Breaking Bad (TV Series) Shotgun (2011) User Reviews

Shotgun (#4.5)

[ComedyFan2010 · 9/10 · 4 January 2014]

Great episode. At first we are made to worry for Jesse. He is in a car with Mike going nobody knows where. And considering Gus's opinion of Jesse one doesn't have the best expectations. When Mike went to dig a hole I thought that this was it. And they go on throwing in unexpected twists such as that the guy with a gun was a planned thing to separate Jesse fro Walt. And it was once again great to see Walt caring for Jesse and trying to find him.

I also loved the ending. Telling Hank that Heisenberg might still be out there is so much Walt. We already saw him many times acting on impulse. And he has a lot of pride. It kind of fit his character to hint that it maybe isn't Gale who is the genius. Which is how Hank notices that vegans eating fried chicken is a bit weird.

Driving with Mike!

[and_mikkelsen · 9/10 · 18 April 2023]

This was quite an interesting episode! I really enjoyed the scenes with Mike and Jesse as they captures the state Jesse is currently in as well as fleshing out Mike's character by showing us more of what he is doing for Gus! This also marks the journey where Walt and Jesse are put up against each other!

The episode itself was intense at first as Walt fears what is about to happen since Jesse is gone! Most of the episode plays itself slow but still has great moments! Much like the previous episode, we get an important scene at the end, when Walt's takes over after a little too much wine!

Things are building up to the exciting, amazing secomd half of the season!

Better

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 20 March 2021]

A better episode, one with greater psychological depth than some previous. It's nice to see Jesse doing something, anything, compared to the rest of this series, and seeing Gus as the expert game player again. The climactic scenes with a drunk Walt are fantastic.

Jumped the shark? Hell no. Killed the shark and then revived it? Hell yes.

[ACureforPain · 15 August 2011]

I have to passionately disagree with the previous IMDb-guy-who-thinks-he-knows-everything-about-writing.

*spoilers, obviously*

BB did NOT, at all, "jump the shark" in this episode. Walter convincing Hank to go back after Heisenberg makes perfect sense if you stop and think at where Walter is at in his life right now. He's a flawed man, brilliant at times and incredibly stupid at other times.

This episode was about Walter losing control and, most importantly, being superseded by everyone he's involved with. Jesse, of course, but also Skylar. And Gale, most importantly. A dead guy, a former "student" of his, is being called a "genius" by a guy who Walt has envied for years.

Throw in too much alcohol and you have a classic piece of writing (reminded me a lot of the pool scene couple of seasons back). That was Walters/Heisenberg's way of telling Hank "you're not the alpha male. I am. I'm Heisenberg".

This is his way of saying "I'm still Heisenberg. Come and get me".

It's like a classic Western scene. One cowboy telling another cowboy: "get back in the saddle and come get me. I'm ready for you". Except, this is Walter, so he would only say this under the influence of too much alcohol (the pool scene proved he can't hold his drink) and when his ego is being beaten up by a guy he spent years envying.

This is me talking. You can agree or disagree. You can love this episode or hate it. That's fine. But to say BB has jumped the shark is ridiculous.

If, instead of subconsciously saying "Come get me. I want you to come and get me", Walter had gotten up and stabbed Hank in the eye with a fork: that would have been a "what the fudge moment, the bad kind. (Also, go to hell censorship. This is the internet. I shouldn't have to censor myself.)

This was the good kind. I was on the edge of my seat. Once again, the writers and actors surprised me. To quote Walter: "I never saw it coming."

