"I.F.T." is the third episode of the
third season of the American television
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
series ''
Breaking Bad'', and the 23rd overall episode of the series. Written by
George Mastras
George Mastras, Jr. (born April 10, 1966) is a Greek American author, screenwriter, director, and television producer. He has worked on all five seasons of the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad''. He won the Pen USA Literary Award in 2009, won a Primeti ...
and directed by
Michelle MacLaren
Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westworld''.
MacLaren won two back- ...
, 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 4, 2010.
Plot
In a flashback,
Tortuga is visited by
Juan Bolsa
''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 se ...
at a bar. Led to the back by Juan, he is attacked by
Leonel and Marco Salamanca
''Breaking Bad (franchise), Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama Media franchise, franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, '' ...
for being a DEA informant and decapitated with a
machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
.
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 ...
moves back into the house against
Skyler White's will.
Walter Jr. is thrilled, but Skyler calls the police in an attempt to have Walt thrown out. The police tell her that they cannot do anything without a court order; when one policeman asks Skyler about any possible illegal activity Walt has been involved in, in an attempt to get a legal basis for throwing him out, Skyler declines to mention his drug manufacturing. Later, Skyler meets with her attorney. After she is assured that everything she says is confidential under
attorney-client privilege, she admits that Walt is a meth distributor; her attorney advises her to sue him for divorce, and tell the police, but Skyler tearfully declines, saying that she does not want Walter Jr. to find out that his father is a criminal, especially given the likelihood that Walt's lung cancer will kill him in the near future. Later on, at work, Skyler begins an affair with
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 ...
.
Jesse Pinkman is still having trouble coming to terms with
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 ...
's death but has moved back into his house.
Saul Goodman
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character i ...
comes by, asking Jesse to try to convince Walt to get back into drug manufacturing; Jesse dismissively says he will handle it. However, later on, he chooses to cook a batch himself.
Leonel and Marco steal a minivan, bringing
Hector Salamanca
''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 ...
with them to a meeting with
Gus Fring and Juan Bolsa. Gus says that they cannot kill Walter now, as he is doing business with him; once Gus's business with him is done, however, he will let them kill Walter.
Hank Schrader is still stressed and provokes a fight at a bar. He uses his status as a DEA agent to prevent the others at the bar from attacking him.
Walt shows the money he has earned to Skyler, in an attempt to get her to accept it, as he says it will help with the mortgage and Walter Jr.'s college tuition. He asks her to at least think about it; however, when she gets home from work later, in an attempt to get Walt to distance himself, she says "I fucked Ted".
Production
The episode was written by
George Mastras
George Mastras, Jr. (born April 10, 1966) is a Greek American author, screenwriter, director, and television producer. He has worked on all five seasons of the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad''. He won the Pen USA Literary Award in 2009, won a Primeti ...
, and directed by
Michelle MacLaren
Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westworld''.
MacLaren won two back- ...
; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 4, 2010. The episode's title stands for "I fucked Ted", said by Skyler to Walt at the end.
It marks the first appearance of Juan Bolsa.
Dedication
The episode is dedicated to
Shari Rhodes, who passed away from breast cancer during the filming of the third season.
Reception
Donna Bowman 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 an A, writing: "Its genius lies in its penetrating gaze inside each character, some at their most vulnerable, others staring out from behind a carefully-constructed protective shell."
Seth Amitin of ''IGN'' wrote that although it was weaker compared to other episodes of the series, one of its strengths was that "Elements that don't deserve an entire episode were amalgamated into this one. It was succinct and still very interesting"
In ''The Bible in Crime Fiction and Drama: Murderous Texts,'' Caroline Blyth and Alison Jack compare Skyler's cuckolding of Walt to
Delilah
Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...
's emasculation of
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
in the
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom ...
.
In ''The Methods of Breaking Bad: Essays on Narrative, Character and Ethics'', edited by Jacob Blevins and Dafydd Wood, the authors argue that this episode is the most important in Skyler's character arc.
In 2019,
The Ringer ranked "I.F.T." 41st out of 62 episodes.
Viewership
The episode's original broadcast was viewed by 1.33 million people,
which was a decrease from the 1.55 million of the previous episode, "
Caballo sin Nombre
"Caballo sin Nombre" (Spanish for ''"Horse Without a Name"'') is the second episode of the third season of the American television crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'', and the 22nd overall episode of the series. Written by Peter Gould and direct ...
".
Notes
References
External links
"I.F.T."at the official ''Breaking Bad'' website
*
{{Breaking Bad
2010 American television episodes
Breaking Bad (season 3) episodes
Television episodes directed by Michelle MacLaren