Breaking Badis widely regarded as one of thebest TV shows of all time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every episode is a masterpiece.Breaking Badseason 3, episode 10,“Fly,” is often criticized for its unconventional script, but it also features one of the most pivotal moments for one of thebestBreaking Badcharacters- Bryan Cranston’s Walter White.
“Fly” doesn’t do very much to push the story forward, but it does allow viewers to catch their breath as the episode compounds certain arcs for both Walt and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).Walt’s plan to make money for his familyhas gone far beyond his original intentions, which triggers a heartbreaking monologue from him.
“Fly” Is The First Time Walt Admits He’s Taken Things Too Far In Breaking Bad
Walt’s speech is laced with regret
Walt spends most of “Fly” trying to catch the episode’s titular insect, explaining to Jesse that the bug in question is deemed a “contaminant” to their meth-cooking operation. In an attempt to snap his sleep-deprived partner out of his bout of paranoia,Jesse slips some sleeping pills into Walt’s coffee. Perhaps offset by the caffeine, the meds take a while to kick in.
In his in-between state of being wide awake and dropping off to sleep,an incredibly candid streak comes to Walt’s surface, and he delivers an emotional speech that voices his tortured opinion that he has ventured far too far beyond the reaches of his original plan, and implies he wishes he had succumbed to his cancer at the “perfect moment.”
“I missed it. There was some perfect moment, and
it passed me right by. I had to have enough to leave
them. That was the whole point. This doesn’t make any sense if I
didn’t have enough. But it had to be before she found
out. Skyler. It had to be…before that.”
- Walt to Jessie inBreaking Badseason 3, episode 10, “Fly.”
Before this moment, Walt had always seemed to be in control of his own motivations. At the very least, he’d never displayed any signs of regret about finding himself so completely intertwined in the criminal underworld.His admission in “Fly” allows for a peek into Walt’s mindand allows viewers to reevaluate how Cranston feels about his scenario and how he’s processing it.
Walt’s speech also quietly reaffirms just how impossible he finds it to walk away from his new enterprise. It is slowly taking everything from him that he holds dear, and while that deeply upsets him, he still can’t quite manage to stop cooking meth. He’s great at it, and that drive to receive recognition in his field is just far too great.
IMDb still gives “Fly” a pretty good score
“Fly” isBreaking Bad’s lowest-rated episode onIMDb, with the site’s scoring system taking only viewers' opinions into account. So, it would appear the show’s audience has collectively labeled it the worst installment. That said, I don’t think it’s a bad episode.It has a score of 7.9/10, which is still a more-than-respectable rating.
Every show has to have a “worst” episode, but just because it falls at the bottom of the list doesn’t mean it’s completely without merit.There are obviously betterBreaking Badepisodes than “Fly,“but it does at least show Walt in a new light and reveals struggles that he otherwise keeps to himself.
I think that forBreaking Bad’s lowest-rated episode to still contribute so much to such a brilliant character means the episode warrants being made. I’m also of the opinion thatWalt and Jesse’s pursuit of the fly is far from boring, and it even somehow finds ways to make Cranston’sBreaking Badcharacter’s downward spiral genuinely funny.
