Breaking Bad Episode 9: Grilled

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are kidnapped by volatile drug dealer Tuco Salamanca and held prisoner in a remote desert hideout where Tuco cares for his paralyzed, mute uncle, Hector Salamanca, who communicates only by ringing a desk bell. Tuco reveals that the DEA, led by Hank Schrader, has raided his organization and arrested his associates, and he believes his missing associate Gonzo has betrayed him. Tuco plans to wait until sunset for his cousins to arrive, then smuggle Walt and Jesse across the border to Mexico to cook meth for him indefinitely, though he considers Jesse expendable while insisting Walt must go.

Meanwhile, Walt’s family realizes he is missing: Skyler White, sick with worry, distributes flyers with Walt’s photo, while Marie Schrader, believing Jesse is Walt’s marijuana dealer, urges Hank to question him. Hank takes time off the DEA to search for Walt and visits Jesse’s mother, Diane Pinkman, who provides information allowing Hank to track Jesse’s stolen car via its LoJack system.

At the hideout, Walt attempts to poison Tuco by adding ricin to Tuco’s food, but Hector observes the act and knocks the plate off the table. Tuco realizes Walt and Jesse are plotting something, takes them outside, holds a gun to Jesse’s head, and forces Walt to confess to the poisoning. While Tuco is distracted, Jesse overpowers him, hitting Tuco’s head with a rock and shooting him in the abdomen with Tuco’s pistol. When a vehicle approaches in the distance, Walt and Jesse crawl into hiding, assuming it is Tuco’s cousins.

The vehicle is actually Hank, who exits and confronts the injured Tuco; Tuco shoots at Hank, forcing Hank to fatally shoot Tuco in self-defense. Hank begins investigating the scene as Walt and Jesse silently escape into the desert. Inside the house, Hector’s bell dings one final time as the episode ends.