Breaking Bad re-watch: Season 1, Episode 2: “Cat’s in the Bag…”

Picking up right where the pilot left off, this one finds Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) attempting to clean up the mess they made by disposing of the bodies of two drug dealers. Just one problem: one of them is still alive.

At this point, both are still very out of their element. Walt is very new to the drug world, and while Jesse may know his way around a little better, he’s hardly a hardened killer used to dealing with dead bodies. Their ineptitude while deciding what to do with their victims is darkly comedic, like a very sick and vile take on the old sitcom odd-couple trope. Their bickering against their morbid circumstances makes for fun black humor, with the final scene—what’s left of one victim dissolved in acid eating through a bathtub down to the next floor—standing out as one of the funniest and most unexpected moments on the show, one that’s still very funny even when you know it's coming.

One of the most compelling elements of the series is the dynamic between Walt and Jesse. The two have stuck together for the duration of the series, and yet their relationship always seems like a flimsy one. It’s more of an alliance of convenience for Walt: He works with Jesse because he needs him, and would break away from him if given the chance. Here, they hate each other, but are forced to work together because of their predicament. This kind of sets the tone for their partnership for the rest of the series. There may be some flashes of camaraderie between the two, but relationship is never more than a fight away from straining, and yet too symbiotic to completely end.

The episode also depicts a first for Walt: lying. Specifically, lying to his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn), that he’s reconnecting with Jesse for pot (not completely untrue; he does smoke some of Jesse’s stash). This won’t be the last time, but this first lie seems a little different from the ones coming. This time, the lie seems to convey a sense of shame on Walt’s part, like he’s trying to protect his family in case he’s caught instead of simply covering his own ass. As the series goes on, though, the lies will be progressively more for the latter’s sake than the former.