Open House (Breaking Bad)
Encyclopedia
"Open House" is the third episode of the fourth season
Breaking Bad (season 4)
The fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on July 17, 2011 and concluded on October 9, 2011. It consists of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length...

 of the American television drama series Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...

, and the 36th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 31, 2011. In the episode, Walter
Walter White (Breaking Bad)
Walter Hartwell "Walt" White is a fictional character and the antihero of the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan...

 and Skyler advance their plans to buy a car wash as a front organization
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...

, while Jesse
Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a fictional character of the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Aaron Paul and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan.-Background:...

 holds increasingly darker parties to distract from his guilt for having killed Gale. Meanwhile, Marie starts stealing to cope with the difficult recovery of her husband Hank, who is asked to offer his advice regarding Gale's murder investigation.

The episode was written by Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the AMC drama Breaking Bad. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for his work on the series.-Biography:...

 and directed by filmmaker David Slade
David Slade
David Aldrin Slade is a British film director who began his career making music videos. His work includes videos for artists such as Aphex Twin, Rob Dougan, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, Tori Amos, and Muse.-Life and career:...

, marking his first time directing for television. It featured guest appearances by Nigel Gibbs and stand-up comedian Bill Burr
Bill Burr
William "Bill" Burr is an American stand-up comedian, radio host and actor.-Life and career:Burr was born in Canton, Massachusetts. His father was a dentist, and Bill worked as a hygienist for a short time. He began stand-up at age 23 after attending Emerson College. In 1995, he moved to New...

, the latter of whom specifically sought to appear on the show. The footage shown from the first-person perspective of Gus' camera is actual footage from the real camera. Marie's return to the kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...

 she demonstrated in the first season
Breaking Bad (season 1)
The first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008 and concluded on March 9, 2008. It consisted of seven episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length, except the pilot episode which runs approximately 57 minutes. AMC broadcast the first...

 was conceived early during brainstorming sessions for the third season.

Breaking Bad music supervisor Thomas Golubic sought to select music for Jesse's party sequences appropriate for the dark tone of the scenes, including the song "If I Had a Heart
If I Had a Heart
"If I Had a Heart" is a song performed, written and produced by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray. It was released as the lead single from her debut self-titled album, Fever Ray , marking Ray's debut single as a solo artist, after her work with previous band, The Knife...

" by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray
Karin Dreijer Andersson
Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson , commonly known by her stage name Fever Ray, is the lead vocalist of the electronic duo The Knife, formed with her brother Olof Dreijer. Andersson was previously the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Honey Is Cool...

. "Open House" received generally positive reviews.

Plot

The episode begins as Walt furiously notices a motion-detecting
Motion detection
Motion detection is a process of confirming a change in position of an object relative to its surroundings or the change in the surroundings relative to an object. This detection can be achieved by both mechanical and electronic methods...

 surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

 camera that has been installed in the lab. Later that day, Skyler convinces Walt in a meeting with Saul to buy the car wash by mentioning how the owner insulted his manhood. She devises a plan to trick the owner into selling by having a con artist (supplied by Saul) pretend to be a water-tester who is shutting down the business out of concerns over contaminants. The owner promptly sells to her, agreeing to an even lower price than her original offer. Jesse is still feeling numb from recent events, attempting to clear his head with nostalgic go-kart
Go-kart
thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle...

 trips. He continues to open his house up for all-night drug-fueled orgies, deliberately throwing piles of money in the midst of the chaos. Angry and frustrated by Hank's continuous cold shoulder, Marie resumes her kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...

; she starts stealing objects from real-estate open houses, where she also makes up elaborate stories about who she is, but is eventually caught by a real-estate agent. A livid Hank pulls strings with a senior police officer to get her out of being charged. The same officer drops by the Schrader residence to seek Hank's help by giving him Gale's lab notes to look at. Hank initially shoves away the notebook, but begins to read it later that night. Walt's apparent paranoia
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

 is confirmed (to the viewer), as Tyrus, Gus' new henchman
Henchman
Henchman referred originally to one who attended on a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom. Hence, like constable and marshal, also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household...

