With the Breaking Bad universe becoming the latest trend on social media, a certain episode from Season 3 of the critically acclaimed show has come under controversy. The episode in question is Fly and is commonly described as “a waste of time”, whilst some claim it to feature the best cinematography that the show has to offer. In this article, we will attempt to find out: is the episode as brilliant as some fans claim, or it simply lame?

Plot Summary

This episode focuses principally on the characters of Walter and Jesse, presenting Walter’s extreme efforts to remove a fly from his meth laboratory. Meanwhile, Jesse is shown to be the voice of reason (unlike usual) in this episode, attempting to calm Walter down and make him give up on the fly.

Boring or Adoring?

The main cause of displeasure towards the episode originates from casual viewers, claiming the episode is “boring” and irrelevant to the plot. This for one somewhat makes sense with Walter’s wild goose chase of catching a fly adds little to nothing to the plot directly and is a stark change from the usual fast paced nature of the series. Even those who understand the episode’s importance in character development, foreshadowing and buildup concluded that Fly was monotonous and unenjoyable. I for one would consider myself to be part of this group, turning to TikTok to alleviate my boredom from watching the episode. This opinion appears to be backed by all viewership evidence with it being the worst rated episode of the series according to IMDb.

Bottle job or Bottle episode

One reason why Fly can be so jarring to fans is because it is the only ‘bottle’ episode in such an action filled series – but what is a bottle episode? A ‘bottle’ episode is one with a low budgeting using very few actors, sets and special effects all in the name of keeping cost down. In the case of the fly this is very stark, as much of the episode simply shows Walt and Jesse speaking in the meth lab. A ‘bottle’ episode is implemented for a variety of reasons, often boiling down to budgetary restraints or an episode being written at short notice.

However, whilst Fly is undeniably a much slower-paced episode and is restricted to one set with a handful of actors, it has been hailed by many critics and fans as one of, if not the best episode of the entire series. Television critic Alan Sepinwall described Fly as “maybe the best bottle show ever”.

A Deeper Meaning to the episode?

So, how did producer Vince Gilligan make such a highly regarded ‘bottle’ episode due to the show having a limited budget? The answer lies in his use of symbolism and imagery throughout the episode. Whilst there are many differing opinions on the exact meaning of the fly, most critics speculate that the fly represents Walter’s guilt, obsession, and loss of control in his life. Walter’s once clean and above-board life as a chemistry teacher is replaced by a life of crime and secrecy; this explains obsession and desperation in trying to kill the fly, which always alludes him, representing how his crimes cannot be washed away and will always haunt him. Furthermore, Vince uses lots of high angle shots in the show looking down on Walter from above which portrays him as seeming weak

and vulnerable, mimicking the power that the fly and by extension the guilt has over his mind. It is this allegorical storytelling and impressive cinematography that garners so much praise from critics however the fly nonetheless remains divisive with many disliking the episode because of its “artsy pretensions” and its “go-nowhere plot arc”.

My thoughts

Whilst common opinions towards the episode range from “10/10” to “an hour of my life I’ll never get back”, I have come to a more moderate conclusion. Although it is clear that Fly is no cinematic masterpiece, it is certainly not as deplorable as it is made to seem by some fanatic fans. Personally, I would give Fly a 6.5/10 with the majority of points being scored due to its decent quality in terms of a ‘ bottle’ episode.