The Truth (The X-Files)

"The Truth"
The X-Files episode
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 19 & 20
Directed by	Kim Manners
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	9ABX19 9ABX20
Original air date	May 19, 2002 (Fox)
Guest stars
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek James Pickens, Jr. as Alvin Kersh Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias Jeff Gulka as Gibson Praise Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender Adam Baldwin as Knowle Rohrer William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Steven Williams as X Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Matthew Glave as Kallenbrunner Alan Dale as Toothpick Man William Devane as General Mark A. Suveg Patrick St. Esprit as Dark-Suited Man
Episode chronology
← Previous "Sunshine Days" Next → "I Want to Believe"
List of season 9 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"The Truth" is the collective name for the 201st and 202nd, and final, episodes of the science fiction television series The X-Files. They first aired on May 19, 2002 on Fox in the United States and Canada. "The Truth" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was written by creator and executive producer Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. "The Truth" was the most watched episode of the ninth season. The episode received a rating of 7.5 and was viewed by about 13 million viewers. The finale received mixed reviews by critics, with many criticizing the creation of new questions.

The episode acts as a series finale for the show, concluding many long-time story arcs while creating new ones for a possible film franchise. Chris Carter has expressed an intent to make a third X-Files feature film that would focus on the impending alien invasion revealed in this episode, depending on the success of the 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

In this episode, After not knowing Mulder's whereabouts for the last year, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and FBI special agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) learn that Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being held for the murder of a military man he couldn't possibly have killed: Knowle Rohrer (Adam Baldwin), one of the government's secret "Super Soldiers". Mulder breaks out of prison with help of Skinner, Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Scully and Alvin Kersh. Mulder and Scully travel to New Mexico where Black helicopters destroy an Anasazi cliff dwelling ruin along with the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis).

Plot

At Mount Weather military base, Fox Mulder appears with several government officials. He gains access to highly-classified documents on a secure computer system, and is shocked and dismayed to read the documents, which provide details of the final colonization of the planet.

Before he can continue reading, Mulder hears another person approaching. He quickly hides and observes Knowle Rohrer, a former friend of Doggett but who has been irreversibly transformed into an enemy "Super Soldier", approach the computer system. Rohrer immediately realizes the system has been accessed. Mulder attempts to attack Rohrer, but Rohrer easily overpowers him. Mulder frantically flees, but Rohrer outflanks him. In a violent altercation, Mulder flips Rohrer off a catwalk onto high-voltage wiring, and Rohrer apparently dies by electrocution. Mulder attempts to escape, but is quickly arrested by several soldiers.

News of Mulder's arrest spreads to the FBI. Upon hearing that he has resurfaced, and in such a dire manner, Scully and Skinner immediately visit him. They learn that he had in fact made the incursion, but he wants his reason for doing so to be heard. While Mulder languishes in military captivity, he receives mysterious visits from two phantoms of his past: Alex Krycek and X. Meanwhile, Scully and Skinner go to great lengths to get him released, but are unsuccessful. Mulder's fate is ultimately made the subject of a military tribunal. At the outset, it appears he will be the hopeless victim of a show trial not in his favor.

Skinner takes Mulder's defense, while Scully, Reyes, Doggett, Marita Covarrubias, Gibson Praise and Jeffrey Spender testify on Mulder's behalf. The prosecution presents Rohrer's body as evidence against Mulder. Aware that Rohrer is a seemingly-invincible "Super Soldier", Scully performs a medical examination and proves that the body is not that of Rohrer. Despite this, the defense is ultimately overruled, and Mulder is sentenced to death for the murder of a military officer.

With the unexpected help of Deputy Director Kersh, the agents help Mulder escape. Despite being advised to immediately leave the continent via Canada, Mulder instead takes Scully to New Mexico. Doggett and Reyes find their office emptied, suggesting that the X-Files have been closed down for the third time.

In New Mexico, Scully and Mulder arrive at Anasazi Pueblo ruins to find a "wise man", who they believe can make sense of the classified documents Mulder has read. They discover the so-called "wise man" is the Cigarette Smoking Man, who is hiding to survive the colonization — an event that will happen on December 22, 2012. This corresponds to a significant date in the Mayan Calendar — perhaps the end of the world. Outside, Reyes and Doggett arrive and fight Rohrer, who has been sent to kill Mulder and the Smoking Man. The ruins are filled with magnetite, which kills Rohrer as he advances on Doggett and Reyes. Switching cars with Mulder and Scully, the agents drive off. Black helicopters destroy the cliff dwellings — and the Smoking Man within — before giving chase to the wrong car. Doggett and Reyes are last seen speeding away with the helicopters in pursuit.

