For twenty-seven years, Fox Mulder has been searching. Not always consciously realized and rarely dealt with directly, this quest has permeated every aspect of Mulder's life. Every case file investigated, every motivation, and every determined look was infused with Samantha's spirit. The cause of the X-Files' inception and its continuing drive, the search for his sister was Mulder's Holy Grail. And now, finally, his crusade has come to an end. For his sister was dead, and is alive again; she was lost, and is found.

"A word of advice? Me to you? Let it be. Some wounds are just too painful to be re-opened."
"This particular wound never healed. He deserves closure, like anyone."

This latest chapter in the mythology began as a story of grief. Filled with old and new traumas alike, "Sein Und Zeit" occasioned the pain of our two embattled heros once again. In a questionable choice of assignment, Mulder was given the task of solving a case eerily similar to the one closest to his heart. How he accomplished this is unclear. Have his incredible feats of deduction impressed Skinner so much that he would put this renegade agent on a case so obviously distressing to him? I'm sure Scully couldn't help from sighing when she heard about the assignment. By dredging up these old memories, Mulder had opened Pandora's box. All she could do was struggle against the evils that had already escaped. But a hope remained - if they could collect the pieces of his shattered memories and put them back together, the box might never have to be opened again. Unfortunately, barriers stood in the way of this closure. The initial failure of his investigation, the death of his mother, and the discovery of a field of little bodies (a scene chillingly reminiscent of the carbonized massacre in "Two Fathers") left Mulder confused and exhausted. However, if he could survive this onslaught, he would live to see the resolution of the myth that has fueled a series and a character for seven years. Pandora's box would soon be closed for good.

"I have a strong feeling I've been brought here to learn the truth."

Though he denied it, Mulder took this case personally the moment he heard about it. Like its counterparts "Oubliette" and "Paper Hearts," everything about this two-parter was related to his sister. When he spoke of Amber Lynn, he spoke of Samantha. His hope to find Amber Lynn was manifested in his hope to find Samantha. Every line, every look, every gesture linked back to a memory still raw after nearly three decades. But unlike its predecessors, the connection Mulder envisioned between Amber Lynn and his sister was (amazingly!) correct. In "Closure" we were presented with yet another theory on Samantha's disappearance. To avoid the needless suffering decreed by fate, old souls converted her into starlight to live forever in the bliss of youth. Such an explanation could have come up in any episode - a story like "Paper Hearts" would have adequately resolved the mystery, for example - but I don't know if Mulder (or the fans) could have accepted such a violent, senseless ending. It would have gone against the spirit of the series, and could never have given Mulder the closure he needed. Still, I wondered if Mulder would admit that he had been wrong and accept this new idea. After all, there is no real relation between walk-ins and the rest of the mythology (yet in retrospect, it does fit remarkably well). Nevertheless, it seemed to be enough for him. While it's likely they just recently came up with this idea to tie things up, the explanation remained mystical enough to make a decent conclusion.

"I guess I just want it to be over."

Faced with both the death of his mother and loss of his sister, Mulder verged precipitously on the edge of breakdown. The only thing keeping him from complete collapse was Scully's unwavering presence. His touchstone, she literally became the rock holding Mulder up. For the length of these two episodes, Scully carried a heavy burden - Mulder's burden. The pain in her eyes as she told him of Mrs. Mulder death did not reflect her own feelings, but the impact she knew Mulder would experience because of the news. She did not want to perform the autopsy on his mother because she knew her findings would not be what Mulder wanted to hear. But she also knew he would trust no other. After losing both his family and his belief, Scully was truly all Mulder had. And so she took on all his emotions - the guilt he felt for neglecting to call his mother back, the denial of her suicide, and the all-consuming grief - in the hope of sparing him any more pain. When Mulder refused to listen to her theory regarding Samantha's disappearance, it became clear she had more work to do. Listless, depressed, and wanting to believe only in his own lie, he had shut out the world. In one of the most powerful scenes in "Closure," Scully patience with this apathy finally broke. She had to show him the reality he had been so studiously ignoring and get him back on the cause. Even Mulder knew this, admitting that "you were right, Scully." (Compare this to a similar statement in "Field Trip" - "Scully, in six years, how often have I been wrong?") These two have come a long way in a hundred and fifty episodes. Still, the underlying themes of trust and belief remain the same. Mulder and Scully don't need to display overt affection in order to profess their love. They simply live it.

"It's been a hard night for him."

"Two Fathers/One Son" promised Full Disclosure, but only managed to leave fans, and Mulder, dissatisfied. This two-parter, however, offered something much more valuable - closure. Initially, I wasn't sure if "Closure" could live up to such an optimistic title. Looking back, I think it did, if not in the inquiring minds of the audience, then in Mulder. The uncertainty in his eyes may have betrayed him, but when Mulder said, "I just want it to be over," I believed him. I also knew he could not take the first answer presented to him. He refused to accept the Cigarette-Smoking Man's lachrymose explanation or the comforting one advanced by Harold Pillar because he needed his own proof. But coming to terms with the truth contained within that proof left him confused and momentarily without a clear mission to fuel him. (Hence his unusual request for time off.) That his memory of Samantha's alien kidnaping was nothing more than a compensatory abduction fantasy went against everything he had known up to that point. He needed to understand, but to do that, he first had to believe. Samantha may not really be starlight - how could you prove something like that? - but absolute truth doesn't matter anymore. Mulder may not have his sister, but he has the truth and the hope found in her memory ("Maybe they are souls, Scully."). So in a strange paradox, at this time of great mourning in his life Mulder is at peace. Samantha has been found, and all is well in X-Files land. Only now can Mulder finally ride off into the sunset, proud and fancy- free.