Jesse gets taken for a ride

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 7 December 2012]

With no sign of Jesse, Walt decides to pay a visit to Gus; while waiting he gets a call from Mike explaining that Jesse will be with him for the day and that Walt should get on cooking on his own. Mike is driving Jesse far out into the desert in what we can only assume is part of a plan to kill him... when he gets to his destination he does nothing to Jesse though; he just takes a bag of money from a dead drop. This process is repeated a number of times and Jesse starts getting bored rather than scared. Then on the final pick up it looks as if they are about to get jumped; Jesse will have to act on his own if he is to survive as Mike is away from the car! While this is going on Walt starts getting closer to Skyler again after they finalise the purchase of the carwash. He then goes to cook but it isn't easy without help; he screams that he can't work without Jesse and soon somebody comes to help; it isn't Jesse though. Once he has finished work he and Skyler go for a meal at Hank and Marie's; Walt shows his pride when Hank starts talking about what a genius Gale was... he can't help saying that he thinks Gale's work was derivative and that the real genius is still at large.

This was a top notch episode; he may not have had much dramatic action but things we tense throughout as we never knew what Mike had planned for Jesse. Walt's actions might have seemed unlikely but I could believe he was proud enough not to want Gale taking credit for his work even if he couldn't admit it was his work... besides its not as if it makes things any more dangerous for him as the DEA will continue to try to find out who is making the blue meth whether or not they think the man who invented it is dead. As always the acting was great; especially from Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks who play Jesse and Mike; their scenes together were great.

Another Enjoyable Episode!

[g-bodyl · 9/10 · 15 January 2015]

This is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad. It is about on par with the last episode. It's great, but still not on the high level of excellence expected from this series(that's a 10/10 in my book). The episode has a good action sequence in the beginning, and the cliffhanger is brilliant as we get a drunken Walt saying things he is not supposed to.

In this episode, "Shotgun," Walt goes to Gus's restaurant to find out what happened to Jesse, but Gus is not there. Jesse is taken along for the ride by Mike all over New Mexico for pickups and Jesse rides shotgun, but something it not all it seems. Meanwhile, Skylar and Walt successfully buy the car wash.

Overall, this is a very good episode that features some more high-caliber dialogue and this episode shows that Jesse may have more of a purpose in episodes to come. In short, that last scene with Hank and the lab notes sets up the next episode nicely. I rate this episode 9/10.

Stunning ending

[TheFirst01 · 9/10 · 6 August 2019]

A stunning finale makes up for a stunning episode.

"since when do vegans eat fried chicken?"

[tylerjonahlorette · 8/10 · 27 July 2022]

One of my favourite lines of the show, i feel that scene with hank discovering the los pollos hermanos card is the turning point for the rest of the show. Great closing scene.

Shotgun Chewbacca

[Trey_Trebuchet · 9/10 · 25 April 2023]

I guess I didn't realize some thought this jumped the shark? I'm not sure why. I didn't think anyone's actions felt out of character, and the last couple of scenes were really well written.

Jesse and Mike's trip was pretty entertaining. I've grown to kind of love this Mike guy! But yeah, it's sad Jesse didn't actually do anything super heroic, but what a strangely ingenious idea to get things back on track in the lab.

Bryan Cranston was freakin' awesome in this episode. From his sad phone call during his perilous driving, down to his prideful drunkenness. This was actually some really good character development for Walter. Inadvertently being prideful about something he cannot talk about, and sort of soiling Hank's happiness... again! I'm most excited for THAT inevitable confrontation.

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. Some interesting drama, some good tension yet again, some actual character work for both of the leads, and some really good direction and pacing. It is probably one of the best in the season so far!

Ego, ego, ego

[jenni_0214 · 10/10 · 23 April 2014]

Really like this episode for the "fallacies" (rock on Tw@t Hammer!). Scarface had sex with Mr. Rogers. 1977 with Ana Tijoux. Non fancy liquor, it is!!! The sheets are different than I remember. Alien is referenced. Jesse is a hero...or so he thinks. "Garcia's" on Central sounds delicious right now. Joke: Jesse guards Mike. I know better than to ask questions. The Gerber Baby Car Wash. Can we get through one meal without you grabbing your crotch?? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Crazy singing guy?? Candles and white table cloth. Since when do vegans eat fried chicken??? Do I even have to mention the one who knocks??? Once again, the ego screws everything up.

