The show centers on FBI special agents who work on unsolved paranormal cases called X-Files; focusing on the investigations of Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) after their reinstatement in the FBI.
In this episode, Mulder and Scully rush to find an on-the-run William, while the Cigarette Smoking Man pushes forward with his ultimate plan.
[1] Following the events of "Ghouli", William has become a fugitive from government agents as he is pivotal to the Cigarette Smoking Man's plans.
Mulder and Scully receive a call from Monica Reyes, warning them that William has been taken into custody and is being escorted to a government warehouse in Maryland.
Scully, who has been struggling with illness and visions of the future by way of her psychic link with William, predicts that he will not be there.
Mulder infiltrates the building but is forced to kill the agents and Mr. Y before he can question them and he finds no trace of William.
Scully identifies a cluster of lottery winners in Tennessee, which she believes is a side-effect of William's presence.
He convinces William to talk to him as a unit of soldiers, led by Erika Price, locate the agent's car.
In a bid to buy Mulder more time, Scully contacts right-wing online webcaster Tad O'Malley and claims that the incident at the hotel was part of the project to release a man-made pathogen developed from an alien virus.
"When asked about the possibility of a twelfth season, Carter said there are still more files to be uncovered "in those drawers in Mulder's office."
The site's critical consensus reads, "'My Struggle IV' ends the season – and possibly the series – on a sour note void of actor chemistry, a gratifying conclusion, or any kind of fitting farewell to The X-Files' leading lady.