One Breath (The X-Files)
"One Breath" | |
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The X-Files episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 8 |
Directed by | R. W. Goodwin |
Written by | Glen Morgan James Wong |
Production code | 2X08 |
Original air date | November 11, 1994 |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"One Breath" is the eighth episode of the
The show centers on
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
Events
Scully's mother,
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 calms down and meets with Dr. Daly (Jay Brazeau), who reveals that no one can figure out how she got there or what's wrong with her. At Scully's bedside, Mulder meets her older sister Melissa (Melinda McGraw).
Scully has a vision of sitting in a boat, attached by rope to a dock where Mulder and Melissa stand with the mysterious Nurse Owens behind them. Frohike visits Scully and sneaks out her medical chart, which the Lone Gunmen investigate. Byers finds that Scully's blood contains branched DNA that may have been used for identification but now is inactive and a poisonous waste product in her system.
Later, Mulder visits Scully while another nurse takes her blood. A mysterious man steals Scully's blood sample and runs. Mulder chases him to the parking lot where he is confronted by
In another vision, Scully lies on a table and is visited by her deceased father. Mulder, 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 both of them, which is why she was returned; he reveals that he told Skinner that Mulder shot the man in the parking lot, although he didn't believe this to be true, incidentally revealing himself as being 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 a resignation letter that he hands to Skinner. Skinner visits his office as Mulder is packing and relates an out-of-body experience he had in Vietnam. He 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. Mulder is waiting with his gun at his apartment when Melissa arrives. Although he initially refuses to leave, Melissa convinces Mulder to see Scully. While with Scully, Mulder holds her hand and talks to her. Returning home to find his apartment trashed, he sits on the floor and cries.
Scully awakens the following day, and Mulder is called to the hospital to see her, where she indicates that she heard his voice while in her coma, and he returns her cross necklace. 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, but the nurse tells Scully that no nurse named Owens has ever worked at that hospital.[1][2]
Production
The episode title, "One Breath" comes from a line from Scully's father when he talks to her during the episode.
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."[4] 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.[5]
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 [Skinner's] alliances and allegiances to Agent Scully and his hatred of this man he cannot vanquish, he cannot get rid of, but he has to tolerate".[6]
Reception
Ratings
"One Breath" premiered on the
Reviews
"One Breath" received mostly positive reviews from critics. The Munchkyn Zone reviewer
In 1996, Chris Carter declared "One Breath" to be one of the series' most popular episodes.[4] Co-writer James Wong also enjoyed the episode, saying "I really love that show".[4] 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".[15]
Awards
"One Breath" earned a nomination for an
Footnotes
- ^ Lowry, pp. 179–180
- ^ Lovece, pp. 126–129
- ^ a b c d e Lovece, p. 130
- ^ a b c Edwards, p. 104
- ^ Lowry, p. 180
- Fox.
- ^ Nutter, David; et al. (2000). The X-Files: The Complete Second Season (booklet). Beverly Hills, California: 20th Century Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b Lowry, p. 249
- ^ Stegall, Sarah (1994). "Holding My Breath". The Munchkyn Zone. Archived from the original on May 9, 2006.
- ^ Keegan, John. "One Breath". Critical Myth. Archived from the original on December 23, 2004.
- ^ Sordi, Nina (September 22, 2009). "Top 10 X-Files episodes". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009.
- ^ Semlyen, Nick De; White, James (October 2013). "The 20 Greatest X-Files Episodes". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on April 10, 2014.
- ^ "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 2 | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 1996. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ Handlen, Zack (August 29, 2008). "3/One Breath/Firewalker". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
- ^ Edwards, p. 105
- Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the originalon October 30, 2013.
Bibliography
- Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-21808-1.
- Lovece, Frank (1996). The X-Files Declassified. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-1745-X.
- Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-105330-9.
External links
- "One Breath" on TheXFiles.com
- "One Breath" at IMDb