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 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.

Morgan and Wong attempted to create a version of the earlier episode "Beyond the Sea", this time centered on Duchovny's character Mulder.

FBI special agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is currently missing, having disappeared after being kidnapped by a deranged multiple-abductee in the two-part episodes "Duane Barry" and "Ascension".

His investigations into similar abductions in the past have been aided by The Lone Gunmen, a trio of conspiracy theorists made up of John Byers (Bruce Harwood), Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood) and Richard Langly (Dean Haglund).

Scully's mother, Margaret (Sheila Larken), tells Mulder a story about Dana shooting a snake with her brothers as a child and regretting what she did.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

McGraw had previously worked with writers Glen Morgan and James Wong, who specifically wrote the part with her in mind.

Nina Sordi, writing for Den of Geek, ranked the episode as the eighth best in the series' run, calling it "just too unforgettable".

[9] Nick De Semlyen and James White of Empire named it the fifteenth "greatest" episode of the series, considering it a "testament to the X-Files writing staff's ability to turn the temporary loss of one of the stars into a compelling, suspenseful and worthwhile piece of the overall mythology".

Its "absurd symbolism and the introduction of Scully's dopey New Age sister" were criticized, but it was felt that these elements did not prevent "One Breath" from being a "richly layered installment".

[13] "One Breath" earned a nomination for an Emmy Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Outstanding Cinematography - Series.