"One Breath" is the eighth episode of the
second season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
television series ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
''. It premiered on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
on . It was written by
Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served a ...
and
James Wong, directed by
R. W. Goodwin, and featured guest appearances by
Melinda McGraw
Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), '' Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and ''Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men' ...
,
Sheila Larken
Sheila Larken (born February 24, 1944) is an American television actress, best known for playing the role of Margaret Scully, the mother of Dana Scully, on ''The X-Files''.
Early life and career
Larken was born in Brooklyn, New York City and ha ...
and
Don S. Davis. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
. "One Breath" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.5, being watched by 9.1 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics.
The show centers on
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
special agents
Fox Mulder
Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterre ...
(
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...
) and
Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Spec ...
(
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...
) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called
X-File
In the fictional universe of the television series '' The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. Th ...
s. In the episode, Scully is found comatose in hospital after her abduction in the earlier episode "
Ascension". Mulder attempts to investigate what has happened to her, but finds himself hindered by a man he had believed to be an ally.
Anderson returned to the series only days after having given birth, missing the previous episode due to her pregnancy. Morgan and Wong attempted to create a version of the earlier episode "
Beyond the Sea", this time centered on Duchovny's character Mulder. The episode also introduced the character of Melissa Scully, an attempt to provide a romantic lead for Mulder which was later dropped.
Plot
Background
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
special agent
Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Spec ...
(
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...
) is currently missing, having disappeared after being kidnapped by a deranged multiple-
abductee in the two-part episodes "
Duane Barry
"Duane Barry" is the fifth episode of the second season and 29th episode overall of the science fiction television series ''The X-Files'', premiering in the United States and Canada on October 14, 1994. The episode was written and directed by exe ...
" and "
Ascension". Her partner
Fox Mulder
Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterre ...
(
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...
) has continued his work without her, but is still investigating her disappearance, believing her to have been abducted by aliens. His investigations into similar abductions in the past have been aided by
The Lone Gunmen
The Lone Gunmen are a trio of fictional characters, Richard "Ringo" Langly, Melvin Frohike and John Fitzgerald Byers, who appeared in recurring roles on the American television series ''The X-Files'', and who starred in the short-lived spin-of ...
, a trio of conspiracy theorists made up of
John Byers (
Bruce Harwood
Bruce Harwood (born April 29, 1963) is a Canadian character actor best known for his role of John Fitzgerald Byers, one of The Lone Gunmen on the television series ''The X-Files''. In addition to ''The X-Files'', Harwood portrayed Byers in th ...
),
Melvin Frohike
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
(
Tom Braidwood
Tom Braidwood (born September 27, 1948) is a Canadian actor and director known for the role of Melvin Frohike, one of the conspiracy theorists known as The Lone Gunmen on the American television series ''The X-Files''. Braidwood also served a ...
) and
Richard Langly
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
(
Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund (born July 29, 1965) is a Canadian actor, known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of The Lone Gunmen on ''The X-Files''. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy, including work with the ...
).
Events
Scully's mother,
Margaret, (
Sheila Larken
Sheila Larken (born February 24, 1944) is an American television actress, best known for playing the role of Margaret Scully, the mother of Dana Scully, on ''The X-Files''.
Early life and career
Larken was born in Brooklyn, New York City and ha ...
) tells Mulder a story about Dana shooting a snake with her brothers as a child and regretting what she did afterwards. She indicates she is ready to let go of Dana, and shows Mulder Scully's gravestone. Mulder, however, refuses to give up.
Scully then turns up mysteriously at a hospital in a coma. An out of control Mulder demands to know how she got there, and is escorted out by security but later calms down and meets with Dr. Daly (
Jay Brazeau
Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...
), who reveals that no one can figure out how she got there or what's wrong with her. He tells Mulder and Mrs. Scully that she has a living will that dictates she be taken off of life support when her condition falls to specific criteria. At Scully's bedside, Mulder meets her older sister Melissa (
Melinda McGraw
Melinda McGraw (born October 25, 1968) is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as ''The Dark Knight'' (2008), '' Wrongfully Accused'' (1998), and ''Skateland'' (2010), and is also known for her television performances on ''Mad Men' ...
