"Hazard Pay" is the third episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the forty-ninth episode altogether.
Posing as a paralegal, Mike Ehrmantraut visits Dennis Markowski, the manager of Gustavo Fring's industrial laundry, in jail. During the meeting, Dennis's lawyer, Dan Wachsberger, tunes out and listens to music: he doesn't want to hear what Mike has to say to Dennis about their ongoing collusion. Mike reassures Dennis that the deal he had with Gus is still in place and he should stay quiet.
Dennis swears he's loyal to Mike but since the feds took his hazard pay, and everyone else's, "Sooner or later someone's gonna flip." Mike guarantees everyone will get paid, and they shake on it.
In the hallway, Mike and Dan go through the list of Mike's guys and where they're being held. It's going to be a long, tiring day, but the two of them are going to see all of them.
Summary
Skyler White finds Walter White in high spirits as he unpacks boxes in the bedroom. It's official: he's decided to move back in. When she questions whether this is a good idea, he doesn't pay her any mind.
Mike waits outside Saul Goodman's office while Huell Babineaux guards the door. Inside, Walt and Jesse Pinkman assuage Saul's doubts about working with Mike, who once threatened to break Saul's legs. They let Mike in and he lays down ground rules: He runs the business, Walt and Jesse cover production. Saul privately asks Walt if he's okay with the arrangement, but Walt's unfazed: "He handles the business, and I handle him."
Saul takes the team on a tour of potential new lab venues, but Walt, Jesse, and Mike nix them all, spotting logistical problems with each. Jesse and Mike are ready to dismiss the final venue, Vamonos Pest Control, but Walt demurs, declaring, "It's perfect."
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The new plan to cook meth
The next day, the four watch the pest-control team as it tents an infested home. Walt explains his plan: If they cook inside houses undergoing fumigation, no one will bother them or question strange smells. They can hide in plain sight. Saul says the pest crew, run by a man named Ira, runs a burglary operation on the side and knows how to keep secrets. Mike suggests a vote. "Why?" asks Walt: he's already convinced, and so is Jesse.
Skinny Pete and Badger purchase four giant roadie cases from the local guitar store and wheel them into the pest control headquarters — the cases have been stenciled, "Vamonos Pest." They ask Jesse to get in on the new business, but Jesse doesn't bite.
Mike debriefs the pest control crew and forbids stealing from the houses. He also orders them never to engage with Walt and Jesse without an invitation. "On the other hand, if they tell you to jump, you don't ask what for," he says. "You jump."
At Jesse's house, Walt and Jesse finalize plans for the mobile lab. They're interrupted by Andrea Cantillo, who stops by with Brock Cantillo and invites Walt to stay for dinner. Walt sits uncomfortably with Brock on the couch; it's impossible to say if the boy recognizes Walt as the man who poisoned him, but Walt is certainly uncomfortable in Brock's presence.
After the homeowners leave, Walt and Jesse pull up to an infested house in a Vamonos truck. An employee, Todd Alquist, tells Walt that he disabled a nanny-cam in the living room.
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Walter and Jesse preparing the lab
Walt and Jesse assemble the lab from the roadie cases and cook in a sealed tent inside the house. During a break, they watch TV and drink beer on the living room couch. Walt inquires about Andrea and says Jesse can decide for himself whether to tell her about their work — if he can't confide in her, then there's no way they can keep going. "Seriously?" Jesse asks. "I know you'll make the right call," Walt says. "If she loves you, she'll understand." A seed of consternation and discontent nearly effortlessly planted by Walt.
At the car wash, Marie Schrader tells Skyler that Hank Schrader is back at work and insists Skyler plan a party for Walt's birthday. When Skyler takes out a cigarette, Marie chastises her. "Shut up!" Skyler screams. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she repeats, breaking down in tears. Marie is concerned and baffled by the outburst.
In the new "lab," Jesse and Walt weigh the meth and Walt admires the yield. As they leave the house, Jesse sets off the fumigation system to finish the pest control work.
Walt finds Marie waiting for him at home. Skyler rests in the bedroom as Marie recounts Skyler's breakdown and presses Walt for its origin, concerned for her sister's well being. Walt tells her the half-truth that Skyler had an affair with Ted Beneke, who is now in the hospital. Marie is shocked, but Walt, manipulating Marie, begs her to keep it a secret from Hank.
