One Breath (The X-Files)

"**One Breath**"
"One Breath"
The X-Files episode
	Dana Scully is visited by the spirit of her father, during her near-death experience.
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
	Sheila Larken as Margaret Scully; Melinda McGraw as Melissa Scully; Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner; Steven Williams as X; William B. Davis as The Smoking Man; Don Davis as William Scully; Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers; Dean Haglund as Richard Langly; Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "3"	Next →; "Firewalker"
	The X-Files season 2
	List of episodes

"One Breath" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on November 11, 1994. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, directed by R. W. Goodwin, and featured guest appearances by Melinda McGraw, Sheila Larken and Don S. Davis. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching mythology. "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 special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. 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.