In a motel room in Roswell, New Mexico, Mulder and Scully prepare for bed and talk. Mulder explains his belief: " that the dead are not lost to us. That they speak to us as part of something greater than us — greater than any alien force. And if you and I are powerless now, I want to believe that if we listen to what's speaking, it can give us the power to save ourselves." Despite their slim chance for success, Mulder declears that, "Maybe there's hope."

Production

The first scene with Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) was shot in a hydroelectric power plant east of Fresno, California. The rooms seen in the episode were the main rooms for the power plant. The X-Files crew turned it into what they called a "war room". Most of the decoration and interior scene was done by the visual effect crew; the only visible part seen in real life was a large generator that pumped water. Bill Roe, the cinematographer for the episode, spent four to five days to light the set for filming. Kim Manners commented on his work and called it "a great job". The main computer terminal room was shot at a sound stage at 20th Century Fox; the crew built the set themselves. The scenes with Mulder being tortured by the military guards were shot at an abandoned military base in Long Beach, California, Fort MacArthur.

Filming the court room was one of the "most challenging sequences" Manners had ever done. Chris Carter wanted the courtroom to have no spectators and no jury. This meant all Manners had to work with was a handful of actors, trying to give them a "fresh" look. Manners was terrified by filming a 40-page long courtroom scene, saying they were basically telling a nine year history of The X-Files. Corey Kaplan designed the set.

With this episode David Duchovny rejoins the main cast and marks the only episode that all five principal actors (David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish and Mitch Pileggi) are credited together in the opening titles. Mulder, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), Laurie Holden (Marita Covarrubias) and Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek) are the only characters to appear in both this episode and the series' pilot. This episode is the fourth of only four episodes in season nine where Duchovny appeared, the others being "Trust No 1", "Jump the Shark" (appearing in archive footage in both these episodes) and "William".

Originally, this episode was to feature recurring character Shannon McMahon. However, actress Lucy Lawless became pregnant shortly after filming the two-parter "Nothing Important Happened Today" and was not available for subsequent episodes. The final scene of the episode was originally going to show the Toothpick Man informing George W. Bush (played by Gary Newton) of Mulder's escape. The scene was filmed, but was not included in the broadcast version. However, it was featured as a deleted scene on the DVD; on that DVD's audio commentary, the producers mentioned that they had considered having Martin Sheen appear as his The West Wing character Josiah Bartlet instead of Bush. The cameo of the Cigarette Smoking Man was filmed on a sound stage back at 20th Century Fox. Manners called the last scene with Duchovny and Anderson "extremely tough."

Several of the scenes feature elements that call-back to other episodes. The final scene in which Mulder and Scully speak in a hotel room is reminiscent of the series' first episode. In addition, it should be noted that in the third season episode "Red Museum," the adherents of the Red Museum believe that the year 2012 will bring about the dawning of The New Age. In "The Truth," it is revealed to Mulder by the Cigarette Smoking Man that the Colonists|alien colonists plan to colonize the earth on December 22nd, 2012, an event that countless cultures, including most notably the Mayans, predicted.

Reception

"The Truth" became the most watched episode of the ninth season; receiving the season's highest ratings. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.5, meaning that it was seen by 7.5% of the nation's estimated households. It was viewed by 7.9125 million households and gathered a total of 13 million viewers in the United States alone. On the date of its airing, the episode was ranked third, behind the season finale of Survivor: Marquesas and the heavily promoted The Cosby Show reunion. "The Truth" did, however, place ahead of the the season finale of The Practice. On May 19, 2002 the episode premiered on American and Canadian television on Fox (both nations) and Global Television Network (Canada) the same time and day as Fox did. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it made its first appearance on Sky1 on September 26, 2002. "The Truth" received 1.03 million viewers, placing The X-Files number two in the top ten broadcasts for Sky1 for that week behind The Simpsons.

The episode received mixed reviews by critics; the main reason for criticism was that instead of creating a conclusion, it created new questions for the audience. In 2011, the finale was ranked #22 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.

External links

• The Truth on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• The Truth part 1 at TV.com
• The Truth part 2 at TV.com