Perilous pickup

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 11 June 2018]

'Breaking Bad' is one of the most popular rated shows on IMDb, is one of those rarities where every season has either been very positively received or near-universally acclaimed critically and where all of my friends have said nothing but great things about.

Very few shows in recent memory had me so hooked from the very start that before the week was over the whole show had been watched, especially when for a lot of shows now airing watching one episode all the way through can be an endeavour. 'Breaking Bad' had that effect on me, and its reputation as one of the best, consistently brilliant and most addictive shows in many years (maybe even ever) is more than deserved in my eyes. Its weakest season is perhaps the first season, understandable as any show's first season is the one where things are still settling.

Actually everything is established remarkably from the very start, but once the writing and characterisation becomes even meatier the show reaches even higher levels.

"Shotgun" is a lesser 'Breaking Bad' episode for me and one of the weaker Season 4 episodes. Still consider it very good with a good deal of what makes the show so good present. It is not as taut as other episodes before and since and it is a little contrived occasionally (unusual for 'Breaking Bad').

Lots of great things however.

Visually, "Shotgun" is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing in "Shotgun" is a fine example of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and entertaining. The story is generally interesting and absorbing, with the pace of it consistently deliberate but not dull.

Can't say anything bad about the acting. Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as one of the most fascinating anti-heroes, or even of any kind of character, in either film or television. Aaron Paul has never been better and his and Cranston's chemistry is a delight. Anna Gunn is affecting. The characters are compelling in their realism and the episode is strongly directed.

Overall, very good but could have been better for a show of such a high calibre. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Not the best, but not the worst.

[evanoquigley · 7/10 · 18 August 2011]

I don't agree that this episode 'Jumped the Shark', and instead it gave us some pretty interesting character development in Walt. On one hand you would believe that Walt would be delighted the DEA are giving up on Heisenberg, but his ego won't allow him to let it happen. It makes perfect sense, from somebody who despite being a genius, ended up as a college dealer and then when he finally does become successful at something (Producing Meth), he can't tell anybody for obvious reasons. Also, the fact that he didn't like Gale taking credit for his work (albeit posthumously. It was obvious from the start that Walt was uncomfortable with Gale, as he knew that he was intelligent enough that he could potentially become a 'Heisenberg' sort of type. That's why he never wanted to work with him, even though he was a really nice guy.

This brings me to Jesse, Walt's always had an affection from him from Day 1, despite all of his flaws, but Walt has spent so much time with Jesse now that he has become to consider him a friend. Remember back to the earlier episodes when it was revealed Walt used to really try and get him to do better in chemistry by writing apply yourself on all of his test papers. He obviously see's something in him, and wants to keep him around.

There's good reason why Jesse should never have been killed off (and it's great he wasn't), Aaron Paul is an incredible actor (he even won an Emmy last year), and Jesse and Walt's relationship is very interesting. I'm looking forward to him and Skyler meeting again, which should be pretty interesting, and i'm guessing it'll happen later this season, probably in a few episodes.

The show jumped the shark in episode 4.5 .

[master-bot · 5/10 · 15 August 2011]

So far I've been able to overlook a few nonsensical twists and turns in the last couple of seasons. For example, on account of Walter's unequivocal, extreme, and unexplained devotion to his so called partner Jesse, they both become cold-blooded murderers. That's a bit much. Also, Gus, a perspicacious and overly cautious businessman, would probably 'deal' with the Jesse problem long before things get out of hand, and Walter would have no choice but to work with him anyway. Why Gus puts up with Jesse is baffling.

For the first time though, in episode 4.5, Walter really caught me off-guard, and not in a nice way, but more in a wtf-that's-not-like-Walter way. After all the trials and tribulations he's been through, in order to secure his and Jesse's job at Gus's lab, and to ensure his family's safety, one would expect him to celebrate at the news that Hank is dropping the case. Apparently though, Walter's pride is so humongous, that he sends Hank back after Heisenberg. Regardless of how you look at this, it just doesn't make any sense. On one hand Walter would kill (really) to buy himself time and safety, on the other hand he gets bored when the DEA isn't after him.

