This month, the 24th issue of The X-Files: Season 10 starts off in New York City, at 46th street to be exact… And you know what that means. We step into the First Elder’s explanation of what the syndicate was then, and what it is now. He’s explaining this to someone, from the shadows of this familiar room. Gibson Praise has forced this new conspiracy on them. They’re serving a system that no longer cares for a hierarchy and they’re at the mercy of Gibson’s trigger happy destructive character.
For our whole recap and review of the penultimate issue of this season's The X-Files: Season 10, click on READ MORE.
The First Elder has no remorse; he considers himself a patriot, unlike those that helped Mulder at the expense of their plans. On the TV, a fire alarm has been called to a very familiar building, the whereabouts of a high-ranking officer from the FBI unknown… The First Elder apologizes to the other man he’s kept captive in the room, the missing FBI officer… Walter Skinner.
Cut to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba. Scully is met by Ignacio, a man that claims is her arranged chauffeur. This man knows who she is, knows about her forged travel documents and how they may get her in trouble in the caustic Havana. So she has to follow along.
They snake through the traffic of Old Havana, while Ignacio warns Scully that they must get to their destination without any delays, even though Scully was told to go to a specific hotel, presumably in Havana. It’s hectic and maddening as they get away from agents of the Cuban police.
Hours later, it rains copiously in the Sierra Maestra region. This is a region known, among other things, for being the hiding place of people such as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro back in the day. This is where we find Mulder and one of the CSM replicants trying to escape through the jungle. They’re being followed, closely, but Mulder refuses to go on without further explanation of the intentions of the man. CSM waxes poetic about how the recent changes in the island makes it the perfect place to start anew. Mulder is having none of this and demands the truth. Spender gives in and tells him that he’s been implicated in the theft of digital files from the FBI and they’re going to hang him for it.
Gibson Praise has set him up, using his powers to get access to his credentials and pinning the theft on Mulder. In some twisted sense, the former wonder kid wants to continue with his mentor’s work, but this ambition is riddled with the motivations that the Alien agenda has put on him. It’s a horrific scenario in which, in a twisted way, Gibson is trying to impress Mulder.
But the FBI agent isn’t taking it sitting down, blaming CSM for being the ones that truly harmed the kid. But, as CSM says, is it really about who did the harm, or about who sacrificed for the other?
He leads Mulder to a path that will lead him to the shore and off the island. It’s a touching moment where the older man justifies the sacrifices that he has done for his own son, and he bids his goodbyes, right before he gets shot by their hunters.
Mulder pleads for them to not shoot him, gaining enough momentum to find the chance to run away as the bullets follow close behind.
Cut to a non-descript road in the middle of a prairie. Scully wakes up in the same car driven by Ignacio where he’s holding a phone conversation in Spanish, confirming that they’re on their way. He confirms that they’ll be alright, because she’s a doctor. This is already so suspicious. They’ve been on the road for eight hours and she’s getting impatient. That’s where they run into a checkpoint where Scully runs out of the car and down the embankment. When she reaches the bottom, three tribal men approach her and Ignacio. He’s kidnapped her, possibly with the intention of getting her medical help. But will she be able to?
Meanwhile, Mulder gets to a road. A beat up truck approaches and he signals them to stop. They identify him by his clothes, that he’s part of “The Camp” and in Spanish reveal their plan to take him back into the complex. Mulder should really learn other languages some time soon.
It turns out that the place where Scully has been taken is just a few miles away from Guantanamo Bay. Ignacio explains that people have been taken from the villages and into the Navy base. Scully is confused as to why this would be taking place as the man leads her to one of the huts where a sorcerer is conjuring by a daunting altar. The old woman senses her, knows about her abduction and how she was returned “in a different state”. It’s unnerving. The woman is a mother figure to these folks, and she refers to Scully as the “Faithful Maiden”. But Scully is worried about other things, especially the old woman’s health. She’s had some sort of chemical burn and the state of the sorcerer has shocked her. In turn, the old woman points out the loss she senses on the agent, but how faithful she remains.
Scully allows herself admittance of her beliefs before asking Ignacio about the people that experimented on them. The man doesn’t remember who’s been behind this. Scully insists on taking them all to a hospital, but the sorcerer thinks their time together could be put to better use. Just then, Ignacio starts getting affected by some kind of haze and leads Scully out of the hut to meet Gibson Praise. They need to talk.
This is the penultimate issue of this multi-parter and of the season. To be honest, I’m not entirely satisfied by it. Even when I’m used to the fact that this will always be a road that will raise many questions, my issue was not in what I was or wasn’t given, but in how different this issue seemed from the previous, and not in a way that felt natural to me. I felt a disconnection in the mood that was actually distracting.
This issue for me is mainly noticeable in Scully’s characterization; it seemed off to me for the most part, especially because she was so trusting of Ignacio, in a foreign country. Even though doubt may have led her to weigh her options and decide to go with it, it’s not consistent with the emotional state or the drive the commanding and anxious Scully was going through in the previous three parts. Even when you can argue that her encounter with CSM did subdue her to a different emotional state, I find myself finding the choice odd.
I also have an issue with her waxing poetic with the sorcerer. My knee jerk reaction would have been that Scully is protective of her ways and life still, and this comment, even when vague, would be a waste of time for her. In my book, she would have stuck to getting her point across and that’s trying to be a medical doctor to them. But then again, this is not my book, so I’ll wait for #25 to see what Harris has in store for me.
I’m intrigued as to why CSM assures Mulder that this will be the last time they’ll see each other. Is that the truth for that particular clone or CSM’s presence in general? What is this camp? What are they doing to people there and how is it relevant to the syndicate and Gibson’s role in this new conspiracy?
The same intrigue fills me with Skinner’s role in the plot. Why is he being kidnapped? Are they going to use him as a bargaining chip or does he have access or knowledge that now is priceless to the Syndicate. Why confess the truth about Gibson to him? Is he instead going to be turning into the Syndicate’s ally to get rid of Praise?
It’s setting up to be a situation where I wonder how Scully and Mulder will be able to escape Gibson’s misguided intentions. With his powers having reached the dimensions that they have and having control over such an elaborate and daunting machinery, will this mean that this is an enemy that will not be defeated in the short run, becoming then the driving force of the new road for them?
Many questions indeed.
Don’t forget to pick up your copy, as always at your local comic book store or via Comixology.