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"Buyout" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the fifty-second episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

At Vamonos Pest, Mike, Walt and Todd unload equipment from the train heist. In stunned silence, they unload and dismantle the young boy's dirtbike, placing the pieces in a barrel and dissolving them with hydrofluoric acid. They then prepare a barrel for the young boy's body. Afterward, an angry Jesse smokes outside. When Todd joins him and tries to make conversation, nonchalantly saying that "shit happens," Jesse punches him in the face.

Act I[]

Todd argues his case to Walt, Mike and Jesse, pointing out that they had insisted on there being no witnesses to the train heist. The three men dismiss Todd from the room and discuss his future in their operation. Jesse, appalled by Todd's actions, wants him gone. Walt goes over three options: fire Todd, bearing in mind that he would need to be paid for his silence; kill him, which all three men are unwilling to do; and demote him to his prior work with Vamonos Pest, which would keep him close and in the business as a precaution. While Jesse prefers to fire Todd, Mike and Walt vote to keep him on. Mike delivers the news to Todd but also threatens him against behaving so recklessly again.

5x6 Mike

Mike at the park

The following day, while visiting a park with his granddaughter, Mike is watched by DEA agents Gomez and Van Oster. Before he leaves, Mike scribbles and hides a note under a nearby garbage can. The agents debate whether to follow Mike or wait for someone to pick up what they assume to be a dead drop. Gomez approaches the note to investigate and finds that it reads: "Fuck You."

Act II[]

Back at his house, Mike listens to a bugged recording from Hank's office in which DEA agents talk about tailing him until he makes an incriminating mistake. Meanwhile, at the Schrader residence, Skyler visits Holly. Skyler breaks down into tears, telling Marie that she misses her children but needs them to stay safe, vaguely stating that she and Walt are bad parents and that she is keeping painful secrets. Just as Skyler is poised to confess everything, Marie divulges that Walt told her about Skyler's affair. Skyler realizes that Walt has framed her as the source of their conflict but withholds her anger from Marie.

5x6 Jesse

Jesse finds out about Drew Sharp's disappearance on TV

At a house being fumigated by Vamonos Pest, Walt and Jesse watch television as they wait for their current batch of meth to cook. Their program is interrupted by a news bulletin on the disappearance of the young boy, who is identified as Drew Sharp. Watching the bulletin hits Jesse with a wave of grief. Walt, seeing how distraught he is, offers to finish up the cook while Jesse goes home early. Whilst leaving, Jesse is unsettled when he overhears Walt whistling, seemingly unaffected by what happened with Drew. He receives a phone call from Mike as he walks out.

When he delivers the batch to the Vamonos office, Walt is informed that Mike must leave their meth operation due to the DEA's surveillance of him. Walt is taken aback but has no choice but to accept. Jesse, who is also present, tells Walt that he is leaving the operation as well; both he and Mike plan to sell their shares of the methylamine to Mike's contact in Phoenix for $5 million each. Jesse pleads with Walt to join them, insisting it is no longer safe and that he should be content with making $5 million. Walt declines, explaining that cooking the methylamine would net up to $300 million.

Act III[]

Buyout - Jesse Mike and Declan

The buyout

The following day, Mike and Jesse meet with the Phoenix contact, Declan, to discuss the sale of the methylamine. Declan refuses to buy two-thirds of the methylamine, instead demanding to buy the whole lot in order to remove Blue Sky as his competition and increase his own market share.

Jesse visits Walt's house and urges him to join the sale. Walt stands firm and explains his reason: years previously, he sold his stake in Gray Matter Technologies for $5,000. His former partners in the company are now billionaires, while Walt has spent the years since blaming himself for having forgone the money his family would have otherwise been entitled to. Walt states that he isn't in the "meth" or the "money" business; he is in the empire business. Jesse questions whether a "meth empire" is something to be proud of. Skyler returns home and is startled by Jesse's presence. Walt insists that he stay for dinner, to which she reluctantly accepts. The three have an extremely awkward meal, ending when Skyler jeers at Walt for telling Marie about her affair. After she leaves the table, Walt admits that Skyler has removed their children from the house and is waiting for his cancer to kill him. He says the meth business is all he has left and admonishes Jesse for wanting to take it away from him.

