Breaking Bad: Season 1, Episode 3 "....And the Bag's in the River" (2008)

If you have noticed, last episode and this episode share interconnected titles. I will say an interesting piece of trivia on the origins of these titles, which is a good way to start off this review. This title is based of the 1957 film, Sweet Smell of Success. One man asks another man if he can deliver. The other’s man response is, “Tonight, before you go to bed. The cat’s in the bag and the bag’s in the river.” I enjoy modern media that pulls from older media. The title of these episodes aroused my curiosity, and it’s nice to get my answer. If you can relate these words to the context of the plot, then you know what the title means.

So does this third episode follow in the footsteps of the first two great episodes. My answer is a big, resounding yes. Actually, I think this improves upon those episodes just a little bit. The episode consists of rather dark, heavy material but there are some instantly memorable deadpan comedic moments. There are two excellent scenes in this episode that are great proof of that. The first instance is when Walter creates a list with the pros and cons of not killing Krazy-8. He rights Judeo-Christian principles as a pro, but as a con he writes the guy will kill him and his entire family. The second instance is when Hank takes Walter Jr to a shady motel to lecture him about how drugs are bad and Walt Jr’s response, “I thought we were going to the Coldstone Creamery.” Just a classic response.

The episode starts off with Walt and Jesse cleaning up human remains after Jesse’s mistake involving hydrochloric acid from the previous episode. Jesse realizes he would rather smoke their product rather than sell the product. Walt then still has to deal with what to do with Krazy-8. He creates a list listing pros and cons on killing him, but that plans fails. Instead he makes him another sandwich, but as he delivers the sandwich he goes unconscious causing him to shatter the plate. When he wakes, he begins a rapport with Krazy-8 as he is the first human Walt tells about his lung cancer. But Krazy-8 is able to get one of the shards from Walt’s broken plate, and that may make Walt’s decision to kill Krazy-8 easier. Meanwhile, Skylar is worried about her husband. She believes marijuana is the cause of Walt’s personality change. She broaches her sister, Marie (played by Betsy Brandt) about marijuana, whom she excuses it as part of a short story she’s writing. Marie, whom is a nurse and is married to Hank, jumps to the conclusion Walter Jr must be on the weed, so she arranges Hank to speak with him. Finally, Hank discovers the location of the meth lab used by Walt and Jesse.

So, this was a very fun episode to watch. This is the first episode where family becomes a big player in Walt’s newly-formed drug business. It will be interesting to see what happens with Hank on Walter’s tail. Now with Walt alienating his wife and now someone who committed murder, this is only the beginning of the end for Walter White. This is an excellent episode, and a prime example why Breaking Bad is called the greatest television series of all-time.

My Grade: A