Many applauded the way it made the series' increasingly marginalized alien mythology relevant again, although others lamented the partial loss of David Duchovny.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.

Meanwhile, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis)—on his deathbed—reunites with Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and Alex Krycek in an attempt to revive the project[clarification needed].

In Bellefleur, Oregon, sheriff's department detective Miles drives to the scene of a reported air crash in the forest.

After exiting the vehicle, an injured Miles finds a fellow deputy sheriff, Ray Hoese, unconscious in his police cruiser.

Miles is suddenly confronted by a man identical to Hoese who is bleeding green fluid, indicating he is an Alien Bounty Hunter.

While they go through the area on their own, Gary is lifted off the ground and shaken by an invisible force, and Richie, although he stands within a few feet of him, can't see him.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Fox Mulder receives a call from Billy Miles, an abductee from Bellefleur whom the agents encountered seven years prior.

At the scene of Hoese's disappearance, Scully finds three bullet casings, indicating that the deputy fired his weapon before vanishing.

He finds and joins a group of abductees, including Billy and Theresa, standing below a pillar of light from a UFO; they are soon accosted by the Bounty Hunter.

With Marita holding back his assistant, Krycek wheels the Smoking Man out of the room and throws him down a flight of stairs, presumably killing him.

Executive producer Frank Spotnitz later explained that "there was a pretty strong sentiment inside and outside the show that it was time to call it a day.

[6] The latter idea was chosen, leading to series creator Chris Carter writing "Requiem" as a segue into season eight.

Nicholas Lea, the actor who portrayed Krycek, noted: "That's one of the character's great moments, when I get to push Bill Davis down a set of stairs.

"[4] The episode also featured several tender moments between Mulder and Scully, which many fans found "nearly pornographic in the context of their long, chaste courtship", according to Matt Hurwitz and Chris Knowles in their book The Complete X-Files.

[4] Gillian Anderson, however, defended the moments, arguing that there was ample amount of romance between Mulder and Scully prior to "Requiem".

Carter held it back because he "didn't want to create something that would let the cat out of the bag and give anybody the opportunity to spoil our fun.

"[7] Because there was a chance that the seventh season would be its last, the character of Billy Miles, played by Zachary Ansley and who originally appeared in the pilot episode, was brought back in and featured in "Requiem" to bring the series full-circle.

[10] Since production had moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles after the conclusion of the fifth season, a local California location was needed to stand in for Oregon.

Michelle Bush, in her book Myth-X notes that the episode's theme, in a colloquial sense, is Mulder's "realization that maybe it's time to get out of the car".

[12] While in Skinner's office, the camera angles and position of the characters recall Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting The Last Supper.

Bush argues that, in this manner, the show is suggesting that Scully, like Judas, directly affects the fate of the savior, in this case Mulder.

Despite lamenting the loss of Fox Mulder, he noted that "the truth is The X-Files has been a show like no other and 'Requiem' proved once again there truly is a place for magic and beauty and love on the small screen and I am delighted to have witnessed it for seven seasons now.

"[23] Rich Rosell from DigitallyObsessed.com awarded the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "A lot of characters out of the woodwork come back for the season-ending cliffhanger [...] But that's all window-dressing for a trio of big surprises that wrap up Season 7, in what many consider the show's death knell, or perhaps just a proper ending.

"[24] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode four stars out of five.