SEASON 1

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SEASON 3

SEASON 4

SEASON 5

FIGHT THE FUTURE

SEASON 6

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SEASON 8

SEASON 9

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We cut back to underground. Our agents are both covered in the nasty goo and the tendrils. They both are moving their mouths, but not able to move much else. Except somehow Mulder manages to get his hand partially up through the dirt, and the camera pans up from his hand to reveal a team of searchers all around the field. Skinner and several other people rush over to them and begin digging. The rescuers are all wearing gas masks, which is a darn good idea. They pull Mulder out, all covered with dirt and with red burns on his face, and then Scully, who is in the same condition. Skinner helps to load them onto stretchers.

Barely conscious, Scully mutters weakly, "Mushroom," and Skinner assures her that they found it – presumably because of the sample Scully had forwarded to Quantico. Then he tells her to take it easy, and the two are lifted on their stretchers into the back of a waiting ambulance (Skinner helps lift Scully's stretcher). As the doors close on our heroes, Mulder wordlessly reaches out a hand to Scully, and without even needing to look, Scully reaches out her hand. Their muddy, burned hands meet, and Scully turns to look at Mulder. Nothing needs to be said between them, and it is beautiful. They do not stop holding hands as we fade to black.

I'm really surprised – but mostly pleased – that CC & Co. didn't go with the sci-fi cliché of ending the episode with some little thing to make the viewer think that it might still be a hallucination. Now of course I know that many fans have decided that all of seasons 7-9 are or should be "Field Trip"-induced hallucinations, but to each their own. Me, I'm just content to rewatch the ending scene of this episode, over and over.