The X-Files (TV Series) The End (1998) User Reviews

So long, Vancouver!

[Muldernscully · 10/10 · 27 December 2006]

After five dark, cold, and rain-filled seasons filming in Vancouver, the x-files wrapped up production and moved to warm and sunny L.A. It was a great five years, and the dark and wet atmosphere really helped set the tone for the series. For the opening teaser, the show used a large arena and advertised for all the locals to come fill up the arena as extras for the chess tournament. Those aren't CGI people. They're all real. It was the x-files way of thanking the people of Vancouver for five wonderful years. It's hard to believe that that many people would watch one chess match, but it's still a cool visual. The season goes out with a bang in 'The End', a fitting finale for Vancouver. It's cool to see the syndicate out of their usual office. I believe this is the first time you see all of them together in a different setting. It's interesting how the cartoon Gibson is watching mirrors the episode. The emotional tension in this episode is heightened, especially between Mulder and Scully. This is caused by the addition of Diana Fowley, excellently played by Mimi Rogers. The character of Diana Fowley adds a certain amount of dramatic tension to the show, when she apparently horns in on Scully's territory. The scene of Scully seeing Mulder with Fowley and then returning to her car to call him is very poignant. The Cigarette Smoking Man's vocabulary is replete with chess terms in his conversations with others. And the final scene of Mulder's office is very powerful. The whole episode is layered with meaning. 'The End' means so many different things in this episode; an excellent title for the episode. It's a very fitting end to the Vancouver years of the X-Files.

"How's Little Carnac doing?"

[classicsoncall · 9/10 · 17 July 2017]

It occurred to me when Mulder uttered the line in my summary above, that newer viewers under a certain age would probably never get the cultural references that he often came up with during the course of the series. The 'Carnac' Mulder was referring to was one of Johnny Carson's psychic alter-egos he often portrayed during his run on 'The Tonight Show'. Carson retired after the 1992 season, so even this episode was relying on the fact that TV viewers would make the connection with Carnac the Magnificent from an earlier time. Those bits were some of the best.

Given the nature of the FBI and the shadowy syndicate that seems to be running things, you have to wonder about some of the events in this story. Like the murder of The Shooter (Martin Ferrero) through the narrow window hatch of his jail cell. How did that clandestine messenger guy ever make it into the building, not once but twice, to deliver a message from the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis)? Isn't security what the FBI is all about?

And the idea that the Smoking Man would hand off a plum assignment to his biological son - how does that work? It's all enshrouded in a vast web of secrecy and duplicity of course, which is what makes The X-Files so great, but like the prior episode 'Folie a Deux', a lot of this secrecy is simply hiding in plain sight.

It was cool to see the whole lot of the syndicate's crew brought into this Season Five game changer. Krycek (Nicholas Lea) allies himself with the Well Manicured Man (John Neville), while the Smoking Man makes nice with the Syndicate, even after they tried to exterminate him. See, there's another one of those imponderables that gets kind of glossed over in order to take things in a different direction.

Well it's been threatened before, but this time it looks like the X-Files is being shut down for good. The Smoking Man torches Mulder's office after retrieving Samantha's case file, and Mulder sees a new enemy at the Agency believing Spender (Chris Owens) is in league with 'Old Smoky'. Hard to imagine that the series went on for four more seasons after this episode hung off a cliff, but things would start up once again in Season Six. As a fan of the series, you just had to be there.

Another huge episode from Series 5.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 11 September 2022]

During a huge chess match, a Russian Grand Master is shot dead, as his opponent, Gibson Andrew Praise, a young American boy, watches on, helplessly.

It's a classic, it's a definite classic, after such a unique, one off monster story, we are thrown straight back into a heavier, mythology driven story arc, all of the usual suspects are visible.

I suppose the intrigue here comes from the potential that Gibson brings, how will his skills and gift be used, he's in the hands of some very dangerous people.

Immaculately well made again, that confidence I've spoken about in Series 5 is evident once again, just look at the scale of that chess match.

I liked the dynamic between Mulder and Diana, and the little bit of jealousy that seemed to exist with Scully.

Jeff Gulka put in a good, believable performance as Gibson, I think this was perhaps the time where child actors were starting to act in a more capable way, compare his performance to others from a decade or two ago, we'd see him again.

Impressive, 10/10.

Season Five Review

[ametaphysicalshark · 28 March 2008]

Season Five is certainly a continuation of the excellence we expect from "The X Files", with the strongest mythology episodes since season 2 and a few memorable Monster of the Week episodes. I feel like there's something missing here though. One of the things that set "The X Files" apart was that it always had a sense of humor about itself, and despite containing what is perhaps the funniest X-File of all, "Bad Blood" ("Oh now what did you DO THAT for?! When I'm done you're in BIIIG trouble!") and perennial feel-good classic "The Post-Modern Prometheus", this season mostly feels joyless, and quite frankly, sometimes the drama isn't strong enough to substitute for the almost complete lack of humor present in most episodes here. That's not to say season 5 isn't great, because it really is a terrific bunch of episodes with several outright classics, perhaps more than all but one or two seasons, just that it feels a little... angsty.

