Villordsutch reviews The X-Files: Season 10 #5…

“The sense-shattering conclusion! Reunited at last, Mulder and Scully pursue the Deacon deep beneath the surface of Yellowstone National Park. Also in pursuit are the telltale black helicopters of the FBI, but are they friend… or foe?”

Before this issue I could say that this release of The X-Files Season 10 has been rather exciting as it captured the essence of what The X-Files was to the world before they let it die with a whimper. I could really see Mulder and Scully moving at such a frantic pace due to the story by Joe Harris and Chris Carter and also the artwork of Michael Walsh and Jordie Bellaire, which also added that sense of tension and urgency as the art blurred and streaked across the page. It was going great and then comes issue #5; would this put the cherry on the cake? If the cherry was a metal cannonball dropped from at least five feet and the cake was cake then yes it has. In short, this issue has given us a rotten end to an excellent beginning.

I had the feeling in the last issue that something was amiss from this story ‘Believers’. I couldn’t see how they were going to close this five part tale off with a great ending in such a limited amount of space. I knew we wouldn’t get all the answers and I didn’t want them all, -I’ve emerged through my years on a diet of The Prisoner, Twin Peaks & Lost (to name but a few). I don’t demand answers. However, my feelings were proven correct in this issue as it is a mess all the way along. The only interesting part in this issue is the closing scenes (which I shan’t discuss).

We arrive exactly where we left off with Scully shooting Mulder point blank in the chest and now she is attempting to keep his failing heart pumping, but he doesn’t have much of a chance until the Acolytes step in and assist in the situation. We are then pulled along as locations of places in Yellowstone Park are shouted at us, and then it’s a case of the old shape shifting alien trading places game, which gets amazingly confusing as soon as it starts, then quickly the story wraps up and they all go home. This entire comic feels like you’ve be dragged through a forest blindfolded and you’ve got to make your way back; it really is a bit of a let down to this five part saga.

It is such a ruddy shame that the opening hand of The X-Files Season 10 has ended like this as the other four parts here brilliant and extremely enjoyable. It would be good if next time Joe Harris (and Mr. Carter) could allow the final issue to play out as much thought and substance as the first four parts did here; if this means extending the arc to six issues then please do so.

Instead of going out with a well organised firework display, the climax to ‘Believers’ delivers a packet of damp sparklers with the instructions in Korean, and we really deserved the fireworks too.

Villordsutch is married with kids and pets. He looks like a tubby Viking and enjoys science fiction. Follow him on Twitter.