"Confessions" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the fifty-seventh episode altogether.
Outside a diner in Arizona, Todd Alquist leaves Walter White a voice message about the recent change of management from Declan and requesting Walt return his call. Inside, he brags to his uncle Jack and his partner Kenny about his train heist of methylamine ("Dead Freight"), naming Mr.White, and leaving out his role in shooting Drew Sharp. Afterward, Jack and Kenny visit the bathroom, where Jack notices and nonchalantly wipes considerable blood off his shoe with a paper towel then flushes it down the toilet. The three then leave the diner and haul the methylamine back into New Mexico.
Summary
Hank interrogates Jesse.
Hank Schrader enters Jesse Pinkman's interrogation room and tells him he knows that his brother-in-law is Heisenberg. This finally jolts Jesse out of his daze, looks up at Hank, surprised. He suggests Hank beat the truth out of him as his usual modus operandi. Saul Goodman then timely arrives for damage control, scolding Jesse for blatantly throwing out money and landing himself there. Saul calls Walt at home and tells him about the situation. At home Walter White Jr. tells his father that he's going to visit his aunt Marie as she's requested help with a computer problem. Walt, realizing that this is merely a ploy to lure his son, stops him and reveals to Walt Jr. that his cancer has returned. With teary eyes, Walt Jr. tells his father that he would prefer to stay home with his father in that condition. Hank arrives home and Marie chews him out for not telling the DEA about Walt's true identity. At home, Walt sits down in front of a video camera and Skyler White asks him "are you sure about this?" as he begins to film a confession.
Hank and Marie watch Walt's confession video.
The Whites and the Schraders apprehensively meet at a Taquería. Without admitting anything, Walter asks Hank to discontinue his investigation as this would devastate his son and destroy his family. Marie coldly tells Walt to kill himself, as Walt's actions would die with him, while Hank suggests that Walt will not get off that easily. When they realise any further talk is futile, Walt leaves them a DVD, and the Whites leave.
At the Schrader Residence, Hank and Marie watch the DVD. In the DVD, Walt falsely claims that Hank was Heisenberg and lured Walt into being his chemist, that Gustavo Fring was Hank's partner and threatened Walt's family when Walt tried to withdraw from the conspiracy. He claims that eventually Gus put a hit on Hank, resulting in serious injury to Hank (partially true,). Walt makes one truthful statement: that it was his drug money that covered Hank's medical bills of over $177,000. Continuing with his lies, Walt claims that after the attempted hit, Hank worked with Hector Salamanca to kill Gus, using a bomb Walt was forced to build. The video concludes with Walt saying he is afraid Hank will kill him and harm his family, and that he has contemplated suicide because of Hank's actions and his own guilt at allowing himself to be drawn in to all this during a weak moment due to his cancer diagnosis. Hank and Marie watch agape, hardly believing Walt's audacity and what they've just seen.
Hank deduces the video is a threat in case he doesn't desist the investigation, but when Marie confesses that she unwittingly used Walt's drug money for the medical bills, Hank laments that this gives credence to Walt's story and torpedoes Hank's own credibility. He chastises Marie, that this will be the final nail in his coffin as far as his career goes.
Jesse confronts Walt about his true intentions.
Walt meets with Saul and Jesse in the desert. Saul and Jesse catch Walt up on what they know — that Hank knows some things but hasn't told the DEA. Walt informs Jesse that Saul can contact someone that specializes in creating new identities. He advises Jesse to start over and have a better life "You get a job. Something legitimate. Something you like. Meet a girl. Start a family even." Jesse is skeptical and confronts Walt about his true motivations, telling him to stop "working him". Why doesn't he just admit the truth and say he needs this for himself and rather just ask him for a favour, instead of falsely feigning he's doing this for his (Jesse's) benefit. He then reveals that he believes Walt will kill him in the same way he killed Mike if he refuses this offer. Jesse claims that Walt does not actually care about him, and only wants him to leave for his own goal of derailing Hank's investigation. Walt walks up to Jesse, who wearily flinches at his approach, and holds him in a tight embrace. Jesse does not hug back but nevertheless goes limp and breaks down into tears, sobbing in his arms. At the A1A Car Wash a clearly stressed Skyler sits, staring wearily. A shadowy Walt tells her not to worry as "it worked", then assures her they're going to be fine.
Jesse realizes that Walt poisoned Brock.
At the DEA office, Steven Gomez asks Hank why two of his agents are tailing Saul. Hank calls them off, then leaves the office for the day. At The Offices of Saul Goodman & Associates, Saul calls the extractor for Jesse who then lights up a joint. Saul tells Jesse to hand over his marijuana, telling him that if the extractor sees him with it, he will not take him. Jesse stubs out the joint but refuses to give up his marijuana and places the bag back into his pocket. Jesse then asks if he is allowed to pick wherever he desires, in which Saul suggests he should head to Florida. Jesse ultimately decides to go to Alaska and seems buoyed by the idea. Saul sends him with Huell Babineaux and a bag of cash for his rendezvous with the 'cleaner' to claim his new identity. On the side of the road, as Jesse waits he realizes Huell lifted his bag of weed out of his pocket, and finally pieces together that Walt asked Saul to have Huell lift the ricin cigarette from his person months prior ... and so, is probably responsible for poisoning Brock Cantillo after all. ("End Times")
Jesse furiously pours gasoline all over the White Residence.
