Cat's in the Bag...

"Cat's in the Bag..." is the second episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Adam Bernstein, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on January 27, 2008.

Plot

Walter (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) return the RV to Jesse's house, which was previously owned by Jesse's late aunt. When they open the RV to remove the two bodies inside, they notice that one of them is still moving. Emilio (John Koyama) is dead, but Krazy-8 (Maximino Arciniega) is still breathing. The unconscious Krazy-8 is taken into the basement of the house and secured to a pole with a bicycle lock around his neck. Walt suggests that they should use hydrofluoric acid to dissolve Emilio's corpse, so it leaves no evidence behind. Walter and Jesse must dispose of the corpse and kill Krazy-8. They toss a coin to see who will do what. Jesse wins and chooses to dispose of the corpse, so leaving Walter to kill Krazy-8.

Walter instructs Jesse to buy a bin made from polyethylene in which the corpse can be properly dissolved, but Jesse cannot find a bin big enough to accommodate the corpse. Walter is thinking about suffocating Krazy-8, but ends up giving him water, a sandwich and bathroom supplies instead. Jesse returns home and asks how the murder went, and Walter promises to take care of Krazy-8 the next day. Meanwhile, the pregnant Skyler (Anna Gunn) begins to suspect that Walter is doing something in secret. She finds Jesse's address online and questions Walter as to who he is. Walter does not know what to say, so he makes up a lie saying that Jesse sells him marijuana. Skyler then confronts Jesse while he is trying to dispose of Emilio's corpse, warning him that her brother-in-law is a DEA agent. Skyler doesn't notice Emilio's corpse.

Jesse does not find the specific plastic bin Walt instructed him to use, so he decides to dissolve the corpse in his bathtub. However, the ceramic and metal bathtub also gets dissolved by the hydrofluoric acid and the ceiling collapses, followed by Emilio's liquified remains. Walter tells Jesse that hydrofluoric acid will dissolve anything except plastic. Meanwhile, two Native American children play out in the desert and find Walter's gas mask.

Production

The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, and directed by Adam Bernstein; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on January 27, 2008.

Critical reception

The episode was critically acclaimed. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 9.6 out of 10 commenting: "It's strange, but there's a great chemistry between these three characters, like they're puzzle pieces and their jagged edges aren't even close to matching, but they fit somehow."^[1] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "A-", saying: "At the end of the powerhouse premiere last week, I thought: Well, it's all downhill from here... I found it hard to imagine that such an episode could maintain the premiere's edge-of-psychosis tone."^[2]

Title meaning

The episode title is a part of a line from the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success, in which a character reports that he resolved an issue. It means that Walt and Jesse capture Krazy-8 and lock him in the basement.

J.J. Hunsecker: That means you've got a plan. Can you deliver?
Sidney Falco: Tonight, before you go to bed. The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river.

References

External links

• "Cat's in the Bag..." at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Cat's in the Bag..." on IMDb
• "Cat's in the Bag..." at TV.com