"The Sixth Extinction"

"I was destroyed to protect what Mulder knew all along. And now he's the proof. He's the X-File!"
Originally Aired 11/7/99

I realized this has been my longest drought yet without an X-Files review, as I haven't written a single review since finishing Season 6 in May. And honestly, I can probably count the number of complete episodes I've watched on one hand, since it's become something I'll watch as I'm in bed and I'll fall asleep with the TV on. Surely it's a sad realization. Yet watching this episode proved just the opposite. "The Sixth Extinction" was actually a thrilling episode which I felt was better than the cliffhanger that led to this hour of television. "Biogenesis" seemed to pack in too much, possibly since it was the only installment of the mythology since the demise of the Syndicate in mid-season. While "Biogenesis" introduced a trio of doctors, the returns of Krycek and Fowley, a token Cigarette Smoking Man appearance, a spaceship buried in the sand, and a brief appearance by Albert Hosteen, this episode actually felt like it gave the story a chance to breath and played out at a slower pace.

Many installments of the mythology have featured two different storylines, for example Mulder darts off to investigate a UFO that was underwater while Scully is doing sciency lab work, and "The Sixth Extinction" is much the same. However I noticed it's actually a role reversal, where this time Scully is off to a faraway location to investigate a UFO, and Mulder is stuck in the middle of the sciency lab work. What makes it even better is that it's Skinner who gets a chance to shine, as he brings back Season 5's Michael Kritschgau, and they work to solve Mulder's mysterious brain trauma. Mulder is injected with a drug and is active long enough to play 'Simon' with a few computer monitors to test his ESP level, and I liked his little bee-bop slappiness. After that medication wore off, Mulder was back to his vegetative state and Kritschgau wanted to inject with him more, and Skinner objected sayingt hat Kritschgau wants to use Mulder since he's now proof of alien life. I think that would be a cool plot development to explore later, perhaps if Kritschgau would use Mulder to be in league with Krycek or the Cigarette Smoking Man. However it's Diana Fowler who returns, and while Mulder used his ESP to sense she's on the Dark Side, she still professes her love for him. Oh boy. Here I go thinking about stories that will never happen, but that would be cool if Cigarette Smoking Man were to ditch her for being "soft" on Mulder like his son was, so he kills her and sides with Kritschgau. Oh well, still a cool episode regardless of where they go for "Part 3."

As for Scully, she's finally out getting to have the kind of fun that Mulder usually does in these episodes. They've swapped out bees for locusts and other plagues, also adding machetes and Biblical writings on a spaceship. The best part of all is that Scully gets to knock a guy out with a chair! Gillian gets to do all of the cool stuff on The X-Files. I don't see how the spaceship that affected Mulder's brain can also be the cure for what ails him, though, so I have no idea how they get out of this mess. Especially with that spaceship disappearing at the end. So the spaceship brought the African Man back to life yet didn't bring the Doctor back? I did like the chaos the spaceship caused and the idea that our "God" is really from outer space, but maybe Carter didn't know where else to take it beyond that, so he's moving on to the the next story. It does seem like it's for the best since the series' best moments typically come in the form of the personal character moments than from the spacey, high-concepts; with examples being "One Breath" and "Redux II." No aliens were present in those episodes, just good ol' fashioned guns drawn and plenty of hospital beds to go around.

Only time will tell, but I actually enjoyed this episode more than most season premieres, as I'd put it ahead of "Little Green Men", "Herrenvolk", and "The Beginning" (just based on my initial reactions to these episodes.) With "The Sixth Extinction", Season 7 is off to a fine start and although I know how it ends, there are enough "new" episodes spread throughout the season to hopefully sustain my excitement.