WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 Hello and welcome back to the deep dive. Glad 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:07.400 to be here. Yeah. Today we are really turning 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:11.179 up the heat. Literally. Literally, yes. We are 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:15.189 stripping away the layers of one of the most 00:00:15.189 --> 00:00:18.289 intense and claustrophobic chapters in television 00:00:18.289 --> 00:00:20.910 history. Oh yeah. We're looking at the Breaking 00:00:20.910 --> 00:00:25.809 Bad episode titled Grilled. Grilled, just the 00:00:25.809 --> 00:00:27.989 title alone gives you a sense of the pressure 00:00:27.989 --> 00:00:30.030 cooker we are about to step into. Right. I mean 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:34.270 it evokes heat interrogation and... Just this 00:00:34.270 --> 00:00:36.350 overwhelming sense of being trapped. Exactly. 00:00:36.590 --> 00:00:39.710 It is highly visceral. And just to set the coordinates 00:00:39.710 --> 00:00:41.450 for everyone listening so you know exactly where 00:00:41.450 --> 00:00:43.409 we are. Right. The context is important. Yeah. 00:00:43.509 --> 00:00:45.329 This is season two, episode two. Which makes 00:00:45.329 --> 00:00:47.310 it the ninth episode of the entire series. Yeah, 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:49.630 only the ninth episode. So the show is still 00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:51.890 relatively young. Still finding its footing in 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:55.750 a way. Exactly. But this specific hour of television 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:58.799 is where... A lot of people argue the Breaking 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:01.479 Bad universe really starts to solidify. I would 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:03.219 definitely agree with that. Because if you look 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:07.000 at the narrative arc, this isn't just a monster 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.219 of the week situation. No, not at all. It is 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:12.560 a bridge. It connects the initial sort of chaos 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.439 of Walt's decision to cook meth. Which, let's 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:17.739 be honest, was almost a dark comedy in season 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:19.959 one. It really was. Stumbling around in the RV. 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:23.640 Yeah. But this connects that to the much darker 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.060 cartel level consequences that define the rest 00:01:26.060 --> 00:01:28.620 of the season. Yeah, the real stakes. Exactly. 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:30.840 This is where the genre shifts from stumbling 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:34.319 criminals to basically survival horror. Survival 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.079 horror is the perfect way to describe it. And 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.920 our mission today is to unpack that exact narrative 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:42.579 tension. We are going to look at how the writers 00:01:42.579 --> 00:01:46.260 trap our protagonists and introduce a villain 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:48.640 who is going to haunt the show for seasons to 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.859 come. Oh, man, yes. And we'll also look at how 00:01:50.859 --> 00:01:53.060 the critics receive this high -stakes standoff. 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:55.000 We have a great stack of sources here today. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.500 We do. We are pulling primarily from the extensive 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.819 breakdown of the episode, which includes the 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:02.280 plot summaries and production credits. And the 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:04.019 critical reception. metrics too. We will get 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:06.159 into all of that. And we really should mention 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.740 the creative team behind this specific material 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.520 we're deep diving into. Oh absolutely. The episode 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.960 was written by George Mastras and directed by 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:17.580 Charles Haid. Those names are so important because 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.539 they crafted a very specific atmosphere here. 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:23.300 I mean Charles Haid in particular has a background 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:26.340 in gritty police procedurals like Hill Street 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:30.699 Blues. Right. And you can really feel that grounded 00:02:30.699 --> 00:02:34.099 dirty realism in every single frame of these 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:36.340 desert sequences. You really can't. It's grimy. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.560 So let's set the scene in front of guys. If you 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:42.879 recall the end of the previous episode, things 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:46.580 were bad. They're very bad. But here they are 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:48.900 catastrophic. We have our two protagonists, Walter 00:02:48.900 --> 00:02:50.979 White and Jesse Pinkman. And they are in the 00:02:50.979 --> 00:02:53.460 RV. They aren't in the lab. They have been kidnapped. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.159 Right. The stakes are immediately life or death. 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:58.479 Yeah. This isn't a negotiation. It is a straight 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.639 up abduction. They are trunk bound, staring into 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.319 the dark, completely disoriented. And here is 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.620 the hook for this deep dive. This is why this 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:08.900 episode is so legendary in the lore of the show. 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:11.719 It's a huge turning point. It really is. These 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:15.080 48 minutes feature a major exit and a major entrance. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:17.280 Right. We see the end of the road for the erratic 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:20.159 Tuco Salamanca. And we see the very first appearance 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.439 of a character who becomes an absolute icon. 