Breaking Bad: Man Vs. Wild

"Fly" was one of Breaking Bad's stranger hours, part Roadrunner cartoon, part confessional drama. All quality.

  Had it not aired the same night as the Lost finale, I might've been -- horrible pun intended -- buzzing about it all day.

 As it stands, I can say that it's another illustration of how daring this show is, basically slowing down much of the narrative to spend an entire episode on a story that amounts to "Walt tries to kill a fly in his lab."

 Of course, there's a lot more to it than that.

 
 It's a giant lab, and a little fly, but in Walt's mind, it's a contaminant, and must be wiped out. At first, it's very, very funny, playing out like a homage to the type of zany physical comedy Bryan Cranston did on Malcolm in the Middle: Walt bonks his head on the machinery, tries tossing a shoe at the ceiling, breaks the light, gets the show tangled in the fixture, hangs off the catwalk in an attempt to swat the fly, and then crashes to the ground in a fall that could've hospitalized him.
 
 By the time Jesse shows up the next day, Walt's acting like he's in one of the Alien movies, turning up the vents to utilize ear-popping "positive pressure" and fashioning home-made weapons. He's refusing to cook until the fly is eradicated. Soon, he and Jesse are whacking at each other as the fly buzzes in and out of the episode.
 
 Eventually, it stops being funny. Walt knows they need to get to work, but is terrified of turning in an inferior product. "There's no room for error," he insists.

 (This is also the second year in a row where the show has devoted an episode to Walt obsessing over a minor problem that serves as a metaphor for his own internal pollution. Last year saw him rooting out "rot" in his floorboards. This year, it's the fly.)

 Jesse thinks Walt may be losing it, either sampling their product or suffering from a brain tumor. (Nice work by Aaron Paul, telling the story of the possum under the house.)

 Jesse, desperate to get cooking again -- as he points out, meth addicts aren't the pickiest customers --  drugs Walt's coffee. What follows is an amazing monologue by Cranston, as Walt talks about how he wishes he could've died after he made enough money for his family but before Skyler knew the truth about him.

 "Are you saying you wanna die?" Jesse asks.
 
 "I'm saying...I've lived too long," Walt replies.
 
 This leads to a discussion of Jane. Walt's already mentioned his second cell phone, and we start thinking about the trouble that got him into, especially when he was about to go in for surgery. Will a drugged Walt once again lead to a dangerously-honest Walt?
 
 Not this time. He tells Jesse he's sorry about Jane, but Jesse hears a condolence, not a confession. We know he's still hurting from Jane's death (note that he keeps a cigarette with her lipstick on it). What will he do with that pain if he ever hears Walt tell the real story?

 Other thoughts:

•  Some cool camera angles in this episode, including the "Brush Cam" as Jesse cleans the equipment, and the Fly Cam as Jesse and Walt watch the little bastard whirl over their heads.
• As Jesse searched the laundry for something to open the door with -- going from hammer to crowbar to sledgehammer -- did anyone else think of that scene in Pulp Fiction when Bruce Willis combs through the pawnshop looking for weapons?
• One way the plot moved forward this week: Walt's pretty sure Jesse is skimming. I loved all the ways Jesse tried to explain away the shortage at the start of the episode, including "those little drops that form on beer bottles" (i.e. "condensation.")
• Only three episodes left. Wow.

Tom Coombe

 
 
 

Comments

[Peter Haley]

Only 3 left? :(

Then Mad Men will take over though.

My favorite shot was the death of the fly. Brilliant close up, slow-mo shot.

I was on the edge of my seat thinking Walt was going to blurt out that he could have saved Jane.

Hearing Walt lament his situation now does nothing for me in terms of sympathy. Walt, like Don Draper, has gone from hero to villain for me. I went from worshiping them to despising them. That is a credit to the writers and, more importantly, the actors. I'm waiting for both of them to get their come-uppance.

[Tom]

Walt's comeuppance might not come until the very end, if at all. It might be the kind of karmic revenge Vic Mackey got at the end of The Shield. Ideally, it would be nice to see Hank -- who's grown more likable as Walt has become more and more despicable -- who slaps the cuffs on him.