<sod>The episode is the first in the series to mention the concept of walk-ins, a plot device that would later be used [[The X-Files (season 7)|five seasons later]], when [[Closure (The X-Files)|the truth about Samantha's abduction]] was finally revealed to Mulder.<ref>Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 58</ref> It should also be noted that the adherents of the Red Museum believed that the year 2012 will bring about the dawning of The New Age.<ref name="red">{{Cite episode | title = Red Museum | accessdate = 15 January 2011 | series = The X-Files | serieslink = The X-Files | network = Fox | airdate = 9 December 1994 | season =3 | number = 10}}</ref> In the series' finale, "[[The Truth (The X-Files)|The Truth]]," it is revealed to Mulder by the [[Smoking Man|Cigarette Smoking Man]] that the [[Colonists (The X-Files)|alien colonists]] plan to colonize the earth on [[2012 phenomenon|December 22nd, 2012]].<ref name="truth">{{Cite episode | title = The Truth | accessdate = 15 January 2011 | series = The X-Files | serieslink = The X-Files | network = Fox | airdate = 19 May 2002 | season =9 | number = 19 & 20}}</ref> Despite the developments in the show's mythological plot arc, this 2012 reference is the first explicit reference to the date of the planned colonization, a date that is only finally confirmed in the series finale—both to Mulder and the audience—seven seasons later."<ref name="red"/><ref name="truth"/><eod>
<sod>The episode is the first in the series to mention the concept of walk-ins, a plot device that would later be used [[The X-Files (season 7)|five seasons later]], when [[Closure (The X-Files)|the truth about Samantha's abduction]] was finally revealed to Mulder.<ref>Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 58</ref> It should also be noted that the adherents of the Red Museum believed that the year 2012 will bring about the dawning of The New Age.<ref name="red">{{Cite episode | title = Red Museum | series = The X-Files | serieslink = The X-Files | network = Fox | airdate = 9 December 1994 | season =3 | number = 10}}</ref> In the series' finale, "[[The Truth (The X-Files)|The Truth]]," it is revealed to Mulder by the [[Smoking Man|Cigarette Smoking Man]] that the [[Colonists (The X-Files)|alien colonists]] plan to colonize the earth on [[2012 phenomenon|December 22nd, 2012]].<ref name="truth">{{Cite episode | title = The Truth | series = The X-Files | serieslink = The X-Files | network = Fox | airdate = 19 May 2002 | season =9 | number = 19 & 20}}</ref> Despite the developments in the show's mythological plot arc, this 2012 reference is the first explicit reference to the date of the planned colonization, a date that is only finally confirmed in the series finale—both to Mulder and the audience—seven seasons later."<ref name="red"/><ref name="truth"/><eod>