Problem Dog

"Problem Dog" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 40th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 28, 2011.

Plot

After Skyler (Anna Gunn) tells Walter (Bryan Cranston) that she's negotiated the return of Walter Jr.'s (RJ Mitte) Dodge Challenger to the dealership, Walter angrily drives the Challenger to a parking lot, burns donuts and crashes into a parking block, then stuffs the ownership papers in the gas tank, lights them afire, and blows up the car. Saul (Bob Odenkirk) covers up the outburst, which costs Walter $52,000. When Walter later drops off more than $250,000 — his biweekly profits — to Skyler, she's stunned by the amount, unsure how she'll launder his annual meth-lab earnings of over $7 million through their car wash. Meanwhile, Hank (Dean Norris) visits Los Pollos Hermanos with Walter Jr. and manages to get Gus' fingerprints on a cup.

Walter convinces Jesse (Aaron Paul) to use his new position as a henchman in the organization to kill Gus (Giancarlo Esposito), and concocts a ricin poison in the lab that Jesse hides in one of his cigarettes. At the sitdown with the cartel, Jesse decides not to add the poison to the coffee that he makes for Gus. Gus is surprised when the cartel only sends one man, who simply delivers a flat ultimatum from the cartel with no room for negotiation, which is rejected by Gus. Jesse contemplates shooting Gus, but again relents. Mike (Jonathan Banks) later tells Jesse that Gus is impressed by his loyalty, but thinks it's "for the wrong guy".

Jesse returns to his twelve-step group; during his turn, he opens up on how he feels about killing Gale (David Costabile), saying that he shot a "problem dog" that otherwise did nothing wrong. Jesse angrily disagrees when the group leader tells him not to judge himself, revealing that he had used the group as potential meth buyers and he should be judged for doing something so wrong. Hank meets with Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) and Merkert (Michael Shamus Wiles), explaining his belief that Gus leads a large meth operation, revealing that Gus' fingerprints on the cup he obtained match fingerprints found in Gale's apartment.

External links

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