Bug (Breaking Bad)

"Bug" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 42nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on September 11, 2011.

Plot

Hank (Dean Norris) retrieves the GPS tracker that he planted on Gus’ (Giancarlo Esposito) car and cannot believe it did not pick up anything suspicious, so he decides to investigate the distribution center that Gus owns, which hides meth facilities. Walter (Bryan Cranston) warns Mike (Jonathan Banks) of this but asks him not to hurt Hank. Walter later meets with Jesse (Aaron Paul) and expresses dissatisfaction that he has not yet killed Gus.

Skyler (Anna Gunn) tells Walter the car wash is doing so well that he may be able to quit cooking meth. Ted (Christopher Cousins), Skyler’s old boss with whom she had an affair to spite Walter, arrives at the car wash and tells her that he is being audited for tax fraud. Since she was aware of the ongoing fraud and even signed off on the forms, Skyler could also be implicated. She attends Ted’s audit and acts like an airhead who is completely ignorant of accounting practices. Now believing the fraud was simply massive ignorance, the special agent drops any potential prison time for Ted, but he is still ordered to pay back taxes and fined a large amount of money that he cannot afford. Meanwhile, Walter sees Tyrus outside of Hank’s house and calls the police on him.

A Cartel sniper opens fire on the distribution centre, killing a henchman until Gus himself walks out and the sniper leaves. Mike explains to Jesse that the Cartel needs Gus alive for his distribution network. They bring the dead henchman to the lab to dissolve his body in acid and Mike threatens Walter with death if he ever calls the police on his own people again. At Gus’ house, Gus tells Jesse that he has given in to the Cartel’s demands to split territory and that Jesse will be sent down to Mexico to teach them how to cook the blue meth. Jesse has an opportunity to poison the stew that Gus makes but decides not to risk it.

An overwhelmed Jesse meets with Walter and begs him for help about cooking meth for the Cartel, but lies about seeing Gus. Walter ignores Jesse's pleas and reveals that he put the GPS tracker on Jesse’s car and knew that he was in Gus' house. He begins to lambast Jesse for failing to kill Gus, but a furious Jesse, feeling betrayed, throws the GPS tracker at Walter’s head, which results in a grueling, destructive fight that ends with Walter being beaten bloody. Jesse tells Walter to leave his house and never return.

External links

• "Bug" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Bug" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Bug" at TV.com