Warning: major spoilers ahead for the Season 11 premiere of The X-Files, called "My Struggle III."
The Season 11 premiere of The X-Files was an hour of twists and turns about the series' mythology, and it featured a heartbreaking twist that answered a long-standing question about Dana Scully and how she conceived her son. In a chat with Skinner, the Cigarette-Smoking Man revealed that he had scientifically impregnated Scully when he drugged her in the "En Ami" episode of Season 7. We even got a flashback to "En Ami" when Scully accused the Cigarette-Smoking Man of drugging her, but longtime fans will have noticed that the flashback in "My Struggle III" did not match the scene that originally aired in "En Ami."
In the "My Struggle III" scene, the Cigarette-Smoking Man mentioned that he and his housekeeper had brought Scully into the house after she'd fallen asleep, whereas he didn't mention a housekeeper in "En Ami" back in 2000. Naturally, the sudden reveal of a housekeeper who had been present when Scully was drugged and manhandled in Season 7 seemed like a big deal, as a third party could have confirmed or disproved Old Smokey's claim about what he did, and that would have changed everything. I spoke to The X-Files creator Chris Carter about the theory that the housekeeper had a part to play in Season 11, and he told me this:
No part! We don't see her. This should say something about the Cigarette-Smoking Man and his trustworthiness.
Well, so much for that theory! The Cigarette-Smoking Man's reference to his housekeeper in "En Ami" was not a clue that a third party was involved in what was done to Scully who could have been the key to unraveling the entire mystery. After all, neither Scully nor Mulder yet know that CSM claims to be the father of William. The only person who was told the big secret was Skinner, and the two halves of the dynamic duo already don't trust him in Season 11. They may not be inclined to believe him or the Cigarette-Smoking Man if they give an account of events without science to back it up. If ever there was a case of Mulder demanding scientific proof of something, it would be the Cigarette-Smoking Man's claim to be the father of Scully's child.
The word of a theoretically neutral third party could have made all the difference. Knowing that the housekeeper will not turn up in Season 11 means that we can probably expect some new twists and turns in the mythology. In true X-Files fashion, the scene between the Cigarette-Smoking Man and the Skinman answered the long-standing question of what was done to Scully when she was unconscious in "En Ami" while posing whole new questions. Why did the Cigarette-Smoking Man mention a housekeeper? What did he do to Scully? Did it really work, or should we never give up on William being conceived the old-fashioned way? What will Scully -- and Mulder, for that matter -- do to Cancer Man if and when he breaks the news that he could very well be the father of her miracle child? Will the Cigarette-Smoking Man ever face justice?
We'll have to wait and see. Luckily, Season 11 will be even longer than Season 10, so we can count on even more twists and turns for Mulder and Scully in 2018. New episodes of The X-Files air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. If you're now in the mood for more of The X-Files, take a look at our picks for episodes you should totally rewatch for the rest of Season 11. Check out our midseason TV premiere guide for your viewing options on the other nights of the week in primetime.
