And so it happened: The X-Files 10X13!

The “Pilgrims” arc continues with even more mytharc shenanigans after #11 and #12, and is as confusing as any classic mytharc episode of old!

More after the jump:

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In “Pilgrims” part 2, Mulder and Scully’s adventures in Saudi Arabia continue from issue #11 while Joe Harris resurrects old foes and plot points, but also now has enough material at his disposal that he starts making plot references from within Season 10.

This is also issue #12: Season 10 is now 1 year old! Although story-wise the end of the first “volume” would correspond more to #15, with the end of the current arc, this is a landmark date — and already writer Joe Harris is teasing fans with things on “year 2”!

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This issue kicks off the “Pilgrims” arc (#11-15). The title echoes that of the first arc of the season, “Believers” (#1-5). It looks like IDW and Joe Harris have planned Season 10 to unfold in 5-issue chunks, alternating between 5-issue long mythology arcs, and 5 issues of more stand-alone stories. Entirely taking place in Saudi Arabia, this issue mostly sets up the mystery for what looks like an exotic adventure ride for our agents, filled with old foes.

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Issue #10 “More Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man” is Season 10’s version of one of the best episodes of the series, 4X07: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man. The Morgan & Wong episode, and endless source of interpretations and debates, depicted the Shakespearean life and times of the Cigarette-Smoking Man — but sheds doubt on whether what we saw was the real story or not by adding framing stories about a fictional autobiography and a re-constructed autobiography told by a third person (Frohike).

“More Musings” operates in somewhat a similar way, with straightforward flashbacks that upon closer inspection might not be as reliable as they seem. And in doing so takes us in a trip down 20th century American history and presents us with a series of scenes that fans of the mythology have been fantasizing about for well over a decade! Like with the TV episode, the absence of (Fox) Mulder and Scully makes this unique — and given how dense references to the show’s mythology are, this must have been very unsettling for readers that were non-obsessive watchers of the show.

Lots of spoilers below:

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After many mythology-focused issues (Believers; Being for the Benefit of Mr. X) and a double issue that is a sequel of an episode of the TV show (Hosts), this is Season 10’s first fully original story arc! Joe Harris comes up with a gritty, graphic tale worthy of many of the show’s horror episodes: “Chitter“, with the Chittering God.

More after the jump.

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After a short adventure in monster-of-the-month territory, Season 10 returns to the mythology with #8: “Being for the Benefit of Mr. X“, a single-issue arc, following up on “Believers“. This is also artist Michael Walsh’s last issue — which is a shame. On the menu: more nostalgia, more cameos for past loved characters, and more complications of Joe Harris’ new mythology.

Major spoilers ensue!

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