). Scully has a vision of sitting in a boat, attached by rope to a dock where Mulder and Melissa stand, and Nurse Owens behind them. Frohike visits Scully and sneaks out her medical chart, which the Lone Gunmen later investigate. Byers finds that Scully's blood contains branched DNA that may have been used for identification but now is inactive and nothing more than a poisonous waste product in her system.
The mysterious Nurse Owens visits Scully at her bedside, trying to reach her in her coma. Later, Mulder visits Scully while another nurse takes her blood. When distracted, a mysterious man steals Scully's blood sample and runs. Mulder chases him down to the parking lot where he is confronted by
X, who demands that he stop pursuing what happened to Scully and let her die. He then executes the man who stole her blood. When Assistant Director
Walter Skinner
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character portrayed by American actor Mitch Pileggi on ''The X-Files'' and its short-lived spin-off ''The Lone Gunmen'', both broadcast on Fox.
In the science fiction-supernatural ...
(
Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi (born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in '' Shocker'', Walter Skinner on ''The X-Files'', Colonel Steven Caldwell on ''Stargate Atlantis'', Ernest Darby in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Harris Ryland in the ...
) calls Mulder to his office regarding the incident, Mulder denies any involvement and claims that
The Smoking Man
The Cigarette Smoking Man (abbreviated CSM or C-Man; sometimes referred to as Cancer Man or the Smoking Man) is a fictional character and one of the primary antagonists of the American science fiction drama television series ''The X-Files''. He s ...
is responsible for what happened to Scully. Mulder demands to know where he is, but Skinner refuses to tell him.
In another vision, Scully lies on a table and is visited by her deceased father. Mulder, sitting with Melissa in the hospital cafeteria, is asked by a woman for change for the cigarette machine. When she says that a pack of Morleys is already there and leaves, Mulder opens it and finds the Smoking Man's address inside. Mulder bursts into the Smoking Man's home and holds him at gunpoint, demanding to know why Scully was taken instead of him. The Smoking Man claims he likes the both of them, which is why she was returned; he reveals that he told Skinner it was Mulder who shot the man in the parking lot, although he didn't believe this to be true, incidentally revealing himself as unaware of who did, namely X. He tells Mulder that he'll never know the truth if he kills him, and Mulder decides not to.
Mulder returns to FBI headquarters and types out a resignation letter that he hands to Skinner. Skinner visits his office as Mulder is packing his things, and relates an
out-of-body experience
An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commonly use ...
he had in Vietnam. Skinner refuses to accept Mulder's resignation and Mulder realizes that he was the one who provided him with the Smoking Man's location. Heading to the parking garage, Mulder is met by X, telling him that he'll have a chance for revenge that night when men, believing him to have information on Scully, will search his apartment at a specific time. Mulder is waiting with his gun at his apartment when Melissa arrives. Although he initially refuses to leave, Melissa is able to convince Mulder to see Scully. While being with Scully, Mulder holds Scully's left hand and talks to her. Returning home to find his apartment trashed, Mulder sits on the floor and cries.
Scully awakens the following day and Mulder is called to the hospital to see her, where she indicates she heard his voice while in her coma and is given her
cross necklace __NOTOC__
A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix.
Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and confirmation. Com ...
. Scully tells him she doesn't remember anything after being kidnapped by Duane Barry. Later, Scully asks one of the nurses if she can see Nurse Owens, as she wants to thank her, but the nurse tells Scully that no nurse named Owens has ever worked at that hospital.
[Lowry, pp. 179–180][Lovece, pp. 126–129]
Production
![GillianAnderson2008-cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/GillianAnderson2008-cropped.jpg)
The episode title, "One Breath" comes from a line from Scully's father when he talks to her during the episode.
The character 'The Thinker', who later appears in person in the episode "
Anasazi
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...
" was named after online X-Files fan 'DuhThinker'.
The episode introduces Melinda McGraw as Scully's sister Melissa. McGraw had previously worked with writers
Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served a ...
and
James Wong, who specifically wrote the part with her in mind.
