Cat's in the Bag...

Last updated
"Cat's in the Bag..."
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 2
Directed by Adam Bernstein
Written by Vince Gilligan
Featured music
Cinematography by Rey Villalobos
Editing by Lynne Willingham
Original air dateJanuary 27, 2008 (2008-01-27)
Running time48 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Pilot"		Next →
"...And the Bag's in the River"
Breaking Bad season 1
List of episodes

"Cat's in the Bag..." is the second episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad . Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Adam Bernstein, it aired on AMC in the United States on January 27, 2008.

Contents

Plot

Walt and Jesse return the RV to Jesse's house, which was previously owned by Jesse's late aunt. When they open the RV to remove the two bodies inside, they notice that Krazy-8 is still breathing, despite inhaling the toxic phosphine gas. The next day, Walt is driving to Jesse's house and notices a dilapidated Krazy-8 walking down the street. Walt tries to get Krazy-8's attention, but he notices Walt's voice and attempts to flee before running into a tree and collapsing. The unconscious Krazy-8 is taken into the basement and secured to a pole with a bicycle lock around his neck. Walt suggests that they should use hydrofluoric acid to dissolve Emilio's corpse so that it leaves no evidence behind. Walt and Jesse must dispose of the corpse and kill Krazy-8, and toss a coin to see who will do which task. Jesse wins and chooses to dispose of the corpse, leaving Walt to kill Krazy-8.

Walt instructs Jesse to buy a bin made from polyethylene in which the corpse can be properly dissolved, but Jesse cannot find a bin big enough to accommodate it. Walt thinks about suffocating Krazy-8 but is unable to go through with the act. He instead gives Krazy-8 food, water, and toilet paper out of guilt. When Jesse returns home and asks if Krazy-8 is dead, Walt promises to take care of him the next day. Meanwhile, Skyler begins to suspect that Walt is hiding something due to his recent strange behavior. After Jesse makes a call to Walt's home phone, Skyler traces his phone number online and discovers his social media website. When she questions Walt as to who he is, he claims that Jesse sells him marijuana. Skyler finds his address and confronts Jesse while he is trying to dispose of Emilio's body, warning him that her brother-in-law is a DEA agent. Skyler doesn't notice the corpse.

Jesse does not find the specific plastic bin Walt instructed him to use, so he decides to dissolve the corpse in his upstairs bathtub. However, the hydrofluoric acid dissolves the ceramic and metal bathtub along with the body. This causes the ceiling beneath it to collapse, spilling Emilio's liquified remains onto the hallway below. Walt tells Jesse that hydrofluoric acid will dissolve anything except polyethylene. Meanwhile, two Native American children playing in the desert find Walt's gas mask from the previous meth cook.

Production

The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, and directed by Adam Bernstein; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on January 27, 2008.

This episode was originally supposed to be the death of Domingo Gallardo “Krazy 8” Molina alongside with his cousin but the producers loved the performance of Archinega that they begged Gilligan for him to stay longer.

Title meaning

The episode title is a part of a line from the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success , in which a character reports that he resolved an issue:

J.J. Hunsecker: That means you've got a plan. Can you deliver?
Sidney Falco: Tonight, before you go to bed. The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river.

Critical reception

Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 9.6 out of 10, commenting: "It's strange, but there's a great chemistry between these three characters, like they're puzzle pieces and their jagged edges aren't even close to matching, but they fit somehow." [1] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A−", saying: "At the end of the powerhouse premiere last week, I thought: Well, it's all downhill from here... I found it hard to imagine that such an episode could maintain the premiere's edge-of-psychosis tone." [2]

In 2019, The Ringer ranked "Cat's in the Bag..." 31st out of all 62 Breaking Bad episodes. [3] Vulture.com ranked it 33rd overall. [4]

See also

MythBusters (2013 season) § Episode 206 – "Breaking Bad Special"

Related Research Articles

"Pilot" is the series premiere of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad. The episode was directed and written by series creator and showrunner Vince Gilligan. It first aired on AMC on January 20, 2008.

