This is the essence of a Bottle Episode. The third season of Breaking Bad is really when the show (already exceptional by any standard) started to spread its wings and soar to greatness. The Fly caused some controversy amongst Breaking Bad fans when it first aired, but has since gone on to be one of the best episodes in the show's history according to many. The Fly only really has 3 characters: Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the titular Fly. When he discovers that there is a fly in the meth Lab, Walt insists that they shut down production until the "contaminant" has been eliminated. Not only does the episode address head on how outrageous Walt's obsession with the Fly is, but it uses it to create some truly inspired moments of comedy and character development. It is a strangely relatable obsession - there are few things more annoying than a fly, and Rian Johnson's direction makes the Meth Lab seem both claustrophobic and dauntingly huge from moment to moment. A real slow-burn of an episode, The Fly relies on small details in order to keep the suspense as high as possible: following Walt's (and eventually Jesse's) pursuit of this fly, to Jesse's attempts to sedate his obsessed partner, even Walt's delirious rambling serves a quite effective purpose, and ends up being one of the most suspenseful moments of dialogue any television show has yet to produce.
Self-evidently a man who writes for the Internet, Robert also writes films, plays, teleplays, and short stories when he's not working on a movie set somewhere. He lives somewhere behind the Hollywood sign.
