2.08 - One Breath
Written by: Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by: R.W. Goodwin
Aired on: November 11, 1994
Cold Open: 2:32
Visuals: Saccharine and oddly color-corrected to try and achieve a dreamlike quality, but instead it has a kind of washed out VHS look, most likely as a result of being transferred to whatever is on my Blu-ray. Probably 1080P.
That saccharine feeling is more an effect of the writing and Sheila Larken's voiceover performance as Margaret (Mom) Scully, but maybe that's more a "chicken or the egg" scenario.
Glen Morgan, who cowrote this with James Wong, said David Duchovny issue a challenge to the duo, asking for an episode like "Beyond the Sea" (1.13) but for Mulder. Did they succeed? Based on the cold open alone its a real strong no. No they did not.
After Scully's mom's weird storybook voiceover is revealed to be her talking to Mulder, and we briefly glimpse Scully's headstone, we're taken into the episode after that by...seeing Mulder grief-watching some porn.
This is officially Scully's return after her abduction (and Anderson's real-life pregnancy), so it's part 3 of the Duane Barry fiasco. Look...I hate the Duane Barry story. It's not a secret if you've read those two episode breakdowns (2.05 & 2.06) and I think the Scully abduction storyline is one of the worst spots in the show's early seasons. I do think there are some worse spots, but not by much.
One of the big hurdles for this episode is they decided to try and use soft focus for everything: the actual filming, like the dream/limbo sequences (which are many), but also the writing, like the character work (Scully's sister is reduced to being nothing more than the "weirdo" who uses crystals and can sense auras; you know, the opposite of a scientific sister!), and a lot of the dialogue, which feels, well, unfocused.
The Lone Gunmen appear to drop some mentions of Scully's DNA being "branched," which may or may not be utilized in later seasons, I can't remember. But, yes, this storyline does generally have reverberations that are felt all the way to seasons 10 and 11.
Mr. X is the high point here. He's sweaty, crazy, and Steven Williams plays him fantastically while delivering the episode's best lines.
"I used to be you. I was where you are now. But you're not me, Mulder. I don't think you have the heart."
And then...
"You will be able to live with yourself, Mulder...on the day you die."
Hell yeah!
He follows that up by shooting a dude in front of Mulder, once before he says, "You want to see what it takes to find the truth Agent Mulder? You want to know the things I know?" then a second time, an execution in silhouette.
Mulder, Scully's sis, and mom all meet up to decide if Scully will continue on life support or take the big scientific field trip in her metaphorical rowboat. One commercial break later, one Cancer Man appearance, and a funny Mulder interrogation via Skinner that delivers some good performances (almost always, from ol' Mitch Pileggi) and it is now incredibly obvious this is, in fact, nowhere near like a "Beyond the Sea" for Mulder.
Mulder confronts Cancer Man and audiences get a tiiiiiiiny hint at his past when he tells Mulder he's "watched Presidents die," and "If people were to know the things I know, it would all fall apart," which is the entirety of the UFOlogy field and all its conspiracies summed up right there.
"Enough with the harmonic convergence crap," Mulder barks these lines at Scully's sister, then damns the whole episode by cutting it to the bone with some accidental poetical summation: "...you're not saying anything to me."
Yep. The wheels are spinning but there ain't much forward momentum here. Seeing Mulder smile as he hears Scully is awake is nice, but their reunion is boring and emotionally undefined, as soft focused as the rest of the episode.
