"Open House" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, 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 and Skyler advance their plans to buy a car wash as a front organization, while Jesse 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 and directed by filmmaker David Slade, marking his first time directing for television. It featured guest appearances by Nigel Gibbs and stand-up comedian Bill Burr, the latter of whom specifically sought to appear on the show. Marie's return to the kleptomania she demonstrated in the first season was conceived early during brainstorming sessions for the third season.
Breaking Bad music supervisor Thomas Golubić 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" by Swedish musician Fever Ray. "Open House" was viewed by an estimated 1.714 million viewers and received a 0.7 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.
Walter furiously notices a motion-detectingsurveillance 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 Bogdan insulted his manhood. She devises a plan to trick Bogdan into selling by having Saul's con artist acquaintance Patrick Kuby pretend to be an EPA representative who is shutting down the business out of concern over contaminants. Bogdan begrudgingly sells to her, even agreeing to a lower price than her original offer.
Jesse is still feeling numb from recent events, attempting to clear his head with nostalgic go-kart 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 streak of kleptomania; 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 his friend Detective Tim Roberts to get her out of being charged. Roberts 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.
"Open House" was written by Sam Catlin and directed by David Slade, marking his first time directing for television.[1] Slade was a fan of Breaking Bad and sought to direct an episode of the show.[2] Filmed in February 2011,[3] the episode was edited by Skip Macdonald, one of a handful of editors who have regularly worked on the series.[4] Nigel Gibbs reprised his role as detective Tim Roberts, whom he portrayed in the second season episode "Grilled".[5] Stand-up comedian Bill Burr 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 said, "We just waste so much time here in the writer's room by getting on YouTube and watching some of his routines."[6] Stand-up comedian Lavell Crawford 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.[7]
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. Gilligan commented: "What's one way Gus can amp up the story there? How can he mess with Walt's head a little bit?"[8] 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 on 35 mm film.[9] The episode features a subplot with Marie engaging in acts of kleptomania, which had been a major part of her character during the first season. 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.[10] 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."[11]Betsy Brandt said "Open House" was her favorite episode of the season to shoot.[2]
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 the filming of Breaking Bad episodes in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[12] 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,[13] and it was property master Trina Siopy actually throwing the bills off-screen; she got one into the actor's mouth on her second try.[14] 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.[15]
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."[16] Although the previous episode, "Thirty-Eight Snub", also featured similar party scenes, the party was much darker and more decrepit in "Open House", and Breaking Bad music supervisor Thomas Golubić tried to select music appropriate for that darker tone. Originally he tried using variations of punk rock, hip hop and dubstep, but felt it was inappropriate and wanted something that delved "deeper into Jesse's headspace".[17] He chose the song "If I Had a Heart" by Swedish musician Fever Ray which was used during a sequence of scenes before and during Jesse's party. Golubić 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.[18] It was chosen by a vote among the writers among four possible songs.[19]
ReceptionEdit
RatingsEdit
"Open House" aired on Sunday, July 31, 2011 on AMC.[20] The episode was viewed by an estimated 1.714 million viewers and received a 0.7 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[20] This means that it was seen by 0.7% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.[20] The episode was the 22nd highest-rated program on the day it aired.[20]
ReviewsEdit
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix 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.[21] Seth Amitin of IGN called it a "great episode" and an improvement over the previous two, "Box Cutter" 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.[22]Entertainment Weekly 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?"[23]Los Angeles Times writer Emily St. James called it "one of the best episodes this show has ever done", despite diverting the attention from Walter to the support cast members. St. James said the episode well demonstrated how Walter's actions affected others around him and said Marie's character was more interesting than in the past.[24]
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.[25]New York 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.[26] Not all reviews were positive. Slate 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.[27]
In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Open House" 50th out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.[28]
open, house, breaking, open, house, third, episode, fourth, season, american, television, drama, series, breaking, 36th, overall, episode, series, originally, aired, united, states, july, 2011, episode, walter, skyler, advance, their, plans, wash, front, organ. Open House is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad 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 and Skyler advance their plans to buy a car wash as a front organization while Jesse 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 Open House Breaking Bad episodeEpisode no Season 4Episode 3Directed byDavid SladeWritten bySam CatlinFeatured music If I Had a Heart by Fever RayCinematography byMichael SlovisEditing bySkip MacdonaldOriginal air dateJuly 31 2011 2011 07 31 Running time46 minutesGuest appearancesNigel Gibbs as Tim Roberts Jennifer Hasty as Stephanie Doswell Bill Burr as Patrick Kuby Jeremy Howard as Sketchy Marius Stan as Bogdan Wolynetz Lavell Crawford as Huell Babineaux Ray Campbell as Tyrus KittEpisode chronology Previous Thirty Eight Snub Next Bullet Points Breaking Bad season 4 List of episodesThe episode was written by Sam Catlin and directed by filmmaker David Slade marking his first time directing for television It featured guest appearances by Nigel Gibbs and stand up comedian Bill Burr the latter of whom specifically sought to appear on the show Marie s return to the kleptomania she demonstrated in the first season 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 by Swedish musician Fever Ray Open House was viewed by an estimated 1 714 million viewers and received a 0 7 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Reception 3 1 Ratings 3 2 Reviews 4 References 4 1 Notes 4 2 Bibliography 