When Gillian Anderson agreed to come back for one more season of The X-Files—the one that debuted last night on Fox—she made it perfectly clear that this would be her final turn as Dana Scully. That naturally led fans to wonder whether this ten-episode eleventh season would also mark the end of the series itself. After all, the show managed to go on without Mulder for a year and a half, so the idea of it continuing after Anderson's exit isn't completely out of the question.
According to series creator Chris Carter, that's not the case. During a recent AMA on Reddit, he revealed that he has never considered moving forward without Scully. However, his closing remark raises eyebrows…
Let's not forget that the series featured Doggett and Scully for nearly two full seasons, so it's not an entirely new concept. Still, what really grabs attention is that Carter refers to the tenth episode of the upcoming season 11 as “the series finale.” Not the season finale—the series finale. That phrasing sounds far more conclusive than most of us had assumed.
Honestly, I don't think anyone truly wants the show to continue without Scully. Yes, there's a precedent for the series to survive the loss of one of its leads, but I can't think of a single person—outside of Robert Patrick's immediate family—who actually enjoyed seasons eight and nine. My vote is to let the show end with Scully… assuming that's what happens in the finale.
