"Green Light" is the fourth episode of the
third season of the American television drama series ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', and the 24th overall episode of the series. Written by
Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is the showrunner of AMC's ''Preacher'', and previously worked as a writer/producer on ''Breaking Bad''. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for ...
and directed by
Scott Winant
Scott Winant is an American television director and producer. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television prod ...
, it aired on
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
in the United States and Canada on April 11, 2010.
Plot
After coming up short for gasoline and cigarettes at a gas station,
Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a main character in the American television series '' Breaking Bad'', played by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Jess ...
offers
meth
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...
to a cashier to get out of paying. She is hesitant to accept until a police officer enters the store and queues behind Jesse for the counter, at which point she bows to the pressure and takes the meth.
Meanwhile,
Walter White Walter White most often refers to:
* Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad''
* Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP
Walter White may also refer to:
Fictional characters
...
makes a scene at
Skyler White
Skyler White ( née Lambert) is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Anna Gunn. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim, with some critics even lauding her character as the template for television anti-heroines. ...
’s workplace while confronting
Ted Beneke
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
, and he is thrown out of the building. Immediately afterward,
Mike Ehrmantraut
Michael Ehrmantraut () is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'' and its spinoff prequel ''Better Call Saul'', portrayed by Jonathan Banks. Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus Fring—and, on occasion, Saul Goodm ...
takes Walt to
Saul Goodman
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his trade name, business name Saul Goodman, is a character (arts), character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad (franchi ...
's office. Saul tries to convince Walt to continue producing meth, but Walt refuses the offer once he finds out they
bugged his house to discover the information. He proceeds to tackle Saul to the ground and fire him on the spot - thus losing Saul’s help
laundering money. Consequently,
Walter White Jr.
Walter Hartwell White Jr. (also known as Flynn) is a fictional character in the crime drama series ''Breaking Bad''. Played by RJ Mitte, Walt Jr. is the son of protagonist Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White and his wife Skyler White, Sky ...
has noticed a sudden stop in donations for his fundraising site.
After being called into her office, Walt makes a pass toward the vice principal at the school,
Carmen Molina, by trying to kiss her. She rejects his advances and places him on indefinite leave. While he is leaving the school, he is intercepted by Jesse, who has produced a new batch of meth on his own. Walt rejects Jesse's product as substandard, and Jesse resolves to sell the product to
Gus Fring
Gustavo "Gus" Fring is a fictional character portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in the crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' and its prequel ''Better Call Saul''. He is a Chilean-American businessman and major narcotics distributor in the Southwester ...
himself, through Saul and Mike as the mediators. Gus reluctantly agrees to the purchase, anticipating that Walt's pride and financial need may convince him to accept his business proposition.
Skyler is continuing her affair with Ted, albeit with increasing suspicion from her co-workers after Walt's outburst. After having sex at his house, she refuses to disclose what went wrong in her marriage and declines Ted's offer to move in with him.
Meanwhile,
Hank Schrader
Henry R. Schrader ASAC is a fictional character in the AMC drama series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul''. He is portrayed by Dean Norris and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan. Hank's character development ...
forgoes his assignment to
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
at the last minute after receiving a brand new lead about the infamous blue meth.
Steve Gomez is concerned about Hank's mental well-being; Hank dismisses these concerns. After intensely interrogating the cashier whom Jesse gave the meth to, Hank retrieves images from the ATM outside the gas station in order to persuade his boss to not resituate him to El Paso, convinced he is "close to something big here".
Jesse completes his first delivery to
Victor
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
, but is outraged when he only receives half of the money. Later, Walt is stopped at a red light when he hears on the radio that
Donald Margolis
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
,
Jane Margolis
Jane Margolis is a social scientist and faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies who studies why so few African American, Latino, and female students are learning computer sc ...
' father, has been rushed to hospital after a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the wake of the air disaster that he oversaw. Victor pulls up alongside the car and gives Walter "his half" of the earnings for Jesse's deal, driving off just before the light turns green.
Production
The episode was written by
Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is the showrunner of AMC's ''Preacher'', and previously worked as a writer/producer on ''Breaking Bad''. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for ...
, and directed by
Scott Winant
Scott Winant is an American television director and producer. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television prod ...
, being one of the two episodes along with "
Crawl Space
A crawl space is an unoccupied, unfinished, narrow space within a building, between the ground and the first (or ground) floor. The crawl space is so named because there is typically only enough room to crawl rather than stand; anything larger t ...
" that Winant directed in the series. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 11, 2010.
Reception
Noel Murray of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B and praised the episode's ability to uphold the series' standard of balancing "action and inaction." He especially praises the depiction of Hank's struggles in the story, noting that "it’s about how someone who represents himself as fully in charge deals with being out of his comfort zone."
Seth Amitin of ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave the episode an 8/10, lamenting that "Two horrible meltdowns aren't so fun to watch" and suggesting that the series had continued to lag in quality since the Season 2 finale.
In 2019 ''
The Ringer'' ranked "Green Light" 56th out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.
Viewership
The episode's original broadcast was viewed by 1.46 million people,
which was an increase from the 1.33 million of the previous episode, "
I.F.T.".
Notes
References
External links
"Green Light"at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site
*
{{Breaking Bad episodes
2010 American television episodes
Breaking Bad (season 3) episodes
Television episodes directed by Scott Winant