Kitsunegari

"Kitsunegari"
The X-Files episode
The body of Nathan Bowman, covered in blue paint. The scene was created by drenching an in-house dummy with the correct shade of paint. One critic referred to the sequence as "striking".
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 8
Directed by	Daniel Sackheim
Written by	Vince Gilligan Tim Minear
Production code	5X08
Original air date	January 4, 1998
Running time	45 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Michael Dobson as US Marshall Kurt Evans as Todd Michelle Hart as Trace Agent Jill Krop as Reporter Richard Leacock as Second Officer Stuart O'Connell as First Officer Ty Olsson as Young Orderly Scott Oughterson as Old Orderly Diana Scarwid as Linda Bowman Collen Winton as Therapist Robert Wisden as Robert Patrick Modell Donna Yamamoto as Female Agent
Episode chronology
← Previous "Emily" Next → "Schizogeny"
List of Season 5 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Kitsunegari" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan and Tim Minear, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. It aired in the United States on January 4, 1998 on the Fox network. "Kitsunegari" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.6, being watched by 19.75 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.

The show centers on FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Mulder and Scully search for the infamous killer Robert "Pusher" Modell (Robert Wisden)—a human with the ability to force his will onto others—after he escapes from prison. The agents soon discover that he is not their only concern; he has a sister, and she is just as capable of mind-control as he is.

"Kitsunegari" serves as a sequel to the third season episode "Pusher". The episode's title means "Fox hunt" in Japanese. Minear's original story for the episode was one where a convicted criminal who happened to be an atheist would have heard the voice of God, commanding him to kill a truly evil man. Series creator Frank Spotnitz suggested that Minear should use fan favorite Robert Modell.

In Lorton, Virginia, Robert Patrick Modell escapes from a prison hospital, after which the guard on duty dazedly says, "He had to go." Later, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) arrive at the prison and learn that Modell had suddenly woken up from his coma, induced by Mulder, six months previously.