Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are drawn to the case because evidence suggests that it was a ritual killing. The police dismiss Mulder’s speculation and believe the murders are related to an organ theft ring, pointing out that one of the surgeons had his medical licence revoked and was an associate of the Russian mafia. Meeting at a church, the agents briefly debate the nature of faith. Scully confirms that all legal organ donations have been accounted for while Mulder has found no trace of illegal sales on the dark web. Mulder links the killer’s message to a psalm about God’s vengeance, and notices that iron bars matching the murder weapon’s distinctive shape have been removed from the church fence. Because of this, Mulder comes to believe that the murders are driven by divine wrath instead of demonic worship.
A conversation with a priest leads them to Juliet, who tells Mulder and Scully that her sister Olivia joined a cult. Meanwhile, the missing organs are taken to the home of reclusive TV star Barbara Beaumont and her partner Randolph Luvenis. Beaumont has formed a cult which consumes human organs to offset the aging process; despite being eighty-five years old, Beaumont appears to be thirty. The effects are only temporary, leading Luvenis to surgically conjoin himself to others, parasitically feeding off them to reverse his age. Together, they have been feeding organs to their followers and plan to conjoin them to Barbara in the hopes of giving her eternal youth. However, tensions arise when the stolen organs are not enough to feed the cult. As Luvenis leaves to steal the remaining organs from the hospital, a cult member offers himself as a sacrifice to sustain the others. After he stabs himself, he is eaten alive.
Knowing that the stolen organs can never be used in a transplant, Mulder and Scully arrange for a tracking device to be placed in a heart for Luvenis to retrieve. They follow the signal to Beaumont’s house and attempt to gain access, unaware of Juliet’s presence. Luvenis, suffering accelerated ageing without a host, undergoes surgery to attach himself to Olivia. Once inside the house, the agents are overpowered by Beaumont’s followers, who throw Scully down an elevator shaft. Mulder is rescued by Juliet, who kills Beaumont with a metal stake to the chest. Beaumont’s death dishearten her followers, allowing Mulder to escape. As he tries to locate Scully in the basement, Mulder is confronted by Luvenis, who has the appearance and strength of a much younger man after being conjoined to Olivia. Despite his boasts of gaining immortality, Juliet kills him. Despite being doomed to die with Luvenis, Olivia claims she was happy with the cult. Juliet surrenders to Mulder. Scully is found to be safe, having been cushioned by trash thrown away by the cult.
In the aftermath, Mulder and Scully return to the church. Mulder acknowledges the power of faith, suggesting that his atheism is because he does not need faith rather than because of a lack of it.
“Nothing Lasts Forever”
The X-Files episode
Episode no. Season 11
Episode 9
Directed by James Wong
Written by Karen Nielsen
Production code 2AYW08
Original air date March 14, 2018
Running time 43 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Fiona Vroom as Barbara Beaumont
Jere Burns as Dr. Randolph Luvenis
Carlena Britch as Juliet ‘La Avispa’ Bocanegra
Micaela Aquilera as Olivia Bocanegra
Fabiloa Colmenero as Josephine Bocanegra
Aidan Kahn as Agent Colquitt
Albert Nicholas as Agent Bill Bludworth
Credit