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:26.620 Hector Salamanca. Hector Salamanca. It is a changing 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:30.340 of the guard, in a way. It really is. One antagonist 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:33.500 falls, but another, perhaps even more formidable 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.259 in the long run, arrives. Yeah, it's a perfect 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:38.939 relay race of villainy. That's a great way to 00:03:38.939 --> 00:03:40.599 put it. So let's unpack this. We're going to 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:42.919 jump into our first segment here, which is the 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:45.500 hostage situation. Out in the desert hideout. 00:03:45.659 --> 00:03:48.819 Right. We open in a location that is basically 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:51.379 the middle of nowhere. It is a desert hideout, 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.300 just scrub brush and sand and a rundown shack. 00:03:54.539 --> 00:03:57.400 And the isolation is the key factor here. Totally. 00:03:57.539 --> 00:03:59.819 It removes all of Walt and Jesse's resources. 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:01.919 They can't call for help. No cell service, I'm 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:03.919 sure. Right. And they can't run because there 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:06.520 is literally nowhere to run to. Just miles of 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:09.479 dirt. They are completely at the mercy of Tuko 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:13.000 Salamanca. And the geography really emphasizes 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.120 their smallness. Yeah, the wide shots. Exactly. 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:19.319 The wide shots show this massive desert and then 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.180 this tiny house. It makes their plight feel totally 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:25.259 insignificant to the rest of the world, which 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:27.939 really amps up the dread. It's so isolating. 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:30.480 And let's talk about Tuco's headspace right now, 00:04:30.899 --> 00:04:33.079 because mercy is definitely not a word I would 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.240 associate with him. Not at all. Based on the 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:38.259 plot summary we have, Tuco is just spiraling. 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:41.290 He is... incredibly paranoid. He was vibrating 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:43.389 with this nervous energy. Paranoid is putting 00:04:43.389 --> 00:04:46.310 it lightly honestly. He is convinced that his 00:04:46.310 --> 00:04:49.009 associate Gonzo has ratted him out to the authorities. 00:04:49.750 --> 00:04:53.069 Right. Tuco believes the DEA is creating this 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:56.850 net that is closing in on him all because of 00:04:56.850 --> 00:04:59.370 Gonzo's betrayal. He thinks everyone is listening. 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:01.310 He thinks everyone is watching him. Exactly. 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:04.050 But here's where it gets really interesting and 00:05:04.050 --> 00:05:06.970 tragic in a very dark comedy sort of way. Right. 00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:09.920 We know based on the previous events that Gonzo 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.699 didn't rat on anyone. No he didn't. Gonzo is 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:16.019 dead. Precisely. It is pure dramatic irony. You 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:18.459 know as the audience watching this that Tuco's 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:20.980 paranoia is completely baseless. Because Gonzo 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:23.040 died in a freak accident. Right. Moving a body 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.819 in a junkyard. A stack of cars fell on him. Which 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:28.439 is almost slapstick if it wasn't so gruesome. 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:31.790 It really is. But Tuco doesn't know that. This 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:34.970 misplaced fear is the entire engine driving the 00:05:34.970 --> 00:05:37.170 kidnapping. He is acting on false information. 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:39.610 Which makes him even more dangerous because he 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:42.670 is completely irrational. You cannot reason with 00:05:42.670 --> 00:05:45.610 someone whose premise for reality is factually 00:05:45.610 --> 00:05:48.290 incorrect. You can't. So because he thinks the 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:52.170 feds are coming, he kidnaps Walt and Jesse, and 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:55.709 he lays out his grand plan. A very bad plan for 00:05:55.709 --> 00:05:57.889 them. Yeah. I have to say, as career moves go, 00:05:57.970 --> 00:06:00.490 this is a terrible offer for Walt. It is forced 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:03.089 labor. Pure and simple. Tuco reveals that he 00:06:03.089 --> 00:06:05.089 intends to keep them in this desert compound 00:06:05.089 --> 00:06:08.730 just until sunset. Sunset. And that is the first 00:06:08.730 --> 00:06:10.990 layer of the ticking clock mechanism in the script. 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:13.949 He is waiting for his cousins to arrive. Ah, 00:06:14.029 --> 00:06:16.269 yes, the famous cousins. Or infamous, depending 00:06:16.269 --> 00:06:18.009 on how far you have followed the story. Right, 00:06:18.009 --> 00:06:20.550 right. So the plan is for the cousins to transport 00:06:20.550 --> 00:06:24.329 all three of them, Tuco, Walt, and Jesse, across 00:06:24.329 --> 00:06:27.040 the border into Mexico. And once they are there, 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.800 the job description is very simple. Oh yeah. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.740 They will be cooking methamphetamine for Tuco 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:36.759 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That is a terrifying 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:39.579 prospect. Locked in a super lab in Mexico under 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:42.660 the thumb of a guy who literally beats his subordinates 00:06:42.660 --> 00:06:45.519 to death for fun. It is essentially slavery. 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.420 Yeah. And this is what shifts the genre of the 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:51.459 show, essentially. We go from a crime drama to 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:54.560 a survival horror scenario. Because Walt started 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:56.660 this whole thing to make money for his family 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:59.439 before he dies of cancer. Exactly. But now the 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.220 prospect is that he vanishes into a Mexican cartel 00:07:02.220 --> 00:07:05.019 dungeon and never sees his family ever again. 