Cornered (''Breaking Bad'')

"Cornered" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 39th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 21, 2011.

Plot

The episode opens similarly to "Bullet Points," with two guards riding in the back of a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerator truck. The truck is suddenly forced off the road by cartel hitmen, led by cartel member Gaff, who shoot the driver in the head. Previously, the cartel hijackers had been shot by Mike (Jonathan Banks), who was hidden in the truck. This time, they lock the truck, and use a hose to redirect the truck's exhaust into the ventilation system. They then proceed to eat the driver's lunch while the hidden guards die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Gaff and his men then open the truck, and find a marked container of fry batter that contains meth for distribution.

Skyler (Anna Gunn) realizes that Walter's (Bryan Cranston) voicemail he left earlier declaring his love for her and the family was actually meant to be a last message to them. She suspects Gale's death is related to the meth operation, which leads her to pressure Walt to call the police due to the danger it presents their family. She suggests a hypothetical situation where one day an in-over-his-head Walter opens his front door and is shot in the face; Walter, furious that she does not understand the scope of his criminal operation, responds that, in that scenario, he'd be "the one who knocks." The level of apparent danger causes Skyler to flee the house, taking Holly with her. She ponders escaping to Colorado, going so far as to drive to the Four Corners Monument, but ultimately reconsiders.

Walter receives the keys to the car wash from Bogdan, and avenges his past insults by making Bogdan leave behind his framed first earned dollar, which Walter uses to buy a soda. Walter tells Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) he is not moving back home and buys a new Dodge Challenger to cheer him up. Jesse (Aaron Paul) returns to the lab and Walter expresses doubt that Jesse was hired to help Mike due to stopping an earlier robbery, considering the whole thing a ruse by Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) to create a wedge between them. Jesse is later called away by Mike before he can help clean the lab. Infuriated, Walter pays off three women at the laundry to do it, but afterwards feels guilty as Gus punishes them by sending Tyrus to deport them back to Honduras (if not having them shot).

Jesse and Mike scout a house selling the blue meth from the hijacked truck, but Jesse grows impatient and tricks one of the meth users into letting him into the house, where he knocks out the other. Mike notices the message "Ready to talk?" written on the stolen container in Spanish. Gus meets with Mike at a diner that night and decides to try and negotiate with the cartel; incidentally, Gus seems impressed with Jesse's actions at the house and tells Jesse why he gave him another chance, saying "I like to think I see things in people." Skyler arrives home and demands that Walter return Junior's car, as buying lavish things threatens their cover story, saying "someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family."

Accolades

Due to her nomination, Anna Gunn submitted this episode for consideration for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards.^[1]

Although credited, Bob Odenkirk, Dean Norris and Betsy Brandt do not appear.

Reception

The episode received very positive reviews from critics. Seth Amitin reviewing for IGN awarded the episode 9.5 out of 10 calling it an "extraordinary episode from top to bottom".^[2] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said the episode was his "favorite episode of season 4 to date".^[3] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+".^[4]

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: "Cornered"

• "Cornered" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Cornered" on IMDb
• "Cornered" at TV.com