"Buyout" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the fifty-second episode altogether.
Summary[]
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At Vamonos Pest, Mike, Walt and Todd unload equipment from the train heist. In stunned silence, they unload and dismantle the young boy's dirtbike, placing the pieces in a barrel and dissolving them with hydrofluoric acid. They then prepare a barrel for the young boy's body. Jesse chooses not to be present for the dissolution of the boy's corpse and instead smokes outside. When Todd joins him and tries to make conversation, nonchalantly saying that "shit happens," Jesse punches him in the face.
Act I[]
Todd defends his actions to Walt, Mike and Jesse, pointing out that they had insisted on there being no witnesses to the train heist and that since the kid had a dirtbike, he could've sped away and they wouldn't have been able to catch up. Jesse retorts that the kid was waving and would not have said anything, to which Todd replies that Jesse does not know that. Todd claims that while he did not relish the idea of child, he would do it again to protect the sanctity of the operation. The three men dismiss Todd from the room and discuss his future in their operation. Jesse, appalled by Todd's actions, wants him gone. Walt goes over three options: fire Todd, bearing in mind that he would need to be paid for his silence; kill him; or keep him around, but relegating his original duties at Vamonos Pest, preparing houses for them to cook in, which would keep him close and in the business as a precaution. While Jesse does not prefer it, Mike and Walt vote for the third option. Heading outside, Mike delivers the news to Todd that they will be keeping him around before pushing him against the wall, warning him to never bring a gun on a mission without his knowledge.
Mike at the park
The following day, while visiting a park with his granddaughter, Mike is watched by DEA agents Gomez and Van Oster. Before he leaves, Mike scribbles and hides a note under a nearby garbage can. Gomez believes it is a dead drop, and after Mike begins to leave, debate whether to follow Mike or wait for someone to pick up the drop. Gomez approaches the note to investigate and finds that it says "Fuck You", thereby revealing to him that Mike knew he was being watched.
Act II[]
Back at his house, Mike listens to a bugged recording from Hank's office in which DEA agents talk about tailing him until he makes an incriminating mistake. Meanwhile, at the Schrader residence, Skyler visits Holly. Skyler breaks down into tears, telling Marie that she misses her children but needs them to stay safe, vaguely stating that she and Walt are bad parents and that she is keeping painful secrets. Just as Skyler is poised to confess everything, Marie divulges that Walt told her about Skyler's affair. Skyler realizes that Walt has framed her as the source of their conflict but withholds her anger from Marie.
Jesse finds out about Drew Sharp's disappearance on TV
At a house being fumigated by Vamonos Pest, Walt and Jesse watch television as they wait for their current batch of meth to cook. Their program is interrupted by a news bulletin on the disappearance of the young boy, who is identified as Drew Sharp. Watching the bulletin hits Jesse with a wave of grief. Walt, seeing how distraught he is, offers to finish up the cook while Jesse goes home early. Whilst leaving, Jesse is unsettled when he overhears Walt whistling, seemingly unaffected by what happened with Drew. He receives a phone call from Mike as he walks out.
When he delivers the batch to the Vamonos office, Walt is informed that Mike will be quitting their meth business due to the DEA's constant surveillance of him. Walt is taken aback but has no choice but to accept, but asks Mike to teach the distribution business to Jesse. However, Jesse tells Walt that he is leaving the operation as well. The duo reveal that they plan to sell their shares of the methylamine to Mike's contact in Phoenix for $5 million each. Jesse pleads with Walt to join them, insisting it is no longer safe and that he should be content with making $5 million. Walt declines, explaining that using all of the methylamine to cook would result in $300 million worth of meth and therefore does not wish to settle for selling their methylamine for just $15 million. Jesse responds that he has never seen $5 million before and it is more than either of them have, but Walt is staunchly against joining them, citing that they would be selling to his competitors. Jesse then asks him if they are in the meth business or the money business, since the sole reason they started selling meth was strictly for financial reasons.
