Breaking Bad is a masterpiece from all angles. Being labeled one of the best shows of all time, it does not have the acclaim it does for no reason. The series was carefully crafted, with its storyline being a puzzle that could only be solved as the episodes went along. However, in the overt analysis of the series, many seem to forget that it was also just a product of its production company.
With deadlines, budgets, and restrictions of their own, some decisions that seem deep and well-thought-out could simply be a result of these factors. There is no better example of this than the most disgusting scene in the series.
Breaking Bad or Breaking In?
To say that Jesse Pinkman went through a lot throughout Breaking Bad would be an understatement. Aaron Paul has been down in the dumps more than once, with most of them being a result of Walter White’s actions. With all that happens over the course of its five seasons, it is safe to say that Jesse experiences the brunt of it.
Additionally, there are more than a few examples of disgusting things happening to his character. However, none can top what happened to him in the fourth episode of the second season, titled ‘Down.’After being knocked down time and time again, losing his house and his possessions, and not having a roof over his head after being kicked out from everywhere, Jesse turns to the repair yard where the RV is being kept.
However, since he cannot enter on his own, he decides to scale a barbed wire fence in order to get to the other side, using a portable toilet in the process to stand on for a second. Unfortunately, in this limited time, the roof of the toilet ends up collapsing, causing Jesse to fall into it.
Disgusting blue disinfectant pours out of the toilet and Paul’s character is left covered in human waste and gagging at the smell.
Limited Funds Lead to Disgusting Solutions
During an interview with The New York Times Magazine, the creator of the series, Vince Gilligan, revealed that the scene with the porta-potty was not the original plan for the sequence. The writer confessed that originally, they wanted Jesse to get chased by a guard dog, who would end up biting him.
However, this scene would have cost a significant amount of money, revealing the figure to be $25,000. At the time, the plan with the porta-potty cost them $20,000 less. Due to this, they ended up going for a much more disgusting option compared to Aaron Paul’s character simply being bit by a dog.
The original version was that he was going to get bit by a guard dog. But the guard dog would have cost us $25,000, and we didn’t have the money. So we came up with the $5,000 outhouse gag. Which is quite a bit more memorable.
While some might be upset with the decision to add such a drastically different scene, Gilligan expressed that he prefers the scene that they went with as it was a lot more memorable. Indeed, the scene certainly left a lasting effect on fans of the series.
Breaking Bad is available for streaming on Netflix.