"I'm fine. I'm free."

"Sein Und Zeit" and "Closure" provided many concrete answers, but like any good X-File, questions remain. The events leading up to and following Mrs. Mulder's death are still unclear. I tend to agree with Scully in that the cause of death was most likely suicide, attributing Mulder's paranoid visions of a murderous government to his unstable mental condition. Though how Mrs. Mulder was trying to "take away [his] pain" by killing herself is questionable. Perhaps Scully was referring to his mother's attempts to tell him about Samantha. But then why did she burn the only evidence which could possibly expose the truth? The answer to that question, unfortunately, only she knows. I can only hope she explained everything the writers left out in her ghostly rendevous with her son. A rare exchange between Scully and the Cigarette-Smoking Man elicited more questions. The operation implied in "Amor Fati" appears to have taken place, but the consequences of that brain graft were neglected. Hopefully it will be picked up in the finale. More interesting than this information, however, was the dynamic witnessed between Scully and her carcinogenic friend. She obviously hates him (she even got to use her favourite "you're a liar" line), but not in such an aggressively apparent way like Mulder. Not that she doesn't have good reason to hate him. He's evil. Whether he's evil and in cahoots with aliens, however, I don't know. After what we've learned, it's more than likely that there have been no alien visitations, and that Scully was right about the train cars and the government experiments gone awry. I suppose they could have had alien consultations...but that's another story for another time.

"You can start by putting out that cigarette."

Unfortunately, as the series draws to the close, that other time may never come. Very conscious of this perception of denouement, Chris Carter infused his last X-Filean chapter with a potent dose of nostalgia. Ending where they began, Mulder and Scully's first scene together in "Closure" exactly mimicked their fateful introduction in "The Pilot." Scully walks in to find Mulder looking intently at a set of slides... Ah, those misty, watercolor memories. Some may call this melodrama, but I sensed something deeper in these two episodes. "Sein Und Zeit/Closure" expressed the spirit we've always known is at the heart of this show. "The X-Files" has proven many times it does not have to explain anything, but they did in this case. And I'm glad. Mulder deserved it.

"And then it just stops."

Notes:

--In light of the teaser for "Sein Und Zeit," the prayer "If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take" takes on new meaning.

--It appears Chris Carter is still upset with FOX for canceling "Harsh Realm." Mr. LaPierre's unabashed praises for the show ("I never heard of it. It was good.") served as not-too-subtle digs at the network. Though unless he was watching a rerun on fX, time wise it would place the story in the fall.

--Mulder's amazing ability to recall snippets of information from old case files (remember "hiding in the light" from "Folie a Deux"?) once again helped him pave over an annoying plot hole.

--A glimpse of the pain Mulder was experiencing came when he hugged the answering machine bearing his mother's voice. Poor guy. :(

--Nothing brings out Scully's mothering instinct more than seeing Mulder in pain. So when Skinner told her he had only booked two seats to California after she had stayed up all night with a distraught Mulder, he was the first to elicit her patented death stare - "Well then you'd better book three."

--Lit by the bright sunlight of Southern California, the whole Santa village looked unnaturally creepy. The racks of tapes and wall of surveillance equipment didn't help that image, though it did add to the list of vital evidence Mulder and Scully have found in carefully organized warehouses.

--Meet Harold Pillar, police psychic. Sure, he may be a little over the top. He's no Clyde Bruckman either. Heck, even Mulder didn't believe him. Still, he does have the dubious honour of being the second person to receive Scully's look of death in as many days.

--Yet another life lesson from "The Planet of the Apes" - "There's got to be an answer." "Don't look for it Taylor! You might not like what you find."

--Scully threw away the book long ago, and appears to have since taken up the hobby of lock picking. Maybe she learned it from CGB.

--The first scene at the air force base reminded me of a similar one from the movie (minus the glowing domes). A bit of advice for the guard stationed there - when you make a point of saying there's nothing to see, it's pretty obvious there is.

--One of the episode's lighter moments found Mulder and Scully discussing the games they use to play in high school. While it would be amusing to see them playing spin the bottle, it's not much of a game with two people. But I guess that's the point... ;)

--Haley Joel Osment isn't the only one who can see ghosts - Mulder's new ability is straight out of "The Sixth Sense."

--Scully tells Mulder to "get some sleep," and he gives her a kooky smile. The scene in the parking lot from "Closure," or the conclusion to "Paper Hearts"? Oh wait! They're the same.

--Though several obvious parallels exist - they're the same age, were both supposedly abducted by aliens, and share Mulder's protectiveness - Scully has never represented Samantha to Mulder. Maybe he always knew he would find Scully again, a feeling unlike the compensatory fantasy he had concocted for Samantha. In his heart he must have known was believing a lie, but couldn't bear to admit it.