Breaking Bad
Season 2, Episode 12
Air date	May 24, 2009
Written by	John Shiban
Directed by	Colin Bucksey
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Images from "Phoenix"

"Phoenix" is the twelfth episode of the second season of Breaking Bad and the nineteenth episode altogether.

Teaser

Walt races into the parking lot of an abandoned motel where he calls the hospital and learns that Skyler has given birth. He ditches his spare tire and stashes a duffel bag in the tire well.

At the hospital, Walt greets Skyler and tenderly holds his daughter before noticing Ted, who drove Skyler to the hospital. "I just wish you had been here," Skyler tells Walt after Ted leaves. Later, Walt runs home to retrieve Skyler's overnight bag and unload his duffel, which is packed with cash.

Summary

The next morning, Jane is roused by a phone call from her father, Donald. She tells him that she overslept and is running late, but she'll see him soon. "Somebody broke in," she tells Jesse upon seeing his busted back door. Jesse races into the kitchen and finds the meth gone.

At a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Jane sits next to Donald and fiddles with her sobriety chip. Afterwards at a coffee shop, she blames her lateness and weary look on a complex tattoo she's creating. Donald asks if she's seeing Jesse. "Why would I get involved with a tenant?" she answers.

"You junkie imbecile," says an angry Walt when Jesse calls him at home about the missing meth. "Yell at me or something," Jesse says, but Walt hangs up. A few moments later, Jesse notices the blinking light on his answering machine.

That evening, Hank and Marie head to Walt's house for a family dinner: chicken from Los Pollos Hermanos. While they eat, Skyler reveals her plan to return to Beneke; with Walt's upcoming surgery they'll need the cash. Walter Jr. may work too. "Everybody pitches in," Skyler says.

Late that night, Walt shows his new daughter, Holly, the cash he's hidden in the garage. "Daddy did that for you," he says.

"You took the stash," screams Jesse the next day in Walt's classroom. "I heard all those phone messages and figured it out." Walt castigates him for getting high, but Jesse says that isn't Walt's business. They were on call, Walt says, "for the biggest deal of our lives."

Jesse demands his share, $480,000 after Saul's cut, but Walt says that Jesse would be dead within a week if he got the money. Walt will pay Jesse when he's clean. Jesse insists he is clean but balks when Walt challenges him to take a urine test. Jesse hurls a beaker against the chalkboard and storms out.

Back at home, Walter Jr. proudly unveils his new website: SaveWalterWhite.com, where visitors can donate funds for Walt's operation. Walt is mortified by the appeal for money, but Skyler says that it would crush their son if Walt made him take it down.

At Saul's, Walt complains about having to hide his newfound wealth. Luckily, Saul knows of a hacker in Belarus who could launder Walt's money through his son's website. It would look like thousands of people were donating to "Mr. Walter H. White… Cancer Saint," Saul explains. "I'm getting a warm and fuzzy feeling just thinking about it."

Jesse, meanwhile, prepares a meth and heroin speedball under Jane's direction. While he does, he grouses about Walt. As Jesse nods off, he tells Jane that Walt owes him $480,000. Shocked, Jane adjusts Jesse's body so he's on his side, "in case you throw up," she says.

Donald attends another Narcotics Anonymous meeting, but Jane never shows. Later, standing outside the duplex, Donald watches Jane exit Jesse's apartment. Barging past her, Donald searches the apartment and spots the heroin supplies. Enraged, Donald tries to throw Jesse out, but Jesse grabs a baseball bat. "I pay my rent, bitch!" he shouts. Donald calls the police to report Jesse and Jane, but relents when Jane promises to return to rehab the next day.

After Donald leaves, Jesse asks Jane if she's really going to go to rehab. "I don't know," she replies, "I just think if we had enough money nobody could make us do anything."

Jane calls Walt, identifying herself as "Jesse's junkie girlfriend," and demands that he pay Jesse his share. Walt accuses her of blackmail and says that he won't contribute to Jesse overdosing. Jane initially resists the "blackmail" label, but changes her tune when Walt still refuses to pay. Jane reveals that she has enough salacious information about Walt - his position as a high-school teacher, his brother-in-law in the DEA - to break a story that could make "national news." "Do right by Jesse," she says. "Tonight. Or I will burn you to the ground."

"He’s not stupid," Jane tells Jesse. “He'll pay.” Jesse says that he's not the type to rat out a partner. "I'm your partner," Jane says.

That night, Skyler sends Walt to the store for diapers. Walt grabs Jesse's share of the cash and heads to his apartment. "Nice job wearing the pants," Walt says, handing Jesse his money. "How do I know she'll keep quiet?" "I guess you don't," Jane responds, then slams the door in Walt's face.

Giddy, Jane says that the cash frees them to go anywhere and be anybody they want. Jesse, caught up in the moment, chooses New Zealand, "where they made Lord of the Rings." Jane can do her art — and "I can be a bush pilot," he says. "But first we gotta get clean," Jane adds.

Walt, on the phone at a bar, lies and tells Skyler he can't find diapers. "Well played," says the man seated next to him, who happens to be Jane's father, Donald. The two men talk about daughters and family. Referring to Jesse as a "nephew" who's in trouble, Walt describes the frustration of knowing what's best for kids who won't listen. "Family," Donald concludes. "Can't give up on them. Never."

Walt returns to Jesse's apartment, where Jesse and Jane are passed out in bed. Jane flops onto her back when Walt tries to rouse Jesse. Moments later, Jane starts retching. Walt moves to help her — she’s still passed out — but he pauses.

Walt watches Jane struggle as she asphyxiates on her vomit until she finally lies still and dies. Shaken, Walt puts a hand to his mouth and tries to recompose himself.

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.

Guest Stars

• Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis
• Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman
• Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke
• John de Lancie as Donald Margolis
• Tomas Potts as Tattooed Biker
• Erik J. Bockemeier as NA Sponsor
• Wendy Scott as Nurse
• Tony Whitecrow as Addict
• Cydne Schulte as Tattooed Woman

Trivia

• In the original script, Walter was supposed to enter Jesse's apartment and shoot Jane up with an extra dose of Heroin in order to purposefully kill her.
• In the next episode is revealed that Phoenix is Jane's place of birth.
• The scene where Walt watches a documentary about elephants and listens to Skyler sing "Hush Little Baby" over the baby monitor will be referenced heavily in "Fly".
• Bryan Cranston said the scene with Jane affected him as a father, and says it was one of his favorite scenes.

Featured Music

• "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures" by Susie Boehm
• "Green Grass & High Tides" by The Outlaws

See also

• Phoenix subtitles

Breaking Bad Episodes