Breaking Bad Episode 42: Bug

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman’s partnership violently collapses after Walt discovers Jesse is meeting with Gus Fring, leading to a brutal fistfight that ends with Jesse forcing Walt out of his house and never to return.

The episode opens with a teaser showing shattered glasses and blood on a shoe, which is revealed to belong to Walt as he arrives to take Hank to a “mineral show” at Los Pollos Hermanos. Walt retrieves a GPS tracker he had placed on Gus’s car, but Hank’s analysis shows Gus only traveled between his home and workplace, appearing innocent despite Hank’s suspicion. Walt spots Tyrus Kitt, a cartel associate, lurking outside Hank’s house and calls the police to force Tyrus to leave.

Skyler White tells Walt that the car wash is performing so well he might be able to quit cooking meth, signaling her push for an exit strategy. Meanwhile, Ted Beneke, Skyler’s former boss, informs her he is being audited for tax fraud; since Skyler was his bookkeeper, she could be implicated. At the audit, Skyler pretends to be ignorant of accounting practices, convincing the investigator not to seek prison time but ordering Ted to pay $600,000 in back taxes and fines. Skyler later retrieves Walt’s cash from the crawl space under their home to help Ted.

Hank tracks the main distribution center for Pollos Hermanos, prompting Mike to oversee Jesse and a team cleaning the “chicken farm” of any drug evidence. During the cleanup, a cartel sniper opens fire, killing one of Gus’s employees and nearly hitting Jesse. Mike risks his life to save Jesse, while Gus walks outside alone into the line of fire, daring the sniper to kill him; the sniper eventually stops, and Gus survives. Mike later explains to Jesse that the cartel needs Gus alive for his distribution network.

Gus invites Jesse to his home for dinner and asks if Jesse can cook alone. Jesse angrily reveals he knows Gus’s scheme to make him feel independent from Walter, stating that if Gus kills Walter, he will have to kill Jesse too. Gus denies this, claiming he has agreed to split territory with the cartel and needs Jesse to go to Mexico to teach them how to cook the blue meth. Jesse, panicked, pleads with Walt for help and explains the situation, but Walt confronts him about failing to kill Gus. Walt reveals he put a GPS tracker on Jesse’s car and knew he was at Gus’s house.

Jesse throws the GPS tracker at Walt’s head, and the two engage in a brutal fight that wrecks Jesse’s living room. Jesse gains the upper hand and tells Walt to leave his house and never return. The episode ends with the disintegration of their relationship, leaving Walt without allies.