Is Walter schizophrenic by any chance? (and no, a few glasses of wine don't make a person schizophrenic)

P.S. This show is now officially in dire need for a little "Game of Thrones" character 'reconstruction'. I'm not saying kill off half of the main characters, like George R.R. Martin likes to do (which makes for a great show btw because it keeps you on your toes), but at least raise the stakes to some extent, for crying out loud. At least one main character should kick it. Jesse is the obvious choice. He would have been killed off in season 1 anyway, if it wasn't for the Writer's strike.

More "Small Arm" than "Shotgun", but still an enjoyable episode.

[stillworkingfortheknife · 20 December 2013]

Continuing the trend of weapon-named episodes, "Shotgun" reveals that the cliffhanger of the previous episode had the sole purpose of misleading viewers and that audiences will have to wait just a little longer for season four to pick up pace. However, the disappointment in the fact that Mike is not about to kill Jesse and that we are not about to see a possibly phenomenal shoot-off between those two, Walt, and Gus turned out not to be of long endurance, as the aforementioned two provide for some of the best bickering scenes the series has had up to that point (and we've had a lot of them, the number of those involving Skyler alone has to be in three figures). Jonathan Banks did an awesome job in reprimanding bored Jesse while Aaron Paul revoked some nice memories of his punk band's magnum opus "Fallacies" with humming the song.

The other major part of "Shotgun" was focused on the Whites' family life, now that all and sundry are aware of the false truth about the origin of Walt's accumulated dinero, but besides the outstanding cliffhanger realization that a much more likable Hank came to at the end of the episode, not a lot occurred that was of interest to me. I also wasn't that impressed about Walt attempting to ice Gus yet another time and the overly dramatic opening sequence that involves the most unlikely race car in television history breaking each and every existing traffic regulation.

That's about it for "Shotgun", an enjoyable episode with at least some rememberable moments here and there that nonetheless leaves one waiting for some real peril in this season.

What Are You Thinking?

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 6 May 2018]

Walter needs Jesse in the lab. The guy is a disaster with his partying with his worthless buddies. It is brought to the attention of the big guy that Jesse needs to be dealt with. One day, Mike picks him up and they do dead drop pickups in the desert. He ends up being a hero (or is he?). Walter is stuck doing the whole nine yards. The carwash is purchased and Hank and Maria come to celebrate. Walter has a bit too much to drink and makes a potentially deadly mistake. A rather contrived episode, to say the least.

Mike is too quiet and Walt is too garrulous

[dierregi · 5/10 · 20 May 2020]

Watching BB the second time around, one can notice how less than stellar some episodes were. Granted this is one of the best series ever, but nothing is perfect. This episode, although not as bad as Open House, comes very close to stretching a very flimsy plot too thin.

One half of the episode is about Jesse and Mike taking a long ride. I understand that Mike is the "cool, strong, silent" stereotype, but I agree with Jesse about him being also deadly boring.

There is a difference between being concise and being inarticulate and most often Mike seems to belong to the second category, a brute who must punch Walt, because a simple "No" wouldn't befit his character.

Walt starts the episode - and the second plot line - in a state of hysteria. Once more, the Jesse-Walt dysfunctional relationship is exploited as a cloudless, solid, friendship. Walt wants to know what happened to Jesse and goes to Los Pollos Hermanos to shoot Gus, who obviously is nowhere near the place.

Then, Walt spends "quality time" with Sky so that - after a steamy sex session - they can discuss more of the boring gambling-car wash. At dinner time, Walt gets really upset because Hank expresses admiration for the genius of the departed "Heisenberg". Therefore Walt convinces Hank that Gale was not Heisenberg. Much has been said about this move, which is quite stupid. However, with the blue stuff still around, one can imagine that sooner or later an investigation would have started again, with or without Walt misplaced pride.

The plot slowly unravels.

