Spoilers

“Pusher”

I have always believed that the most dangerous power to have would be some kind of mind power, whether that be mind control or telepathy or telekinesis. This episode of The X-Files did nothing to persuade me otherwise.

“Pusher” is the story of a man named Robert Patrick Modell who could make people do what he wanted them to do by simply talking to them. Not just simple things either, but horrible things such as setting themselves on fire.

This episode was written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and you could see the touches, especially with the extremely tense, final confrontation between Mulder and Scully and Modell in a Russian roulette showdown between them which is easily the standout moment of the show.

David Duchovny was amazing in that final scene with Robert Wisden, who played Modell, and with Gillian Anderson. Duchovny played the anguish Mulder was facing with the chance that he could shoot Scully against his will. And Gillian Anderson matched the intensity with her own fear over her partner’s struggle.

Season three of The X-Files continues to be an excellent compilation of stand alone episodes mixed with mythology episodes.