AIR DATE:  November 11, 1994
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by R.W. Goodwin

	It wasn't until "One Breath" that I realized X-Files was more than
just a tv show that dealt with paranormal happenings and a conspiracy
involving covering up U.F.O. existence.  "One Breath" is when I realized
that X-Files went beyond just being a Sci-Fi series that it really was a
drama about two individuals who care deeply for each other and would do
anything for each other to find the truth.

	There is just so much packed into this episode that it is hard to
begin:  from Scully's mother opening teaser story of Scully's reaction to
killing a snake when she was a kid to Mulder breaking down in his
apartment over his helplessness in getting some kind of justice for
Scully's predictment.  "One Breath" has to be one of the most moving
X-Files episodes ever, no make that one of the most moving tv show
episodes I have ever seen.  Only Star Trek:  The Next Generation episode
"The Inner Light" where Picard finds out what it is like to have a family
and the Homicide episode, "Every Mother's Son" where Bayliss and Pembleton
investigate the shooting of a black teenager in a bowling alley and the
reaction of the the victim and shooter's mothers to it comes close.  These
episodes along with "One Breath" still touch me in ways that other tv
shows haven't been able to even after repeat viewing.

	"One Breath" dealt with Mulder and Scully having to make choices. 
Mulder's was if he wanted to become a player in the conspiracy to find
some justice for Scully's condition, and Scully whether to live or die. 
The episode was mainly about Mulder's choice because if he had chosen to
become a player then Scully most likely would have died, instead he
decided to be near Scully when she needed him the most for his strong
belief in his convictions that he will never become like Mr. X or
Cigaratte Smoking Man, and in Scully's will to live.  Throughout the
episode it was thrown in Mulder's face if he wants truth and justice for
Scully he is going to have to sacrifice everything he believes in.  Mr. X
put it bluntly to Mulder that he was like him once, an idealist who became
corrupted in his search for the truth and he doesn't see Mulder as being
willing to take that extra step to find out the truth.  Mr. X shows Mulder
what it is he has to do and that is to kill people in cold blood to get to
the truth and find justice.  Mr. X kills the man who stole a vial of
Scully's blood to get his point across to Mulder.  Mulder asks Cigaratte
Smoking Man "Who are you to decide what's right?" as he has a gun pointed
to CSM head and CSM's response, "Who are you?".  Meaning who is Mulder
that he is better than anyone else to make a decision on what is right as
he is about ready to kill CSM as a kind of justice for Scully.  CSM knows
what Mulder has to give up, but doesn't think Mulder has it in him to do
what needs to be done.  Mr. X gives him the ultimate choice for justice
and we see how torn Mulder is over this choice of either killing the
people who are responsible for Scully's abduction in "self-defense" or
being near Scully as she nears the end. 

	It almost seems as if I could be talking about the recent
mythology episodes "Redux/Redux II" where Mulder does decide to play their
game in order to find a cure for Scully's cancer.  A lot has happened
between "One Breath" and "Redux/Redux II" to have changed Mulder into
doing certain things, but in "Redux/Redux II" it was still Mulder's
feelings toward Scully that made him not give in to CSM's offer.  "One
Breath" was the first test for Mulder to see how far he would go for
Scully.  Notice it's not for his sister though we have seen him go all out
to find information on his sister, but not in the way he has done for
Scully. 

	As I stated before Scully's choice was life and we get the
terrific scene with Scully's father who finally gets to tell Scully his
feelings towards her.  This has to be one of the most moving speeches I've
ever heard about life, death and how little time we have to spend with
each other.  Scully gets something she has desperately wanted to hear from
her father and with Mulder coming to her side to give his support and
beliefs in her ability to want to survive it gives the final push for her
to want to survive.

	Now a few general comments on "One Breath":

-  I was glad that they remembered that Scully's other brother, "Charlie",
was her younger brother.  The real test will be if the X-Files people
remember this when and if they ever show us this mysterious 2nd brother.

- Yup, we get one of those Mulder gets into porn reference as we see him
on his couch bored and disillusioned rewinding the same porno scene over
and over.  As they panned over to this scene we see that he has been going
over Scully's case file again.  Showing that even though Mrs. Scully had
given up on Scully after 3 months (Oops, make that 4 weeks) he hadn't and
never would. 

- I can't help, but wonder what was going through Gillian Anderson's mind
as she was on the hospital bed with the respirator system in her mouth and
her eyes taped shut.  Of course, I've always wondered what actors are
thinking as they are going through one of those emergency procedures and
have all that stuff put on them.

- Would it really be the F.B.I. who would have the a copy of Scully's
Living Will instead of her lawyer? 

- I don't know if I ever want to be in the intensive care unit of that
hospital since they like to leave their patients uncovered.  Didn't it
seem kind of weird to anyone else that the only time Scully was covered by
blankets was after her recovery?

- I'm sure Mulder's downstairs neighbors appreciate him bouncing the
basketball in the middle of the night.

- I forgot about Langley's jab at the Internet when he asked Mulder to
join them Saturday night on the Internet to nitpick the scientific
inaccuracies of the old NBC series "Earth 2".

- We get the classic "Mulder loses his gun" in this episode when the man
who stole Scully's blood pushes a laundry cart into Mulder.  Why Mulder
didn't cuff him is one of the great mysteries?  If I remember right he
didn't cuff the Japanese guy in "Nisei" either so I guess this means
Mulder doesn't carry handcuffs with him. 

- I've always found it interesting that the only person outside of
Mulder's immediate family who can get away with calling Fox is Mrs.
Scully.  I think it has to be one of those parent things where Mulder
still calls her Mrs. Scully while she gets to call him Fox.

- Here's an idea for Skinner:  if you don't want people smoking in your
office it is usually a good idea not to have ashtrays around for smokers
to use.  It sends the wrong message. 

- I've always found Mulder's comment to Skinner, "What if I knew the
potential consequences, but I never told her." interesting because I find
it hard to believe Scully didn't know the danger she was putting herself
in by continuing to work with Mulder.  Isn't seeing Deep Throat being
killed, being chased by Blue Berets who are shooting at you in Puerto Rico
and having to steal an alien fetus in "The Erlenmeyer Flask" enough to
show her how dangerous it was for her.  I guess this was another way for
Mulder to feel guilty for continuing to rely on her help when if he had
backed away from her none of this would have happened.

- A cigarette machine in a hospital?  Who owns the hospital, RJ Reynolds? 

- We finally get to see the sad life CSM lives when we see his night life
consist of drinking beer and watching tv by himself.  He tells Mulder he
sacrificed having a family because he believes in what he is doing.  Of
course, we still haven't found out exactly what he sacrificed a family for
3 years later.

	In "One Breath" we see the depth of devotion Mulder has for Scully
when he realizes he is about ready to lose himself in his pursuit of
justice for Scully.  "One Breath" is an episode that takes us beyond any
other X-Files episode in which people are faced with decisions that will
affect their life and others around them.  As I stated before this is an
episode that affected me in ways that few episodes ever do.  It touches
upon things few series do in life and death matters. 

Claudia
E-Mail:  Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu

2/01/98

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