10 Exact Moments These TV Shows SHOULD Have Ended
6. "Closure" (Season 7, Episode 11) - The X-Files
The X-Files gave itself many, many dramatic off-ramps to end on a high note throughout its run, and though the show's best days were long behind it when its seventh season aired, the mid-season episode "Closure" delivered exactly what its title promised.
Closure concludes the long-standing mystery surrounding the disappearance of Fox Mulder's (David Duchovny) sister Samantha, who was kidnapped when they were children.
Mulder learns that Samantha is indeed dead, and gets a brief ethereal reunion with her before the episode ends with Mulder telling Scully (Gillian Anderson), "I'm fine. I'm free."
Despite the potential for the imagery to come off as cheesy, it resolved Mulder's primary motivation throughout the series in an emotional and satisfying manner, with a bittersweet undercurrent to prevent it feeling overly sentimental.
The show now has eleven seasons under its belt and there are murmurs of a twelfth, but its water-tight storytelling and meaningful character drama left many years ago. Season seven was already pretty trying for many fans, but Closure would've been a fine stopping point.