Sorry, not sorry, Chris Carter. You can’t tear down Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully anymore with your lackluster storytelling and controversial altering of the X-Files lore. Anderson is never coming back to The X-Files, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I love her—there’s no doubt about that—but what was done to her character is criminal and her assertion that she wouldn’t return to The X-Files during last night’s Golden Globes is all the confirmation I need.
The X-Files ended long ago, and season 10 & 11 were all a fever dream. Admittedly, it was a dream that we were initially looking forward to. It’s all about nostalgia nowadays, with reboots and remakes all around. And when the beloved series returned to much hype, it saw some “good” ratings in the form of 7.6 million viewers of the season 10 finale. It unfortunately plummeted in season 11, in the form of 3.4 million viewers who tuned in for the finale.
But again, that last season was a crazy fever dream plagued with controversial writing that could be seen miles away, but somehow evaded showrunner Chris Carter. For those who don’t remember, because it’s been a while, it was revealed that William wasn’t Mulder’s son. Instead, he was a result of the Cigarette Smoking Man medically raping Scully in an experiment. Of course, fans and critics went buck wild and trashed The X-Files.
Some fans recounted The X-Files history of gaslighting while asserting that Scully’s assaults were twisted to a point where she was gaslighting herself, ultimately freeing her abuser from any harm or consequence. Some critics went after Carter and his quote given to Entertainment Weekly where he said that the Cigarette Smoking Man didn’t rape Scully, he just “impregnated her with science.” And others talked about the show’s long history of skirting rape.
Point being, The X-Files has undermined and underutilized the greatness that is Dana Scully. They have taken what she represents (hope, strength in STEM fields, independence) and transformed her into a shadow of her former self. I’d like to remember Scully and what she meant to me and to fans all over the world. And if that means deleting the mini-reboot of The X-Files and never getting more Dana Scully, then so be it.
Gillian Anderson deserves better. We all do.
(image: Handout/HFPA via Getty)
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