About 60% through the episode, I actually felt physical discomfort with an intense wish to leave. I found myself trying to breath this episode out of my lungs as much as I could.
The old X-Files episodes from the 90s were far from perfect, with the quality varying considerably from episode to episode, but the thing that made that show special (at least early on) was its calm and intelligent subtlety. This gave the show a sense of mystery and tension and that sense was more palpable because of a level of realism in characters and environments. The setting felt realistic, so the supernatural elements felt more realistic and therefore more thrilling.
This episode, on the other hand, is so blunt, so formulaic and piles up so much unnecessary conspiracy that it felt like a mockery of conspiracy theorists, and by extension, of the show itself. At the end of the episode, I expected Mulder and Scully to turn towards the viewer and say, "Gotcha!" and then laugh heartily.
The show tries once again to pull the "all we experienced was a lie" twist on us, which already felt old back in the 90s, and this episode delivers this twist with such crudeness that I was struggling not to laugh. Also, you can't use this twist on anyone who remembers certain details from the old show, unless you pretend that they never happened.
On top of this all, the acting...Oh dear Lord...look, it is great to see these two characters back together, but Duchovny sounds like he hasn't slept for days and was asked to act in something he has long lost interest in, but agreed to do it anyway for the paycheck. I also wanted to punch Joel McHale in the face for making a mockery of this episode. How did he fall out of his sitcom into what's supposed to be a serious episode? He feels completely out of place here.
In conclusion, the painful dialogue, botched conspiracy shtick and tired acting makes me lose hope for future episodes. It would have been better off if the producers introduced new main characters and a new storyline, or just leave this property alone altogether. I hated this episode so much, I was nauseous. But I guess it was at least fun to see the old familiar faces.