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.319 the money becomes totally irrelevant if you have 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:09.839 no freedom. Right. You can't spend it in a bunker. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.379 Exactly. And the atmosphere creates this incredible 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:15.519 trap. I want to highlight the analysis of the 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:17.220 setting we have from the sources here. Yeah, 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:19.420 let's look at that. It is so claustrophobic. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:21.339 Even though they are out in the wide open desert, 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:24.000 the walls are closing in. Because they are trapped 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:26.980 in this tiny small house with a highly unstable 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:29.899 captor. And that ticking clock element you mentioned 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:32.959 is crucial for the pacing. The expert perspective 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:35.360 here on the pacing is really interesting. If 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.100 Tuco just planned to keep some there, indefinitely, 00:07:39.339 --> 00:07:41.100 the tension would sag. Right, because there's 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:44.399 no rush. Exactly. But because the cousins are 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:47.980 coming at sunset, Walt and Jesse have a hard 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:49.740 deadline. They have to escape before the sun 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:51.980 goes down or they are gone forever. And every 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:54.000 time the camera cuts to the sun dipping lower 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.480 in the sky, your pulse just speeds up. It's masterful. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.600 They can't just wait it out. They have to act. 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:01.259 But they aren't alone in the house with Tuco. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:04.519 No, they are not. And this brings us nicely to 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:09.120 segment two of our deep dive. Enter Hector Salamanca. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:11.560 This is such a significant moment in the source 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.300 material. We are officially introduced to Tuco's 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:16.850 uncle. Hector Salamanca played brilliantly by 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:19.069 Mark Margolis. Absolutely brilliantly. Now for 00:08:19.069 --> 00:08:21.050 anyone listening who maybe hasn't seen the image 00:08:21.050 --> 00:08:23.569 of him in this episode, let's describe him. Sure. 00:08:23.850 --> 00:08:26.269 He is an elderly man sitting in a wheelchair 00:08:26.269 --> 00:08:31.529 and he looks incredibly frail. Very frail. The 00:08:31.529 --> 00:08:33.789 source notes describe him as completely paralyzed 00:08:33.789 --> 00:08:35.990 from the neck down and mute. He cannot speak 00:08:35.990 --> 00:08:39.090 a single word. Not a word. His face is slack 00:08:39.090 --> 00:08:42.110 on one side. He looks, for all intents and purposes, 00:08:42.389 --> 00:08:44.750 entirely helpless. Which, you know, in an audio 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:47.230 -visual medium, like TV usually means a character 00:08:47.230 --> 00:08:49.850 is passive. Right. You see a guy in a chair like 00:08:49.850 --> 00:08:51.450 that, and you just assume he's part of the scenery. 00:08:51.830 --> 00:08:54.049 But Hector is anything but passive. No, definitely 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:57.789 not. They give him a tool, a specific communication 00:08:57.789 --> 00:09:00.830 method that becomes absolutely iconic. The desk 00:09:00.830 --> 00:09:03.049 bell. The desk bell attached to the arm of his 00:09:03.049 --> 00:09:06.590 wheelchair. Ding. Exactly. Ding. That bell becomes 00:09:06.590 --> 00:09:10.470 his voice. One ring for yes, no ring for no. 00:09:10.649 --> 00:09:13.409 It is primitive, but it is so effective. And 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:16.029 what is really amazing is how much absolute menace 00:09:16.029 --> 00:09:18.629 Mark Margolis conveys, just with his eyes and 00:09:18.629 --> 00:09:20.690 that tiny bell. It's chilling. He doesn't have 00:09:20.690 --> 00:09:23.029 a single line of dialogue, yet he completely 00:09:23.029 --> 00:09:25.490 dominates scenes. And in the context of this 00:09:25.490 --> 00:09:29.090 specific episode, Grilled, he is introduced almost 00:09:29.090 --> 00:09:31.950 as a burden to Tuco. Yeah, Tuco is taking care 00:09:31.950 --> 00:09:34.269 of him in his hideout, cooking him burritos, 00:09:34.429 --> 00:09:37.419 feeding him. It is a strange little glimpse into 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:40.419 Tuco's family life. He humanizes Tuco slightly 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:43.899 right. It shows his familial loyalty. He genuinely 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:46.620 cares for his T .O. He's wiping his mouth, making 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:49.340 sure he's comfortable. But it also perfectly 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:52.480 sets up the obstacle. Hector is always watching. 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:54.879 Always. He is the silent observer in the room. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:57.960 He is not watching the TV. He's watching Walt 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.080 and Jesse. Now I want to dive into the really 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.320 deep part of our notes here because looking at 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.700 the source material there is a fascinating cross 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.460 -reference in the notes section regarding Hector's 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:09.019 condition. Oh this is great for the listeners 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.820 who love the wider lore of the universe. Yeah 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:15.279 this is fascinating. The source material explicitly 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:18.240 links Hector's paralysis to the prequel series 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.840 Better Call Saul. It really does. So we actually 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:23.799 find out why he is in that chair because if you 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.399 just watch Breaking Bad you just assume it's 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.159 a stroke from old age or maybe high blood pressure 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:31.480 or something. Yes. The notes reveal that his 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:34.860 condition is indeed the result of a stroke, but 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:36.879 it wasn't a natural occurrence at all. No, it 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:39.600 wasn't. The stroke was intentionally caused by 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.240 a character named Nacho Varga. Nacho. That is 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:45.240 a name that looms very large in the prequel. 