Spoilers

“Terma”

This is the conclusion of the story that started in the previous episode, Tunguska,” with the term conclusion being a loose descriptor. It just seems that the overall message of the X-Files is that the bad guys are just so much smarter than Mulder or Scully because they just keep getting away with things.

The Smoking Man, Alex Krycek, even some retired KGB agent are always one, maybe two, steps ahead of Mulder and Scully and they just can never bring anyone to justice. The whole mythology of the series winds up being frustrating at times, not just for the characters on the show, but also for the audience.

The two part story was full of action and dramatic moments from the Russian gulag (that Mulder escapes really easily) to an oil refinery explosion in South Dakota, the action beats are exciting.

I’m not sure how the cliffhanger from last episode was resolved. Mulder had been exposed to the Black Oil (or as they started calling it this episode, “Black Cancer”). We see people who have had their arms amputated to stop the testing, but that does not happen with Mulder (sorry Krycek).

This episode really was not structurally well designed. There are just too many issues. It has its moments but not enough.