Act IV[]

Later that night, Walt drives to Vamonos Pest to remove the methylamine, only to find Mike already there. Mike plans on detaining Walt for the entire night until he can sell all of the methylamine for $15 million, without Walt's agreement. Walt is zip-tied to a radiator at daybreak so Mike can run an errand. Walt manages to escape by chewing through the coffee machine's power cord and using the wires to burn through the tie, injuring his wrist.

During Mike's "errand", he and Saul inform the DEA that they have filed a restraining order about the surveillance. In Saul's car, he and Mike listen to Hank and Gomez plan their next steps. Saul informs Mike that he has twenty-four hours of freedom remaining at most, which Mike says is enough for what he needs. However, upon returning to Vamonos Pest, he finds the methylamine gone. Finding Jesse and a smug Walt in the office, Mike angrily pulls out his gun and puts it to Walt's head. Jesse desperately urges him to listen to a plan Walt has come up with, in which Walt gets his methylamine while Jesse and Mike get their buyout. When Mike asks if this is true, Walt replies: "Everybody wins."

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • Walter White Jr. does not appear in this episode.
  • This is the second time Jesse and Skyler have talked to each other, the first exchange being in "Cat's in the Bag...".
  • The television program Walt and Jesse are watching during the cook before the news broadcast is How It's Made. The episode in question shows the production of kelp caviar, imitation caviar made from kelp that is cheaper to produce and purchase.
  • Antoinette Antonio, the news anchorwoman from the show is actually a reporter in real life for WCVB Channel 5 in Massachusetts.
  • A flashback scene in "El Camino" features Mike and Jesse before they announce their decision to Walt in this episode and a discussion of what they will do next. Mike's suggestion of starting over in Alaska motivates Jesse's subsequent desire to move there in "Confessions" and "El Camino."
  • This episode features Walt and Jesse's final cook session together.

Production[]

Credits[]

Featured Music[]

  • "Disassemble" by Dave Porter (during the teaser)
  • "The Lily of the Valley" composed by Will Hays performed by Bryan Cranston as Walt (whistled while he prepares to finish the cook)
  • "Radiator" by Dave Porter (as Walt escapes from being tied to the radiator)

Errors[]

Hydrofluoricbottle
  • Walt, Todd, and Mike use a solution of hydrofluoric acid to dissolve Drew Sharp, which wouldn't be a strong enough corrosive to affect the plastic components of the dirt bike.
BBEscapePlan
  • Walt's escape plan of bringing live electrical wires together would produce an electrical arc, but this would most likely result in a fuse blowing or a breaker tripping (especially with a power bar involved). Walt also didn’t need to stick the wire underneath the zip-tie; he could have made the arc just on top of the tie to similar effect with less injury.


Memorable Quotes[]

"Man, shit happens, huh?"
―Todd's flippant remark to Jesse about his murder of the child.

"The whole point of this was no one was supposed to know we were there. People weren't supposed to know anything got robbed. How could we let the kid go? He made us."
―Todd explaining why he shot Drew Sharp.

"Jesse, you asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business."
―Walt to Jesse at Walt’s house.

"I uh... I eat a lot of frozen stuff... It's usually pretty bad, I mean the pictures are always so awesome, you know? It's like "hell yeah, I'm starved for this lasagna!" and then you nuke it and the cheese gets all scabby on top and it's like... it's like you're eating a scab... I mean, seriously, what's that about? It's like "Yo! What ever happened to truth in advertising?" You know?"
―Jesse attempting to lighten the mood in an awkward dinner.


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