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:47.580 Specifically, the note references the Better 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:51.330 Call Saul episode titled lantern, it clarifies 00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:53.529 that Nacho tampered with Hector's heart medication. 00:10:53.710 --> 00:10:56.070 He swapped the pills, right? Exactly. He swapped 00:10:56.070 --> 00:10:58.470 the pills for placebos, specifically ibuprofen, 00:10:59.110 --> 00:11:02.750 to induce the stroke. That is just wild. So when 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:05.049 we are watching Grilled and we see this invalid 00:11:05.049 --> 00:11:08.590 old man, there is this whole other layer of betrayal 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:11.330 and history that led him to that exact moment. 00:11:11.690 --> 00:11:14.289 He is trapped in his own body because one of 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:16.669 his own subordinates betrayed him to stop his 00:11:16.669 --> 00:11:19.230 cruelty. It connects the two series timelines 00:11:19.230 --> 00:11:22.809 so beautifully. It shows that actions in the 00:11:22.809 --> 00:11:25.669 past, Nacho's actions, created the very specific 00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:27.830 set of variables that Walt and Jesse are dealing 00:11:27.830 --> 00:11:30.409 with right now in the desert. Wow, yeah. Because 00:11:30.409 --> 00:11:32.850 if Hector wasn't paralyzed, he could just tell 00:11:32.850 --> 00:11:34.909 Tuco what Walt and Jesse are doing. He could 00:11:34.909 --> 00:11:36.409 just say, hey, they're plotting against you. 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:38.830 But because of Nacho, he can only ding the little 00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:41.950 bell. That is a great point. His disability is 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:44.269 basically a plot device that allows Walt and 00:11:44.269 --> 00:11:47.049 Jesse to almost get away with things. It balances 00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:49.850 the scales for our protagonists. Almost get away 00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:52.789 with it. Almost. But as we see that, Belle is 00:11:52.789 --> 00:11:54.710 more than enough to ruin everything. More than 00:11:54.710 --> 00:11:57.450 enough. So while Walt and Jesse are sweating 00:11:57.450 --> 00:11:59.669 it out in the desert, wondering if they're going 00:11:59.669 --> 00:12:03.190 to end up in a Mexican meth dungeon, life is 00:12:03.190 --> 00:12:05.809 actually going on back in Albuquerque. Right. 00:12:06.110 --> 00:12:08.730 Let's move to segment three, the search party. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:12.440 This is the B -plot of the episode. And it serves 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:14.980 as a really necessary breather from the intense 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:18.419 claustrophobia of the desert. But it also ratchets 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:20.580 up the tension because we see how close rescue 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.820 actually might be. Yeah, we need that contrast. 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:24.960 We need the contrast between the dusty, yellow 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.799 -filtered desert and the blue, sterile world 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.220 of the suburbs. So we check in on Skyler White, 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.279 and she's not just sitting around waiting by 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:34.379 the phone. No. This isn't the grieving widow 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.600 phase at all. This is the action phase. The summary 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.629 describes her as sick with worry. But she is 00:12:39.629 --> 00:12:42.350 actively distributing handbills with Walt's photo 00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:44.750 on them. She is mobilizing the whole neighborhood. 00:12:44.870 --> 00:12:47.090 She is leveraging absolutely every contact she 00:12:47.090 --> 00:12:49.029 has. And then there's Hank Schrader. Now usually 00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:51.950 we see Hank as this boisterous DEA agent, right? 00:12:52.210 --> 00:12:54.309 Cracking jokes being the alpha male at the family 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:58.429 barbecue. Exactly. But here the tone shifts dramatically 00:12:58.429 --> 00:13:01.669 for him. He takes time off work specifically 00:13:01.669 --> 00:13:04.870 to look for Walt. Which says a lot. It establishes 00:13:04.870 --> 00:13:07.559 his deep loyalty to his family. He isn't looking 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:09.740 for Heisenberg. He is looking for his brother 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:12.299 -in -law. It is so important to remember that 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:15.399 Hank, at this stage, has zero suspicion of Walt's 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.779 criminal life. None. He thinks Walt is having 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:20.799 a breakdown or maybe a fugue state from the cancer. 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.960 Right. But the investigation takes a huge turn, 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:26.860 and it comes from a really unlikely source. A 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:29.980 Marshalter. Yes, Marie. She operates on a theory 00:13:29.980 --> 00:13:33.340 here. She tells Hank she genuinely believes Jesse 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:36.360 Pinkman is Walt's marijuana dealer. Which is, 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:38.919 I mean, it's half true. Jesse is involved with 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.600 Walt, but it is definitely not pot. It is incorrect 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.899 in the specifics because Jesse isn't selling 00:13:43.899 --> 00:13:46.779 Walt weed, but it is completely correct in the 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:48.580 connection. It connects Walt directly to Jesse. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.399 And she convinces Hank to question Jesse. It 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.740 is really funny how Marie, who is often portrayed 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:57.419 as flighty or kleptomaniacal, actually provides 00:13:57.419 --> 00:14:00.120 the crucial lead here. This is the major breakthrough. 