"Grilled" is the second episode of the second season of Breaking Bad and the ninth episode altogether.
Summary[]
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Out in the desert, Jesse's car is riddled with bullet holes and bounces wildly on its hydraulic suspension system, shedding glass fragments from its rear window. Spent casings litter the ground. A body lies behind the car, half hidden from view.
Act I[]
After briefing his DEA team about a raid on Tuco's hideout, Hank tells Gomez he's taking personal leave to search for Walt, who has gone missing. At the White residence, Sgt. Tim Roberts questions Skyler about the events leading up to Walt's disappearance. She says that he was agitated about something, but that he didn't explain what it was.
When Skyler asks Hank about the phone call she witnessed Walt ignore, he says it's being investigated but while outside with Tim, tells him that it's likely to have been Walt's second phone. Skyler and Marie distribute "Missing" posters of Walt. Marie tries to use the occasion to try to explain the tiara situation, but Skyler cuts her off.
Meanwhile, in the desert, Tuco disposes of Jesse and Walt's cell phones to prevent being tracked.
Act II[]
Tuco has taken Walt and Jesse to a remote, run-down shack in the desert. Upon the trunk opening, Walt hallucinates that it's an angelic Skyler freeing him. Jesse tries to strike Tuco with a tire iron, but gets his arm smashed by the trunk lid for his attempt. Inside the house, Tuco's wheelchair-bound uncle, referred to as Tio, sits facing the TV. After they ravenously chug from a gallon bottle of water, Tuco orders Walt and Jesse to empty their pockets on the table. Among Walt's belongings is the ricin as well as his wallet, which reveals his true identity to Tuco.
Tuco grabs Walt by the neck and asks if he can trust him. After railing about his suspicions that Gonzo snitched to the DEA, Tuco says he wants to get high. Jesse tries to convince him to sample the ricin, but Tuco balks at its "head cheese" smell. Jesse tries to improvise by describing the high Tuco could achieve, but Tuco rejects it when Jesse says it contains a special ingredient: chili powder. Tuco instead opts for the "blue magic" he previously purchased at the junkyard, claiming he hates chili powder.
One snort causes Tuco to nearly shoot Jesse, but Walt intervenes, insisting that he's needed as a partner. Tuco then announces that has cousins from Mexico who are coming to smuggle him and Walt into Mexico, with Walt being forced to cook meth for them 24/7 in a superlab. As for Jesse, he adds that he should hope there is room in the trunk for him.
Act III[]
At the White residence, Marie tells Skyler that she suspects Walt has a second cell phone which he used it to contact Jesse, who Skyler believes is his pot dealer. Hank thinks she is grasping at straws, but Marie insists Hank should question Jesse.
Hank instead visits Jesse's mother, who tells him the type of car Jesse drives. Hank calls Gomez to find out if Jesse installed a Lojack theft-retrieval car-tracking system, and, if so, to try to get a fix on the vehicle's location.
Back at Tio's shack, Tuco prepares to cook burritos while Gonzo and No-Doze's deaths are covered on the local news. Walt quickly changes the channel, afraid that Tuco will suspect him and Jesse of ratting him out should he learn that Gonzo is dead and not a DEA informant. Jesse suggests Walt sacrifice himself and attack Tuco before he learns of Gonzo's fate. Walt proposes instead that they slip Tuco the ricin in his food. However, although seemingly nearly catatonic, Tio observes Walt lacing Tuco's burrito and repeatedly rings the bell attached to his wheelchair to warn his nephew. Tuco misreads Tio's warnings as a request to trade burritos, but when he gives his uncle the poisoned burrito, Tio pushes the plate to the floor, frustrating Tuco. Shaking, Tio points a finger at Walt.
