Plot
Following the events of " Ghouli", William has become a fugitive from government agents as he is pivotal to the Cigarette Smoking Man's plans. Reflecting on his difficult childhood, he resolves to find the Cigarette Smoking Man to learn the truth about his nature. Mulder and Scully receive a call from Monica Reyes, warning them that William has been taken into custody and is being escorted to a government warehouse in Maryland. Scully, who has been struggling with illness and visions of the future by way of her psychic link with William, predicts that he will not be there. Mulder infiltrates the building, but is forced to kill the agents and Mr. Y before he can question them and he finds no trace of William. Scully identifies a cluster of lottery winners in north-eastern Tennessee, which she believes is a side-effect of William's presence. Mulder picks up the trail but is himself followed by a government agent. William hitches a ride with a truck driver, only to terrify him with his powers. Mulder quits in frustration and instead anticipates that William is heading for Norfolk. Meanwhile, William is picked up by the agent following Mulder. With the help of Sarah Turner and Brianna Stapleton—the two girls at the center of the "Ghouli" episode—and Sarah's friend Maddy, Mulder finally locates William in a hotel in Norfolk. He convinces William to talk to him as a unit of soldiers, led by Erika Price, locate the agent's car. The agent is dead, having been torn apart by William. Price's unit descends on William's hotel room and attempt to arrest him. William turns his powers on them, causing them to explode. He nearly loses control and kills Mulder, but regains his composure and flees the scene as the media descends on the hotel. In a bid to buy Mulder more time, Scully contacts right-wing online webcaster Tad O'Malley and claims that the incident at the hotel was part of the project to release a man-made pathogen developed from an alien virus. Mulder is named as the source for the story, prompting Director Kersh to order Walter Skinner to shut down the X-Files once and for all and to dismiss Mulder and Scully from duty. Scully receives another vision, this time of Mulder's death and pleads with Skinner to help her save him. Mulder follows William to an abandoned factory on the coast. Scully arrives shortly afterwards and Mulder suggests that they give up trying to find William because he does not want to be found and because they cannot protect him. Scully refuses to back down, pressing Mulder for details when the real Mulder arrives; the Mulder Scully spoke to was William in disguise. As the two chase him through the factory, Skinner realizes that they have been followed by Reyes and the Cigarette Smoking Man. The Cigarette Smoking Man forces the car to run Skinner down. Skinner shoots at the car and kills Reyes. He then attempts to outrun the car but is crushed between two cars. The Cigarette Smoking Man confronts Mulder on the waterfront. Mulder taunts him and the Cigarette Smoking Man shoots him in the head and he falls into the water, mirroring Scully's vision of Mulder's death. The real Mulder appears, shooting the Cigarette Smoking Man, who realizes that he has shot William (disguised as Mulder). The Smoking Man falls into the water and his body is carried away by the current. In the aftermath, Mulder and Scully comfort one another. Scully reveals that William was not their child but an experiment created by the Smoking Man and implanted into her; she says that she was never a mother to him and that she and Mulder were never meant to raise him. Having finally learned the truth about William's parentage, Mulder struggles with the knowledge until Scully reveals that she is pregnant with his child, a seeming impossibility. As the two embrace, William resurfaces from the water elsewhere, conscious and alive.Production
Filming
Filming for the season began in August 2017 inWriting
The episode was written by Chris Carter. He explained his reason for a four part mythology arc in this interview with TVInsider: When asked about the possibility of a twelfth season, Carter said there are still more files to be uncovered "in those drawers in Mulder's office." Carter says, "the truth is always out there, and it's open to be being explored." Still, he stated that he was satisfied about this episode being the series finale.Reception
Critical reception
"My Struggle IV" received generally negative reviews from critics. OnRatings
In its initial broadcast in the United States on March 21, 2018, it received 3.43 million viewers, which was an increase from the previous episode, which had 3.01 million viewers.References
External links
* {{Portal bar, Speculative fiction, Television 2018 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Chris Carter Television episodes written by Chris Carter The X-Files (season 11) episodes American television series finales