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"Bug" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the forty-second episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

In a flash-forward, a pair of broken glasses are on the floor accompanied by heavy breathing. Blood drips onto the floor and on to a familiar pair of Wallabee shoes. A man's hand struggles to pick up the glasses, and upon retrieving them, he slowly stumbles away.

Act I[]

4x09 - Bug 2

Hank and Walt view the GPS data

Walt drives Hank to Los Pollos Hermanos and notices that he is being followed by Tyrus. Hank senses Walt's anxiety and attempts to lighten the mood. Walt retrieves the GPS tracker from Gus' car but refuses to enter the restaurant this time. Back at the Schrader residence, Hank plugs the tracker into his computer, and the data reveals that Gus only made trips between home and that specific Los Pollos Hermanos, with nearly the same route each time. Hank finds this suspicion, as Gus owns thirteen other locations as well that he would have had to visit, and it furthers his suspicion in Gus. Upon leaving Hank's house, Walt stops by Tyrus' car and calls 9-1-1 to report that there is a suspicious man in the neighborhood staring at one particular house, forcing Tyrus to leave.

Outside the laundry, Walt is mildly taken aback when Jesse says that he has already started the cook. Walt bums a cigarette and sees the ricin still in Jesse's pack. Jesse insists that he still intends to poison Gus, but Walt silently doubts his truthfulness.

That evening, Skyler calls Walt from the car wash and reports that the profits from the business are going well enough that he could quit his "second job." She then tells him to consider making an exit strategy, to which Walt replies that he is working on it.

Act II[]

The next morning, Hank calls Walt and asks for a ride to the Los Pollos Hermanos factory farm, which he believes Gus is using for illegal operations. Walt tells him that he cannot give him a ride as he ate bad Tex-Mex food and convinces him to delay the trip for a day or two; he then calls and warns Mike to warn him that Hank plans to snoop around te farm. At the factory farm, Mike directs Jesse and other operatives to hide all evidence of their distribution.

Meanwhile, at the car wash, Skyler rings up false purchases between actual customers to help account for the extra money Walt is giving her. Ted shows up and informs Skyler that the IRS is auditing his business. As his company's bookkeeper of record, Skyler realizes that a criminal investigation would permit agents to monitor her mail and phone calls, which would lead into an investigation of the car wash.

Gus Fring Crosshairs

Gus standing before the Cartel's sniper

Back at the farm, Jesse muses to Mike about the potential fallout that killing Hank could give, given his connections to both Walt and the DEA. Outside, a sniper suddenly kills one of Gus' men in front of Jesse. Mike tackles Jesse to the ground and shoves him to cover behind a metal shack. Hearing the commotion, Gus walks outside and straight toward the gunfire as bullets pelt the ground around him. He defiantly raises his arms and stands in plain view. The sniper, Gaff, stops shooting and smirks before leaving.

Act III[]

That night, Gus receives a call in his office at his Los Pollos Hermanos office. Mike and Jesse arrive at the superlab to dispose of the shooting victim's body. Walt launches into a diatribe against Gus, whom he assumes ordered the man dead as either punishment or to send another message, until an infuriated Mike orders him to shut up and to just do his job without speaking to him or Jesse about it. Mike then warns Walt against ever calling the police on one of his men again.

Outside the laundry, Jesse asks Mike why Gus did what he did at the farm. Mike explains that he knew the Cartel won't kill him because they need his distribution system. Jesse takes this to mean that he and the rest of Gus' operatives are allowed to be shot, but Mike informs him that he should talk to Gus directly about any further questions.

4x09 - Bug 13

Skyler and Ted Beneke at the IRS building with Agent Picarus

The next day, Ted is being interviewed by Special Agent James Picarus. Ted fumbles his way through his audit until Skyler unexpectedly appears. Dressed in a revealing outfit and feigning stupidity, she explains Ted's unreported income: she didn't record electronic payments because there wasn't a physical check and that she used the Quicken program (an outdated program not designed for big businesses) to handle the accounting. Picarus buys the act and deems it unintentional, and decides to drop the investigation while Ted pays back all the taxes and penalties. Outside, Skyler talks to Ted, reminding him to pay back the amount so that he doesn't go to prison. As the total cost owed is $617,000, which Ted does not have, Skyler suggests selling his BMW or getting a second mortgage on his house, although he replies that he has a lien on the house and has no assets left to sell. She then watches him drives away in a subcompact hatchback, realizing that he's already sold his BMW.

That evening, Jesse visits Gus' house, where he is invited in for dinner. While Gus is cooking, Jesse stands next to a pot of stew with the ricin cigarette in hand but can't bring himself to go through with it. Over dinner, Gus agrees to address Jesse's concerns, but only after he answers if he can cook Walt's formula. Jesse accuses Gus of befriending him under false pretences so that Jesse can take over after Walt is killed; he says that if he kills Walt, he will have to kill him too. Gus calmly responds that is not what he meant, saying that he needs Jesse's help to prevent an all-out war with the Cartel.

Act IV[]

4x09 - Bug 16

Jesse asking for Walter's help

At night, Skyler thinks of Ted's financial situation before getting out of bed and quietly making her way to the crawl space hatch. She then opens it and gazes at the money hidden below. The following day, Walt removes a GPS tracker that he had planted on Jesse's car. He goes to his apartment and plugs it into his computer, learning about his trip to Gus' house. Meanwhile, Jesse leaves a message on Walt's voicemail asking to meet since he has something important to tell him.

