A Polygon writer revisits "One Breath," a season two episode of "The X-Files" from 1994, to argue it contains the show's greatest-ever line of dialogue. When Agent Mulder confronts the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man at gunpoint over the abduction of his partner, Agent Scully, the villain calmly replies, "Don't try and threaten me, Mulder. I've watched presidents die," before lighting another cigarette. The piece credits the show's originality, its lead actors, and especially its writers for making it a landmark 1990s series, and singles out this moment as a defining piece of characterisation.

The episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, early series writers whose sharp dialogue was later praised by "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan, himself an "X-Files" alumnus. The article notes the line's chilling implication that the Smoking Man may have been involved in real historical events, including a later suggestion in the season four episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" that he killed President Kennedy, and argues his cool delivery encapsulates the character's menace and the show's broader conspiracy themes.