Wednesday 22 February 2017

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION #11 - How should Mulder & Scully's story end?



For our next roundtable chat based on a key X-Files question...

How should Mulder & Scully's story end?

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TONY: "So thinking about this, and haters gonna hate me for this, but I don't think M&S should get a happy ending. Happy endings aren't what The X-Files is. I don't mean they should go out in a desperately miserable fashion, or die, but I think they shouldn't end up together as a family unit, and their fate be left ambiguous. I'd be happy with one of them disappearing again, this time for good, if it served a greater story purpose. Or even the old trope of the work never being over, of the show conclusively ending with them still in the FBI, still investigating the paranormal, still chasing The Truth. That's far more fitting than the 2.4 William most shippers undoubtedly would want from this question, and truer to the nature of the show."

PAIGE: "Toughie! I'm not a shipper, but I do think there's no one in the world for either of them than each other. So if they don't wind up together, they both wind up alone. They've been through so much, I would kind of like them on rocking chairs at the end. And I'm not a believer in the happy ending, I just think they have worked their way there. Probably bantering over William's mid-life crisis -- both taking disparate sides, of course."

SARAH: "After they save the world from alien invasion they'll both end up teaching at Quantico. Mulder will head up the students learning how to profile human/alien hybrids. Scully will be the world's foremost expert on alien autopsies, and not that kind you buy from an infomercial for $19.99 + S&H. At the end of the day, they'll go home for a beer and wave to Skinner across the street as he takes out his trash. He's a bestselling author of FBI thrillers that are mostly true, but so wild they seem fictitious. M&S will ask him how his latest novel is going, then invite him over for burgers on Saturday."

CARL: "Scully ditches Mulder at the aisle, realising her future lies with a dashing English blog contributor instead... In all seriousness, I'm not certain about this one. I hear what Tony's saying about them not ending up as a typical family unit, and I'm drawn to that argument. On the other hand, I do think the final scene of 'Existence' was very effective, so something like that could work. I agree that the trope of never being done with the work might make the most sense as an ending. There are two things I know I want for a conclusion to Mulder & Scully's story:

1. Whatever the ending is, it should have been designed as an ending, not a cliffhanger. It would be a huge shame if the last scene of 'My Struggle II' is never followed up on.

2. It would be appropriate for Chris Carter to bring the Duchovny & Anderson era to a close as he sees fit. Whether he would deliver something that the fanbase would be pleased with is another matter, but I'm not bothered about that really."

ANDREW: "'I Want to Believe.' That's my ending. Since CC has said he can't actually imagine writing an end to the series, better 'I Want to Believe' than 'How Many Times Can I Say Alien DNA with a Straight face?"

SARAH: "I was perfectly satisfied with the boat ending."

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know your choices in the comments below or on social media!

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