The End

"The End" is the twentieth episode and the season finale of the fifth season of . It premiered on May 17, 1998 on the Fox network. The episode was written by series' creator , was directed by , and helped explore the series' arc.
The End is the last episode of The X-Files to be filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during the series original run. Production for the first , and onwards, relocated to Los Angeles, California, until the and revivals, which moved back to Vancouver.
==Synopsis==
Investigating the murder of a chess player, Mulder and Scully meet a boy who may be the embodiment of everything in the X-Files.
==Summary==
Inside a sports arena, two chess masters, a Russian man and an odd-looking 12-year-old boy named Gibson Praise, engage in a battle of the minds as an audience sits in reverential silence. High above the crowd, on a catwalk overhanging the arena, a sniper aims his rifle towards the back of the child's head. As the gunman slowly squeezes the trigger, the little boy announces "checkmate", and slides back in his chair. A gunshot rings out... and the Russian falls to the floor, dead. Meanwhile, two armed, masked figures close in on the cabin where the has holed up. A sensor alerts the to their presence, and he manages to kill one of them before making his escape into the woods. The second masked gunman gets the drop on his prey... and reveals himself as .
Skinner briefs Mulder on the death of the Russian chess player. It turns out that the sniper is a former member of the National Security Agency. The case was assigned to Agent Spender, who specified that Mulder be excluded from the investigation. Despite this, Mulder and Skinner crash Spender's briefing. While viewing videotape of the assassination, Mulder reaches the conclusion that the shooter's target was Gibson--not the Russian--as the boy reacted in an almost precognitive fashion moments before the shot rang out. Spender disagrees with the theory. Agent Diana Fowley, an attractive woman in her thirties, opines that Mulder is correct. Spender rewinds the tape... and forms the same conclusion.
The Cigarette-Smoking Man meets with the Syndicate Elders. Labeling Gibson a threat, they ask for the Cigarette-Smoking Man's help in orchestrating his elimination.
Mulder, Scully and Diana Fowley visit Gibson inside a psychiatric hospital. The boy declines Mulder's invitation to match wits against a cheap chess computer... giving credence to Mulder's suspicion that the boy is not a chess master, but a mind reader. Tests on the child's brain reveal that Gibson is, indeed, clairvoyant. Later, Mulder visits the shooter in his cell. He offers him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his cooperation.
Scully cannot help but notice chemistry between Mulder and Fowley. She pays The Lone Gunmen an unexpected visit. She gives them data from the tests performed on Gibson, and asks that it be analyzed. Scully also asks for information on Diana Fowley. The three men confirm that she and Mulder were an item back when Mulder graduated from the Academy and first discovered the existence of the X-Files. Scully returns to the psychiatric hospital intending to show Mulder the data she has accumulated. But when she approaches the observation room, she notices Mulder and Diana inside... and Diana holding Mulder's hand. Scully, a confusion of emotions, both personal and professional, leaves the hospital. When Mulder enters the hospital's parking garage to retrieve his car, he notices Spender talking to the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Mulder pushes Spender hard in the chest, demanding to know his business. Spender explains that he does not know the identity of the mysterious man. He then reveals that the shooter wishes to speak with Mulder.
Scully meets with Skinner and Mulder to reveal the results of the psychiatric tests on Gibson. It turns out that an area of the child's brain, dubbed the "God Module" by neurophysicists, exhibits extraordinary activity. Mulder believes the child's life is in danger because of his gift, as it might be the key to solving the unexplained phenomena contained within the X-Files. He also suspects that the assassin holds the key to the vast conspiracy working against him. Skinner points out that the very existence of the X-Files would be put at risk if he asks the Attorney General to grant immunity to the assassin. Later, Mulder approaches the shooter and asks him for information he can corroborate. He reveals that Gibson is a missing link--genetic proof of man's relationship to an alien race.
The Cigarette-Smoking Man puts his plan in motion. The assassin is murdered inside his cell. Shortly thereafter, a bullet strikes Fowley as she stands watch over Gibson. The Cigarette-Smoking Man delivers the child to the Well-Manicured Man and Krycek.
When Mulder sees Spender at the Bureau, he pushes him into a wall. He angrily accuses him of orchestrating Gibson's disappearance in conjunction with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Other agents restrain Mulder, dragging him away. Spender responds by stating that Mulder's days are numbered. Later, Scully informs her partner there is talk of shutting down the X-Files. That night, the Cigarette-Smoking Man sneaks into Mulder's office and steals a file on Samantha Mulder. He then addresses Spender face-to-face. He informs him that he is his father. Suddenly, a fire alarm sounds and agents make their way into the hallway. The Cigarette-Smoking Man disappears into the crowd. Later, Mulder inspects the damage to his office, where the cabinet containing the X-Files is a melted skeleton. Scully places her arms around her partner, offering support.
