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"Shotgun" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad and the thirty-eighth episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

Speeding through the streets of Albuquerque, Walt contacts Saul on his cell phone and instructs him to deliver all of his money to Skyler if he doesn't return within twenty-four hours. He then leaves a message on Skyler's voicemail, telling her he loves her: evidently, Walt is heading into some kind of showdown that he doesn't expect to survive. He places his revolver on the passenger seat of his Aztek.

Act I[]

An armed Walt storms into Los Pollos Hermanos and demands to speak with Gus. Having seen Gus' car parked outside, he doesn't believe the manager when she says that Gus isn't there. Walt tells her that he will wait in the restaurant until Gus is called out. He receives a call from Mike, who tells him that Jesse will be with him for the day; Jesse confirms that he is okay, but doesn't know where Mike is heading. Walt brushes past the manager and bursts into Gus' office, only to find it empty.

In the desert, Mike drives up a long dirt road. Betraying his aloof demeanor, an on-edge Jesse positions his keys between his fingers to use as an improvised weapon. After Mike exits the car, he grabs a shovel from the trunk. Jesse expects a confrontation, but Mike walks past him and starts digging. He pulls a bag of money out of the ground and tosses it in the trunk after reconcealing the hole. Mike tells Jesse that they have six more collections to make today and that he wants to have it done before dark.

Act II[]

Sgt. Tim Roberts visits Hank's house to discuss the Gale Boetticher case. Hank identifies Jesse and Badger as the only people directly tied to the blue meth that he knows of. He admits to having "a history" with Jesse, but doubts that he murdered Gale. Roberts produces a composite sketch of a "person of interest," seen at the murder scene and shows it to Hank. Hank doesn't recognize the accurate likeness of Victor. Thinking Gale was Heisenberg, Hank considers the case closed and asks that Roberts not involve him in it anymore.

Mike makes a pickup at an abandoned warehouse and finds Jesse standing guard when he returns to the car. Jesse says that if he's guard, he needs a gun. Mike dissuades him of the notion that he's a guard or has any chance of getting a gun. As the pickups continue, Jesse becomes increasingly bored and frustrated. Eventually he says to Mike that if he's riding shotgun as "the guy" on this assignment, then he should be told where they are going and why. Mike pulls the car over and angrily tells Jesse that "You are not the guy," continuing, "I had a guy, but now I don't. You are not the guy," Mike insists that he doesn't know why Gus included Jesse in the errand.

In the superlab, Walt struggles to handle the cook by himself. After his watch alarm sounds, he rushes home to sign papers finalizing the loan to buy the car wash. Skyler tells him that if their plan is to succeed, they have to be completely honest with each other. Skyler then plays her voicemail and hears Walt's message from earlier saying that he loves her. The two stare at each other meaningfully for a moment, then rush into the bedroom to make love.

Act III[]

Walt Jr. arrives home and realizes that his parents are together in the bedroom. Skyler frets over her son's reaction and suggests that Walt move back home in order to reinforce their cover story. His watch alarms again, reminding him to return to the superlab.

Later, back at the superlab, Walt drops a barrel of methylamine while struggling with the forklift. Fed up, he screams at the surveillance camera that the cook is a two-man job, refusing to continue working until Jesse returns. Without answering Walt's battery of questions and exclamations, Tyrus soon enters the lab and operates the forklift for Walt.

After dark, Mike makes the final pickup of the evening at another abandoned warehouse. While he's inside, a second vehicle arrives, and Jesse notices one of its occupants approaching Mike's car with a shotgun. Jesse, convinced they are about to be attacked, shifts the car into reverse, forcing the the gunman to dive out of the way, and slams into the other vehicle. The gunman gets into the smashed car and they give chase to Jesse. Later, Jesse catches up with Mike elsewhere walking in town, picks him up, and explains what went down outside the warehouse. Out of respect for his heroism, Mike allows Jesse to smoke a cigarette inside his car.

Act IV[]

The following day, Jesse returns to the superlab. He tells Walt that he had spent the day guarding Mike, bristling when Walt makes light of the notion. Meanwhile, Mike and Gus rendezvous outside Los Pollos Hermanos. It is revealed that the attack at the warehouse was staged by Gus himself as a means of testing Jesse, who reacted exactly as Gus planned, becoming the hero.

