The X-Files season 11: Chris Carter’s missed opportunities

“My Struggle III” was simultaneously fascinating and frustrating. How does the latest episode of The X-Files leave viewers and where do we go from here?

Chris Carter has always been something of an issue with fans of The X-Files. On the one hand, Carter is the creator and showrunner of the now beloved series. Without him, we almost certainly wouldn’t have FBI Agents Dana Scully or Fox Mulder. We wouldn’t have the long unspooling of the series’ alien-focused “mytharc”, the menacing and explosive reveal of government conspiracies and alien plots.

However, Carter has also brought some of the clunkiest and most confusing episodes to the series, too. In fact, some of the best stories of the series weren’t written by him, but by fan-favorites like Vince Gilligan, Glen Morgan, or Darin Morgan (who also played the infamous Flukeman in season 2).

When Carter took the helm in the original series, it was more of a mixed bag. Sometimes, you would get beauties like “The Post Modern Prometheus” or “Triangle”. Sometimes, you would get stories so bogged down in conspiracy mythology that it felt like moving through molasses.

Warning: major spoilers for “My Struggle III” follow

So, what are we to make of the season 11 opener, “My Struggle III”? It was written and directed by Carter, who also handled “My Struggle” and “My Struggle II” in season 10. It’s got some interesting tidbits, but unfortunately seems as hampered as some earlier mytharc episodes.

That’s not for trying, though. There are a brief few moments where Carter touches on modern day politics, with visual flashes of Trump, Steve Bannon, Anthony Scaramucci, and other White House cronies. But, it’s only flashes. The Cigarette Smoking Man muses about the end of humanity, Trump buddies up to Bannon, and that’s as far as it goes.

Different paths

It would have been far more interesting (and incendiary) if Carter had really dove into this subject. What do you do when your government is run by fools and sycophants? Who truly holds power? When our collective consciousness shifts from belief in justice and good to cynicism, what does that do to us as a people? What do you do when conspiracy theories seem tame in comparison to everyday awful behavior in government?

Certainly, it’s easier for viewers to engage with the Cigarette Smoking Man’s apocalyptic nihilism today than it was in the 1990s. You don’t have to agree with his horrific methods to see that humans are often a force for destruction.

Imagine “the beauty of a planet returned to its savage state,” says the CSM. Can you see it? I did, and was disturbed to identify with his state of mind, however briefly. Remember, this is a character that Carter has occasionally called “the devil”.

In surer hands, this could be eerily compelling. Instead, we get the CSM boring former FBI Agent Monica Reyes while the pair lounge in an undisclosed location.

So, is Carter able to engage with the darkness of our modern era on a deeper level? Not really, if only because Chris Carter is a bit like George Lucas: he succeeds when he surrounds himself with more adventurous people. But perhaps later episodes will really sink their teeth into this topic.

THE X-FILES: L-R: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in the “My Struggle III” season premiere episode of THE X-FILES airing Wednesday, Jan. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Robert Falconer/FOX

Where’s William?

Speaking of adventurousness: Why not follow William directly? We spent much of the episode in Scully’s head as she ostensibly receives images and impressions from her long-lost son. We also get a fair amount of classic Mulder narration, which was fine the first time but experienced quickly diminishing returns.

But, imagine that we start with a strange, young man, slowly revealed to be William himself. That would be more daring, wouldn’t it? It could make for a genuinely dramatic opener and parallel storyline to Mulder and Scully’s drama. It would also dispense with some of the unnecessary cloudiness that bogs down the story, without giving everything away outright.

For all that, “My Struggle III” isn’t an awful episode. It contains interesting insights into the characters and starts to engage with the changing culture. We’re out of the Cold War and into the modern technological age, this time around.

It’s certainly good to see Mitch Pileggi return as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, hopefully with a meaty story line ahead of him. Also, the bombshell reveal that the CSM is William’s father (or so he claims) is enough to send fans into panicked speculation mode. It’s enough to push the story forward, if nothing else.

No more Morse code

If only Carter and associates had been a bit more daring, more willing to experiment with the story and structure — then, this could have been more astounding than pedestrian.

At the very least, someone should have walked back the episode’s silliest moments. That includes Scully’s brain flashing in Morse code, or the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance of frightfully dull Agents Einstein and Miller. That weird little pushing match between Skinner and Mulder could have been cut, too.

Next: The X-Files season 11 episode 1 recap and review: My Struggle III

What should we expect from future episodes? Writer and director Glen Morgan steps in next week with “This”, so hopes are high. He’s to be followed later in the season by Darin Morgan and James Wong, both of whom are well known for their high-caliber episodes on previous seasons.

Maybe, with this group, we’ll see the kind of adventurousness that made for the greatest episodes of The X-Files. It just doesn’t look like we’ll see much of that from Carter this season.