Season 11, the second season of "The X-Files" reboot, is only slightly better than Season 10. The main reason Season 11 slightly edges out Season 10 is that it has 10 episodes instead of 6, which means there is more time for the plot to be fleshed out. Unfortunately, the mythology plot of the season remains pretty unsatisfying. Like the previous season, the "My Struggle" episodes — which follow the conspiracy involving Mulder and Scully's son — are the worst of the season, and fail to conclude in a satisfying way.
It makes absolutely zero sense that the Smoking Man (William B. Davis) is still alive after the missile attack that burnt him alive at the end of Season 9. Most damningly, the premiere of Season 11 is undoubtedly one of the most offensive episodes of "The X-Files" ever written. With the return of the Smoking Man, we learn the truth of Scully's pregnancy: he, not Mulder, is the father of Scully's child. What's worse, he describes Scully's insemination as impregnation with science, which is a gross and unnecessary way to say he raped her. Despite her strength in the face of terrifying circumstances, Scully has long been a guinea pig for experimentation and violence, so it was extremely disheartening that Carter decided to continue this trend in the most upsetting way possible in Season 11.
Once again, because of Carter's misguided direction in the "My Struggle" episodes, the best episodes of the season are the monster-of-the-week ones that have nothing to do with whatever was going on with their superpowered son. A highlight of the season is "Rm9sbG93ZXJz," in which Scully and Mulder encounter technology gone wrong in a "Black Mirror"-like thought experiment, and "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," which is an intriguing exploration of the Mandela Effect.