, is shown sitting in a vehicle outside Walt's house.

Production

"Open House" was written by Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin
Sam Catlin is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the AMC drama Breaking Bad. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for his work on the series.-Biography:...

 and directed by David Slade
David Slade
David Aldrin Slade is a British film director who began his career making music videos. His work includes videos for artists such as Aphex Twin, Rob Dougan, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, Tori Amos, and Muse.-Life and career:...

, marking his first time directing for television. Slade was a fan of Breaking Bad and sought to direct an episode of the show. Filmed in February 2011, the episode was edited by Skip MacDonald, one of a handful of editors who have regularly worked on the series. Nigel Gibbs reprised his role as detective Tim Roberts, whom he portrayed in the second season
Breaking Bad (season 2)
The second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 8, 2009 and concluded on May 31, 2009. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the second season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...

 episode "Grilled". Stand-up comedian Bill Burr
Bill Burr
William "Bill" Burr is an American stand-up comedian, radio host and actor.-Life and career:Burr was born in Canton, Massachusetts. His father was a dentist, and Bill worked as a hygienist for a short time. He began stand-up at age 23 after attending Emerson College. In 1995, he moved to New...

 made a guest appearance as the man who poses as an environmental inspector for Skyler. Burr was cast after he expressed interest in appearing on the show to Breaking Bad extras casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas. Series creator Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director and producer. He is the creator of the highly acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Gilligan has also worked on the hit series The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen. He is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University...

 said, "We just waste so much time here in the writer's room by getting on YouTube and watching some of his routines." Stand-up comedian Lavell Crawford
Lavell Crawford
Lavell Crawford is an American stand-up comedian and actor from St. Louis, Missouri. His mother is Annita Crawford. His sisters are Elonda Goodwin and Erica Roach. His step-father is Dwight Davis....

 reprised his recurring role as Huell, Saul's bodyguard, and Jennifer Hasty also made a guest appearance as Stephanie Doswell, the realtor who exposes Marie's thefts.

The concept of Gus installing a surveillance camera into the meth lab stemmed from the idea of Walter and Gus employing what Gilligan called "brinkmanship and gamesmanship" against each other after their falling out at the end of the third season
Breaking Bad (season 3)
The third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010 and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the third season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...

. Gilligan commented: "What's one way Gus can amp up the story there? How can he mess with Walt's head a little bit?" The footage shown from the first-person perspective of the camera is actual footage from the real camera, including the numbers shown at the top and bottom of the screen. This is why that shot is shown in pillarbox and in lower quality than the rest of the episode, which was shot in 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...

. The episode features a subplot with Marie engaging in acts of kleptomania
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...

, which had been a major part of her character during the first season
Breaking Bad (season 1)
The first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008 and concluded on March 9, 2008. It consisted of seven episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length, except the pilot episode which runs approximately 57 minutes. AMC broadcast the first...

. Catlin said it was conceived early on that Marie would act this way while brainstorming the ideas for Marie coping with Hank's difficult recovery. Gilligan described Marie's acts of stealing as a respite for her: "She's looking for another life, but she's not actively ready to leave her husband or anything like that. ... We liked the quirkiness of it." Betsy Brandt said "Open House" was her favorite episode of the season to shoot.
The idea of Jesse riding go-karts by himself to relax was inspired by Aaron Paul and other crew members who often went kart racing between filming of Breaking Bad episodes in Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, New Mexico. During one of the party scenes at Jesse's house, Jesse keeps throwing crumpled dollar bills at the mouth of a sleeping man wearing a dress shirt and tie with no pants until he finally gets one inside his mouth. Catlin thought of the idea, and it was property master
Property master
The property master is an artistic and organizational employee in a film, television or theatrical production who is responsible for purchasing, acquiring and/or manufacturing any props needed for a production...

