Why The Best 'Breaking Bad' Episode Is The Most Hated | The Art Of Film

the most impressive feed achieved by breaking path in my opinion isn't the cinematography the writing or even the performances but its consistency from the very first shot to its last it's a show that doesn't waste a single moment each episode serving a vital role in the story and it's this consistency that is allowed for some of the most memorable episodes in television but it's also the reason why my personal favorite and perhaps one of the show's greatest episodes doesn't get the spotlight it deserves and it's not an episode with a major character death or a bombastic action sequence but an episode about nothing the episode that I'm referring to is the tenth episode of season three a fly it's also perhaps the series most polarizing episode some hailing it as one of the show's greatest while heavily despised by others the plot is simple Walt discovers that a fly has entered his lap and becomes obsessed to get rid of it while his partner Jesse tries to argue against this unreasonable obsession that's it there are no subplots or big action sequences what we see is just these two characters in a lab trying to catch a fly consider the fact that the episode dropped right in the middle of a season progressing at an otherwise breakneck speed and it's easy to see why many weren't so happy to be a part of it I think has to do with what the episode is what's known in the industry as a bottle episode from the inner mind to the first coin by the creator of the 60s TV series the Outer Limits bottle episodes refer to episodes that could be produced cheaply by restricting the number of actors and locations although it's been around for some time the series that really broke new ground was none other than Seinfeld in the episode Chinese restaurant where the entire plot revolves around Jerry and his friends just waiting for a table at a restaurant [Music] NBC initially refused the episode arguing that there was no real story to keep viewers engaged it was only after Larry David threatened to quit the show that the episode was approved and went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed episodes in the entire series I was even used as a joke in the later season you gotta have a story who says you gotta have a story number one we were waiting for them for that table and that Chinese restaurant that time since then bottle episodes have popped up everywhere sometimes as a creative tool and in the case of the fly due to the budget nearing the end of the season the series was hopelessly over-budget and showrunner Vince Gilligan and the writers were forced to come up with an episode set in one location to save the cost of moving their production trucks hence the story of two characters trying to catch a fly what's ironic is that the criticism against the episode is justified the episode is really about nothing it doesn't move the pot forward in any way and despite everything that happens nothing has ever changed or resolved by the end to understand the purpose of the episode I think it's important to understand what influenced it from Percy Bysshe Shelley whose sonnets inspired the episode Ozymandias to what women whose work served as a major plot device Breaking Bad is chock-full of both cultural and literary references places full of that I douchebags the hours suck and nobody knows what's going on sounds kind of Kafka asked totally Kafkaesque while fly borrows from several different materials the most prominent is Waiting for Godot by legendary playwright Samuel Beckett a play about two men Vladimir and Estragon waiting for an individual named Godot but we never find out who Godot is and spoiler alert Godot never arrives instead the play is really about the various philosophical contemplations the two share over the absurdity of their situation fly in Waiting for Godot share this similar absurdist tone like Godot the story is never about the fly but the two men Walter and Jesse trying to find meaning in it and similar to how the identity of Godot has been the subject of debate for many years the fly is also capable of many different interpretations from waltz guilt for the death of Jesse's girlfriend to the loss of control over his own operation from Gus Frings influence what Vince Gilligan and the writers receive in return for the lack of bombastic action and an almost glacial pacing is a moment to explore these two characters something as simple as how the two approach a problem Walt uses what he knows his knowledge in science and logic to solve a problem what positive positive what pressure I've turned the ventilation up to keep the outside out and when it doesn't work he begins to seek out needlessly dangerous in riskier methods while Jesse acts almost instinctively without putting much thought reluctantly helping Walt without fully understanding the danger there stark difference in character resulting in a constant state of conflict we will see repeat again and again in fact the entire plot is designed to show their toxic relationship they're too unable to accomplish a simple common goal without hurting one another and the issue is only finally resolved when jesse is left to work on his own while unable to see the end of the chain of events he himself has caused all of which will come back to haunt the two throughout the rest of the series just tell me you don't give a [ __ ] about me and it's either this it's either this or you'll kill me to say why you killed Mike and their dialogue in the episode reveals a lot about how the two perceive one another we get not one but two of what I think are some of the greatest monologues in the series one from Jessie about his aunt who hallucinates an opossum in her house from the cancer that has metastasized to her brain it was good that was when we decided to take it to the doctor just in yellow was oh I thought of some treatment meds she wasn't stressing all the time [Music] it's a lot better after that she's a lot happier Jesse's story is one inspired by his concern for Walt being the only one in the room to see the fly as a manifestation of something else while Walter's monologue is that of something entirely different his regrets what you say you want to die [Music] I'm saying I've lived too long it's brilliant writing that shows what the two characters desire from one another for Jessie it is a sense of connection and for Walt a chance at redemption the writers of Breaking Bad accomplished all of this with just a fly in fact you can actually see the entire plot of the series in just this one episode Walt's personal obsession getting Jesse reluctantly involved leading to a series of dangerous decisions and throughout we see Jesse's many emotions towards ranging from frustration anger and eventually resentment Walt eventually realizes how much he has heard jesse and attempts to come to terms with it but in the end nothing is resolved everyone more damaged than when they began fly is an episode that in a lot of ways embodies the genius of Breaking Bad its ability to take a simple concept to discuss something much greater than itself an example that shows that great television can be achieved without the need for big character moments or bombastic action sequences but a focus on the story it tries to tell and an understanding that sometimes what seems like nothing could in fact be about everything you

Channel: Insider

Views: 2,341,213

Keywords: Insider, Breaking Bad, AMC, Bryan Cranston, Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Aaron Paul, breaking bad fly, fly, bottle episode, TV, entertainment

Id: 0qGZuDYSa-A

Length: 9min 54sec (594 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 11 2019