Ed, also referred to as the Disappearer, is a vacuum cleaner repairman who also offers the clandestine service of taking people and giving them new lives and identities.
History
Season 4
Ed's card
Ed is first alluded to by Saul as a last-resort option when Walt feels threatened by Gus. ("Bullet Points")
Later, once Walt has learned that Gus plans to kill Hank, he arranges for Ed to collect him and his family once Saul has informed the DEA of the threat. The disappearing falls through since Walt does not have sufficient money to pay for the services. ("Crawl Space")
Season 5
After Walt asks Jesse to get out of town, Saul arranges for him to be disappeared, but Jesse cancels at the last minute. ("Confessions")
Following Hank & Gomez's deaths at the hands of Jack's White Supremacist Gang and leaving his family, Walt meets Ed to start his new life. ("Ozymandias")
Shortly after he takes Walt, Saul has decided to start a new life as well and he takes Saul to his store, creating a new identity for Saul with a Nebraska drivers license. A few days after Saul's arrival, he tells him that he is ready to start a new life and sets him off as Walt remains in the bunker. He comes back ready for Walt and takes him to New Hampshire in the tank of a propane delivery truck. At a cabin in New Hampshire, he tells Walt he cannot leave the property since he will inevitably be caught. Ed also tells Walt that he will come back once a month to provide him with necessities. He comes back several times throughout the winter and stocks Walt with newspapers from Albuquerque, nutrition drinks, glasses, a chemo-therapy kit, and other supplies. ("Granite State")
Relationship with Walt
- "You are the hottest client I have ever had. By far."
- ―Ed
Walt is a particularly special case for Ed. Normally, once he has set his clients up in their new surroundings he never sees them again. Since Walt is a unique client, Ed makes supply trips and helps him perform his chemo-therapy. He tries to maintain a purely professional relationship with Walt, always referring to him as "Mr. Lambert" and only staying to play cards with him for an extra hour in exchange for $10,000. ("Granite State")
Trivia
- Ed drives:
- 1991 Toyota Previa
- 1973 Chevrolet C-Series propane tanker
- 2007 Jeep Wrangler
- The client has to ask for a dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract® 60 Pressure Pro™ to get in contact with him.
- The Hoover Max Extract® 60 Pressure Pro™ is a real Hoover model[1], though it does not have a dust filter.
- Despite being mentioned in several previous episodes, Ed is not seen in person until "Granite State."
- Ed is played by Robert Forster who, coincidentally, sold vacuum cleaners door to door for a living before becoming an actor.
- Ed's name is not revealed on screen, but in the description of the episode, Granite State on AMC's website.
- There is a fan theory that "Ed" is really Max Cherry from Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film, Jackie Brown. Max Cherry was a bailbondsman and possibly a former cop.