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"Bullet Points" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the thirty-seventh episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

On a rural highway, Mike is huddled inside a Los Pollos Hermanos truck which is soon forced off the road by two Cartel gunmen. Mike pulls out his pistol and cautiously listens as the gunmen confront and execute the driver. He hunkers down as the gunmen open fire on the truck, riddling it with bullets. Thinking that they've killed anyone inside, they break open the back doors. Mike pops up from behind some boxes and kills both of them. Upon climbing out of the truck, Mike realizes that a bullet has grazed his right ear.

Act I[]

After attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting, Walt and Skyler study card-counting techniques to reinforce their cover story that Walt purchased the car wash using gambling winnings. She hands him a detailed script for their scheduled dinner with Hank, Marie, and Walt Jr. Walt is frustrated that Skyler is portraying him in a bad light even though he has been providing for the family. He reassesses his attitude and apologizes to Skyler for getting her involved in this whole situation.

The Whites visit the Schrader residence and are greeted by Marie and a wheelchair-bound Hank. Hank shows Walt and Walt Jr. a DVD of Gale Boetticher singing karaoke, which is a piece of evidence from a case that Hank has been asked to look at. Although Hank revels in mocking Gale's performance, Walt becomes increasingly uneasy watching the video, being reminded of Gale's murder.

Act II[]

At dinner, Skyler and Walt convince the rest of the family about Walt's purported gambling problem. Walt is silently amazed at Skyler's tears-on-cue performance. Under the guise of using the bathroom, Walt enters Hank's bedroom and finds his case file on the Gale Boetticher investigation. Inside, he is finds photos of Gale's body as well as Gale's notebook. Hearing Hank calling for him, Walt quickly puts the file away.

Returning from the "bathroom," Walt runs into Hank. When Hank offers him a listening ear over his gambling issues, Walt seizes the opportunity and offers his own help in the Gale Boetticher case. The two return to Hank's bedroom and look over the files together. Walt browses the notebook looking for any evidence that can be traced back to himself or Jesse. Hank believes that Gale was "Heisenberg," lamenting that he should have been the one to catch him. He brings Walt's attention to a dedication Gale wrote in the front of the notebook "to W.W.", jokingly suggesting that it is addressed to Walt. Walt holds up his hands and says, "You got me." Sifting through other parts of the notebook, Walt finds where Gale had transcribed the Learned Astronomer poem and reads it to Hank, explaining that it is from Walt Whitman: W.W.

Walt rushes to Jesse's house and asks him if he could have left behind any evidence at Gale's apartment following the murder, eventually concluding that Jesse did not retrieve the ejected bullet casings. Jesse is unwilling to relive the experience, but Walt insists that Jesse try to remember the event step by step. Jesse becomes fed up with Walt's questioning and pays two partygoers to throw him out of the house.

Act III[]

The next day, Walt tells Saul he fears that Hank will connect Gale's murder to Jesse, who in turn will be seen as a risk by Gus. Saul mentions that Walt can pay to have a “disappearer” remove his family from Albuquerque and set them up with new identities, but stresses that this is an option of last resort. Walt contemplates but rejects the idea, and they're stuck at an impasse.

The next morning, before leaving for work, Jesse heads to his bedroom and comes back with a wad of cash to keep the party going. A tweaker sees this and connects the dots: Jesse has stashed money upstairs.

In the superlab, Walt notices that the surveillance camera follows Jesse's every move. His worry over his partner's safety increases.

Jesse returns home, tosses his guests some meth, then takes a female partygoer to his bedroom. There, Jesse notices his bag of money has been stolen but doesn't react; he sits on the bed with her and begins playing a video game.

Act IV[]

The next morning, Mike wakes Jesse and drags him downstairs, where Tyrus is holding the tweaker thief, beaten and blindfolded, along with Jesse's bag of cash. Jesse takes his money and treats Mike dismissively, prompting Mike to threaten him. Mike returns to Los Pollos Hermanos and meets with Gus, explaining that Jesse is becoming increasingly uncautious; a liability who needs to be dealt with.

Later, Walt is forced to handle to cook alone in the superlab and is incensed when he can't reach Jesse by phone. Afterwards he goes to Jesse's house, eventually finding access through a window. Calling again, he discovers Jesse's cell phone on the bedside table. Realizing that he has been taken somewhere, Walt returns to the superlab and growls at the surveillance camera "Where is he?"