At Jesse's house, Andrea and Brock play video games while Jesse zones out. Andrea asks if he's okay. "I'm good," he says, but he's clearly unsettled. The seed Walt planted is starting to grow.
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Walter, Walter Jr. and Holly watching Scarface
After rousing herself from bed, Skyler finds Walt and Walter White Jr. watching Scarface in the living room. She stares silently as the two revel in Al Pacino's shooting rampage. Like Jesse was with Andrea, she's unsettled by this tableau.
Back at the Vamonos office, Mike divides the profit into three piles — $367,000 each. He takes money from each pile to pay for distribution drivers and Ira's fumigation crew. But Walt balks when Mike takes additional money from each pile to pay his nine jailed men - what Mike calls "legacy costs." Jesse offers to cover Walt's share but Walt finally relents, bitterly laughing at his net reduced profit. "It's less than with Fring," he notes. "Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make you Jesse James," Mike replies.
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The hazard pay erupts an intense discussion between Mike and Walter
After Mike leaves, Walt asks Jesse how he's feeling. Jesse glumly reports that he broke up with Andrea. Walt cuts him short; he was asking about the money. Jesse reasons that ultimately they're getting a bigger piece of the pie than with Gus, so they shouldn't complain.
Walt disagrees, and brings up Victor. Maybe, he surmises, Gus didn't just kill Victor to send a message. "Victor trying to cook that batch on his own, taking liberties that weren’t his to take?" Walt says. "Maybe he flew too close to the sun; got his throat cut." Jesse watches Walt walk away, thinking about exactly what that means for their fledgling new enterprise.
Credits
Main Cast
- Bryan Cranston as Walter White
- Anna Gunn as Skyler White
- Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
- Dean Norris as Hank Schrader (credit only)
- Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader
- RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr.
- Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
Supporting Cast
- Matt L. Jones as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew
- Emily Rios as Andrea Cantillo
- Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist
- Mike Batayeh as Dennis Markowski
- Franc Ross as Ira
- Charles Baker as Skinny Pete
- Lavell Crawford as Huell Babineaux
- Ian Posada as Brock Cantillo
- Joshua Gomez as Sandor
- Miguel Martinez as Fernando
- Chris Freihofer as Dan Wachsberger
- Kristin Hansen as Darla
- Alex Knight as Vagn
- Michael Ostroski as Homeowner
Trivia
- Walt and Walt Jr. watch a classic scene from the film Scarface (1983). Vince Gilligan has often described the character arc of Walter White as "Taking Mr. Chips and turning him into Scarface."
- Hank Schrader does not appear in this episode.
- This is Season 5's least-watched episode, only ranking 2.20 million, while others served as the most-watched episode of the series.
- The title comes from Mike promising Dennis Markowski he'd get his hazard pay, and is also what Walt and Mike fight about in the end of the episode.
- Vince Gilligan has stated he and his writers are proud of the new setup they have made for Walt and Jesse to transact cooking in.
- He has stated he doesn't know if it is possible in real life, but if it were, it'd be a real challenge.
- This episode features the first appearance of Todd Alquist.
- Vamonos Pest uses cyfluthrin for its fogging work, and also has a shelves full of bromadiolone and glyphosate (Roundup).
- The paper strip that Walt drips a liquid onto to get a colour change is probably pH indicator paper. This suggests that Walt is using the pH of a mixture as a proxy for determining when a certain reaction has gone to completion.
- The scene of Walt and Jesse drinking beer on the couch is used in The Simpsons Couch Gag in Season 24 Episode 17 'What Animated Women Want'
- Walt tells Jesse at the end of the episode that maybe Victor 'flew too close to the sun.' Hank used this same line with Walt Jr. when Walt Jr. asked for the Dodge Challenger instead of a cheaper car.
Featured Music
- "Gambler's Guts (aka You Got The Guts?)" by Doghouse Lords (playing in Dan's headphones while Mike talks with Dennis)
- "Los Galvez's y los Contrera's" by Sergio Caro (in the background at the tortilla factory)
- "Solfeggietto No. 2 in C Minor, H 220, Wq. 117" by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, performed by Charles Baker as Skinny Pete (while he and Badger shop for roadie cases)
- "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" by The Peddlers (while Jesse and Walt cook)
- "Three Blind Mice (The Three Stooges Main Theme)" by Lyle Murphy (while Jesse and Walt watch TV during the cook)
- "Seaside Hill" by Jun Senoue (video game background music)
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