3.10 Fly

Summary and Spoilers

Walt seems down, depressed, struggling with the grind of work, because for what purpose is he doing all this? His drive to provide for his family is not appreciated. In times of stress, it seems that his drive for perfection dominates his thoughts. It manifests itself here as a lone fly that invades the lab. Most people would push that insect out of their mind, but for Walt, it is a deal breaker. He will not cook while that ‘contaminant’ is in the house.

Walt discovers and attacks the fly after Jesse leaves for the day. While swatting it, he bashes equipment and bangs his head, then goes even further and falls from the second floor. His fall is only partially minimized by a storage tank.

When Jesse arrives the next day, he is made to understand how important it is that they dispose of the bug. Jesse wonders how long Walt has gone without sleep, and even accuses him of sampling some of their product. Together, they unsuccessfully hunt down the bug. Their inability to work together is highlighted. They hit each other with Walt’s hand-made swatter. When Jesse does not dedicate every moment to getting the fly, Walt locks Jesse out of the lab and vows to do it himself. Jesse retaliates by cutting the electricity. Eventually, Jesse is allowed back in. He returns from no-pest strips and various bug sprays. These are either no good, because they are also contaminants, or do not work.

Jesse wants to get on with the cooking, so he drugs Walt’s coffee to put him to sleep. Before dozing off, Walt talks about life and death, musing about what would have been the right time to die. He seems tired of living and toiling and expresses frustration that he has not been able to explain everything to Skylar. He also comes dangerously close to admitting his role in the death of Jane. Jesse gets the fly just after Walt falls asleep.

Walt discovers missing meth but hasn’t figured out Jessie took it. As the show closes, Walt gently warns Jesse that he will not be able to protect him if he has taken it and is discovered.

Breaking Bad Quotes

 "You didn’t happen to maybe try our product, did you?"
- Jesse

"He’s got some skills – yo – give him that."
- Jesse

"I mean I truly believe there exists some combination of words – there must exist certain words in a certain specific order that would explain all of this, but with her I just can’t ever seem to find them."
- Walt

"I should never have left home – never gone to your house. Maybe things would have…oh, god I was, I was at home watching TV. It was some, some nature program about elephants. Skylar and Holly were in the other room. I could hear them on the baby monitor. She was singing a lullaby. Ah…ah, if I had just lived right up to that moment, and not one second more…that would have been perfect."
- Walt

Walt: Jesse…I’m sorry.
Jesse: Sorry for what? Being a lunatic?
Walt: Sorry about Jane.
Jesse: Yeah. Me too.
Walt: I mean I…I was very sorry.
Jesse: It’s not your fault. It’s…not mine either. It’s no one’s fault. Not even hers.