Whew, boy. The long-awaited revival of The X-Files proved a ratings hit for Fox, and creator Chris Carter definitely stuck to his classic formula when it came to the miniseries. Case in point: that latest season (series?) finale.

Spoilers ahead for “My Struggle II,” the latest season finale for The X-Files!

In an interview with E! Online, Carter tried to unpack the final episode of the season, which brought everything from the alien conspiracy to Mulder and Scully’s twisty relationship with the Cigarette Smoking Man to a head. The human cabal that wants to rule the world finally made its move, and (apparently) the only thing that can save all of humanity is alien DNA. The episode introduced a ton of major plots and ended with a UFO showing up in the sky as Mulder’s life hangs in the balance.

If you thought Carter would use these six episodes to actually bring the saga to a conclusion, you were dead wrong. Instead, he said he tried to continue the spirit of the original series by telling a mix of standalone and mythology episodes, while also bringing things to a head with a big season finale cliffhanger. So will they get a chance to actually resolve it? Carter said he’s been in touch with Fox, and everyone wants to do more episodes, so it’s just a matter of working out the schedules. So, yeah, there will probably be another season to wrap this up.

As for the finale, Carter said he hopes fans weren’t confused by all the insanity, though he stands behind the decision itself to leave so many balls in the air:

“Traditionally, the show ended on a cliffhanger at the end of every season, so [it's] like that tradition and this just happens to be one of the biggest cliffhangers we've ever done. I think that certain events bore some conclusion to this predicament and this is what looks like almost certain doom: a pickle, for lack of a better word. I think that suggests there's more to come … I think that hardcore fans of the show just expect nothing less than this and I think—I hope—people aren't confused. I hope that it was not a confusing ending. If it was perplexing or alarming, I would prefer it to be that.

…I don't like second-guessing myself necessarily because you work under tremendous pressure and the schedule [is grueling]. The thing that you do working in series television is you learn to live with these choices because they have to come so quickly. While there were things in the original series I wanted to change coming back and I think there was at least one thing that I was able to give a little nod to in the show—and I won't mention what that is—I always want to say that we did our best.”

Though the ratings were good, the critical response to the miniseries season has been decidedly mixed. Yes, there was a great episode or two mixed in, but this new run also featured much of the unevenness that made the final few seasons such a hot mess.

What do you think of Carter’s assessment? Did he make the right decision with the finale?

(Via E! News)