He misses his pick-up and returns to Saul's office, barges right past Saul's incompetent bodyguard Huell, and punches Saul to the floor; Saul attempts to retrieve his gun from his cabinet but Jesse gets to it first and uses it to threaten a confession out of him. A bloody nosed Saul, faced with a bullet, vehemently admits that Walt did tell Saul to lift his cigarette, but that Walt convinced him it was for Jesse's own benefit and that he had no idea Walt would go on to poison Brock. Jesse, now beyond furious, leaves with Saul's car keys and the gun. Saul immediately grabs a phone and attempts to warn Walt. Walt rushes to the car wash, attempting not to alarm Skyler, he walks to the soda machine in the lobby, claiming to be investigating a broken latch, and retrieves his thirty-eight snub revolver hidden there. He then tells Skyler that he needs to go pick up a prescription and departs. At the White residence, Jesse swerves Saul Goodman's stolen car onto the front lawn. He gets out of the car and grabs a tank of gasoline from the trunk. He then walks up to the front door, kicks his way in, and furiously starts pouring gasoline over all the furniture and elsewhere in the front room...
Credits
Main Cast
- Bryan Cranston as Walter White
- Anna Gunn as Skyler White
- Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
- Dean Norris as Hank Schrader
- Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader
- RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr.
- Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman
- Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (credit only)
- Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist
Supporting Cast
- Steven Michael Quezada as Steven Gomez
- Lavell Crawford as Huell Babineaux
- Michael Bowen as Jack Welker
- Kevin Rankin as Kenny
- Gonzalo Menendez as Detective Kalanchoe
- Guy Wilson as Trent
- Tina Parker as Francesca
- Jason Douglas as Detective Munn
- Mary Sue Evans as Janice
- Millard Drexler as Customer
- Caroline Patz as Waitress
Trivia
- By the end of this episode, everyone in Walt's immediate family (excluding Holly) has now wished death upon him.
- Editor, Kelley Dixon, stated on the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast that this was her favorite episode of Season 5B.
- When Walt and Jesse lean against Saul's car in the desert the first letter on the license plate is covered by Walt. Instead of LWYRUP (Lawyer Up) it reads WYRUP (Wire Up), a possible foreshadowing of Jesse getting a wire by Hank in the next episode.
- While the neo-nazis are at the diner the song "Gonna Romp and Stomp" by Slim Rhodes is played in the background. A Romper Stomper is a slang term for a skinhead.
- As Hank and Marie are watching Walt's video a fly is visible on the screen, a possible allusion to the fly metaphor from the episode "Fly".
- The opening line of Walt's fake confessional where he tells his full name and address is a reference to Walt's confessional from the "Pilot".
- Many fans guessed this would be the episode where Jesse finds out about Brock because of the promotional trailer for the episode where we heard Saul crying and saying he never planned for "it" - Brock getting put in the hospital - to happen. They also thought this due to the title of the episode.
- Jack scratches his boot in the teaser, revealing blood, mirroring Mike in the bar in "Thirty-Eight Snub".
- When Jesse spreads the gas across Walt's house, he stops at the end of the scene in one spot and the camera switches angles so that it is looking up at Jesse as he splurges the gasoline down. This spot in the house is very close to the exact same spot where Jesse held the gun to Walt's head and was going to kill him in the Season 4 episode, "End Times".
- Aaron Paul won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in this episode.
Gallery
Featured Music
- "Midnight Blue" by Rita Remington and the Smokey Valley Symphony (in the diner during the teaser)
- "Everyday" by Mack Self (in the diner during the teaser)
- "Gonna Romp and Stomp" by Slim Rhodes (in the diner during the teaser)
- "La Casa de Olvera B" by Liza Carbe and Jean-Pierre Durand (in the Gardunia's Taqueria restaurant when the Whites meet the Schraders)
- "Chaparrita A" by Liza Carbe and Jean-Pierre Durand (in the Gardunia's Taqueria restaurant when the Whites meet the Schraders)
- "A la Orilla del Mar (Instrumental)" by Francisco Rodriguez/Marc Ferrari/Matt Hirt (in the Gardunia's Taqueria restaurant when the Whites meet the Schraders)
- "Living the Dream" by Chieli Minucci/Emanuel Kallins/Steve Skinner (in the carwash before Walt goes to meet Jesse)
- "Almost Alaska" by Dave Porter (while Jesse waits for the extractor)
- "Nice N' Easy" by Die Solisten der SDR Big Band (The Soloists of the SDR Big Band) (in the carwash as Walt retrieves the gun)
- "Gas Can Rage" by Dave Porter (as Jesse pours gas over Walt's lounge)
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