5 External linksPlot EditWalter furiously notices a motion detecting surveillance 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 Bogdan insulted his manhood She devises a plan to trick Bogdan into selling by having Saul s con artist acquaintance Patrick Kuby pretend to be an EPA representative who is shutting down the business out of concern over contaminants Bogdan begrudgingly sells to her even agreeing to a lower price than her original offer Jesse is still feeling numb from recent events attempting to clear his head with nostalgic go kart 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 streak of kleptomania 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 his friend Detective Tim Roberts to get her out of being charged Roberts 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 Production Edit nbsp Sam Catlin wrote the episode Open House was written by Sam Catlin and directed by David Slade marking his first time directing for television 1 Slade was a fan of Breaking Bad and sought to direct an episode of the show 2 Filmed in February 2011 3 the episode was edited by Skip Macdonald one of a handful of editors who have regularly worked on the series 4 Nigel Gibbs reprised his role as detective Tim Roberts whom he portrayed in the second season episode Grilled 5 Stand up comedian Bill Burr 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 said We just waste so much time here in the writer s room by getting on YouTube and watching some of his routines 6 Stand up comedian Lavell Crawford 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 7 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 Gilligan commented What s one way Gus can amp up the story there How can he mess with Walt s head a little bit 8 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 on 35 mm film 9 The episode features a subplot with Marie engaging in acts of kleptomania which had been a major part of her character during the first season 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 10 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 11 Betsy Brandt said Open House was her favorite episode of the season to shoot 2 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 the filming of Breaking Bad episodes in Albuquerque New Mexico 12 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 13 and it was property master Trina Siopy actually throwing the bills off screen she got one into the actor s mouth on her second try 14 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 15 nbsp The song If I Had a Heart by Swedish artist Fever Ray pictured was featured in Open House 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 16 Although the previous episode Thirty Eight Snub 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 hip hop and dubstep but felt it was inappropriate and wanted something that delved deeper into Jesse s headspace 17 He chose the song If I Had a Heart by Swedish musician Fever Ray 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 18 It was chosen by a vote among the writers among four possible songs 19 Reception EditRatings Edit Open House aired on Sunday July 31 2011 on AMC 20 The episode was viewed by an estimated 1 714 million viewers and received a 0 7 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 20 This means that it was seen by 0 7 of all 18 to 49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast 20 The episode was the 22nd highest rated program on the day it aired 20 Reviews Edit Alan Sepinwall of HitFix 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 21 Seth Amitin of IGN called it a great episode and an improvement over the previous two Box Cutter 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 22 Entertainment Weekly 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 23 Los Angeles Times writer Emily St James called it one of the best episodes this show has ever done despite diverting the attention from Walter to the support cast members St James said the episode well demonstrated how Walter s actions affected others around him and said Marie s character was more interesting than in the past 24 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 25 New York 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 26 Not all reviews were positive Slate 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 27 In 2019 The Ringer ranked Open House 50th out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes 28 References EditNotes Edit Cranston Bryan 3 13 3 17 a b Cheever Emily August 2 2011 Interview Betsy Brandt Breaking Bad Ology Archived from the original on November 23 2011 Retrieved October 10 2011 Cranston Bryan 2 35 2 39 Dixon Kelley 6 00 6 15 Gilligan Vince 32 30 33 33 Gilligan Vince 16 24 16 59 Maurer Mark July 31 2011 Breaking Bad season 4 episode 3 recap Open House Marie steals again The Star Ledger Archived from the original on December 30 2011 Retrieved August 8 2011 Gilligan Vince 5 20 5 35 Gilligan Vince 7 17 7 50 Catlin Sam 9 01 9 28 VanDerWerff Emily October 10 2011 Vince Gilligan walks us through season four of Breaking Bad part 1 of 4 The A V Club Archived from the original on October 12 2011 Retrieved October 10 2011 Catlin Sam 18 57 19 08 Gilligan Vince 27 33 27 58 Catlin Sam 28 13 28 53 Gilligan Vince 31 04 31 52 Cranston Bryan 21 47 22 00 Golubic Thomas 23 32 24 45 Golubic Thomas 25 37 26 10 Gilligan Vince 24 55 25 19 a b c d Seidman Robert Sunday Cable Ratings True Blood Shark Week Falling Skies In Plain Sight Breaking Bad Leverage amp Much More TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on September 10 2011 Retrieved February 29 2012 Sepinwall Alan July 31 2011 Review Breaking Bad Open House Makin it rain HitFix Retrieved August 2 2011 Amitin Seth July 31 2011 Breaking Bad Open House Review IGN Archived from the original on November 11 2011 Retrieved August 8 2011 Maerz Marie August 1 2011 Breaking Bad recap The Good Wife Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on October 12 2011 Retrieved August 8 2011 VanDerWerff Emily August 1 2011 Breaking Bad recap Trapped by the eye Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on April 13 2012 Retrieved August 14 2011 Richenthal Matt July 31 2011 Breaking Bad Review Welcome to Waltergate TV Fanatic Archived from the original on November 5 2011 Retrieved August 2 2011 Hill Logan August 1 2011 Breaking Bad Recap Ladies Night New York Archived from the original on September 27 2011 Retrieved August 8 2011 Grose Jessica Thomas June July 31 2011 Breaking Bad Season 4 Episode 3 Open House Slate Retrieved August 2 2011 Katie Baker September 30 2019 The Ringer s Definitive Breaking Bad Episodes Ranking The Ringer Bibliography Edit Cranston Bryan August 2 2011 Breaking Bad Insider 403 Podcast Breaking Bad Insider Podcast Catlin Sam August 2 2011 Breaking Bad Insider 403 Podcast Breaking Bad Insider Podcast Dixon Kelley August 2 2011 Breaking Bad Insider 403 Podcast Breaking Bad Insider Podcast Gilligan Vince August 2 2011 Breaking Bad Insider 403 Podcast Breaking Bad Insider Podcast Golubic Thomas August 2 2011 Breaking Bad Insider 403 Podcast Breaking Bad Insider Podcast External links Edit Open House at the official Breaking Bad site Open House at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Open House Breaking Bad amp oldid 1173295638, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
