end game files end game seventeenth episode second season american science fiction television series files premiered fox network february directed written frank_spotnitz end game featured guest appearances saw reprise role episode helped explore series overarching mythology end game earned nielsen household rating watched million households initial broadcast received positive reviews critics centers fbi special agents fox_mulder david_duchovny dana_scully gillian_anderson work cases linked paranormal called files episode scully kidnapped alien bounty hunter mulder offers sister samantha forward ransom samantha merely clones created human alien hybrid project leading mulder pursue bounty hunter truth disappearance end game episode continuing plot previous episode colony end game episode series written eventually went series executive producers plot uss allegiance american nuclear submarine patrolling coast alaska comes craft ice radio signal allegiance ordered fire craft craft manages disable sub high pitched frequency far ice continuing cliffhanger ending colony dana_scully gillian_anderson beaten kidnapped mulder bounty hunter disguise real mulder david_duchovny finds wrecked hotel room sister samantha explains bounty hunter set hostage exchange swap scully explains bounty hunter killed piercing base neck toxic alien blood deadly humans finally samantha reveals clones original aliens worked abortion gain access tissue objective set extraterrestrial colony earth effort gone far 1940s clones experiments considered alien race bounty hunter sent kill walter_skinner meets mulder samantha mulder apartment telling remaining clones missing mulder receives scully tells bounty hunter seeks exchange samantha mulder samantha sent bridge near skinner hides nearby exchange takes place samantha attacks bounty hunter struggle fires bounty hunter samantha fall river mulder apologizes father bill losing father leaves note samantha provides mulder address maryland clinic meet separated mulder hopes alive soon gets scully reporting samantha body found scully ends discovers samantha body green liquid inside clinic mulder finds multiple clones samantha working similar clones reveal manipulated mulder sending pose samantha effort protect original clone claim know real samantha location mulder realizing initially refuses help starts leave knocked unconscious arriving proceeds kill samantha clones burn clinic trace clones found mulder meets kennedy center demanding know bounty hunter location says bounty hunter craft found naval fleet sent destroy mulder heads scully tell follow scully goes skinner help initially refuses scully summons mulder apartment turns way confronted skinner elevator men vicious physical altercation mulder whereabouts mulder finds stranded allegiance sail broken patch shallow ice inside finds sub surviving mulder correctly disguised struggle mulder exposed toxic blood bounty hunter claims samantha alive dumping mulder sail allegiance mulder nearly cut half sub diving plane process mulder discovered rushed field hospital seen beginning colony scully having learned alien blood contains dies cold temperatures convinces doctors bath warm body mulder condition scully writes field report science detecting saving mulder contends mysterious origin reports bounty hunter allegiance found mulder regains consciousness tells scully experiences answers searching given renewed faith looking production writing episode series written frank_spotnitz came idea bring colony wrote episode credited work according chris_carter overly ambitious writing episode debut television writer got significant help carter script scenes originally pitched kept car chase scene ended crash mulder mistakes federal marshal bounty hunter scenes cut time restraints filming later frequent collaborator subsequent mythology episodes writing feature films turned episode samantha mulder appeared clone carter want real samantha straight science fiction ridiculous answers explained production crew saw x-files science fiction incorporated science fiction previous episode colony suspense thriller genre chris_carter described colony end game backbone romantic quest mulder truth scully led scully believe conspiracy filming scene bounty hunter dana_scully shot sound stage vancouver canada simple room set scene featuring scully beaten bounty hunter primarily performed stunt woman weapon referred bounty hunter constructed aluminium activated hidden actor sleeve scully thrown table insisted standards practices giving reasoning needed clear viewers dead according executive producer frank_spotnitz bizarre logic deal putting network television director dissatisfied skinner elevator wall mitch_pileggi decided stunt real strength broke elevator scenery williams background fight choreography stemming role missing action beginning allowed help brawl tons snow ice create scene submarine end episode stage days control tower scenery able rise lower feet leading restrictions filming black backdrops decommissioned destroyer majesty canadian ship rented submarine interior reused episodes later interior shots reception end game premiered fox network february broadcast united_kingdom bbc december episode earned nielsen household rating share meaning roughly percent television equipped households percent households watching television tuned episode total million households watched episode original airing episode met positive reviews critics retrospective second season entertainment_weekly episode rated called exhausting essential chapter series visually stunning finale writing zack_handlen rated episode noting files form felt fight skinner season great moments derided use scully heroine victim role book myth noted end game good example basic premises mulder scully succeed serves highlight danger making choice
End Game (The X-Files)