Thoughts were given to having a romantic interest between Mulder and Melissa, but the concept never came to pass.
[Lovece, p. 130]
Writer Glen Morgan said of the episode, "Duchovny challenged us to do a "
Beyond the Sea" for him. The show had been so dark and bleak, and Jim and I feel that there is a side to the paranormal that's very hopeful. We wanted to do that side of it. I thought it would be a great opportunity for Duchovny, but then the situation came up with Gillian's pregnancy. We needed to get her off her feet anyway."
[Edwards, p. 104] Consequently, Gillian Anderson, who had just given birth to her daughter Piper days before this episode spent the majority of the episode in a hospital bed.
[Lowry, p. 180]
Chris Carter described the opening scene—in which Scully discovers the truth about death, sadness, and sorrow—as "a way he would never imagined an ''X-Files'' episode to begin with", and that the related scene with Scully's tombstone was "a soft but beautiful opening" that "sets up the episode in a frightening way". The image of Scully in the boat was meant to symbolize "being tethered to something very tenuously, and that there was a chance for you to be cut adrift and slip into the unknown". Skinner facing the Smoking Man placed the character as "both an antagonistic and institutional figure" that tries to be both an FBI agent and an ally of Mulder and Scully—his refusal to allow the Smoking Man to smoke in his office "speaks of
kinner'salliances and allegiances to Agent Scully and his hatred of this man he cannot vanquish, he cannot get rid of, but he has to tolerate".
Reception
Ratings
"One Breath" premiered on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
on , and was first broadcast in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
on .
The episode earned a
Nielsen household rating of 9.5 with a 16 share, meaning that roughly 9.5 percent of all television-equipped households, and of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode.
A total of households watched this episode during its original airing.
[Lowry, p. 249]
Reviews
"One Breath" received mostly positive reviews from critics. The Munchkyn Zone reviewer
Sarah Stegall gave the episode a glowing review and rated it 6 sunflower seeds out of 5. Stegall stated the episode "works on several levels" and called it the "best yet".
John Keegan, writing for Critical Myth, gave the episode a favorable review and rated it a 10 out of 10. Keegan stated "this is easily one of the best episodes of the series, if not the best" and concluded it is "truly a masterpiece". Nina Sordi, writing for Den of Geek, ranked the episode as the eighth best in the series' run, calling it "just too unforgettable". Sordi added that "verbal sparring matches between Mulder and Scully's equally feisty sister, Melissa, created an interesting dynamic in the absence of Scully's perspective".
Nick De Semlyen and James White of ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' named it the fifteenth "greatest" episode of the series, considering it a "testament to the X-Files writing staff's ability to turn the temporary loss of one of the stars into a compelling, suspenseful and worthwhile piece of the overall mythology". In a retrospective of the second season in ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', the episode was rated a B. Its "absurd symbolism and the introduction of Scully's dopey New Age sister" were criticized, but it was felt that these elements did not prevent "One Breath" from being a "richly layered installment". It was also felt that the episode featured "arguably Duchovny's best performance".
Reviewer Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' hailed "One Breath" as an essential episode of the show. He felt that there was a "sloppiness to the mythology" and that "the resolution of the whole coma situation is weak". However, the "incredibly moving moments" and highlights such as Mulder attacking the Smoking Man and Skinner's speech about Vietnam turned it into an episode "more about the moments than the big picture".
In 1996,
Chris Carter declared "One Breath" to be one of the series' most popular episodes.
Co-writer James Wong also enjoyed the episode, saying "I really love that show".
Director
R. W. Goodwin said of the episode, "What's so unusual about "One Breath" is that it had very little to do with our usual X-File stuff. It was more about human emotions, drama, relationships".
[Edwards, p. 105]
Awards
"One Breath" earned a nomination for an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
by the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
for Outstanding Cinematography - Series.
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
"One Breath"on TheXFiles.com
*
{{The X-Files episodes, 2
1994 American television episodes
The X-Files (season 2) episodes