One Breath

My opinion on "One Breath" has fluctuated over the years, but I seemed to have settled on a position of really liking it, but not thinking it was a truly great episode. Once again, my opinion on the episode has changed. "One Breath" is a wonderful and remarkable character-driven story, where the first two parts to the Scully abduction trilogy (which was interrupted by "3") were action-packed and intense, "One Breath" is somber and quiet for much of its duration, although there's one breathtakingly intense scene with Mr. X. The intensity here comes from a different place than it did with "Duane Barry" and "Ascension". It comes from genuine care for the characters.

My favorite shot in this episode, one which I've always liked even when I didn't enjoy the episode as a whole too much, is Mulder breaking down and crying after visiting Scully and returning home. It's one of the show's most emotional and tender moments, and just beautiful. While the mysticism is one of the reasons I'm not yet sure I personally love the episode, I found it worked really well in this context.

The episode is still a mythology episode and is hence still packed with intrigue. Mulder's meeting with Mr. X, the spectacular scene where he confronts CSM, the presence of the Lone Gunment (awww, Frohike brought Scully flowers!), and further development of Skinner's still fresh character make this something even fans of only the action-packed episodes will enjoy, even if its best moments are those between Mulder and Scully.

Oh, and Duchovny's just brilliant here.

9.5/10

I wish this had been transmitted before 3, this seems to complete a trio of episodes, concluding the events that started in Duane Barry. Whereas 3 almost ignore Dana, this focuses primarily on her.

I enjoyed this episode very much, and for different reasons, I love X files because of the horror, tension, excitement, this was great for different reasons. This is a hightened emotional episode, and does a lot to drive the characters of Mulder and Skinner primarily.

Mulder learns more about those around him, it's a powerful, revealing episode.

Duchovny is tremendous throughout, that scene where he breaks down was so sad.

Excellent, 9/10.

One Breath the Limerick:

Scully returns but asleep

And causes her mother to weep

A man steals her blood

Mulder and X say he's mud

And Mulder's guilt almost leads him to defeat

When I first watched this episode I remember feeling a little betrayed and I hadn't really liked it as an episode since until now. I think a lot of the reason behind this is that I feel like there just weren't enough answers given or even enough new questions asked about the mythology. This is the first episode with Scully back after being in abducted and all that she really does the whole episode is sleep and sit in a boat and stare. This story is really about Agent Mulder. Because he feels responsible for what happened to Agent Scully he tries to suppress his guilt and anger by trying to find the members of the syndicate who are responsible and make them pay so that he won't have to face his own guilt that he is feeling.

I think what has kept me from giving this episode a higher rating in the past is that there really isn't anything much more than character and story development in this episode. No aliens or monsters or paranormal unless you count the two scenes with G. Owens R.N. the guardian angel. However I do think that the story development and dramatic elements were quite well presented and lately have grown to appreciate these elements a lot more.

After rewatching this there are a lot of things that I overlooked that have heightened my opinion of the episode. I love the scenes with Agent Scully's sister Melissa where she calls Mulder by his first name. Interesting how so many of the women in Mulder's lives tended to be as "spooky" as him but he ended up with the only one that wasn't. The confrontation between Mulder and X in the hospital garage was also great. The scene with Skinner telling Mulder about being in the Vietnam war was a wonderfully acted scene on Mitch Pileggi's part and I think this led into using him as a more main character other than occasional guest star. I also have always liked the way that David Duchovny does his crying scenes and the one in this episode was great. I felt that I could understand how he felt because I have had similar break down moments. Finally, I love the confrontation of Mulder and the Cigarette Smoking Man in his apartment. I love how Mulder completely owns him yelling "Shut up! Tonight I'm asking the questions!" and then slaps the cigarette out of his pompous mouth. The look on CSM's face at that moment is priceless. And then right after that CSM is able to completely manipulate Mulder by calling him on his own guilt for what happened to Scully. This just shows how good CSM is at manipulating people into doing what he wants them to do. What a great bad guy!

All in all after viewing this with a more open mind I have realized that even though I didn't like this episode on first view it really does have some wonderful moments that are very important to the mythology. Unfortunately I think the episode is just presented wrong. I have to give this episode an 7 out of 10.

I've been binge-watching X-Files for the first time since it first aired (thank you FreeVee!), and I'm captivated all over again. Scully and Mulder's tease-flirt relationship started in the first episode and never let up. Their chemistry is apparent. And the scene in this episode, with Mulder ready to murder Cancer Man, is top notch.

All in all, the X-Files is iconic, and even better on a re-watch. The cinematography is outstanding, even now. The casting for every character is perfect. This is as far as I've gotten in my binge, and it's cool that I'm not remembering some of the plots (like the vampire episode just before this one). I'm really looking forward to diving into more!

One more thing: Mitch Pileggi is frikken' hot :)

One Breath could be the best myth/arc episode of them all. Mulder's mad scramble to save Scully's life leaves you breathless. With all the scenes of Mulder running around and confronting people, you need some scenes to relax and take a breather. One Breath accomplishes that with the hospital scenes and Scully's other-worldly experience. It makes for an episode that paces itself well, mixing the drama with the action to perfection. The introduction of Melissa, Scully's sister is nice. It's funny to see a sibling so completely opposite of Scully. My favorite scene is with Mulder, X and overcoat man down in the parking garage. The execution of overcoat man using silhouettes instead of a direct camera shot is great cinematography. The confrontation between Mulder and CSM is also awesome. Plus, with the appearance of the Lone Gunmen for some comedy relief, this episode is extremely well-rounded. One Breath is an A+.