An Old 'X-Files' Adversary Is Back & It's Bad News

We're only one episode into the The X-Files miniseries, but it's already clear that we have an action-packed season ahead of us. After all, Mulder and Scully need to stop a massive government conspiracy, and I'm not sure anyone told them that they only have six episodes to accomplish this. As the Jan. 24 premiere "My Struggle" comes to a close, an unwelcome character shows up on our small screens — it turns out The Cigarette Smoking Man is alive on The X-Files and he's definitely going to make the FBI agents' job infinitely more difficult. In typical form, he appears to be far less emotional than his two adversaries and calmly observes, "We have a small problem. They've reopened the X-Files."

But, let's back up for a second. I know it's been awhile (approximately 14 years, if we're counting) since The X-Files series finale aired in 2002, but I'm fairly certain that a rocket shot from a helicopter killed The CSM during that episode. So, Chris Carter, I know this is a sci-fi show and all — but I really hope there's a logical explanation for how exactly he managed to survive. It's not the first time he's been presumed dead only to reappear, so immortality isn't out of the realm of possibility. Either way, his presence is actually a positive thing for viewers (sorry, Mulder and Scully) and the revival would have felt incomplete without this iconic, chain-smoking villain.

At this time, his exact location in unclear and Mulder and Scully still don't know that he's alive — but we can rest assured that the CSM will thwart the pair at every turn as they, once again, embark on a crusade to uncover and expose the truth. And, for Mulder, his presence will also have a personal impact. After several years of speculation, it was confirmed in Season 9 that Mulder's arch-nemesis is also his biological father. It was never made clear whether or not he's also the father of Samantha, Mulder's younger sister whose abduction led to his obsession with all things paranormal. Although Mulder has conceded several times that his sister is dead, he's never appeared to be fully convinced — and it's possible that the CSM holds answers about what really happened to Samantha. (Whether or not he would ever share that information with Mulder is a different story.)

The CSM isn't alone during his time onscreen, but it's unclear who he's speaking to. Either way, it's (again) bad news for Mulder and Scully that he has at least one accomplice. They already have their work cut out for them, and we've seen firsthand just how ruthless the CSM can be.

Images: Ed Araquel/FOX; Giphy