Act IV[]
After the meal, Tio continues to ring his bell until Tuco realizes that his uncle is trying to warn him about Walt and Jesse. Tuco becomes enraged and drags Jesse outside, holding a gun to his head. Walt admits that he tried to poison him, stating that Tuco is an "insane, degenerate piece of filth" who deserves to die. Tuco, further enraged by Walt's remark, takes his eyes and his assault rifle off of Jesse, allowing him to grab a rock and strike Tuco across the head. During the ensuing struggle, Walt grabs Tuco's rifle, but cannot bring himself to shoot; Jesse then grabs Tuco's pistol and shoots Tuco in the gut. They then kick him into a ditch and leave him to bleed out.
The two rush into Jesse's car, but quickly realize they don't have the keys. Just then, they see a vehicle approaching in the distance and assume that Tuco's cousins are approaching. Realizing that the keys are still in the shack, Walt and Jesse abandon the car and hide nearby, leaving the rifle behind. Meanwhile Tuco, despite his wound, manages to climb out of the ditch and staggers over to the car just as Hank's Jeep Commander pulls up to the shack.
Having tracked Jesse's car to this location, Hank gets out of the Jeep and speaks to Tuco, thinking he's Jesse. When Tuco turns to face him, he realizes with shock that it's Tuco. Both men stare at each other for several tense seconds. The tension is broken when Tuco reaches into the car and grabs the rifle, resulting in a shootout. Tuco and Hank fire at each other until their guns are empty. Hank is quicker to reload and, the moment Tuco stands up, Hank fires a single shot into Tuco's forehead, killing him instantly.
Hank then emerges from cover and advances over to Tuco's body, not knowing that Walt and Jesse are watching him from nearby. When Walt identifies Hank, the two flee on foot unnoticed. Hank's attention is drawn to the sound of Tio's bell ringing repeatedly inside the shack.
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the first appearance of Don Hector Salamanca who is addressed as "Tio," meaning "uncle."
- When Walt and Jesse arrive at Tio's house, he is watching the 1949 Mexican movie El Mago, starring Mexican comedian Cantinflas. Jesse incorrectly identifies it as a telenovela.
- When Tio's ringing his bell seemingly randomly in the middle of Act IV, he is infact using Morse code to sign out SOS repeatedly.
- Several events involving Hector Salamanca in this episode are humorously alluded to in the Better Call Saul episode "Something Stupid".
- Raymond Cruz actually knocked out Aaron Paul and gave him a concussion while filming the scene where Tuco throws Jesse through a door.
- The hydraulics of Jesse's car during the shootout between Tuco and Hank matches a heartbeat – pumping fast to match the adrenaline, then slowly dying down after Tuco is shot.
Production[]
Credits[]
Starring
Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Uncredited
Filming Locations[]
- Tuco's uncle's desert house - Location where Walt and Jesse are held, and of Hank's shootout with Tuco.
- In the "search for Walt" scene, flyers are handed out at these locations. (all located on one corner)
- Taco Sal - 9641 Menaul Blvd NE (Located behind the bus stop)
- Budget TV Repair - 9641 Menaul Blvd NE (Located behind the bus stop)
- El Mirasol - 9649 Menaul Blvd NE (Located behind the bus stop)
- Blue Bus Stop - 9663 Menaul Blvd NE
Featured Music[]
- "Red Moon" by The Walkmen (while Skyler and Marie pass flyers out)
- "Unknown Track #1" by Unknown Artist (while Walt and Jesse are prisoners of Tuco, a Latin guitarist is shown singing on a Spanish-language TV music channel)
Memorable Quotes[]
- Jesse: "So, you plan to, uh, ice Gonzo, like...future tense?"
- Tuco: "What?"
- Walter: "You're saying, Tuco, you're saying Gonzo is currently operating as a police informant as far as you know? I'm very sorry to hear that. That's disappointing."
- Jesse: "Yeah. I would waste him too, yo."
- ―Jesse, Tuco, and Walt discuss Gonzo's disappearance.
- "We tried to poison you because you're an insane, degenerate piece of filth and you deserve to die."
- ―Walt telling to the truth to Tuco about what they were trying to do.