"Cancer Man" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Jim McKay, it aired on AMC in the United States on February 17, 2008.

"Crazy Handful of Nothin'" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by George Mastras and directed by Bronwen Hughes, it aired on AMC in the United States on March 2, 2008. The episode introduces Tuco Salamanca and No Doze, played by Raymond Cruz and Cesar Garcia respectively.

"A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal" is the seventh and final episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Peter Gould and directed by Tim Hunter, it aired on AMC in the United States on March 9, 2008.

Walter White (<i>Breaking Bad</i>) Breaking Bad character

Walter Hartwell White Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is the fictional antihero turned villain protagonist of the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad, portrayed by Bryan Cranston.

"...And the Bag's in the River" is the third episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Adam Bernstein, it aired on AMC in the United States on February 10, 2008.

"Seven Thirty-Seven" is the second season premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 8th episode overall. It was written by J. Roberts and directed by series star Bryan Cranston. The episode aired on AMC on March 8, 2009.

"Down" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by Sam Catlin and directed by John Dahl. The episode aired on AMC on March 29, 2009.

"Mandala" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by George Mastras and directed by Adam Bernstein. The episode aired on AMC on May 17, 2009. This episode introduces Gus Fring and Victor, played by Giancarlo Esposito and Jeremiah Bitsui respectively.

"No Más" is the first episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Bryan Cranston, it aired on AMC in the United States on March 21, 2010.

"Box Cutter" is the fourth season premiere of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and its 34th episode overall. Written by series creator Vince Gilligan and directed by Adam Bernstein, "Box Cutter" originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 17, 2011. The narrative follows protagonist Walter White and his partner Jesse Pinkman as they face repercussions from drug kingpin Gus Fring for killing Gale Boetticher at the end of the previous season. Meanwhile, Skyler White breaks into her husband Walter's condominium to investigate his sudden disappearance, and Marie Schrader struggles to help Hank Schrader recover from his injuries.

"Shotgun" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 38th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 14, 2011.

"Cornered" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad, and the 39th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 21, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Pinkman</span> Fictional character of the television drama series Breaking Bad

Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a fictional character in the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad, portrayed by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer who works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White. Jesse is the only character besides Walter to appear in every episode of the show. Paul reprised the role for the 2019 spin-off sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, set after its finale, and again in 2022 for the sixth and final season of the spin-off prequel sequel series Better Call Saul, being one of the few characters to appear across both shows and the movie.

"Open House" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 36th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 31, 2011. In the episode, Walter and Skyler advance their plans to buy a car wash as a front organization, while Jesse holds increasingly darker parties to distract from his guilt for having killed Gale. Meanwhile, Marie starts stealing to cope with the difficult recovery of her husband Hank, who is asked to offer his advice regarding Gale's murder investigation.

"Live Free or Die" is the fifth season premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, the first episode of the first part of the season and the 47th overall episode of the series. Written by series creator Vince Gilligan and directed by Michael Slovis, it originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 15, 2012.

"Say My Name" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad, and the 53rd overall episode of the series. Written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, it aired on AMC on August 26, 2012.

"Dead Freight" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 51st overall episode of the series. Written and directed by George Mastras, it originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 12, 2012.

"Gliding Over All" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 54th overall episode of the series. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and directed by Michelle MacLaren, it aired on AMC in the United States on September 2, 2012.

"Más" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 25th overall episode of the series. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and directed by Johan Renck, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 18, 2010.

References

  1. ↑ Amitin, Seth (January 28, 2008). "Breaking Bad: "Cat's in the Bag ..." Review". IGN . Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  2. ↑ Bowman, Donna (January 27, 2008). "Breaking Bad: "Cat's In The Bag"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  3. ↑ Claire McNear (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer .
  4. ↑ Potts, Kimberly (10 October 2019). "Every Episode of Breaking Bad, Ranked". Vulture.com .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.