3X17 - Pusher

Summary

I'll always have a soft spot for this episode. To be honest, it was really a toss of the coin as to whether I would rate this one "good" or "excellent". Maybe it's somewhere in the middle, because on the whole, there's really nothing extraordinary about this hour. In a lot of ways, this was just a typical X-Files exploration of a crazy man with a crazy power and seemingly nothing to lose. On the other hand, Modell is more than just a madman out to destroy as much as he can before he expires. Upon meeting Mulder, his intuition and fondness for mind games tells him that he's met a formidable opponent. As a viewer, it's always interesting to see how one-off characters on the show "admire" and ultimately relate to our favourite G-Man.

Best or Worst Moment

Various moments from this episode have been dissected as evidence of Mulder's and Scully's undying love for one another. (As I'm feeling very "un-shippy" these days, I'll just say that it's a matter of interpretation.) In the end, the best moment for me was the obvious one — the Russian roulette showdown. Tightly directed and convincingly acted, it's one of those classic TXF moments.

Original Rating: * * *