I thought the best episodes were:

Redux II- everything an X-phile should expect from a good mythology episode

Unusual Suspects- The Lone Gunmen's own episode? Of course it's great. You have to love the presence of disoriented young Mulder.

The Post-Modern Prometheus- Sure it's gimmicky. It's also genuine and sweet and effective and hilarious.

Bad Blood- One of the best X File scripts. How can anyone dispute this episode's greatness? Folie a Deux- BUG ZOMBIES.

The End- a perfect episode, one of the very best. Too bad this would mark the end for Vancouver and the move to LA. The mythology arc would stay good all through season 6, then fall apart.

Average rating based on ratings for all episodes: 7.8/10

The end for the X-files indeed....

[michielh · 8/10 · 16 October 2006]

Yes it went on for another 4 seasons, BUT....

After this episode, the X-files wouldn't be the same. Season 5 ended, the production moved from Vancouver to L.A. They made X-files fight the future, and the movie ruined a lot for me, (too dumbed down for a mass audience) but the move to L.A. was the worst they could do. Enjoy this episode, for it is the last X-files with that dark tone you love. (L.A. was just too sunny) After this the comedy eps would get overhand and every season would just get more and more pathetic (with exception of the Doggett MOTW's in the first half of Season 8 which i really liked)

Seasons 1,2 marked the brilliant start of the series, Seasons 3,4 were the climax, Season 5 marked the last true X-files season, Season 6,7 were way too light, Season 8 started great, but they ruined it and with Season 9... X-files died a horrible death.

The final conclusion of the fifth season the best of The X-Files satisfying ending

[NightmareOnElmStreetFan · 10/10 · 6 July 2019]

The X-Files after this episode Season 5 continues in a movie The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) which I love to death. The End was filming in Vancouver, British Columbia before the show moved to Los Angeles, California filming the sixth season. This was the last episode filmed in Vancouver until the show's tenth season. The End I have enjoyed a lot it is my sixth favorite episode. I love "The End" to death. We got William B. Davis as The Smoking Man, Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) and Well-Manicured Man (John Neville) returning with their characters. Beautiful view of the city Vancouver. We have a new characters Gibson Praise played by Jeff Gulka and Diana Fowley played by Mimi Rogers. The Lone Gunmen also returns.

I wouldn't call this episode as one of the greatest Mythology but still a damn good one worth of watch. The X-Files office being set on fire by The Smoking Man in here. You have Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) who becomes Mulder's nemesis and he works with Cigarette Smoking man against Mulder. William B. Davis returned with his character after he was shot in Redux II. Mimi Rogers is in here ex wife of Tom Cruise and she is so gorgeous and beautiful. Love the storyline, the acting from everyone. I absolutely did enjoy this episode. David Duchovny's best performence as Fox Mulder. F.B.I. shut's down The X-Files and I love how Scully (Gillian Anderson) was jealous but she also stand by Mulder's toughest times.

I love The X-Files I am huge fan of the series first five seasons are my favorite. I would say it Season 5 is my favorite number 1 Season, the first one would be my second favorite season. "The End" marks the conclusion of the run that Carter had originally planned for the show. After all, The X-Files had crossed the hundred episode mark earlier in the year. Five wonderful years were filmed in Vancouver. Gibson Praise becomes a recurring part of the show's mythology, Diana Fowley is perhaps the most controversial and divisive addition that The End makes to the larger mythology of The X-Files. Introduced as a potential romantic interest for Mulder, Chris Carter conceded on the DVD that the addition of Mimi Rogers had been proposed by David Duchovny. R. W. Goodwin directed perfectly this episode it was his last X-File episode he directed.

What can I say from an X-Files fan like me? I love "The End" episode. Gillian Anderson's performence was excellent I absolutely love her in here. I have enjoyed all 20 Episodes I review them all which are my favorite and which aren't my favorite. The X-Files the first five seasons are great I recommend them to anyone. The X-Files to me is the best show ever and it is my favorite.

Season Five

[zkonedog · 9/10 · 7 July 2019]

During the previous four seasons of The X-Files, a similar theme was followed in all of the show's "mythology" (or over-arching) episodes: Agent Mulder (David Duchovny) is the unshakeable believer in aliens, while Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) is the staunch skeptic. In this Fifth Season, that formula is thrown out the window. Let's quickly examine the three types of X-Files episodes in order to see where the show deviates from that traditional pattern:

Mythology: Picking up from the shocking (yet rather anticlimatic, as you known Mulder really won't be killed off) Season Four finale, in "Redux" and "Redux II" Mulder is given a completely different interpretation about his paranormal findings at that point, perhaps debasing his entire life's work. Later this season (in "Patient X" and "The Red and the Black") Mulder remains skeptical while Scully is drawn (in a very personal way) towards a very Mulder-like paranormal explanation of certain events. Eventually, in "The End", Mulder is again convinced of the continued existence of extraterrestrial life, but that realization is ultimately too late in coming to prevent a terrible catastrophe from striking the X-Files.

