Sveta Is Important To The New 'X-Files'

Nine seasons after their original debut, The X-Files will reopen on Sunday, Jan. 24 with the premiere of FOX's six-episode miniseries. After decades of searching, the revival's trailer still promises that the truth is out there — but are we getting closer to finding it? According to the buzz surrounding the series' comeback and FOX's behind-the-scenes feature, one new X-Files character, Sveta, could bring us closer than ever to solving Mulder’s cosmic puzzle pieces.

That's right, Scully and Mulder are back, and fans are chomping at the bit to know what the pair has been up to for more than a decade. Was there romance? If not, was there at least friendship? And, finally, what is bringing them together again? Or, is the better question who is bringing them together again? Apparently, a new character, Sveta, with her many abductions, is the impetus for the new season. She is played by Annet Mahendru (you may know her from The Americans) and her mysterious abductions and knowledge of extraterrestrial life are calling everything we once knew into question.

Before tuning into the premiere of The X-Files revival, here is everything you need to know about the show’s new mystery woman, Sveta.

She’s An Alien Abductee

We know that one new character leads us to another. Mulder’s fellow conspiracy theorist Tad O'Malley (Joel McHale) introduces our favorite FBI agents to Sveta, a woman who claims to have been abducted multiple times — and has the scars to prove it. All of this very classic X-Files and echoes Scully’s journey and abduction that led to similar mysteries.

She Is The Reason Scully & Mulder Are Back

In an interview with IGN, Mahendru reveals that her character Sveta is the reason The X-Files have been reopened.

Well, she's the reason they are back. Because, you know, they were done with everything, and Sveta's convinced them that everything they were doing before was a farce. They've been led around a hamster wheel, basically, on purpose. Because they're very good at what they do, but these people know how to keep them in a box. Mulder, they can't just get rid of him, so they've kept him confined and fed him information and then took it away; it was on their terms. And now he's finding out that there's a whole other purpose behind it all, and another meaning behind his work. So he's back, and Scully too. In the beginning, Scully thinks [about Sveta], ‘It's just another story. We're not doing this,’ and then she realizes, ‘Wait a minute … We have to do this … to save the world!’

Does Mulder Recognize Her?

In a 21-minute series preview, we learn that Sveta has met Mulder before. But this meeting is only hinted at, we have to watch the reboot for answers about the past. Fans may wonder if this has something to do with Mulder’s sister, but, with Sveta's age and previous explanations about Samantha’s disappearance, I’m not sure this is the right avenue to go down. However, apparently everything we once knew about The X-Files universe is in question, so we can't rule anything out.

Mahendru Is A Fan Of The Original Series

Mahendru and many other new X-Files cast members — like McHale, Kumail Nanjiani, and Lauren Ambrose, to name a few — have all shared their excitement to join the prolific series. Mahendru said in her IGN interview that she has been a fan of the series from the beginning. “I watched the show when I was a kid -- it was always on TV. It was the thing. It was always a huge deal," she said. "And then sitting with Scully and Mulder, it was a trip ... And I'm just trying to play it cool the whole time, because all I want to do is like, ‘Oh my God, it's Mulder! Oh my God, it's Scully!’” Once the duo is finally back on our TV screens this Sunday, I'm sure all fans will want to do the same thing.