Walt drives to Jesse's house, where Jesse in a panic announces that the Cartel has been attacking Gus and that Gus made a deal with them; Gus wants Jesse to travel to Mexico and teach Walt's formula to Cartel chemists. Fearing that he'll fail to explain the chemistry, he begs Walt to coach him or give him note. Walt then asks Jesse if he's seen Gus, which Jesse denies. Walt then asks how he learned about going to Mexico if he hadn't met Gus, and Jesse lies that "Mike and them" passed the knowledge to him. Walt asks Jesse if that means he didn't have dinner at Gus' house the night before, and when Jesse denies it, Walt gets up and tells Jesse to look him in the eye and answer the question again.

Walt then grabs the cigarette pack out of Jesse's pocket and finds the ricin still there. Jesse states that he is still committed to the mission but could not kill Gus because they were eating out of a shared pot during dinner and that he lied to Walt because he knew how Walt would react, to which Walt asks how he could have spent two hours and eighteen minutes at Gus' house without finding a single opportunity to poison him. Jesse asks how Walt knew he spent two hours and eighteen minutes and demands to know if Walt has been following him. Walt then produces the tracker and tosses it to Jesse.

Jesse yells at Walt for planting a tracker in his car despite everything he has done for him, to which Walt retorts that Jesse has done nothing for him but grant him a death sentence from Gus. Jesse then throws the tracker at Walt's head, causing him to bleed. The argument then becomes brutal physical fight, with Jesse knocking off Walt's glasses. Jesse eventually gains the upper hand, pinning Walt to the floor and punching him in the face multiple times. When the fight ends, Jesse asks Walt if he can still stand and walk. When Walt responds that he can, Jesse tells Walt to get out of his house and never come back.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • The title "Bug" refers to the tracking "bug" placed on Gus' car in Hermanos as well as the tracker that Walt placed on Jesse's car.
  • This is the last episode in Breaking Bad to feature the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant. The restaurant would not be seen again by viewers until the Better Call Saul season three episode "Witness".
  • This episode features the longest, and roughest fight between Walt and Jesse.
    • Aaron Paul actually grazed Bryan Cranston on the tip of the nose while filming the fight scene.
    • Vince Gilligan stated he wanted to make their fighting look 'sloppy' by having them putting fingers in each other's mouths, breathing heavily, grabbing objects to desperately use to hit one another, etc.

Production[]

Credits[]

Filming Locations[]

  • Hank has Walter come over to plant a tracking device on Gustavo's vehicle. Twice in this episode Walter visits Hank's house, located at 4901 Cumbre Del Sur Court Northeast
  • Jesse visits Gustavo's chicken farm where a sniper starts shooting. The main building still exists but the chicken hatcheries are gone (2017). 9615 Broadway Blvd Google Satellite view 2017 you can see where the rows of chicken coups used to be.
  • The IRS Audit Office that Beneke and Skyler visit is actually "One Executive Center" an office building located at 8500 Menual Blvd NE.
  • The time lapse street scene (shown between the body in the barrel at the laundromat scene and the IRS audit scene) was filmed at 4400 Central Ave. The neon archway still exists in 2017 but the island with trees has been removed. Firestone automotive can be seen in the background as well as the bank building in the distance. Loyolas is right behind the sign (filming location for the diner meeting scenes.)
  • 2nd Time Lapse scene is located 1 block down, just past the Firestone. In the shot you can see the Zia Motor Lodge (which appears in many shows). The starburst sign can be seen in front of the skyscraper. The sign is still there, the lot empty in 2017.
  • Jesse goes to dinner at Gustavo Fring's house which is located at 1300 Jefferson St NE. The address 1312 over the door is the actual address & the door is still red (2017).

Featured Music[]

  • "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor performed by Dean Norris as Hank Schrader (as Walt drives Hank to Pollos Hermanos)
  • "Hyperactive!" by Thomas Dolby (in the carwash when Ted visits)
  • "Scrambled Eggs" by Nat Adderley (as Gus prepares dinner for Jesse and himself)
  • "Remembering Section 403" by Patrick Prouty (as Jesse and Gus eat)

Memorable Quotes[]

Walter: "Should I even ask?"
Mike: "I wouldn't."
Walter: "So, what? Is this going to be a regular thing now? Meth cooking and corpse disposal? Jesus..."
Mike: "Just grab us a spare barrel, Walter."
Walter: "What was it this time? What did this poor bastard do to piss off Gus? Or did Gus just need to send another message?"
Mike: "Shut your mouth! You shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you. I don't want you talking to me or Jesse. Just get the barrel. And if you ever plan on calling the cops on one of my guys again, you go ahead and get two barrels."
―Walter and Mike after Mike and Jesse brought into the lab the body of a henchman shot by the Cartel.

Skyler: "Oh, I am so sorry I am late! I got lost. Hey, Ted."
Ted: "Sky?"
Skyler: "Whew, this building is so confusing! There are doors everywhere! Hi. You are?"
James: "Special Agent James Picarus."
Skyler: "Ooh, special."
―Skyler playing the 'dumb blonde' at Ted's IRS audit.

Jesse: "You bugged my car?"
Walt: "7:10 to 9:28 p.m. Two hours and 18 minutes, but you had no intentions, did you? Not the slightest intention."
Jesse: "Everything that I have done for you-- You put a bug on my car?!"
Walt: "I'm sorry. After everything you've done for me? What you've done for me?! You've killed me, is what you've done! You've signed my death warrant! And now you want advice? All right, I'll give you advice: Go to Mexico and screw up, like I know you will, and wind up in a barrel somewhere!"
―Walt accuses Jesse of betrayal and tells him to screw up.
Jesse: "Can you walk?"
Walt: "Yeah."
Jesse: "Then get the fuck out of here and never come back."
―Jesse tells Walt to get out from his house after they fought.
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