Requiem (The X-Files)

"Requiem"
The X-Files episode
Mulder notices a mark he made in the road seven years ago. Fearing that the show was nearing its end, Chris Carter decided to bring back elements from the show's pilot episode to bring the show closure.
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 22
Directed by	Kim Manners
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	7ABX22
Original air date	May 21, 2000
Guest stars
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Leon Russom as Detective Miles Amy Umberger as Special Agent Chesty Short Peter MacDissi as Prison Guard Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Eddie Kaye Thomas as Gary Judd Trichter as Richie Zachary Ansley as Billy Miles Gretchen Becker as Greta William B. Davis as The Smoking Man Sarah Koshoff as Teresa Hoese Darin Cooper as Ray Hoese Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Brian Thompson as Alien Bounty Hunter Grace and Kelly Demontesquiou as Baby
Episode chronology
← Previous "Je Souhaite" Next → "Within"
List of season 7 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Requiem" is the twenty-second episode and the seventh season finale of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 21, 2000 in the United States. The episode was written by Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Requiem" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.9, being watched by 15.26 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.

"Requiem" was a story milestone for the series, featuring the alien abduction of FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder would appear sporadically in the next few seasons, only returning for about half of the episodes in season eight and only two lone episodes in season nine.

In this episode, FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) return to the site of their first investigation together when a series of abductions take place. However, Scully's failing health, and Mulder's concern that she is in danger, cause him to take her off the case. Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis)—on his deathbed—reunites with Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and Alex Krycek in an attempt to revive the project.

Plot

Detective Miles is driving along a country road when he is dispatched to a stretch of highway where his deputy, Ray Hoese, has called in a massive fire and a suspected downed aircraft. As Miles arrives, his watch begins to spin, his car's electricity cuts out, and he sees the forest around him ablaze. His car crashes and, as he gets out, he notices Hoese unconscious in his own car further along the road. After the detective goes to investigate, he steps in a pool of green blood and is suddenly confronted by a man who looks exactly like Hoese, but has green fluid seeping out of him and advances on the detective.

In a penal colony in Tunisia, Marita Covarrubias arranges for the release of Alex Krycek. Krycek and Marita meet with the Smoking Man, who tells them that they need to focus as one and concentrate on the matter at hand: an alien craft that has crashed in Oregon. The Smoking Man describes it as the chance to rebuild the Project but claims that finding it will be complicated.

Mulder returns to his office and receives a phone call from none other than Billy Miles, an abductee from Oregon whom the agents investigated around seven years ago. He tells Mulder that he is concerned that the abductions have begun again. The following morning, Mulder and Scully arrive in Bellefleur, where they investigate the road where the incidents took place. Scully finds three bullet casings, indicating that Deputy Hoese fired his weapon before disappearing. The agents later speak with Hoese's wife and are stunned when it turns out to be none other than Theresa Nemman. Later, while going through case files, Scully soon becomes ill.

That night, Theresa Hoese is awakened by someone at her door and is abducted in the night. Mulder and Scully arrive at Theresa's house to find a police crime scene, with Billy informing them that she was taken in the night and that nobody knows what happened. Scully suddenly feels nauseous, much to Billy's concern, but she quickly shakes it off. At the Miles family home, Billy – now highly suspicious – enters and pulls his gun on the man who appears to be his father. After the confrontation, Billy relinquishes his gun, at which point the other man's facial appearance physically morphs from that of Detective Miles into the Alien Bounty Hunter.

With Mulder and Scully now back at FBI Headquarters, Skinner approaches Mulder in his office. After a brief hesitation, Skinner signals both Krycek and Marita into the office, much to Mulder's astonishment. He immediately goes to attack Krycek but is held back by Skinner. Marita reveals to Mulder that the Smoking Man is dying and that he wants to find the UFO in Oregon to restart his Project. The group, along with Scully and the Lone Gunmen find evidence that the craft crashed in Oregon. In Oregon, Mulder and Skinner travel back to the woods, equipped with lasers for finding the cloaking field. Noticing a spot where the lasers cease in mid-air, Mulder puts out his hand and sees it shake violently as it enters the force field. At that moment, Mulder is abducted by a UFO, which is viewed by a stunned Skinner as it flies away.

Back at the Watergate apartment complex, Krycek and Marita come to visit the Smoking Man, who is already aware of his plan's failure but is resigned to his fate. With Marita holding back Greta, Krycek wheels the Smoking Man out of the room and throws him down a flight of stairs, presumably killing him. Later, in DC, after being hospitalized, Scully tells Skiner that, although she cannot understand it, and that it is important that he keep it secret, she is pregnant.

Production

Writing and directing

The episode, which was, at the time, potentially the series' last, was directed by Kim Manners, who later said he felted "very honored."

"Requiem" was written by series creator Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. While filming was underway for the seventh season, many members of the crew felt that the show had entered into its final season. As the season progressed, however, the idea of producing another season emerged. Paul Rabwin explained that, "we found ourselves starting to get energized again. [...] As we got toward the end of the season, everyone was kind of hopeful." During the writing of the final script, there were several ideas discussed on how to deal with the series. The first idea was that "Requiem" could end the series." The episode could also function as either cliffhanger for an eighth season or an X-Files movie. During the drafting of the script, there were talks of doing a two-hour episode, but these ideas were quickly discarded.

The ending for the episode was written the day before it was filmed. Carter held it back because he didn't want "the cat to get out of the bag." This decision was made to prevent leaks and spoilers on the internet.

Manners originally thought that Chris Carter would have wanted to direct the episode, in case the episode would have been the show's last. Originally, Carter planned on it, but eventually relented and asked Manners to direct the episode. Manners later noted that he felt "very honored" by this gesture.

Casting

Because there was still a chance that the seventh season may have been the show's last, the character of Billy Miles, played by Zachary Ansley and who originally appeared in the pilot episode, was brought back in and featured in "Requiem" to bring the series closure. Rumors began spreading that, since David Duchovny had not expressed an interest to appear as a main character in the eighth season, that another character would take Mulder's place. Many fans on the internet believed that Mitch Pileggi, who portrayed Walter Skinner, would take the role; Pileggi later called this guess "ridiculous."

Broadcast and reception

"Requiem" first aired in the United States on May 21, 2000. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 8.9, with a 14 share, meaning that roughly 8.9 percent of all television-equipped households, and 14 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 15.26 million viewers. "Requiem" marked a 3.8 percent decrease in viewers from the sixth season finale, "Biogenesis" and a 14.4 percent decrease from the seventh season premiere, "The Sixth Extinction." The episode aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky1 on August 13, 2000 and received 1.00 million viewers, making it the most watched episode that week.

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Kenneth Silber from Space.com called the episode "intriguing" and wrote that, "The X-Files foundered for much of its seventh season, drifting through often inane "stand-alone" episodes while largely neglecting the series' alien-oriented 'mythology arc.' The season finale 'Requiem' marks a much-needed return to that mythology, and sets the stage for what might be an interesting eighth season." Rich Rosell from DigitallyObsessed.com awarded the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "A lot of characters out of the woodwork come back for the season-ending cliffhanger [...] But that's all window-dressing for a trio of big surprises that wrap up Season 7, in what many consider the show's death knell, or perhaps just a proper ending."

Footnotes

References

• Meisler, Andy (2000). The End and the Beginning: The Official Guide to the X-Files Season 6. HarperCollins. ISBN 0061075957. 
• Shapiro, Marc (2000). All Things: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 6. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061076112. 

External links

• "Requiem" on The X-Files, an external wiki
• "Requiem" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Requiem" at TV.com