==References==
King of the Hill; The Silver Surfer, The Simpsons; X-File
==Background Information==
===Production===
*This episode features a pan (a constant, mobile camera shot) over a wall in the X-Files Office, in which pictures of many people previously seen in the series can be seen. The visual starts on 's "I Want to Believe" UFO poster and includes newspaper articles about and as well as pictures of those characters.
*This was the final episode of to be shot in Vancouver, BC. The next time the series would return there would be for the second X-Files movie, almost a decade later.
*For the teaser of this episode, the crew invited locals from Vancouver to be extras for the scene. The stadium holds roughly 17,500 people and was filled. The crew had to turn away another 5,000+ fans.
*Several Fox animated TV shows are watched by Gibson Praise, including The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Silver Surfer.
*This is the first episode to feature femme fatale Diana Fowley.
*This is the first episode to feature the character of Gibson Praise, who would later become an important character to the ever-expanding mythology of the series.
*This is the final episode to be directed by , who up to this point had directed every season finale (as well as the third, fourth, and fifth season premieres).
===Notes===
* The title of this episode and the first episode of the sixth season refer to the move. The fire that destroyed the X-Files office provided a credible explanation for any gaps between the Vancouver and Los Angeles sets.
* The episode's tagline is changed to simply "The End".
*How's little Carnac doing? Carnac the Magnificent was a spoof mind-reading character created by American TV personality Johnny Carson as part of his The Tonight Show.
*David Duchovny and Mimi Rogers starred in the Movie "The Rapture" which was released in 1991. 
===Goofs===
*When we see the Russian person get shot and fall out of his chair, he clearly knocks the chessboard off the table. But when shows his team the tape, the guy hits the board so that it spins around, instead of falling off completely. In fact, when they show the long shot of the stage (not on Spender's tape, but still in the opener just before the credits start), the board is clearly on the table.
*While Vancouver was given a fitting send off in this episode as the location for the assassination, made a mistake in that he failed to realize the FBI does not have jurisdiction in Canada! They have their own justice department which handles criminal investigations, and it is very unlikely that they would have handed over a murder suspect to another country.
*Alex Krycek would not have been able to steer his parachute with only one arm. His left arm had been severed in Terma. This means he would only have been able to grab hold of the right toggle, and thus, only be able to turn right. This is the same problem faced by the titular character in the move in which David Duchovny had a cameo.
*When opens all the bolts and locks on the door to let in Scully, he uncharacteristically leaves them all unlocked after she enters.
*After Diana Fowley gets shot and his put into the ambulance, when Mulder, Scully and Skinner are shown the cig package, you can clearly see the reflection of the mic boom from the film crew in the reflection of the window behind them.
*The idea of mind reading ability letting a regular boy become a chess champion is a huge goof in itself. It doesn't matter if you read your opponent's next move from his mind or chessboard, you still have to possess deep chess knowledge that takes years to learn. Another goof happens in the game, Gibson used a very simple mate combination against the Russian grandmaster who would realized he was going to lose; high level chess players seeing inevitable mate coming in a few moves nearly always forfeit their games. Even if he decided that he would play those few last moves, why was he still acting like he had't lost yet?
===Cast and Characters===
*Patrick Phillips (Clinician #2) previously played Detective Brusky in the Millennium episode "The Mikado".
*John Trottier (Clinician #3) previously played George Peacock in episode "Home".
==Cast==
Starring
* as 
* as 
Also Starring
* as 
* as 
* as 
Special Guest Starring
*Mimi Rogers as Diana Fowley
Guest Starring
*Jeff Gulka as Gibson Praise
*Martin Ferrero as Assassin
*Michael Shamus Wiles as Black-Haired Man
*Chris Owens as 
*George Murdock as Second Elder
*Tom Braidwood as 
*Dean Haglund as 
*Bruce Harwood as 
*Don S. Williams as First Elder
*John Neville as 
Featuring
*John Moore as Third Elder
*Patrick Phillips as Clinician #1
*Paul Moniz de Sa as Clinician #2
*John Trottier as Clinician #3
*Orest Blajkevitch as Russian
== External Links ==
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=Episode Navigation=
End, The
Category:The X-Files Season 5 episodes
Category:Mythology episodes
Category:Season Finale