Walter White Offers a Surprising Apology to Jesse Pinkman | Fly | Breaking Bad

A long night in the lab pits Walt and Jesse against a pesky fly.

Season Three - Episode Ten: "Fly"

Episode Description:
Walt becomes obsessed with a contaminant in the lab and refuses to finish the cook until it is eliminated. A frustrated Jesse attempts to get Walt back on track.

Episode Overview:
Already suffering from a lack of sleep that is exacerbating his compulsive behavior, Walt is back in the lab working nonstop with Jesse to meet Gus’s quota. Tired of having to do everything themselves, from the delicate and exacting lab work to the less-than-glamorous cleaning of their equipment, Jesse suggests they hire assistants to handle the more menial tasks. Dismissing the idea, Walt redoubles his efforts to make sure that the lab remains squeaky clean and insists that Jesse do the same. And after arguing over the cleanliness of their glassware, Walt notices a small but significant discrepancy that suggests that their deliveries to Gus are short. But as Jesse looks to keep him from discovering the truth about his latest scam, Walt becomes obsessed with a fly that has infiltrated the lab and demands that it be killed before they proceed.

Having narrowly escaped injury while trying to get the elusive fly, Walt returns to the lab prepared to do whatever it takes to kill it. His focus only increases as he develops a sophisticated flyswatter to aid in his mission, but Jesse’s efforts to sneak in some work on their latest batch of meth keep the two men at odds. So, when Jesse suggests taking a break for a few minutes to cool down, Walt manages to lock him out of the lab. But as Walt resumes his one-man fly-killing campaign, Jesse strikes back by cutting off the electricity and plunging the lab into darkness.

Stymied by the retaliatory attack, Walt agrees to let Jesse back in and team up to go after the fly. Papering the lab with dozens of traps, Jesse then looks to get back to work on their latest batch by spiking Walt’s coffee with sleeping pills. As the two men pass the time by discussing everything from Jesse’s childhood and Walt’s health to Jane Margolis’s tragic overdose, Walt falls fast asleep and Jesse kills the fly before returning to work. And as they are both heading home after a long night, Walt makes it clear that there is no way he can protect Jesse if he’s been stealing from Gus.

#WalterWhite #JessePinkman

[solesurvivor]

I think seeing Jesse risk himself like this, over a tiny whim from Walt is what triggered his guilt, Jesse's loyalty can be so overwhelming.

[Gameman-er]

That “it’s not your fault” must have hurt Walter in ways Jesse wouldn’t understand until far later.

[caesarplaysgames]

1:28 that’s a genuine apology right there. You can hear the emotion in his voice. No matter what Walt turned into later, he really was apologizing for what he did to Jane which shows he had genuine remorse.

[Playstation]

I really thought that was when he was going to tell him.. was such an intense moment

[vagrantender]

2:10 you can see a tear roll out of Walts left eye. Thats him genuinely feeling sorry about what he did and how he cant express himself enough about it. He watched a young girl die and broke basically his surrogates son heart. Before their lives got anyworse, this is walt genuinely apologizing in his own way.

[stojadin]

This conversation probably haunted Jesse so much after he found out what actually happened.

[mnicide]

I always laughed at the way Walt says you’re gonna break your neck..”

[chickendrawsdogs]

Breaking Bad's low-budget episode got more going on than an entire season 8 of Game of Thrones...

[matheuscruz]

Anyone else got anxious from the shaking ladder and his poor balance?

[capncrumch]

I always found the Fly to be symbolic of Walt's guilt about Jane. Just like how the Fly "contaminates the lab", the guilt Walt is feeling contaminates his mind and he's desperately trying to get it out, but he just can't seem to.

[Adino]

If 'Fly' is considered the worst episode of your series, you can be assured you've created a masterpiece

[chrisredfield]

The people calling this episode a filler don't realize what this show is truly about. This is one of the most non-filler episodes in the series.

[canadia]

"i really miss her though, god i do"

[vondervent]

How this is literally the least appreciated episode is beyond me, superb character depth here.

[Daavlot]

Season 3 Walter: Jesse, I am sorry about Jane
Season 5 Walter: I watched Jane die
Study of change...

[bewhoyoumust]

The way Aaron Paul delivers,
“I miss her though. God I do.”
Was a masterclass in acting to me, the pain in his voice is so raw that it still makes me tear up to this day.

[yechezkelbinstok]

Tony Dalton and Patrick Fabian really killed it in this scene

[kimjongun]

That, right there, was probably the last time Walt was completely honest to Jessee. No strings attached, no goals to achieve — pure, honest apology.

[moinuddin]

Top notch character development from Jesse, Walter, lalo and Howard

[Fujikorific]

I like how Jesse inadvertently gives Walt the argument he himself used to justify letting Jane die in the first place. Probably made him feel worse.