 Trina Siopy actually throwing the bills off-screen; she got one into the actor's mouth on her second try. The scenes in Jesse's house were shot on a set in a sound stage built by production designer Mark Freeborn and construction coordinator William Gilpin. Although scenes in Jesse's house are occasionally filmed in an actual house, these particular scenes could not be shot there because the party was so messy.
The party scenes sought to illustrate Jesse's internal guilt and self-hatred for having murdered Gale Boetticher in the third season finale, "Full Measure". Bryan Cranston praised these scenes, saying, "I thought it was a great way to show a person going through a private hell. That everybody suffers, deals with their own personal loss in many different ways." Although the previous episode, "Thirty-Eight Snub
Thirty-Eight Snub
"Thirty-Eight Snub" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 35th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 24, 2011. In the episode, Walter plots to kill Gus for fear of...

", also featured similar party scenes, the party was much darker and more decrepit in "Open House", and Breaking Bad music supervisor Thomas Golubic tried to select music appropriate for that darker tone. Originally he tried using variations of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 and dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....

, but felt it was inappropriate and wanted something that "deeper into Jesse's headspace". He chose the song "If I Had a Heart
If I Had a Heart
"If I Had a Heart" is a song performed, written and produced by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray. It was released as the lead single from her debut self-titled album, Fever Ray , marking Ray's debut single as a solo artist, after her work with previous band, The Knife...

" by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray
Karin Dreijer Andersson
Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson , commonly known by her stage name Fever Ray, is the lead vocalist of the electronic duo The Knife, formed with her brother Olof Dreijer. Andersson was previously the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Honey Is Cool...

 which was used during a sequence of scenes before and during Jesse's party. Golubic said he liked the "muted loud sort of feel" of the song, which he felt matched Jesse's frame of mind and the "full, heavy darkness" of the party. It was chosen by a vote among the writers among four possible songs.

Reviews

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...

 said he was particularly interested in the Marie and Jesse characters this episode, and called it a credit to the show's evolution that the supporting cast subplots can be so interesting without Walt. He also praised David Slade's direction, particularly during the jumpshots in Jesse's scenes. Seth Amitin of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 called it a "great episode" and an improvement over the previous two, "Box Cutter
Box Cutter (Breaking Bad)
"Box Cutter" is the fourth season premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 34th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 17, 2011. In the episode, Walter and Jesse face repercussions from Gus for having...

" and "Thirty-Eight Snub". He praised the way Skyler's character proved herself to both Walter and Saul, and praised Betsy Brandt's performance, claiming her subplot provided much-needed comic relief and reminded him of the works of David Sedaris
David Sedaris
David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....

. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

writer Melissa Maerz praised the development of Skyler's character and said the episode touched upon a common theme in Breaking Bad about masculinity. With Skyler asserting herself in Walter's work, and Hank taking out his insecurities about being disabled on Marie, Maerz said the script raises the question, "What does it mean to be a strong man?" Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

writer Todd VanDerWerff called it "one of the best episodes this show has ever done", despite diverting the attention from Walter to the support cast members. VanDerWerff said the episode well demonstrated how Walter's actions affected the other around him, and said Marie's character was more interesting than in the past.

Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic complimented the performances by Betsy Brandt and Aaron Paul, and said of the latter, "Seriously, does any actor on TV convey more by saying less than Aaron Paul?" He also compared Skyler's increasingly calculated approach to Walter's drug dealing to Gus' personality. New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...

magazine writer Logan Hill praised Brandt's performance and said it was interesting to see an episode so focused on Skyler and Marie on a show usually dominated by the male characters. However, he said Skyler's transformation from concerned wife to competent criminal partner felt too sudden. Not all reviews were positive. Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...

writers June Thomas and Jessica Grose both enjoyed Marie in "Open House", but both felt the scenes at Jesse's house were too over-the-top and that Skyler's concerns about Walter's safety seemed out of character.

External links

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