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"Sunset" is the sixth episode of the third season of Breaking Bad and the twenty-sixth episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

On a Tohajiilee Indian Reservation outside of Albuquerque, a tribal police officer is dispatched to investigate the possible disappearance of an elderly woman. Investigating the woman's property, the officer finds her body behind the outhouse and evidence that someone else has taken up residence inside the house. At the officer's command, Leonel comes out of the house and slowly complies with the instructions. Distracted, Marco, sneaks up from behind and slaughters him with the axe.

Act I[]

3x06 Sunset

Walter watching a model condo for purchase.

Skyler calls Walt to discuss the signed divorce papers she found in Holly's crib. Skyler objects to the idea of Walt using his drug money to pay child support, only to contend that Walt has been using that money to pay their bills for several months now. Walt is looking at a model condo, which he offers to buy with its furnishings. Meanwhile, the Cousins enter Los Pollos Hermanos. Gus watches as they sit down in a booth without ordering or saying anything.

At Jesse's house, the blue meth Jesse has made without Walt dazzles Badger. Jesse invites Badger and Skinny Pete to rejoin him in the business, but in a much more cautious manner. Jesse proposes that Badger get Clovis to fix up the RV while Skinny Pete procures supplies. As Skinny Pete and Badger depart, they have no idea that Hank is watching the house from his SUV parked down the street. Hank recognizes Badger and can hardly contain his glee.

Act II[]

Walt drives Junior, who is sullen about the impending divorce, to school. Elsewhere, Gus arrives at Los Pollos Hermanos and sees the Cousins sitting at a booth. Gus assures his manager that the Cousins are doing nothing wrong, instructing to leave them be. Nonetheless, he does seem annoyed by their persistence.

On his first day of work at the superlab, Walt meets his new assistant, Gale Boetticher, a specialist in X-ray crystallography with a libertarian attitude regarding the use of drugs by consenting adults. Gale is enthused about cooking with Walt and working in the superlab. Prompted by Walt, he recites "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," Walt Whitman's poem about the exhilaration of experiencing scientific wonders first-hand.

Meanwhile, Hank, still staking out Jesse's house and accumulating a pile of fast food wrappers, receives a call from Marie and is asked when he's coming home. Hank insists that he must stay where he is until Jesse leads him to the RV or does something illegal. Remembering that Jesse was once alleged to have sold pot to Walt, Marie suggests Hank talk to him on the grounds that he might know something. When Hank calls Walt and starts to explain his theory that the RV is being used as a mobile meth lab, Walt realizes that Hank is closing in on Jesse.

Act III[]

Walt calls Jesse, but hangs up before speaking out of fear of the line being tapped. He then calls Saul and tells him that Hank knows about the RV, which is covered in physical evidence of his presence. Saul tells Walt to get rid of the RV, but Walt is unable to decide what to next. Walt races to the repair yard and orders Clovis and Badger to destroy the RV. Clovis agrees and knows of someone who will do it. Badger tips off Jesse, who rushes out of his house to drive to the RV, unaware he's being trailed by Hank. Meanwhile, Gus, frustrated with the Cousins lurking in his restaurant, approaches them and arranges an off-site meeting: "Sunset."

At a junkyard, Walt discusses the demolition of the RV with the junkyard's owner, Old Joe, who assures Walt the vehicle will be destroyed and recycled. Walt is alone in the RV when Jesse barges in, confronting him over attempting to get rid of the RV behind his back. Seconds later, Hank drives up to the RV. Walt reprimands Jesse for leading Hank right to them.

Act IV[]

After Hank pounds on the door of the RV, Walt strains to hold the door shut when he tries to pry it open with a crowbar. Old Joe confronts Hank, challenging him on whether he has probable cause to search the RV. Their argument evolves into a debate over whether the RV should legally be considered a vehicle or a domicile. If it is the latter, its residents would be constitutionally protected against unlawful search and seizure.

3x06 Sunset 2

Walt and Jesse inside the RV as Hank is investigating outside.

An increasingly frustrated Hank rips off the duct tape covering the bullet holes in the RV's door, reasoning that a firearm was discharged inside the RV and that gives him probable cause to search it. Prompted by Walt's whispers, Jesse asks how Hank could have known that the holes were there before Hank removed the tape. When Jesse asserts that the RV is his domicile, Hank walks back to his car and calls ASAC Merkert to obtain a search warrant. Walt gets an idea and contacts Saul.

Saul's secretary, Francesca, poses as an Albuquerque police officer and dials Hank's number, telling him that Marie has been involved in a car accident and is being airlifted to a hospital. Fearing the worst, Hank leaps into his SUV and drives away from the junkyard. When he reaches the hospital, he realizes he has been tricked when Marie, alive and well, calls him on his cell phone to make plans for dinner. Back at the junkyard, a forklift rips apart the RV and loads its remains into a crusher while Jesse and Walt look on relieved.

At sunset, Gus and the Cousins meet in the desert. Gus reiterates they must back off Walt and asks why they want to kill him. He reasons that while Walt may have betrayed their cousin Tuco, someone else pulled the trigger. The Cousins, citing Bolsa, tell Gus that DEA agents are off-limits to them. Gus replies that north of the border is his territory, so on his orders, he gives them permission to kill Hank.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

  • Larry Hankin (Old Joe), like Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Bob Odenkirk, is also a Seinfeld alum. Hankin's character auditions for and is cast in the role of "Kramer" in the fourth-season episodes "The Pilot, Part 1" & "Part 2".
  • The painting on the wall of the model apartment has been seen before: it was on the wall of the doctor's office in the "Pilot".
  • When Jesse asks Badger to get the RV in shape, he specifically asks for a buzzer that buzzes when the key is placed in the ignition, a reference to his mistake in "4 Days Out".
  • In a phone conversation with Walter, Skyler sarcastically refers to her unhappiness as "completely out of the clear blue sky unhappiness." It is unclear whether she intentionally referenced Walter's Blue Sky meth.
  • Walt makes a sandwich, and takes off the crust, something Krazy-8 did.
  • The call sign for the tribal police officer in the episode's teaser is "KDK-12", the same call sign for the radio at the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining.
  • This is the last appearance of the RV before its return in the flashback in "Ozymandias". 
  • Continuity error: in this episode, Saul doesn't know about the RV, but he was kidnapped in it in the episode "Better Call Saul", and afterwards was driven back in it, as seen in "Breaking Bad."
  • Error: Walt drives to Clovis yard to destroy the RV - how did he know that is where the RV was, as Jesse had sent it there to get repaired, only Badger and Skinny Pete knew it's location? It's possible he found out offscreen.
  • Dean Norris said that, in filming the scene where he's trying to use a crowbar to force his way into the RV, it was at Bryan Cranston's suggestion that he run the crowbar along the outside of the RV to further amp up Hank's intimidation tactic.
  • This episode is the first appearance of Gale Boetticher.

Production[]

Credits[]

Filming Locations[]

  • Walt purchases the display model apartment. The apartment/condos are located at 3932 Silver Ave SE.

Featured Music[]

  • "Sun Shine On Me" by Buddy Stuart (as Walt prepares for his first day in the superlab)
  • "Ginza Samba" by Vince Guaraldi & Bola Sete (as Walt and Gale first cook together)
  • "He Venido (Bolero)" by Los Zafiros (as the RV is crushed)
  • "Breaking Bad Sunset End Credits" by Dave Porter (end credits)

Memorable Quotes[]

"This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed...bitch!"
―Jesse to Hank.

"The agent's name is Hank Schrader. May his death satisfy you."
―Gus to the Cousins.


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