“The Truth” is episode nineteen of season nine of The X-Files and the first part of the two-part season and, at the time, series finale.
A military helicopter lands somewhere and people get out. One is Mulder. The passengers board a bus and are driven into a tunnel in a mountain. When the bus stops, Mulder runs off on his own. He makes his way to a place where there’s a computer and a giant monitor. He starts getting information on ‘End Game’; by the looks of it, about the planned alien invasion.
Knowle Rohrer enters the room and checks the monitor. Mulder rushes him from behind and gets thrown through the monitor. Mulder runs off and there’s a door ahead of him open. Krycek, despite being dead, is standing there. He shuts the door behind Mulder. Mulder states Krycek is dead. Krycek tells him to go as alarms sound. He’s gone when Mulder glances away. Mulder ends up fighting with Rohrer on a catwalk, managing to push Rohrer over where he lands on some electrical lines someone had stupidly run through the air, just as soldiers with guns arrive.
Mulder is being held captive. A soldier keeps coming in and demanding to know what he was thinking, using sleep deprivation, beatings and stripping him until Mulder finally asks what he should be thinking. That he’s a guilty man who entered a government facility illegally in search of non-existent information. He failed in every respect. The man wants Mulder to repeat it. He does, saying he deserves the harshest punishment for his crime.
Scully and Skinner arrive where Mulder is now held; Kersh’s office was called. Mulder says he’s being treated very well and he’s clear on his crimes. He murdered a man whilst looking for something that didn’t exist. He made a mistake and should be punished severely. He’s a guilty man. He’s disturbingly calm. When the other two are gone. Mulder asks Krycek why he’s helping. Because Mulder can’t do this alone.
Scully and Skinner brief Doggett and Reyes. About Knowle Rohrer, Doggett says he saw Rohrer die whilst Reyes says he can’t die; he’s a supersoldier. They’re told that Mulder was in Mount Weather, a place where the so-called shadow government is installed. 30 people can testify they saw Mulder push Rohrer to his death.
Scully and Skinner head back to see Mulder, this time without a guard in the cell. Mulder says ‘I smelled you coming Clarice’ – a reference to Hannibal Lector. Scully doesn’t find it funny seeing him putting on an act. Mulder says what’s not funny is what they do if he doesn’t. He’s been faking it. Yes, he figured how much trouble he was in after the fiftieth brainwashing session. Skinner says Mulder is on trial for his life. Mulder says the outcome is a foregone conclusion. But they want him to admit he’s guilty. Ss for the murder; have they produced a body? You can’t produce the body of a man who won’t die. Scully wants the best lawyer. Mulder wants Skinner to represent him. Doggett and Reyes enter; it’s claimed that Rohrer’s body can be produced.
Kersh heads to see General Suveg at the USMC base brig at Quantico. Suveg thinks this would look bad for the Marines if it didn’t look worse for the FBI. He’s going to give Kersh a chance to clean up the mess. A fair hearing for Kersh’s agent by Kersh’s own agency. Held in Suveg’s court. Why? Because Suveg wants a guilty verdict. Mulder has made a lot of enemies. Kersh says he can’t do that. Suveg says he can. They both know there are forces inside the government a man would be foolish to disobey.
Scully goes to visit Mulder in the morning. She wants him to confide in her or they lose. Mulder says they can’t win. The only hope is to go down fighting. Scully realises he found something.
Much of the episode consists of the trial, with lots of brief clips from many other episodes. Krycek is not the only dead person that Mulder sees. Trying to prove anything useful where he’s being tried is difficult. The story continues in the next episode, “The Truth II”.