[mm-39 · 15 June 2012]

The plot slowly unravels. Gus is attempting to make Jesse part of the team, and lure Jesse away from Walter. Gus and Mike are trying to show Jesse that he is part of the team. They want him to feel useful; give him a purpose other than cooking. Jesse likes his new role and adapts quickly to it. He feels that he is part of the organization now. Walter on the hand is his straightforward self and cannot understand why Jesse is doing these other jobs for Gus.Gus is trying to cause a rift between Walter and Jesse! The matter of fact Mike character is a pleasure to watch. Mike is a hard nosed matter of fact enforcer who scares everyone. Well directed episode. Not the most memorable show. I give the Shotgun episode a six out of ten.

Riding shotgun

[silverton-37959 · 7/10 · 10 March 2023]

The title, "Shotgun" refers to the rider on a stage coach who wasn't driving the team, he was guarding against robbers and wielding a short barrelled shotgun. It was funny seeing a few reviewers miss that reference.

This episode does almost give us a break from the perpetual discussions between Walt and Skyler, cutting their whinefest down to 8 minutes instead of the 30+ minutes of some episodes. Damn, I can't stand Skyler or her sister.

Mike is given the task of getting Jesse distracted from his addiction, though it's entirely unbelievable to present the idea that a meth addict can go from being on a month-long "run", as a drug binge is called in some circles, to a shift into a working mode. That doesn't happen. An addict spends a month or more getting over a month-long run.

Anyway. Mike is making a man of Jesse. It must be Gus's idea, since Mike has said that he just does what he's told when Jesse wants to know "what's the point?" of this job change.

It's interesting to see Jesse being made to get serious about work by giving him a different task. I liked the episode despite the unreality of showing Jesse bouncing back from his binge. It's good to have an end to the house party at Jesse's.

Walter White written as a complete idiot...

[jfbbcsjrqg · 1/10 · 24 December 2022]

Apparently, his genius status as the world's best chemist doesn't apply to his personal life, at least in the mind of whoever wrote this drivel of a script. This whole season is a disappointment, as he just somehow 'accepts' his faux-wife's total betrayal. Then, a few episodes earlier, actually apologizes, against all odds, for bringing up the 'inconvenient truth' of how Skyler is a vindictive, town bicycle of a slut. As if, it's perfectly okay for her to act as she does/did, but beyond the pale for him to point out it happened, and she's never once even pretended to apologize for it. Then we get to this point in the season, and a man who shouldn't have been capable of even wanting her after what she's been doing to him, is suddenly all about taking her to bed again? Oh, hell no. He should have hit the eject button, instead of doubling down on being Casper Milktoast, the cuckold from hell. Just awful.

The show recycling itself. Again

[puzgolac · 5/10 · 20 December 2022]

This is not the first time this show recycles its own ideas and plot points. It seems that every time the writers don't know what to do, they repeat something they already did. They think it was a great moment once (which is not always so), so it will definitely be a great moment again (which is never so). This time it is the "Walter gets drunk and makes trouble for himself" moment (and also has a convenient personality change, but that seems to be the trademark of this show - characters not really having personalities, but rather an ever changing bunch of traits thrown together).

Other than that, there is Gus' absolutely ridiculous plan that utterly depends on so many variables and coincidences whose outcome can absolutely not be predicted, but that is another trademark of this show - the most convenient of coincidences happening in the most convenient way.

Another thing - Mike. He was cool when he was first introduced, but becomes less and less interesting and believable every time he is on screen. On top of that, he is now also boring. Whether it is the case of his character simply not being written that well, or Jonathan Banks being only an average actor who cannot do a great performance (his facial expression and mannerisms give out a sort of discount Sylvester Stallone vibe), or both, Mike just gets more and more lame. A senior citizen, who is supposed to be this ultra super tough guy, yet he is out of breath as soon as he makes two steps. He is also supposed to be some kind of quiet philosopher, but his empty stare just gives the impression of "light is on, but there is nobody home".