Chris Carter’s sci-fi television series The X-Files stars David Duchovny as FBI special agent Fox Mulder on the search for his missing sister, Samantha, with the help of fellow agent Dana Katherine Scully (Gillian Anderson), but what happens to Samantha Mulder? At the beginning of the series, Fox is introduced as a conspiracy theorist who has been given the nickname “Spooky Mulder” for his seemingly senseless infatuation with the paranormal. As season 1 progresses, it is revealed that his purpose behind dedicating his life to the unsolved “X Files” cases is to locate his younger sister Samantha.

Mulder distinctly remembers witnessing her alien abduction when they were children. With the help of the paranormal phenomena detailed in the X Files, he believes he may be able to find her. As the series progresses, he continues to fail in his attempts, but, ultimately, her fate is revealed by season 7, episode 11, “Closure”. It was not a satisfying ending, but it gave Mulder the closure he needed to continue on with the X-Files. With clones, medical testing, and kidnapping, Samantha Mulder’s storyline developed into a muddled mess, but paying close attention to detail in one of the best X-Files episodes, what happened to Samantha Mulder can be explained.

Samantha Mulder’s Fate Explained

Mulder next to the ghost of his sister in the X-Files

Despite believing that what happened to Samantha Mulder was that she was abducted by aliens, it is revealed that their father made a deal with aliens to allow them to take her. In 1973, the Syndicate was formed and requested a child from the Mulder family. Initially, their father chose Fox, but the Cigarette Smoking Man intercepted and forced the aliens to take Samantha. When Mulder discovers her diary with the help of a medium, it details the experimentation she was forced to undergo until she was not considered valuable anymore.

At that point, what happened to Samantha Mulder is that she was sent to live at the April Air Force Base in California where the Cigarette Smoking Man continued to conduct various tests on her. By the age of 14, Samantha escaped the facility. After a brief stay in the hospital where she did not reveal any information about herself, Samantha vanished into thin air and was never heard from again. She was consumed in a spiritual intervention by beings referred to as “Walk-ins.” Their purpose is to rescue children who are doomed to live with constant pain and suffering.

Related: X-Files: Mulder's Confusing Family Tree Explained (Who He's Really Related To)

When Samantha’s location was discovered by her captors, the Walk-ins rescued her by turning her into starlight energy and giving her a painless death. Mulder finally accepts that his sister is gone, and they're both free. Throughout The X-Files various beings pose as Samantha to trick special agent Mulder. It is not until “Closure” that her true fate is revealed, which debunks any other theory about what happened to Samantha Mulder. Mulder’s lengthy search for his sister in the first seven seasons of The X-Files was not in vain because, at the end of the day, he found peace with the help of the Walk-ins.

Mulder's Sister Won't Be In The X-Files Reboot (And Neither Will Mulder)

David Duchovny as Fox Mulder in The X-Files looking astonished and a little bedraggled

The X-Files is a series that has arguably stood the test of time, which is why it's unsurprising that the show is getting the reboot treatment. However, the X-Files reboot won't include Scully, nor will Fox Mulder or his sister Samantha be a part of the narrative. It was recently announced that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will be taking the reins as showrunner of the new series, and the filmmaker is set to diversify its cast (via Independent). Duchovny and Anderson could come on to The X-Files reboot in a cameo capacity, but it looks like Coogler will be reworking the entire premise to bring the show into 2023.