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:03.220 Hank realizes he needs to find Jesse to find 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.690 Walt. Right. But Jesse is also missing. So where 00:14:06.690 --> 00:14:09.309 does Hank go? He can't just call Jesse's cell. 00:14:09.429 --> 00:14:12.389 He approaches Jesse's mother, Diane Pinkman, 00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:15.049 played by Tess Harper. I love how this brings 00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:17.590 the parents into the narrative. It really grounds 00:14:17.590 --> 00:14:19.730 these criminals. It does. They have moms who 00:14:19.730 --> 00:14:22.549 worry about them. It reminds us that Jesse is 00:14:22.549 --> 00:14:25.289 barely an adult himself in a lot of ways. And 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:27.789 Mrs. Pinkman provides the absolute key piece 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:30.029 of data for the whole episode. She gives Hank 00:14:30.029 --> 00:14:33.309 information that allows him to access the LoJack 00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:36.480 tracking system on Jesse's car. The LoJack. That 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:38.559 little piece of technology basically saves the 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:41.100 entire series. It really does. Just for our listeners 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:44.100 who might not know, LoJack is a stolen vehicle 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:46.659 recovery system that emits a radio signal police 00:14:46.659 --> 00:14:48.960 can track. Right. And it is the narrative thread 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.299 that ties these two vastly different worlds together. 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.600 Exactly. Without that LoJack signal, Hank never 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.059 ever finds the desert hideout. The worlds of 00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:59.480 law enforcement and the violent cartel are on 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:01.860 a direct collision course, all guided by this 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:04.330 little tracking beacon. It is a very tactical, 00:15:04.649 --> 00:15:07.070 procedural way to solve the problem, which fits 00:15:07.070 --> 00:15:09.230 Hank's character perfectly. Perfectly. So Hank 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:12.009 is on the way, following the beep. But Walt and 00:15:12.009 --> 00:15:14.269 Jesse obviously don't know that. No, they think 00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:16.309 they're entirely on their own. And the sun is 00:15:16.309 --> 00:15:18.470 getting lower. The shadows in the desert are 00:15:18.470 --> 00:15:20.809 getting long. The ticking clock. They decide 00:15:20.809 --> 00:15:22.669 they have to take matters into their own hands 00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:28.629 right now. Which brings us to segment four, the 00:15:28.629 --> 00:15:31.809 failed escape. the ricin. The ricin. This is 00:15:31.809 --> 00:15:33.970 a weapon we hear about a lot in the show. Walt 00:15:33.970 --> 00:15:37.409 has prepared it and they decide the absolute 00:15:37.409 --> 00:15:40.549 only way out is to assassinate Tuco. It really 00:15:40.549 --> 00:15:42.730 highlights their desperation. They aren't murderers 00:15:42.730 --> 00:15:44.769 by nature at this point in the story. Well, they 00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:47.289 are struggling with it anyway but they view this 00:15:47.289 --> 00:15:49.809 as pure self -defense. Kill or be killed. Right. 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:53.059 They plan to poison Tuco's food. It is the chemist's 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:55.679 solution. Yes. It is non -confrontational. It 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.440 is quiet. The classic poison in the burrito trick. 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.399 It is simple and it's quiet. Walt slips the ricin 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.779 into the food while Tuco isn't looking. He hides 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:05.820 it in the ingredients while Tuco is distracted 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:08.139 with his own cooking. But someone is looking. 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:11.200 Hector. This is exactly where the character introduction 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.539 we talked about earlier pays off instantly. Read 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:16.700 that. Hector Salamanca, despite being physically 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:19.919 paralyzed, is mentally incredibly sharp. He misses 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:23.210 nothing. He sees what Walt does. He sees the 00:16:23.210 --> 00:16:25.850 sleight of hand with the poison. And this leads 00:16:25.850 --> 00:16:28.750 to one of the most tense dinner scenes in television 00:16:28.750 --> 00:16:34.370 history. Tuco is eating. He is literally about 00:16:34.370 --> 00:16:37.230 to take a bite of the poisoned food. The tension 00:16:37.230 --> 00:16:39.909 is unbearable. But Hector intervenes. He knocks 00:16:39.909 --> 00:16:42.350 the plate right off the table. He saves Tuco's 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:44.980 life. And Tuco... He's confused at first, right? 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:47.000 Yeah. He doesn't get it. He thinks his uncle 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.840 is just being difficult. He thinks, oh, Tio doesn't 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.220 like the burrito. Maybe it's too spicy. Right. 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:54.240 But then he realizes something is very wrong. 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:57.240 Hector is ringing the bell frantically. Ding 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.000 ding ding. He's staring right at Walt. He is 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.740 pointing with his eyes. And Tuco, for all his 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:06.099 crazy erratic behavior, has incredible survival 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:08.880 instincts. He is an apex predator. He really 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.740 is. He realizes he is being played. And the switch 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:15.460 just flips. The whole host demeanor is gone. 