'The X-Files' Recap: 'Nothing Lasts Forever'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

​The saying, ‘you’re only as young as you feel’ exists for one important reason; getting older can surprise all of us. After all, those grey hairs appear out of nowhere, and it’s a tad strange to feel aches and pains in your joints just from getting out of bed, but there is merit to that saying because aging, is just a natural part of life and often times, keeping a youthful mind and celebrating life helps us come to terms with the whole process. But there are some people who disagree with that philosophy and believe that getting old is nothing more than a curse that must be stopped at all costs.
 
These are the folks who invest time and money into every anti-aging cure and therapy out there, and while that’s just fine because hey, live your life the way you want, it doesn’t stop our imaginations from wondering just how far people would go to see their youth preserved and thankfully, shows like The X-Files are happy to answer that question and last night the show most certainly did, in the most disturbing fashion imaginable of course. Because ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ took us to some supremely twisted places, all because a former star named Barbara Beaumont refused to accept the fact father time finds us all.
 
Which means, it’s best we just discuss what made this episode so incredibly depraved as quickly as possible and really, it’s the fact that Barbara’s husband, Doctor Randolph Luvenis, figured out the cure for aging was always hidden within the human body and well, he and his wife made use of the human vessel to cure themselves of aging and death, by uh…consuming other humans. Yeah, that’s as gross as it sounds and as literal as one might expect, because they did eat organs on a regular basis. But this episode took their machinations one step further by giving this dynamically disturbed duo a cult that outright worshipped the two of them and those poor cult members served as the final key to immortality since their sole purpose was to eventually join physically with Barbara and Luvenis so that they could literally suck the life out of them.
 
So yeah, to say this one was messed up would be an understatement and in all honesty, I was quite surprised to see the series throw in another (mostly) standalone horror themed episode, but I’m honestly glad they did and I appreciate the fact that not only did this one do everything within its power to unsettle us (because I most certainly did not feel comfortable watching this one), but that it had some deeper meaning to throw into the mix as well. After all, this particular tale did deal with faith and what it means to us and how it can guide us to danger since these poor cult members and their belief in eternal life, helped sucker them into becoming modern day vampire food. 
 
Yet, not every single theme in this episode was focused solely on the negative. The positive power of faith was also explored by way of Scully, because faith did give her hope in this tale that maybe, just maybe, William is okay and it’s also helping her to ponder on the possibility of doing the right thing when it comes to her son since it is clear from both the trailer for next week and Mulder and Scully’s conversation that they’re likely going after William to ensure his safety. But, in the here and the now, we get to bask in another fascinating and creepy episode, and I’m sure all of us are left wondering today, what the heck did Scully whisper to Mulder? Perhaps we will find out, during next week’s season eleven finale. Until next time. 

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