciously trying to explain his relationship with Diana to Scully. On her part, Scully is obviously curious as to the connection. In a later scene, Gibson senses Scully's anxiety over "the other one" just as Diana walks out of a room to meet them.
Of course, we cannot forget the return of Cancer Man as he is brought back into the Syndicate's fold to eliminate both the assassin who was caught and Gibson Praise himself. Though he shows the same cockiness, there is also evidence of a slight apprehension in his face as he wonders just when the next time he will be stabbed in the back by his own people. And there really is no surprise that he is Spender's father as already revealed in "The Red and The Black." It is not immediately revealed why he decided to torch the basement office of the X-Files. He could have easily done that in previous years, but it would be later revealed as a way to control the X-Files and have his son promoted to them.
An admirable quality that is also showcased in this episode is the investigative talents of Mulder and Scully. He may have a reputation of being "Spooky" but his mind works in so many different planes than the average investigator. When the FBI and Spender thought they were investigating an assassination of a Russian national, Mulder was the one who spotted the boy as the intended victim. When everyone else was trying to muscle the caught assassin to reveal why he was trying to kill the boy, only Mulder figured out that Gibson had psychic ability dangerous enough to the assassin's affiliates. Mulder states that Gibson may hold the key to everything in the X-Files, but does not explain how that may be possible. This is a leap of faith on Mulder's part but one that he was willing to risk even for the X-Files.
For her part and ever the scientist, Scully may not have initially believed in Gibson's psychic abilities but had the frame of mind to have the Lone Gunmen delve into the test results with a focus on the parascience aspects. And even though she was suffering from her awareness of Mulder's and Diana's past, Scully still stayed true to her scientific training while explaining to Skinner and the other agents of the "God Module" inherent in geniuses such as Einstein and Stephen Hawkins that appears to show within Gibson Praise.
Carter does not usually write stories that figure in the Mulder/Scully relationship so significantly as he has done in this episode, particularly in one that perpetuates the mythology of the series. He created an instant adversary for Scully in the form of Diana Fowley, who definitely has much more substance than Phoebe Green from "Fire." The fact that Diana was "there when Mulder discovered the X-Files" only enhances the stress on Scully's insecurity. She had never thought that any other person, much less another female, was ever involved with Mulder in the X-Files. If that was not enough, Scully has been with him for the past five years, but Diana can call him "Fox" without Mulder correcting her.
Though Scully may be jealous of Diana professionally, she is also jealous of Diana's obvious interest in Mulder. Watch Scully's facial expression when Byers (how insensitive of him!) wonders out loud why Diana and Mulder "ever broke up." She is fighting her already stressed out emotions from revealing more than was already there. And of course the Lone Gunmen are obviously aware of the bond between Mulder and Scully as evident from how uncomfortable they felt when Scully asked them if they knew Diana. They knew her very well and tried not to embellish the romance part of it for Scully's sake. However, it is the scene where Scully catches Mulder and Diana holding hands that disturbs her the most. Even the music that Mark Snow is playing is painfully somber to reflect Scully's mood. She tries to hide her emotions as much as possible, but the picture in her mind of the two of them was too painful for her to confront them face-to-face. So Scully calls Mulder to lure him away from Diana for the moment. Though I did not particularly like Diana (no tears were shed on my part when she was shot), she definitely is a formidable adversary for Scully in both intelligence and looks. However, I believe Mulder has grown up significantly since Diana last knew him. His interests obviously lie elsewhere.
That was obvious when Mulder defended Scully to Diana. He has never told anyone his feelings for Scully, but deftly avoids any prodding by Diana of Scully's supposed inadequate qualities needed for the X-Files. Ironically, Mulder is a very passionate person as shown by his obsessive nature with the X-Files and for finding Samantha. Yet, he rarely ever reveals how important Scully is to him beyond just professional partners and friends. But his concern is so obvious when Scully is in danger ("Irresistible," "Unruhe," "Duane Barry" to name a few), in a coma ("One Breath," "Redux II," and "Patient X") or he's jealous ("Never Again" and "Bad Blood"). Mulder loves Scully by not revealing his true feelings out of respect for her and their relationship. It is tough to maintain that balance, but they do it so well.
David and Gillian were excellent to a tee in this episode. They did not try to play against their character's strengths and further enhanced that subtle romance that has become much more prominent with them in the past season. It is a testament to their talents and Chris Carter's script that the episode was beyond satisfying but a classic.
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