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:18.920 The let's have dinner before the cousins get 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:26.680 here vibe completely vanishes. He holds a gun 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:29.480 directly to Jesse's head. This is the brutal 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:34.720 interrogation. What did you do? What did you 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.539 put in it? It is a total catastrophic failure 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:39.900 of their plan. Complete failure. They tried to 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:42.759 be smart to use chemistry, the ricin, to solve 00:17:42.759 --> 00:17:45.859 the physical problem, but brute force Tuco with 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:48.660 a gun wins in that specific moment. It creates 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:51.359 a situation where intelligence just fails. Walt's 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.519 giant brain couldn't save them. made it worse. 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:55.680 In fact his attempt to be clever just made things 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.220 infinitely worse. Now Tuco knows for a fact they 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:00.259 are trying to kill him. They are on their knees 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:02.680 in the dirt waiting to be executed or dragged 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:05.160 to Mexico. The intellectual superiority Walt 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.460 feels he always has over Tuco completely evaporates 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:10.539 when there's an assault rifle shoved in his face. 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:13.039 And that brings us right to the climax of the 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.299 episode, segment five, the shootout. The turn 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:20.109 of events here. is intensely physical. It is 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:23.410 primal. It stops being a quiet chess match and 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:26.029 starts being a desperate street brawl. Tuco is 00:18:26.029 --> 00:18:29.069 distracted for a second. He is raging. He is 00:18:29.069 --> 00:18:31.089 looking at the horizon, maybe checking to see 00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.690 if the cousins are finally arriving. And Jesse 00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:36.329 Pinkman finds something deep inside himself. 00:18:36.490 --> 00:18:39.569 He spots a rock, just a jagged rock sitting in 00:18:39.569 --> 00:18:42.730 the dirt. And he uses it. Jesse actually manages 00:18:42.730 --> 00:18:45.869 to overpower Tuco by hitting him in the side 00:18:45.869 --> 00:18:47.970 of the head with the rock. And it is not just 00:18:47.970 --> 00:18:50.329 the rock. In the desperate scramble, Jesse gets 00:18:50.329 --> 00:18:52.849 a hold of his own pistol, the one Tuco confiscated 00:18:52.849 --> 00:18:55.130 from him earlier, and he shoots Tuco right in 00:18:55.130 --> 00:18:58.779 the abdomen. It is a messy, chaotic fight. It 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:01.500 is not a beautifully choreographed martial arts 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:03.220 scene like you would see in an action movie. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.720 No, it's ugly. It is two desperate people fighting 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.880 for their actual lives in the dirt. They're rolling 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.640 around biting, scratching. It feels terrifyingly 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:12.900 real. So Tuco is down. He is shot in the gut. 00:19:12.940 --> 00:19:15.220 He falls backward into the excavation pit next 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:18.019 to the house. He is bleeding badly. Walt and 00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:20.559 Jesse think, OK, we won. Let's get out of here. 00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:24.099 But then they see a car. A vehicle approaches 00:19:24.099 --> 00:19:26.960 in the distance. We see the dust trail kicking 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.230 up. And because of the set up earlier, that ticking 00:19:30.230 --> 00:19:33.930 clock we talked about, they assume the absolute 00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:36.690 worst. They think it is the Cousins. Exactly. 00:19:37.049 --> 00:19:39.730 They think we took out the boss, but the reinforcements 00:19:39.730 --> 00:19:42.490 are here. Their victory turns into immediate, 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:45.650 absolute panic. So they crawl into hiding in 00:19:45.650 --> 00:19:48.490 the brush, they leave the car, they leave the 00:19:48.490 --> 00:19:50.529 gun, they just hide in the dirt. But it is not 00:19:50.529 --> 00:19:53.509 the Cousins at all. It is the B plot colliding 00:19:53.509 --> 00:19:55.730 beautifully with the A plot. It is Hank Schrader. 00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:58.039 Hank Trader following the low jack signal. He 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:00.779 steps out of his SUV, probably expecting to find 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:03.279 a stolen vehicle or maybe Jesse Pinkman getting 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:05.440 high with some friends. Yeah, he thinks it's 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.279 a routine grab. He is completely unprepared for 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:10.759 what he was walking into. Instead, he finds a 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:14.000 literal war zone. He confronts Tuco. Now Tuco 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.140 is injured, he's bleeding out, he's climbing 00:20:16.140 --> 00:20:20.720 out of that pit, but he is still incredibly dangerous. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:23.240 He sees Hank. Tuco doesn't know who Hank is really, 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.309 he just sees a cop. or maybe just an enemy standing 00:20:26.309 --> 00:20:28.509 in his way. He just starts shooting. Tuco opens 00:20:28.509 --> 00:20:31.890 fire on Hank with an assault rifle. And this 00:20:31.890 --> 00:20:35.269 is a hugely defining moment for Hank. Up until 00:20:35.269 --> 00:20:38.430 now, we have seen him posturing, talking big, 00:20:38.710 --> 00:20:41.210 maybe a bit of a loudmouth. A desk jockey who 00:20:41.210 --> 00:20:44.789 talks tough. But here, he is in a real shootout. 00:20:44.970 --> 00:20:47.809 He is under heavy fire. And he handles it. He 00:20:47.809 --> 00:20:50.410 really does. He takes cover behind his SUV. He 00:20:50.410 --> 00:20:53.250 doesn't panic at all. He returns fire. It is 00:20:53.250 --> 00:20:56.789 a very quick very brutal exchange. Hank creates 00:20:56.789 --> 00:20:59.710 a distraction, pops up and fatally shoots Tuco. 00:20:59.910 --> 00:21:02.990 A clean headshot. Tuco Salamanca is dead. And 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:05.029 the resolution of this is ruled as self -defense 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:07.609 back at the station. Hank didn't go out there 00:21:07.609 --> 00:21:09.849 to execute him. He was fired upon first. Right. 