The X-Files, S1E4 - "Conduit"

"Conduit" opens with Division Chief Blevins informing Scully of Mulder's request for funds to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl named Ruby Morris in Sioux City, Iowa. Blevins suggests that Mulder is drawing a parallel to the disappearance of his own sister and seeks to deny the request; Scully convinces him to let her speak to Mulder first. Mulder reveals that the location of the disappearance, Lake Okobogee, was the site of multiple UFO sightings in 1967, including by Ruby Morris's mother, Darlene. The agents travel to Sioux City and meet with Darlene Morris, who believes that her daughter was taken by aliens. Mulder discovers that Darlene's son, Kevin, has begun writing out sequences of binary code; he claims that they are messages he is receiving from the television. Mulder sends a copy of the binary code back to Washington for analysis.

Local law enforcement prove not to be overly concerned with the disappearance of Ruby Morris, believing that she ran away due to her history of delinquency. The agents then encounter a young woman named Tessa, who tells them that Ruby was pregnant by a boyfriend named Greg Randall, a local bartender. The agents look for Randall at his workplace, only to be informed that he has been missing. That night, Mulder and Scully are confronted at their hotel by NSA agents, who inform them that the binary sequence Kevin wrote was a transmission from a defense satellite, and that Kevin is now considered a potential national security risk. The NSA raid the Morris home and take Darlene and Kevin into custody; before leaving the house, Mulder notices that the roof of Darlene's camper, where she was sleeping the night of the abduction, is burned. Upon analysis, Kevin's binary writings prove to translate into a variety of data fragments, including images, text, and audio samples. Darlene and Kevin are released, but Darlene is no longer trusting of Mulder and Scully. Mulder posits that Kevin's proximity to Ruby when she was abducted turned him into a conduit for data, causing him to receive information from the television. Mulder and Scully travel to Lake Okobogee to investigate, noticing burned trees and traces of sand fused into glass, evidence of extreme heat. In the nearby woods, the agents also discover a grave, which proves to contain the body of Greg Randall. Randall's wallet contains a note which the agents establish was written by Tessa.

Tessa is brought in for questioning. The agents determine that she, not Ruby, was pregnant by Greg, and Mulder accuses her of killing Greg because he was cheating on her with Ruby. Tessa confesses to killing Greg, but not Ruby. Scully remains convinced that Ruby is dead, but Mulder believes that she is alive but abducted. The agents return to the Morris house, only the find Darlene and Kevin gone, with Kevin leaving behind a giant picture of Ruby formed by binary code. The agents return to Lake Okobogee and find Darlene in the woods. Mulder narrowly rescues Kevin from being run over by a rally of bikers, and Scully and Darlene discover Ruby nearby, alive but in a coma.

Ruby awakens at the hospital, and is discovered to possess signs of prolonged weightlessness. Mulder and Scully attempt to talk to her about her experience, but they are turned away by Darlene. Mulder argues that Ruby needs to be allowed to reveal the truth; Darlene counters that telling the truth about her own UFO experience has only ever brought her ridicule. The agents return to Washington, and the episode ends with Scully listening to the tapes of Mulder's hypnotherapy regarding his sister's disappearance while Mulder breaks down in a church. The tape concludes with Mulder remembering a voice telling him that his sister will come to no harm; the therapist asks if he believes the voice, to which he simply replies, "I want to believe."

In terms of its plot, "Conduit" is heavy on red herrings: Tessa and Greg prove to have no connection to Ruby's disappearance, and even Kevin's newfound ability to receive data fragments from the television has no real impact on the ultimate resolution of the story, apart from giving Mulder and Scully the clue to go to Lake Okobogee at the climax. The real purpose of the episode is to explore Mulder's character, delving into the abduction of his sister and showing how it causes him to sympathize with Darlene over her daughter's disappearance. The ending also addresses the potential consequences of "the Truth," and how Darlene's desire to protect her daughter contrasts and conflicts with the way Mulder has sought the truth without regard for his own reputation. Finally, we are given Mulder's firsthand account of his sister's abduction, the event that has shaped his entire background as a character, as well as some context for those iconic words, "I want to believe." Mulder does not just desire for aliens to be real; he believes out of hope for his sister, and that his entire life's work might someday have real consequence.