In fact, Home has lingered in the cultural consciousness. (The pair had considered bringing the Peacocks back to appear on the second season of Millennium.)
Writers Glen Morgan and James Wong have talked with considerable glee about the panic and consternation that the episode caused at Fox, to the point that the network vetoed any possibility of a sequel. It was famously pulled from syndication after its initial broadcast. To be fair, it is not a surprise that people wanted a sequel to Home. “Home Again” is a common enough phrase, but to have two writers employ it as the second story of two different X-Files revivals? While there was still some lingering ambiguity about whether or not Glen Morgan was writing a sequel to that beloved episode, Joe Harris was explicitly going to bring back the Peacock family to menace Mulder and Scully one more time. It announced that the second story of Season 11 would be called Home Again. Only a few weeks later, the solicit for the second issue of Season 11 arrived. There was immediate speculation that Morgan would structure the episode as a sequel to one of his earlier scripts, allowing a recently reunited Mulder and Scully the opportunity to face off against the incestuous Peacock family that had made such a memorable impression in Home. It was going to be written and directed by veteran X-Files writer Glen Morgan. But “Home Again” is a step above the rest, and may be the best episode in the season so far.In June 2015, it was announced that the second episode of the revival miniseries to enter production would be Home Again. However, I’ve still somehow found myself content with how each episode, despite the lack of aliens, has turned out. It started on such a high note with the alien episode, and ever since it went back to the monster-of-the-week formula in episode two, I have been especially concerned. I have had my doubts about this season so far. Each other attempt to be creepy has come off as campy and cheesy. This season has yet to achieve that feeling until now. There was even a scene or two that felt unnervingly creepy. Duchovny was genuinely funny at times with his sly remarks and quick wit, and the Trash Man monster was gross, brutal, bloody, and dark. It felt honest and it felt real, especially during Scully’s moments of loss. Perhaps it was the surprisingly good acting by both Anderson and Duchovny. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, as I have never been particularly engaged with the William plot. Scully, with tears in her eyes, feels the burden of responsibility for William that she has been ignoring for years, and ends the episode with the statement, “I want to believe… I need to believe that we didn’t treat him like trash.” Scully reflects on the import of her mother’s last words, which were about William. We see Scully and Mulder sitting on an eerie beach, discussing William. But, to be frank, the murder mystery of “Home Again” plays second fiddle to the emotion and drama of Scully dealing with her demons. This is pretty predictable, as it prevents the episode from having to dive too deeply into what the hell the monster actually is.
The Trash Man, somehow, manages to elude capture after each murder. He feigns innocence over the murders, but Scully, now back with Mulder after her mother has passed away, reminds the man that he is responsible for the outcome of his actions, whether voluntary or involuntary. More people get limbs torn off, and the Trash Man is revealed to be some kind of mental projection/creation of a homeless man who is tired of being treated like trash.
and Scully feels more and more responsible for the decision to part ways with her son, and that decision weighs heavily on her conscience. As the sign at the beginning of the episode told us, responsibility is a key theme in this episode. The first and second episodes of this season also dealt with this plot, and it clearly has yet to be resolved. Meanwhile, as Scully visits her dying mother, the episode shifts to Scully’s guilt regarding giving up her child, William, for adoption. It isn’t as crazy as I make it sound, trust me. Mulder discovers that the limb-tearing man, known as the Trash Man, has a penchant for watching over the homeless community, and leaving street art and mysterious Band-Aids at the crime scene.