00:21:09.869 --> 00:21:12.329 He was literally just checking a LOJAC signal 00:21:12.329 --> 00:21:14.450 for his missing brother -in -law. But think about 00:21:14.450 --> 00:21:16.890 the position of Walt and Jesse in this exact 00:21:16.890 --> 00:21:19.049 moment. Oh, man. This is the irony that makes 00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:21.410 the show so incredibly good. They are hiding 00:21:21.410 --> 00:21:23.769 in the bushes maybe 20 yards away. Watching this 00:21:23.769 --> 00:21:26.190 whole thing unfold. Watching Walt's DEA brother 00:21:26.190 --> 00:21:28.890 -in -law kill their cartel kidnapper. It is the 00:21:28.890 --> 00:21:31.349 ultimate close call. If Hank had just looked 00:21:31.349 --> 00:21:33.529 to the left or if Walt had sneezed or if Jesse 00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:36.670 had panicked and run it, the entire series would 00:21:36.670 --> 00:21:39.029 end right there in episode nine. Walt would be 00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:41.549 arrested on the spot. Instead, Hank is occupied. 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:44.599 He is... Checking the body he is calling it in 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:47.380 on the radio. He is dealing with the massive 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:50.339 adrenaline dump of a lethal shootout. He begins 00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:52.519 investigating the scene. And Walt and Jesse, 00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:55.299 they silently escape. They slip away into the 00:21:55.299 --> 00:21:58.559 desert. They survive. But the dynamic of the 00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:01.359 show has shifted permanently. Hank is now a hero 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:03.720 who took down a cartel boss. He actually gets 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:05.680 a promotion later because of this very shootout. 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.859 And Walt and Jesse are traumatized fugitives 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:10.319 who barely made it out with their lives. And 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.799 we have to note... A major cast departure here. 00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:15.759 Yes. This episode marks the final appearance 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.400 of Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca in the present 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:21.160 Breaking Bad timeline. He was such a force of 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:23.359 nature. It is hard to believe he was only in 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.359 a handful of episodes. It feels like he dominated 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:28.240 two entire seasons. He burned bright and fast. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:30.980 And here's a fun fact from the production notes. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:34.259 Raymond Cruz actually asked to be killed off. 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:36.900 Really? I didn't know that. Yeah, the role of 00:22:36.900 --> 00:22:39.960 Tuco was so high energy and so physically demanding, 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:43.039 all that screaming and constant tension, that 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.079 he said it was physically exhausting him. He 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:48.279 felt he couldn't keep that level of intensity 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:51.960 up for a long multi -season arc. That makes total 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:53.539 sense when you think about it. You watch him 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:55.680 and his veins are popping out of his neck in 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.759 literally every scene. But his exit paved the 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:01.119 way for very different kinds of villains later 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.750 on in the show. villains who are much quieter, 00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:07.490 much more calculated. Tuco is the fire. Later 00:23:07.490 --> 00:23:10.710 villains are the ice. Exactly. So the dust settles. 00:23:10.890 --> 00:23:14.150 Tuco is dead. Walt and Jesse are free, technically. 00:23:15.789 --> 00:23:17.849 Let's talk about how the world reacted to this 00:23:17.849 --> 00:23:20.890 episode. Segment six, critical reception and 00:23:20.890 --> 00:23:23.190 legacy. It is really interesting to look back 00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:26.450 at the reviews from 2009 versus the retrospective 00:23:26.450 --> 00:23:28.589 rankings from years later. Because watching it 00:23:28.589 --> 00:23:30.809 week to week hits differently than when you binge 00:23:30.809 --> 00:23:32.750 it all at once. Absolutely. Let's look at the 00:23:32.750 --> 00:23:35.369 rankings first. The Ringer ranked Grilled as 00:23:35.369 --> 00:23:39.230 the 25th best episode out of the 62 total episodes. 00:23:39.630 --> 00:23:42.109 That puts it firmly in the top half. It is a 00:23:42.109 --> 00:23:44.990 very solid ranking considering how many absolute 00:23:44.990 --> 00:23:47.109 masterpiece episodes are in the later seasons. 00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:50.200 Like Ozymandias or Face Off. Exactly. Competing 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:53.200 with those is tough. And Vulture ranked it 30th 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:55.960 overall, so solidly in the middle to high tier. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:59.140 Which is deeply respectable given the incredible 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:01.799 quality of the show overall. It acknowledges 00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:04.339 that this is a truly foundational episode. But 00:24:04.339 --> 00:24:06.519 at the time it aired, there was some specific 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:10.980 criticism. We have a review here from Seth Amitin 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:14.869 of IGN. Yes. He gave the episode an 8 .9 out 00:24:14.869 --> 00:24:17.410 of 10. Which is a very high score still. It is, 00:24:17.769 --> 00:24:19.849 but the critique inside the review is fascinating. 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:21.869 It brings up a great debate about storytelling 00:24:21.869 --> 00:24:24.509 structure. What was his main issue with it? He 00:24:24.509 --> 00:24:27.349 felt the episode prolonged Walt and Jesse's entrance 00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:29.829 into the drug trade. Prolonged it. Yeah, the 00:24:29.829 --> 00:24:31.690 argument was that the kidnapping was basically 00:24:31.690 --> 00:24:34.130 a detour, that it delayed the business of cooking 00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:36.549 and selling meth. The reviewer seemed to want 00:24:36.549 --> 00:24:38.589 to see the empire building aspect and viewed 00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:41.289 being trapped in a shack as a stall tactic by 00:24:41.289 --> 00:24:43.799 the writers. That is such an interesting take 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:45.920 because looking back now, the business seems 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.200 completely secondary to the survival aspect. 