My Struggle III
Written and directed by Chris Carter
"Scully's story would be incredible outright... a dead man unleashing a plague on the world, my impending demise, the desperation to find our son... unbelievable, if not for the fact that I've been followed since I left the hospital. But followed by whom?"
— Fox Mulder
Mulder and Scully must find their son before other parties find him first.
Tropes:
- The Bus Came Back: Jeffrey Spender returns after attending Mulder's trial 16 years ago, playing a minor role in informing Scully about the hunt for William.
- Call-Back:
- Spender mentions that the adoptive family Scully sent her baby to was the Van de Kamps.
- With their search for the truth leading nowhere, Scully reassures Mulder that the truth can still be found in the X-Files, a statement once made by Mulder to Scully while dealing with Melissa's death.
- The reason why William is actually the Cigarette Smoking Man's son is revealed: he artificially inseminated Scully when the two went on a mission to find a universal cure for all of mankind's diseases.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: The events of the previous episode were a vision given to Scully to show her how the conspiracy plans to end the world. There's still time yet to save it.
- Evil vs. Evil: The members of the conspiracy are now working against each other. The Smoking Man intends to exterminate most of humanity, while another faction, consisting of Mr. Y and Erika Price, intends to colonize space with a select few and need the Smoking Man stopped for their plan to work.
- Gotta Get Your Head Together: Scully seemingly clutches her head in pain, before she has her visions and passes out.
- Moon-Landing Hoax: The Smoking Man is shown on a sound stage being used to film the fake moon landing.
- Oh, Crap!: Skinner recoils in horror once the Cigarette Smoking Man reveals William's true lineage.
- The Reveal:
- Ever since we found out that the Cigarette Smoking Man's name was "CGB Spender" in "Two Fathers", many have questioned what the initials meant. But the first line in the episode uncovers it: Carl Gerhard Busch.
- While Scully made the decision to send William away for adoption, this episode reveals that Spender was the one who delivered the baby to the new family.
- Slashed Throat: Mulder uses a scalpel to do this to the assassin before he can strangle Scully.
- Vorpal Pillow: The assassin tries this on Scully, but she manages to struggle her way off the bed and he settles on choking her directly, instead.
- We Used to Be Friends: When Skinner smells like smoke in the hospital, he and Mulder have a fight; Skinner's loyalties are suspect at this point.
- Wham Episode: Not only do the events of "My Struggle II" turn out to be a vision of the future, they also came from William, who seems to possess new abilities despite being depowered as an infant by a heavily disfigured Spender. The Syndicate also has more survivors; namely, a second group that wants to colonize space with a chosen number of people, who need William just as much as the Cigarette Smoking Man does. And speaking of that chainsmoker, he offers Skinner an immunity to the Spartan Virus, if he chooses to betray humanity. While this is left ambiguous, in the same conversation, the Cigarette Smoking Man gives one last truth. Mulder isn't William's father, the Cigarette Smoking Man is, due to him artificially inseminating Scully when the two once went to find a universal cure.
- Wham Line: William's true parentage is finally revealed at the end of the episode:Skinner: Who's the father?
Cigarette Smoking Man: I am. William is my son. - Wham Shot: After the opening credits, events from "My Struggle II" flash over Scully's eye back at the X-Files office. Then, everything goes white... and it cuts to her on a gurney, revealing that the previous episode was not real, but more of a vision to set right what once went wrong.
"The truth still lies in the X-Files, Mulder."
