The End (The X-Files)

"The End"
The X-Files episode
The X-Files office after being set on fire by The Smoking Man
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 20
Directed by	R. W. Goodwin
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	5X20
Original air date	May 17, 1998
Running time	46 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
William B. Davis as The Smoking Man Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Mimi Rogers as Diana Fowley John Neville as Well-Manicured Man Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Jeff Gulka as Gibson Praise Don S. Williams as First Elder George Murdock as Second Elder John Moore as Third Elder Martin Ferrero as Shooter Michael Shamus Wiles as Black Haired Man Orest Blajkevitch as Anatole Klebanow Patrick Phillips as Clinician #1 Paul Moniz De Sa as Clinician #2 John Trotter as Clinician #3
Episode chronology
← Previous "Folie à Deux" Next → The X-Files (film) "The Beginning"
List of Season 5 episodes List of The X-Files characters

"The End" is the 20th and final episode of the fifth season, and 117th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 17, 1998. "The End" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on March 17, 1999 on BBC One. The episode was written by executive producer Chris Carter, and directed by R. W. Goodwin. "The End" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.9, being watched by 18.76 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, the assassination of a chess grandmaster leads Mulder and Scully into an investigation that they soon discover strikes at the heart of the X-Files; they learn that the real target was a telepathic boy named Gibson Praise.

The episode was originally supposed to be the series finale for the show, allowing the series to evolve into a film franchise following the release of the 1998 movie. However, the series proved too profitable for Fox and a sixth season was ordered. The episode would be the last to be filmed in Vancouver: production for the subsequent seasons moved to Los Angeles, California. "The End" features the first appearance of what would become the recurring character of Diana Fowley, portrayed by Mimi Rogers. As a season finale, it created loose ends for both the feature film and the subsequent season opener, "The Beginning".