So we end The X-Files revival the way we started. Diving into the larger conspiracy arc involving a shadowy cabal of men using alien tech against the populous in an oligarchical attempt to thin the world's herd and leave only the elite and chosen standing.

And even though the premiere itself was kind of a let down in its own right, I'm glad the show returned to this plot. The completist in me wanted to see it through. Even if it did only "bookend" this six-part return. And, in a weird way, put a spotlight on the fact that neither Mulder nor Scully did any further digging into this arc after the premiere. Some will insist that the second episode had ties to this mythology, but it really didn't. Not in any meaningful way.So, basically, Mulder and Scully spent six weeks (our time and their time lined up apparently) investigating totally separate cases until the moment came for the arc to come back and proactively bite them in the ass. They didn't really do anything. The nefarious Spartan Virus plot just happened to kick in."My Struggle II" was kind of a dud. Things picked up right at the end (sort of how they did back in the premiere) as we began to see some of the larger set pieces involved with this freakin' afternoon-long global pandemic. Some city streets filled with sick people (AND SCULLY STOPPING A RIOT - HAH!), a few traffic jams, and a couple moments that let us know that maybe something big was going on. Because you wouldn't really know it from 90% of the episode. Maybe even 95%.This was a big story. The Cigarette Smoking Man and his unseen conspirators triggering a biological mechanism that wipes out everyone's immune system? Leaving them susceptible to every known illness? An actual attempt to wipe out most of the world? And what do we see? One hospital with a few sick people. And a few cutaways to Tad O'Malley's internet show (because mainstream media was NOT covering a global catastrophe) featuring him just saying "things are worse now than they were five minutes ago." Through him we learned how the sickness was being triggered, that telecommunications were beginning to break down, and that Europe was being hit too. It was as B-movie as you could get.The dialogue also really stung here. Oof. Sure, I enjoyed Mulder and CSM coming face to face. And Mulder even got to have a knock down/drag out fight with a henchman earlier on (man, he really no-sold that gutwrench suplex, didn't he?). But the two of them just had such bad things to say. CSM complaining about the "decimation of the microfauna." Mulder just speechifying until he literally couldn't stand anymore. Agent Miller had to show up and make the save, complete with his own clunky dialogue.Yeah, so about that. Miller and Einstein were both back for this one. I'm pretty sure these two aren't being lined up for a spinoff (a fan conspiracy theory based on last week's episode) just because of how much they're gimmicky doppelgängers. I mean, it's one thing to groom replacements, but these two are pure schtick. They're meant to be tongue-in-cheek clones. So I think we're safe from all that. But I'm still okay with them sticking around. As backup. Even Scully and Einstein walked around the hospital for forty minutes, talking in absolute circles. At one point the plot was delayed for ten minutes because they couldn't find traces of Scully's alien DNA. Then one overly-detailed microbiology conversation later and they seemed to science their way out of the problem.Seeing Annabeth Gish's Reyes was fun, though she didn't offer up much. Her role was that of "X" in JFK here except she more or less provided no answers to anything. She just wanted to meet with Scully in secret to let her know the very basics. Nothing too specific. Just that Scully was not going to get sick. Hardly worth the stealth umbrellas.The cliffhanger ending was a nice touch. I think we'd all like to see more. Even if this comeback run was sort of hit or miss. It was dumb enough that Scully was able to save the entire world with her vaccine at the end that I wound up being happy that not everything got to have a button put on it. Mulder's still sick, William's the cure, and there's a giant spacecraft thing over their heads about to make everyone explode. So, again, business picked up at the end. But so much of this one felt like overcooked cheese.