“Release” continues the final five episode wrap up of dangling plot threads. This time around, sentimental closure is brought to Doggett as the true murder of his son is revealed. The episode is multilayered, not only concluding the plot thread of Luke’s murder, but explaining how the lingering wound has kept Doggett from pursuing his clear love for Reyes as well as finally doing something interesting with the character of Follmer. It is not all perfect, but it is one of the best episodes of the ninth season.
A particularly adept student of Scully’s at the Academy named Rudolph Hayes appears to have insight into criminals in the same manner as frank Black from Millennium. Has has taken a special interest in the murder of Luke Doggett, claiming the boy speaks to him from beyond the grave. He has been manipulating Doggett and Reyes on their current murder case--oddly not an X-File-- because the killer is the same man who murdered Luke even though it does not appear so as the current suspect is a low level mob enforcer named Regall.
There are two twists. One, Hayes is actually a mental patient who was released from the asylum on furlough and never returned. He had been obsessed with Luke’s murder, so he orchestrated his entry into the FBI Academy in order to help Doggett along. The plan juat is twisted enough that a mentally ill, but otherwise intellectually brilliant person would hatch. Two, Follmer, who once worked organized crime division in New York, took bribes from Regall back in the day so he could get off with minor punishments the time he got arrested. Follmer did not know Regall had murdered Doggett’s son.
Regall was working for the businessman who was killed in the car accident back in “Empedocles.’ He was a pedophile who kidnapped Luke. While he did not get the chance to assault the boy, he feared he could be identified, so he had Regall kill him. Follmer confronts Regall, who denies killing Luke, but reminds Follmer he has video of the Assistant Director taking bribes that will be released to the media idff something happens to him. When Doggett confronts Regall, he lays out the story of what happened to Luke, knowing full well he cannot be prosecuted. He leaves the bar where Doggett found him. It becomes clear as Doggett reaches for his gun he is going to kill Regall in cold blood, but Follmer beats him to it.
We are left to fill in the blanks afterwards. Presumably, Hayes was returned to the asylum and can no longer leave. He had not only committed a fraud to the FBI, but hid a murder victim for Doggett to find. Presumably, his mental illness spares him from being placed on trial, but that is left open. The video of Follmer taking bribes was presumably released. His career at the FBI is surely over. He faces criminal charges more than likely. But at least the character earns some sense of redemption. Not much had been done with him since his introduction. What had been done made him out to be an unlikable creep. At least he ends on a high note, albeit in that cynical manner of The X-Files
It is easy to forget the resolution leaves these plot points up to the imagination, not to mention the impossibility of a mental patient passing the psychiatric evaluation exam necessary to join the FBI, because of the poignant ending of Doggett and his ex-wife (played by Barbara Patrick, Robert’s real wife) spreading Luke’s ashes out to sea. Luke’s story always played very well. In the eighth season, we did not get enough clues about his fate to do much more than sympathize with Doggett that something bad happened. “Empedocles” brought an unusually abrupt ending to the story that still did not give us much time to absorb all the emotions involved. “Release” finally deals with the story properly. In some ways, it feels like an apology for “Empedocles” not doing the job. If so, apology accepted.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
“Release” continues the final five episode wrap up of dangling plot threads. This time around, sentimental closure is brought to Doggett as the true murder of his son is revealed. The episode is multilayered, not only concluding the plot thread of Luke’s murder, but explaining how the lingering wound has kept Doggett from pursuing his clear love for Reyes as well as finally doing something interesting with the character of Follmer. It is not all perfect, but it is one of the best episodes of the ninth season. 
