Requiem (The X-Files)

Plot

In Bellefleur, Oregon, sheriff's department detective Miles drives to the scene of a reported aircraft crash. His car's electricity cuts out, causing a crash. An injured Miles finds fellow deputy Ray Hoese unconscious in his police cruiser, then is confronted by a man identical to Hoese bleeding green fluid, indicating an alien bounty hunter. In Tunisia, Marita Covarrubias arranges the release of Alex Krycek from a penal colony.

They meet the Smoking Man, now in a wheelchair, who tells them an alien craft has crashed in Oregon and sees it as a chance to rebuild the Project. Two teenage boys, Gary and Richie, explore the crash site. Detective Miles denies any crash. Gary is lifted off the ground and shaken by an invisible force.

In Washington, Fox Mulder receives a call from Billy Miles, an abductee from Bellefleur encountered seven years prior, who reports Hoese's disappearance and fears abductions have begun again. Mulder and Dana Scully arrive in Bellefleur and meet Billy, now a local police officer. They meet "Detective Miles", unaware he is a disguised Bounty Hunter who killed Billy's father. At Hoese's disappearance scene, Scully finds three bullet casings.

They speak with Hoese's wife, revealed to be Theresa Nemman, another 1992 abductee. While going through case files, Scully becomes ill.

Production

While filming the seventh season, many crew members felt the show had entered its final season. Executive producer Frank Spotnitz explained there was a strong sentiment inside and outside the show that it was time to call it a day. As the season progressed, the idea of another season emerged. Paul Rabwin noted that the crew found themselves getting energized again, and by the end of the season everyone was hopeful.

When penning "Requiem", producers considered several approaches: it could serve as a series finale, or end on a cliffhanger leading into an eighth season or an X-Files movie. The latter idea was chosen, and series creator Chris Carter wrote the episode as a segue into season eight. The episode attempted to bring closure to several aspects of the series. In one sequence, Alex Krycek throws the Smoking Man down a flight of stairs, presumably to his death.

Nicholas Lea, who portrayed Krycek, called it one of the character's great moments. The episode featured tender moments between Mulder and Scully, which some fans found nearly pornographic in the context of their long courtship, according to Matt Hurwitz and Chris Knowles. Gillian Anderson defended the moments, arguing there was ample romance prior to "Requiem". The ending scene, with Scully revealing she is pregnant, was written the day before filming.

Carter held it back to avoid spoiling the surprise. The episode saw the partial departure of David Duchovny's character Fox Mulder by way of alien abduction.

Themes

In "Requiem," Mulder considers abandoning his quest for the truth. According to Michelle Bush's book Myth-X, the episode's central idea is Mulder's recognition that it might be time to stop. The twist comes when he finally obtains undeniable evidence of extraterrestrial life, only to be kidnapped. A scene in Skinner's office uses camera angles and character placement to mirror Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper.

Skinner occupies Saint Peter's position, while Scully stands where Judas Iscariot would be. Bush interprets this as a suggestion that Scully, like Judas, plays a direct role in the fate of the savior figure—Mulder. Her actions lead to an outcome that could not happen without her involvement. This is not the first time Scully has been linked to Judas; the earlier episode "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" places her in a role that directly parallels Nikos Kazantzakis's heroic version of Judas.

Reception

"Requiem" made its debut on Fox in the United States on May 21, 2000. The episode pulled in a Nielsen rating of 8.9 and a 14 share, which translates to about 8.9 percent of all TV-equipped homes and 14 percent of homes actively watching television at the time.

A total of 15.26 million viewers tuned in. This represented a 3.8 percent drop in viewership compared to the sixth season finale "Biogenesis" and a 14.4 percent decline from the seventh season premiere "The Sixth Extinction." Across the pond, the episode aired on Sky1 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on August 13, 2000, where it attracted 1.00 million viewers, making it the most-watched program of that week. It hit DVD on May 13, 2003, as part of the complete seventh season set, and two years later it was featured in The X-Files Mythology, Volume 3 – Colonization, a collection centered on the alien colonists storyline.

Critical reception was mostly positive. Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave it a "B+," praising it as the show's best season finale cliffhanger. She noted that, unlike the second season finale "Anasazi," this episode carried a sense of finality and the feeling that nothing would ever be the same.

Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations, offered a largely favorable review. While he lamented the departure of Fox Mulder, he argued that the episode proved "The X-Files" had a unique place for magic, beauty, and love on television. Kessenich later ranked "Requiem" number 20 on his list of the show's top 25 episodes of all time.