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:51.660 I think that is the modern consensus for sure. 00:24:52.180 --> 00:24:55.579 The kidnapping isn't a delay. It is vital character 00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:58.059 development. It shows us that they are absolutely 00:24:58.059 --> 00:25:00.779 not ready for the drug trade. It exposes their 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:03.660 extreme vulnerability. Right. If they just started 00:25:03.660 --> 00:25:07.160 selling meth smoothly and making millions, there's 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:09.670 no drama. The fact that they get kidnapped by 00:25:09.670 --> 00:25:12.390 their very first distributor shows how deeply 00:25:12.390 --> 00:25:15.009 over their heads they are. It is a massive reality 00:25:15.009 --> 00:25:17.289 check for them. It really is. Exactly. The delay 00:25:17.289 --> 00:25:19.970 is the entire point. It strips away the illusion 00:25:19.970 --> 00:25:22.390 that Walt is some kind of criminal mastermind. 00:25:22.549 --> 00:25:24.829 In this episode, he is literally just a terrified 00:25:24.829 --> 00:25:27.450 chemistry teacher hiding in the bushes. It establishes 00:25:27.450 --> 00:25:29.970 that the criminal world is chaotic and doesn't 00:25:29.970 --> 00:25:32.589 follow a neat business plan. If the show had 00:25:32.589 --> 00:25:34.890 just skipped this trauma and gone straight to 00:25:34.890 --> 00:25:37.130 them making millions, it wouldn't have earned 00:25:37.130 --> 00:25:39.430 the later darker moments. It also establishes 00:25:39.430 --> 00:25:41.829 the physical danger early on. It is not just 00:25:41.829 --> 00:25:43.890 about getting caught by the cops, it is about 00:25:43.890 --> 00:25:46.450 getting murdered by your own partners. Precisely. 00:25:46.890 --> 00:25:50.009 It raises the stakes from prison to death. So 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.130 what does this all mean for the listener? Let's 00:25:52.130 --> 00:25:54.670 wrap this deep dive up with our outro and summarize 00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:56.829 what we've learned from the sources. If we summarize 00:25:56.829 --> 00:26:00.700 the key takeaways, Grilled is pivotal for three 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:03.099 main reasons. Okay, let's hear them. First, the 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:05.000 introduction of Hector Salamanca and his bell. 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:08.119 That specific sound effect becomes a signature 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:10.940 of the show's tension. It is an absolute master 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:13.359 class in sound design. Second, the death of Tuco 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:16.240 Salamanca, but specifically the fact that he 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:19.319 died at the hands of Hank, not Walt, not Jesse. 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.420 Which sets Hank on his own trajectory as a super 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:25.039 cop. It gives him confidence, but it also... 00:26:24.890 --> 00:26:27.450 deeply haunts him moving forward. And it keeps 00:26:27.450 --> 00:26:30.369 the two main characters, Walt and Hank, on parallel 00:26:30.369 --> 00:26:32.609 lines that are destined to eventually intersect. 00:26:32.970 --> 00:26:35.950 And third, the narrow escape. The secret identity 00:26:35.950 --> 00:26:38.789 is safe for another day. But the psychological 00:26:38.789 --> 00:26:41.529 toll is immense. It changes them fundamentally. 00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:44.589 They aren't just partners in crime anymore. They're 00:26:44.589 --> 00:26:47.470 survivors of a severe shared trauma. They have 00:26:47.470 --> 00:26:50.170 seen the devil together. That bonds them in a 00:26:50.170 --> 00:26:52.029 way that goes so much deeper than just making 00:26:52.029 --> 00:26:53.910 money. I want to leave you, the listener, with 00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:56.670 a final thought to mull over. Building on that 00:26:56.670 --> 00:27:00.049 IGN review about prolonging the story, think 00:27:00.049 --> 00:27:03.230 about the sound of that bell. It is just a cheap 00:27:03.230 --> 00:27:06.630 piece of hotel reception equipment. You see them 00:27:06.630 --> 00:27:09.869 at front desks literally everywhere. But in this 00:27:09.869 --> 00:27:12.380 episode, the writers turned it into a deadly 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:14.960 weapon. They turned a paralyzed mute man into 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.700 the biggest threat in the room. And they show 00:27:16.700 --> 00:27:19.059 that in this world, danger doesn't always look 00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:21.920 like a screaming guy with a gun. Sometimes it 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.559 looks like a frail old man in a wheelchair watching 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.380 you secretly poison his nephew. So the real question 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:30.720 is in a show about transformation, are these 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:33.440 detours, these moments where the business stops 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.680 and raw survival begins, are they frustrations? 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:39.140 Or are they the exact moments where the characters 00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:41.339 actually become who they are meant to be? I would 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:43.259 argue they are the essential fire that forges 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:46.319 them. Hence the title, Grilled. You don't get 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:48.359 cooked without the heat. Absolutely beautifully 00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:50.619 said. If you want to dig deeper, check out the 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:52.319 source notes on the Better Call Saul connections 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:55.519 we discussed. It adds a whole new layer to Hector's 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:57.720 hate -filled stare when you rewatch it. There 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:00.680 is always more to find in the details. Watching 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.920 the prequel really changes how you view Hector's 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:06.359 immense frustration in this episode. He knows 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:08.839 exactly what is happening, but he is powerless 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:10.980 to stop it himself. Thanks for diving in with 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:13.059 us today. We will catch you on the next deep 00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:14.099 dive. Until then.