Elsewhere, Mike is driving on a remote highway with Jesse in the passenger seat. Mike asks Jesse if he wants to know where they're going, to which he indifferently says no. The two drive off into the desert.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • When Walt skims through Gale's notes at the Schraders' house, some details and Easter eggs can be seen on some of the pages:
    • A Ron Paul 2008 sticker
    • A Far Side comic strip by Gary Larson
    • The name of the song, 滿場飛 (Man Chang Fei), which plays in the Season 3 finale, "Full Measure", when Jesse arrives in Gale's apartment.
  • To create the bullet holes that strike the truck Mike is hiding inside, the special effects department drilled, wired and hand-planted 380 squib explosives onto the truck, including 150 on each side of the vehicle and 80 for the back door. Two sets of the back door were used, one for the view of shots being fired at the exterior of the door and one for the view of the interior.
  • For the scene with Mike waiting inside the refrigeration truck, series creator Vince Gilligan wanted audiences to be able to see his breath so they would know how cold it was. To create that effect, the special effects crew designed a tiny plastic box with holes in it and placed dry ice inside, which Banks kept inside his mouth to create condensation when he exhaled. The idea was based on a similar device film director Frank Capra previously used with his actors in one of his films, which Gilligan read about in Capra's autobiography.
  • The title "Bullet Points" is a possible triple reference, possibly to the Los Pollos Hermanos truck being shot at in the teaser; the bullet points Skyler used in the faux gambling addiction script that she and Walt were reading; and the discussion between Walt and Jesse about shooting Gale.
  • The video game Jesse plays with the girl in his bedroom is Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing for the Xbox 360. This is anachronistic as the game was released on February 23, 2010, about 18 months before the episode aired, but had not been released in 2009 when the episode takes place.
  • The pages that Skyler reads from appear to be highlighted, with the last page having a highlight at the bottom of the page, which she reads from in the next frame.
  • When Walter and Skyler are playing Blackjack at the start of the episode, Walter mentions the "Kelly Criterion" (also known as the Kelly Strategy or Kelly Bet) which is a formula in probability theory that determines the theoretical value of a bet or wager.

Production[]

Credits[]

Co-Starring

  • Ray Campbell as Tyrus
  • Frank Andrade as Tweaker Thief
  • Paul Neis as Support Group Leader
  • Brittany Gustin as Morning After Girl

  • Uncredited

  • Anthony Molinari as Gunman #1
  • Marco Morales as Gunman #2

  • Featured Music[]

    • "Days Like This" by Melani L. Skybell (in the background as the Whites arrive at the Schrader residence)
    • "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling, performed by David Costabile as Gale Boetticher (in the video shown to Walt & Walt Jr. by Hank)
    • "Flyentology (Cassettes Won't Listen Remix)" by El-P (feat. Trent Reznor) (playing at Jesse's house when Walt talks with him about Gale's murder)
    • "Break" by Crown City Rockers (when Jesse wakes up his "guests" in the morning)
    • "The 808 Track" by Bassnectar (feat. Mighty High Coup) (when Jesse returns home from work)
    • "Searching for Jesse" by Dave Porter (when Walt looks for Jesse at his home and during the end credits)

    Memorable Quotes[]

    "Where is the "I slept with my boss" bullet point? I can't seem to find that anywhere."
    ―Walter about the meticoulus script written by Skyler.

    Hank: "Right here at the top it says: "To W.W. My star, my perfect silence." W.W. I mean, who do you figure that is? Woodrow Wilson? Willy Wonka? Walter White?"
    Walter: "You got me."
    ―Hank and Walter joking about the mysterious W.W.

    "Then what else should I not worry about, Saul, hm? Should I not worry that Gus plans to murder me at the first chance he gets? Should I not worry that my drug-addicted partner doesn't seem to care whether he lives or dies? You should see his house. It's like skid row! He has actual hobos living there! Now how long before Gus decides that he's too big of a risk? That guy Mike, that grunting dead-eyed cretin, sucker punching me in the face! I've got Gus wielding a box cutter! I mean...Western Union! Message received! Let me ask you, when did this stop being a business, hm? Why am I the only person capable of behaving in a professional manner?."
    ―Walt complains to Saul Goodman.


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