Breaking Bad is one of the most perfect TV shows ever created. Fans of the show are massive and spread out all over the world. The AMC show unites all demographics, but bring out the Fly episode and then the civil war begins. No episode on Breaking Bad has that level of polarized reaction from fans and Vince Gilligan explained why the episode even exists.
For the not so avid fans, Fly is the 10th episode of the third season. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and Sam Catlin with Rian Johnson directing, the episode is known for the lack of cast members other than the two leads as they try to hunt down a fly inside their state of the art pristine lab.
The idea of the episode being focused on a single fly is what drives half of Breaking Bad fans up the wall. While the other half see it as a calming yet distinctive episode that no one can ever forget. The divide among the fans is real, but do most people even know why the episode even exists?
Vince Gilligan’s Reason for Making the Fly Episode
The Fly episode from Breaking Bad is polarising and its origin a little simple, Vince Gilligan explains.
Image Source: IMDb
The reason half of Breaking Bad fans hate Fly is the lack of action, not just murderous action, just simple action coming from the characters. Also, the confinement inside the lab does not help settle those people’s mood either considering the decision Jesse made in the previous episode to steal the leftover meth.
Well, the confinement and the slow pacing of the episode was by design, something Vince Gilligan was forced into due to budgetary restrictions. It is hard to consider Breaking Bad not having enough budget considering the juggernaut it has become.
But that was the case, Vince and the production team needed $25,000 to $30,000 so they could move the production trucks. They did not have the money and being in a budgetary pinch the creator of the show decided to film a “bottle episode” which would carry them over.
Also Read: Gus Fring Died as Zombie on ‘Breaking Bad’ Thanks to Special Help from ‘The Walking Dead’
“We were hopelessly over budget,” Vince explained to Vulture. “And we needed to come up with what is called a bottle episode, set in one location,” which became the Fly episode. So, the episode was not planned earlier by the production or writing team, they just had to think on their feet and in turn, made one of the most memorable episodes of Breaking Bad.
Vince is proud of the episode and he is also proud of the writing. “To us, writing is also about between the lines, the cinema. Wordless communication,” the Breaking Bad creator continued. Fly is filled with worldless communication as one house fly makes Jesse and Walter mad.
Imagine making a show with so many catchy scenes and quotable lines, then an episode with a fly becomes the point of contention and memory for almost all of the fans. No matter the hate or love surrounding the Fly episode, even a first-time watcher will remember this episode, and that is saying something.
Bryan Cranston Revealed He Ran Marathons
Bryan Cranston star shot up after the actor appeared in Breaking Bad. He was in Malcolm in the Middle but award notoriety and name recognization can all be attributed to his 62-episode stint in AMC’s Breaking Bad. And because of his fame, there is always a need for people to know more about the actor.
This week Bryan was in the SmatLess podcast where Jason Bateman is one of the hosts. During the conversation, Jason asked Bryan to reveal something about himself that would be surprising to most people. After playing a little coy, the Walter White actor said he used to run marathons.
It was something the actor stumbled into, he mentioned. While in New York he saw a large number of people running in the street and thought to himself that he could do it too after a little doubt had found a way into his head at first. In 1984 he ran a marathon and recorded a time of 3:20:45, which is pretty impressive.
“I’m watching this sea of humanity run. I heard myself say, ‘I could never do this.’ And then I stopped and I went, ‘Why couldn’t I do that?’” the actor revealed about seeing the NYC marathon. While he does not run marathons anymore, it is still a surprising thing that he did in his youth.
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AMC Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston Fly Vince Gilligan
Last modified: January 16, 2021