That night, Walt, Skyler, and Walt Jr. visit the Schraders for dinner. Discussion soon turns to the Gale Boetticher case; assuming that he was "Heisenberg," Hank states that Gale was a genius. A tipsy Walt, his pride challenged at the idea of someone else taking credit for his work, to Skyler's disbelief, he dismisses Gale's notebook as "simple rote copying ... of someone else's work" and muses that Heisenberg may still be at large.

The following morning, Hank warmly greets Marie and tells her that he's resumed looking into the Boetticher case. Looking through crime scene photos from Gale's apartment, he notices a napkin from Los Pollos Hermanos with some letters and numbers inked at the bottom. He questions why a someone with an "organic, fair-trade, vegan" diet would eat fried chicken.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • The episode title, "Shotgun" is a reference to both Jesse riding shotgun with Mike and to the shotgun the attacker is holding when approaching Jesse.
  • There's a slight reference to the pilot episode of the show in this episode. At the table, Hank says "I've got your wipe-down right here." and grabs his crotch; this is very similar to what Walter said and did to Bogdan as he was leaving the job.
  • During the musical cue ("1977" by Ana Tijoux) Jesse, while bored, mindlessly taps Mike's dashboard and sings: "Fallacies, fallacies, one for you, and two for me" a line from Fallacies by TwaüghtHammër. He previously sang this exact same line in the superlab ("I See You") while mindlessly zipping the zipper of his protective suit up and down, also while bored, also during a musical cue ("Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Prince Fatty feat. Horseman).
  • Mike and Jesse visit several drop sites, including: a deserted windmill, an abandoned warehouse, and a burned down building.
    • The idea of drop sites used by Gus' organization was revisited several times in Better Call Saul, particularly in "Witness", "The Guy For This", and "Namaste".
  • Walt's ineptitude in using the forklift, dropping the chemical barrel and letting it roll, is the mirror of his and Jesse's inability to handle their first drum, which they carried instead of rolling.
  • When sitting with the family and having dinner, Hank Schrader mentions a Greek professional card player, known as Nick Dandolos, commonly known as Nick the Greek.
  • Near the end of the episode, Hank heavily implies that Gale Boetticher is a vegetarian.
  • The hand-written notation on the Los Pollos Hermanos napkin found at Gale's apartment was "MI-MB042266-GER."
  • Saul doesn't physically appear in this episode. Although Walt does speaks to him on the phone, his voice is never heard.
  • This episode marks the third and final time Walter and Skyler have sex in the series.

Errors[]

Continuity[]

BestBurrito2010

When Walter White walks into Los Pollos Hermanos to see Gustavo Fring about the location of Jesse Pinkman, there is a poster that can be seen on the wall near the door showing an award the restaurant received for “ABQ Votes! - Best Burrito 2010 - Thank You!” at minute: 2:25. However, in the lore of Breaking Bad, this episode is estimated to have taken place in 2009 (June 18–20, 2009).

Production[]

ShotgunProductionError

When Mike Ehrmantraut is driving Jesse Pinkman in a car through the desert at the beginning of the episode, you can see a camera and a guy behind it shooting the scene at the bottom right hand corner of the screen (undearneath the wind turbine). This can be seen at minute: 8:57 and indicates that the final result of this scene was meant to be more "zoomed in" during the editing process in order to cut out the cameraman, but this was never corrected before the episode aired.

Production[]

Credits[]

Featured Music[]

  • "Aztek" by Dave Porter (as Walt drives from the superlab to Pollos Hermanos)
  • "1977" by Ana Tijoux (during the montage of the pickups and that of Walt cooking alone)
  • "The 808 Track" by Bassnectar (when Jesse turns on the radio during the pickups montage)
  • "Fallacies" by TwaüghtHammër, performed by Aaron Paul as Jesse (while he waits in the car during the final pickup)
  • "Corrido de Tiburcio Calderon" by Arturo Salas (playing from Garcia's diner as Mike meets up with Jesse after the attack)
  • "Unknown Track #4" by Unknown Artist (playing in Jesse's earphones as Walt arrives at the lab)

Memorable Quotes[]

Mike: "You are not the guy. You're not capable of being the guy. I had a guy, but now I don't. You are not the guy."
Jesse: "Then what the hell am I doing here?"
Mike: "I don't know! It's not my call! I just do what I'm told and now you're gonna do what you're told, which is to sit here, shut up, and stay in the car until we finish our pickups! You got it?"
―Mike and Jesse
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