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Mulder, no longer an official agent of the FBI, persuades
Agent Doggett to help him uncover new evidence about Scully's
mysterious pregnancy and secure her safety. Now only days
away from her delivery, Scully accepts the assistance of a
home nurse. But the nurse is not what she seems...
This
feature-length thriller comprises the last two episodes from
Season Eight, Essence and Existence. As with
all X-Files season finales, a whole host of characters
make return appearances here, including the duplicitous Alex
Krycek (Nicholas Lea) and someone from the show's very beginnings.
A major offensive by a new type of human-alien hybrid also
implies the beginning of a new era for the show (or at least,
that's probably what the producers are hoping for).
In
a delicious piece of irony, John Doggett (Robert Patrick -
who, of course, played the deadly T1000 in Terminator 2)
finds himself up against an unstoppable cyborg killing machine.
The memorable lift attack sequence from T2 is virtually
re-enacted in this production. The pregnant Scully (Gillian
Anderson) fulfils the Sarah Connor role, with her unborn child
as the killer's intended victim. Meanwhile Krycek ends up
in an unlikely position analogous to Kyle Reese, as he attempts
to convince a cynical Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) of the
threat posed by the alien assassin.
The
action builds to frantic levels, and the second half of the
story is packing with nail-biting excitement. The conclusion
is something of a letdown, though, delivering an overdose
of sickly sentimentality. And regular X-Files viewers
will not be surprised to learn that, contrary to Fox's publicity,
the "truth" behind Scully's pregnancy remains far from being
fully explained!
As
David Duchovny has announced that he will not be returning
in Season Nine, this story marks his final appearance as Mulder.
His character is particularly intriguing and enigmatic in
this, his swansong, and he acts as a kind of mentor figure
to the doubtful Doggett in almost the same way that Mulder's
various contacts have behaved over the years. Doggett's final
scene, alongside Agent Reyes (Annabeth Gish), offers a potential
new lease of life for the show's uncertain future, but I guess
we'll have to wait and see how that works out...
The
DVD's extra feature, such as it is, is a brief two-part profile
of Alex Krycek. A little more detailed information would have
been useful to those of us who don't possess a photographic
memory of this character's complex history. Oh well, at least
with the DVD you get to view the main feature in widescreen.
As
an adventure in its own right, Existence is up there
with the best of The X-Files' "mythology" episodes.
Richard
McGinlay
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