X-Files Returns Tonight: Do You Still Believe?

“Paper Hearts” might be the best written, best acted, and all around best X-Files episode period. In this episode, Mulder believes that a serial killer - not aliens - might be responsible for his sister’s abduction death, is a beautifully rendered piece of television. The episode leaves Mulder unsure of whether his sister was actually this man’s victim, which ultimately turns out not to be true (if it had been the real conclusion to Samantha’s abduction, it would be the series’ greatest arc). “Paper Hearts” guest stars Tom Noonan as traveling salesman/serial killer John Lee Roach, and it’s really Noonan’s ominous performance that elevates “Paper Hearts” as the series’ best. Granted, when this episode aired in 1996, I was already a huge Tom Noonan fan from his work in Manhunter, Robocop 2, and Heat, but nothing could’ve prepared my teenage brain for his John Lee Roach. Straight up terrifying.