Also, "Christmas Carol" and "Emily" are the first Scully-based mythology episodes on the show, in which Scully discovers more information regarding her earlier abduction. While some X-Files fans (including myself) believe that Scully has a difficult time carrying an episode that does not also heavily involve Mulder, other fans find these two episodes to pack a heavy emotional punch.

Stand-Alone: As usual, the quality of the stand-alone X-Files episodes this season is quite high. "The Post-Modern Prometheus" is my favorite stand-alone episode of the entire show, "Kitsunegari" marks the return of an old nemesis, and "Chinga" (penned by master writer Stephen King) has you on the edge of your seat. Also, "All Souls" provides a much deeper and fascinating look into Scully's religious battles than has every been provided before.

Comedic: This season, only "Bad Blood" could be considered a true X-Files comedy episode. It does not disappoint, though, as it is easily the funniest episode in the show's history.

To conclude, the Fifth Season of the X-Files throws a wrench into the seemingly established beliefs of the show's past. While the Scully plotlines are hit-or-miss depending on who you ask, the torment of Agent Mulder in trying to piece together one truth out of multiple lies will have you rooting for his cause harder than ever. The final scene of the season will leave your jaw on the floor, wondering how the show can ever be the same.

Update (12/2015) -Upon a recent re-watch of this season, it is still a five-star effort. However, the "cracks" that begin to form are because of the upcoming movie. "Fight the Future" had already been filmed before the season started, so the writers had to pull a lot of punches in order to get things to line up for the movie airing after the season concluded. The introduction of new character Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) doesn't end up working nearly as well as he could, but the mythology is so good at this point that it almost doesn't even matter ("The Red And The Black" is near the top of my favorite mythology episodes of all-time). Standalones are a bit hit-or-miss, but still interesting at the very least.

You have a dirty mind.

[Sanpaco13 · 8/10 · 21 November 2009]

This episode is much better than its counterpart which I will talk about when I review that episode. For now let's enjoy "The End". This is the episode that introduces us to the character of Gibson Praise, a boy who we find out is capable of reading thoughts. The boy becomes very important to a lot of people when he is almost assassinated at a chess match. Do people really go to chess matches like that in huge basketball stadiums? Strange. It is fun to watch some of the character interactions in this episode. We are first introduced to Diana Fowley and at first we are still somewhat unsure of whether she is a good guy or a bad guy. One thing is for sure though and that is that she doesn't like Scully and Scully doesn't like her. We also meet for the first time, Agent Spender, who it is obvious that we don't like because he is a typical jerk who is more interested in his own image than he is about facts as we see from the very beginning when Mulder points out his flaw in who the target of the shooting was. Anyway, CSM is called in on this case by the shadow government in order to kidnap Gibson so he can be studied. One thing confusing about this to me was why they would order him to be assassinated, and then after a failed attempt, instead decide to capture and test him? Also one thing that kind of bugs me about Gibson is how he has this great ability and could easily help those who are trying to protect him by giving them some warning that they are about to be shot, but instead he just kind of sits around with a hopeless look on his face like he just doesn't care about anything. "Yeah you're about to die but there's nothing anyone can do about it." Also I'm curious what ever happens with his parents. They never show up and they don't seem to care when he disappears and never sees them again. Later in the series he is in hiding at some orphanage. We know he has parents but apparently he is as emotionlessly attached to them as he is to his own life. Anyway, the rest of the episode mostly consists of Mulder's office being burnt down and the viewers finding out that CSM is Spender's father. Not a bad episode which could have led into a nice conclusion but fails somewhat. I give this one an 8 out of 10.

Not again!

[PhantomLI · 5/10 · 12 January 2015]

I've been very obsessed with watching the X-files since my husband and I started watching season 1. If I could binge watch they would have all been seen already but unfortunately I have to settle for watching shows at night after work and can usually see just one or two episodes at a time. I did like this show, I loved the excitement concerning the fight about who will keep the young boy. What I disliked was the decision to shut down the X-files again because it's the same exact drama that happened at a previous season's ending. Since the show has already been produced I know that there are nine seasons so I'm expecting them to reopen the x-files in season 6, but I wish a new challenge was created for Mulder & Scully besides FBI bureaucracy.

Worst continuity issues ever......

[Penaltyb0x414 · 3/10 · 4 July 2008]

While the episode is great filled with awesome performances and a great way to end the season, I can't get past the opening of the chess board and game. The overhead beginning view of the game shows no rook checking the king, but the Russian's move is for the king to take the rook next to it. Then the American boy is shown to move another rook to check the king again, but he has a 3rd rook next to his king. Then when the Russian moves his king again to move out of check his queen which was blocked by a pawn and a queen moves in and checkmates the Russian's king. Now I know that details get overlooked in between takes, but I would think that an important set up of this chess match and subsequent moves should have been much more closely watched and pieces should have been reset corresponding to each take. It really bothers me, and it shouldn't, I just find the lack of attention to details annoying. Bash me if you want, but it ruined the episode for me and dropped it from great to good.