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"Crawl Space" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the forty-fourth episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

At a makeshift hospital inside an abandoned warehouse in Mexico, doctors and nurses hastily prepare medical equipment until a phone call prompts them to wheel out a stretcher. A Cadillac sedan races toward them and screeches to a halt. The staff rush an unconscious Gus into the tent, leaving Jesse to tend to a severely injured Mike. In the tent, the staff focus on saving Gus from his self-induced poisoning. Jesse begs for them to help for Mike, but the lead doctor, Barry Goodman, replies that Gus "pays his salary."

Act I[]

4x11 - Crawl Space 3

Walt and Tyrus in the superlab

In the superlab, Walt cooks another batch of meth alone while being closely monitored by Tyrus, who refuses to answer his questions about Jesse and Hank. Later, Walt and Hank sit together in Walt's car, watching the Los Pollos Hermanos factory farm. Hank mentions a big Cartel-related incident in Mexico, which heightens Walt's concern for Jesse. Hank brings up Walt's face, which is still injured after his fight with Jesse, assuming that it is relating to his purported gambling.

Back in Mexico, Mike is asleep after receiving a blood transfusion. The whole scenario was planned out from the beginning, with the doctors methodically prepared with the medical history and correct blood types for Gus, Mike, and Jesse. Dr. Goodman says that Mike will need at least a week of rest before he can travel. Gus tells Jesse he'll send for Mike later, and they set off to leave without him. During the six-mile walk to the Texas border, Gus congratulates Jesse on how he handled the situation and says he has proved he can run the superlab on his own. Jesse insists that he won't cook if Walt is killed.

Act II[]

At the White residence, Skyler receives a voicemail from Ted, saying that he can't take her money. At his house, Ted gives Skyler a check for the full amount she gave him previously, but she insists that he pay the IRS instead. Skyler knows that a potential IRS audit threatens to unravel Walt's criminal activities and her role in them but is unable to tell Ted why he must comply. Ted says the amount she gave him isn't enough to save his life from ruin anyway, which Skyler interprets as a threat to extort her. Distressed after the meeting, Skyler calls Saul for help.

Gus and Jesse visit Hector at the nursing home. Gus gloats about murdering Don Eladio and the other capos in the Cartel, dangling Eladio's necklace in front of Hector's face before dropping it into his pocket. He then points to Jesse as the man that shot his grandson, Joaquin, during their escape. As Hector's eyes fill with tears of rage and sadness, Gus reminds him that he is the only remaining Salamanca left. His revenge for the death of Max almost complete, he asks Hector once again if he'll look him in the eye. Hector steadfastly refuses but can't hide being visibly crushed. Gus walks out triumphant.

640px-4x11 - Crawl Space 8

The collision between the vehicles

Walt sees Tyrus watching the Schrader residence as he picks up Hank, expecting to return to the chicken farm. However, Hank unexpectedly asks Walt to go to the industrial laundry. He has uncovered multiple connections between Gus, the laundry, Los Pollos Hermanos, Madrigal Electromotive and Gale Boetticher, realizing that the laundry is an ideal spot to hide a meth lab. Nervous about Hank's investigation, Walt "accidentally" drives past the laundry's entrance and then deliberately causes a collision by turning into oncoming traffic when executing a U-turn.

Act III[]

At the Schrader residence, a neck-braced Hank tells the family that he has ordered a new car with hand controls, which will allow him to drive unassisted, not requiring Walt to drive on his investigation missions. Walt is concerned at this new development. Skyler receives a call from Saul, who informs her that he will dispatch Huell and Kuby to deal with Ted. The two visit Ted at his home and coerce him into writing a check to the IRS for $617,226.31, telling him they will remain at his house for the entire weekend until the check clears. When Ted suddenly tries to flee, he trips over a rug and crashes headfirst into a kitchen island, breaking his neck.

Walt returns to work inside a cart full of dirty laundry. Although he took four days off due to the accident with Hank, he soon discovers that someone else was cooking in the lab during that time. That evening, Jesse is hanging out at his house with Andrea and Brock when Walt shows up. Walt implores an irate Jesse to not cook on his own, pointing out that he'll be killed if rendered unnecessary. Jesse angrily points out that the last time he came to Walt for help, he wished him dead. When Jesse goes back inside, Tyrus appears and uses a taser to subdue Walt.

Act IV[]

The following day, a bound and hooded Walt is taken to meet with Gus in the desert. Gus tells Walt he is fired, forbidding him from coming near Jesse or the laundry again. Walt deduces that Jesse is preventing Gus from eliminating him, but Gus replies that he will come around. In the meantime, Gus now has no choice but to deal with Hank, warning Walt that he will kill his entire family if he interferes.

Huell and Kuby return to Saul and tell him that the check has been mailed and that Ted's accident was an "act of God" beyond their control. Walt frantically bursts into Saul's office. After Huell and Kuby are whisked out, Walt demands the phone number for the man who can make his family disappear. Saul tells him that he will need to pay extra due to being a high-risk client, paying upwards of $500,000 for the whole family. Walt asks Saul to give him a one-hour head start and warn the DEA that Hank's life is in danger.

