Jesse and Walt have been through it all. They cooked meth, they’ve held each other through tears, they’ve even slept in the same… RV. Yeah, they had their occasional scuffles, with fists often slamming against one another’s heads, but they’ve made it through thick and thin. Almost like a married couple. However, Walt has undergone drastic changes this season and it was a matter of time before Walt’s paranoia and ego got the best of him. Jesse and Walt, Jalt, Wesse, are no more.
The episode begins with a close-up shot of glasses, probably Walt’s. We see a tiny pool of blood, with more dripping into it… Breaking Bad has been known to pull a few pranks on it’s viewers, but it’s made pretty clear that it must be Walt bleeding, considering we see a pair of glasses and beige Penny Loafers. We see the same shoes on Walt after the opening, confirming the blood came from Walter. It made for some intrigue during the episode, but once you get to a certain point in it, with little time left for the episode, you know it must not be a huge revelation. And honestly, plot-wise it isn’t a huge deal. As far as the characters go, it’s a huge upset that almost makes the show less enticing. But I’ll get to what exactly happens later.
The episode introduced a subplot where Ted Beneke is in desperate need of help. His business is collapsing and he goes to… Surprise! Skyler is the lucky winner! Season three was back when we were still rooting for Walt, and therefore hoping Ted would die in a fiery hole. Now that Walt has basically become a conniving monster, I’m actually kind of sympathetic towards Ted. He made some really stupid mistakes, but he did have innocent individuals with families in mind didn’t he? It was ironic when Skyler decided to help Ted before when he broke the law, when the audience doesn’t forget that she shut out Walt for the same reason. What’s even more ironic is that this time Skyler is almost forced to help Ted, or at least she is pushing herself to because her name is all over tax fraud stuff. The scenes with Skyler pretending to be a clueless bimbo in order to avoid heavy lawful consequences were entertaining. It was kind of a breathe of fresh air to get a new plot-line, especially one that could have potentially big consequences.
It’s a slightly uneven episode, with a particularly great scene when one of Gus’s peeps gets shot by the Cartel in the head with a sniper rifle. After watching the blood splatter all over a truck, Jesse is overcome with anxiety and fear. He stands still while a sniper scope is aimed at his head. Mike tackles him to safety and whips out his gun with the typical bad-assness that we expect from Mike. Gus comes out and just walks right into the line of fire, but he knows the Cartel needs him. The scene begins and ends after commercial break and Gus finally gives in to the Cartel’s demands through a phone call. With Hank inching closer to his giant elephant in the room and the Cartel getting crazy, it’s a smart move.
The episode ends with Jesse inviting Walt over to his house. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jesse panic, it was great to get a taste of the child-like Jesse again. He explains to Walt that he is forced to go to Mexico with Gus and the crew in order to teach the Cartel their pure formula. Jesse, being naive and ignorant systematically, is afraid of screwing up so he comes to Walt for help. However, Walt is not the partner he used to be. The reason why the episode is called “Bug” is because Walt bugged Jesse’s car to see where he has been going. He finds out Jesse has indeed seen Gus. They have a huge fight and Jesse tells Walt to “get the f*ck out.” The bond between them has officially been broken. Jesse has always been able to trust Walter. Walter has always been able to trust Jesse. But the trust has been broken, and that is exactly what kept the partnership together. It’s sad to see it go and a fight doesn’t exactly give it a satisfactory ending, but I guess Breaking Bad was never meant to be a happy-feely show to begin with.