640px-4x11 - Crawl Space 15

Walt searches for the money

Walt rushes home and enters the crawl space to retrieve the money, only to discover that a large sum of the cash is missing, with only two bags remaining. A frightened Skyler enters the room and peers down at Walt, who demands to know where the money went. She nervously admits that she gave the money to Ted. Walt lets out a violent scream and begins to cry, but his tears abruptly turn into maniacal laughter. Marie then calls, panicking after hearing from the DEA that Hank is being targeted. Skyler takes the call while Walt remains in the crawl space, staring aimlessly.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • Hank tells Walt that much of his job involves waiting. This is like what Mike told Jesse in "Cornered".
  • The little white car is Walt's after the Pontiac Aztek is damaged. It can be seen at Jesse's house when Walt visits and then it's out in the desert (Tyrus and his thug walk to the other car.)
  • Ted trips over his carpet early in the episode, foreshadowing his later fall caused by the same carpet.
  • Once again, a character is blindfolded and then not killed. This goes back to what Jesse told Mike about the thief in "Bullet Points", as well as what Walt and Jesse did to Saul upon their first meeting ("Better Call Saul"). The hood was apparently meant to scare Walt.
  • Gus's actions towards Walt in this episode contradict his previous statement in "Green Light" about fear not being an effective motivator.
    • In addition, Gus threatens to do the exact same thing to Walt as he has had happened with Hector Salamanca's entire family, although Tuco Salamanca and likely his mom's death had little to no relation with Gus, as mentioned in the beginning of this same episode, thus completing the circle.
  • The vacuum model used as a code for the man who makes people disappear, the "Hoover MaxExtract Pressure Pro Model 60," is a real product.
  • When Walt arrives at Jesse's house, he and Brock are playing the video game, Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox360.
  • The doctor at the start of the episode goes through various things about Jesse Pinkman. Such as his age being 25, his blood type being A negative, he weighs exactly 70 kilos (roughly 154 pounds), is a drinker and a smoker (of both cigarettes and meth) and he mentions that he has no diseases or conditions that he is aware of. He also tops this off by saying that he has an allergy to Erythromycin, which is an antibiotic that is used to treat many different kinds of infections.
  • When Walt and Hank are driving to the industrial laundry, a sign can be seen outside of the car reading: "A-One Collision". - This business shares the A-1 name with the car-wash, and is a real business in Albuquerque, NM.
  • When Gus and Jesse arrive at Casa Tranquila, Hector is watching the climactic scene of The Bridge on the River Kwai. The moment Gus sits in front of Hector, the sound of the railroad bridge detonating in the movie can be heard. This can either symbolize the explosive hatred Hector has for Gus, or the proverbial 'bomb' that Gus is going to drop on Hector by telling him he is the last of the Salamanca name. The film is also fitting for the events of the episode and those that follow, with Jesse's arc of first finding his loyalty shifting to Gus to the point of fighting with Walt before then assisting with Gus' final downfall mirroring that of Nicholson in the film who after working with the Japanese to build the eponymous bridge and then prevent its destruction by his own countrymen has a sudden crisis of loyalties and instead causes the destruction of the bridge.
  • References to other media:
    • Due to his facial cuts and bruises, Hank remarks that Walt showed up looking like "Macho Camacho."
    • Hank calls Walt "Kojak" because he's bald and talking about how the chicken farm is the best place to investigate.
    • Hank calls Walt "Mr. Magoo" for not seeing the oncoming traffic that hit them.
    • Hank describes the web of connections surrounding Gus as being like Three Days of the Condor.
    • Marie describes Hank and Walt's sleuthing as a Hardy Boys routine.
    • Hector is watching the conclusion of The Bridge on the River Kwai.
    • Saul calls his guys "The A-Team".
  • The final shot where Walter stares exasperatedly out of the crawl space bears resemblance to the shot of Jesse on his first heroin trip in "Mandala". Both the shots feature surreal photography with the camera rising impossibly high looking down, conveying the intense feelings both characters were experiencing.
  • The final shot also bears a striking resemblance to the last shot of the whole series in "Felina", with Walter staring straight up into the camera while lying motionless on the ground. This has led many fans to believe that this is the point in the show where the real Walter White 'died' and Heisenberg took over for good.
  • The names that Gustavo Fring mentions whilst teasing Hector Salamanca are: Don Eladio, Don Paco, Cesar, Renaldo, Fortuno, Cisco, Luis, Escalara, and Joaquin.
  • Unlike other Breaking Bad episodes, the transition from the final act to the credits is abrupt.

Production[]

Credits[]

Filming Locations[]

  • The episode opens with Jesse looking over Mike in a makeshift hospital, the end of the scene shows him walking away from the building that has a stepped roof, and a concrete ramp leading up to it. This building is located near 2nd street. Google Satellite View reveals this is the same building.

Featured Music[]

  • "Crawl Space" by Dave Porter (as Walt searches for money in the crawl space)

Memorable Quotes[]

"Paying my debt with illicit gambling winnings, I don’t know. It feels wrong."
―Ted Beneke talking to Skyler.

"All of them, Hector. Don Eladio, Don Paco, Cesar, Renaldo, Artuno, Cisco, and Luis, Escalada... All dead. As is your grandson Joaquin. Do you know who killed Joaquin? Oh, would you like to see? [points on Jesse] This young man. Do you remember him? That young man shot Joaquin to death, while I made my escape. I believe you have met him before. It was just you and Joaquin. He was the only family you had left. Now the Salamanca name dies with you. Will you look at me now? Look at me, Hector. Look at me."
―Gus tormenting Hector and telling him that his entire family is gone.

"If you try to interfere, this becomes a much simpler matter. I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter."
―Gustavo Fring threatening Walter in the desert.


Videos[]

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