Act III[]
The buyout
The following day, Mike and Jesse meet with the Phoenix contact, Declan, to discuss the sale of the methylamine. Mike offers a sample for free and tells him that if he likes it, he can purchase the other 66.6 gallons. Declan agrees to buy it, but asks Mike for confirmation that the sale would result in the end of Blue Sky's manufacturing. When Mike and Jesse remain silent, Declan mentions that he found it interesting that two people were offering to sell him 66.6 gallons and correctly deduces that there are three people involved, who have split 1,000 gallons three ways. He offers to buy the third partner's share as well, stating that he is only making the purchase to get rid of Blue Sky. Mike retorts that Declan's territory is in Arizona and not New Mexico, but Declan replies that he intends to expand. When Mike indicates that only the two of them are selling, he refuses to buy Mike and Jesse's shares alone, declaring he would either buy all of it or none of it.
Jesse calls Walt asking to speak with him, but Walt tells him to just come to his house. Jesse tells him that Declan would only buy the methylamine if all of them were selling it, and asks him again to reconsider. Walt does not see the point in selling methylamine worth $300 million for just $15 million, and states that he cannot leave the business for such an offer. Jesse reminds Walt that they were never in this to run a meth business but to make money, and that he specifically remembers Walt needing just $737,000 in order to leave the meth business and retire. Walt then explains why he is adamant against selling the methylamine for significantly less than what it's worth; he explains that when he was in grad school, he and two others founded a company known as Gray Matter Technologies, with Walt coining the name. When he had a disagreement with the other two, he chose to leave the company and sold his 33.33% share for $5,000. He discloses that Gray Matter is now worth billions, and that he laments selling his kids' birthright for what amounted to a few months' rent.
Walt then declares that he isn't in the meth business or the money business but that he is in the empire business; Jesse then questions whether running a "meth empire" is something to be proud of. Skyler returns home and is startled by Jesse's presence. Walt insists that he stay for dinner, to which she reluctantly accepts. The three have an extremely awkward meal, ending when Skyler jeers at Walt for telling Marie about her affair. After she leaves the table, Walt admits that Skyler has removed their children from the house and is waiting for his cancer to kill him. He says the meth business is all he has left and admonishes Jesse for wanting to take it away from him.
Act IV[]
Later that night, Walt drives to Vamonos Pest to steal the methylamine, only to find Mike already there, who states he had anticipated such an action. Mike plans on detaining Walt for the entire night until he can sell all of the methylamine for $15 million, promising Walt that he would give him his $5 million share. However, when morning comes, Mike states that he has to run an errand first before meeting with Declan; since he cannot trust Walt alone with the methylamine, he zip-ties Walt's left wrist to the radiator before leaving. Walt manages to escape by chewing through the coffee machine's power cord and using the wires to burn through the tie, injuring his wrist.
Mike's errand consists of him and Saul going to the DEA office to inform them that they have filed a restraining order about the surveillance. In Saul's car, he and Mike listen to Hank and Gomez plan their next steps, where they discuss that Saul's restraining order would not hold up in court and would be tossed out soon. Saul informs Mike that they have only bought twenty-four hours at most before the DEA can legally start surveilling him again, which Mike says is enough for what he needs. However, upon returning to Vamonos Pest, he finds the methylamine gone. Finding Jesse and a smug Walt in the office, Mike angrily pulls out his gun and puts it to Walt's head. Jesse desperately urges him to listen to a plan Walt has come up with, in which Walt gets to keep the methylamine while Jesse and Mike still get their $5 million each. When Mike asks if this is true, Walt replies: "Everybody wins."
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
- This episode marks the second time Jesse and Skyler have talked to each other, the first exchange being in "Cat's in the Bag...".
- This episode features Walt and Jesse's final cook session together.
- A flashback scene in "El Camino" features Mike and Jesse before they announce their decision to Walt in this episode and a discussion of what they will do next. Mike's suggestion of starting over in Alaska motivates Jesse's subsequent desire to move there in "Confessions" and "El Camino."
- The television program Walt and Jesse are watching during the cook before the news broadcast is How It's Made. The episode in question shows the production of kelp caviar, an imitation caviar made from kelp that is cheaper to produce and purchase.
- Antoinette Antonio, the news anchorwoman is actually a reporter in real life for WCVB Channel 5 in Massachusetts.
Production[]
Credits[]
Starring
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
Featured Music[]
- "Disassemble" by Dave Porter (during the teaser)
- "The Lily of the Valley" composed by Will Hays performed by Bryan Cranston as Walt (whistled while he prepares to finish the cook)
- "Radiator" by Dave Porter (as Walt escapes from being tied to the radiator)
Errors[]
- Walt, Todd, and Mike use a solution of hydrofluoric acid to dissolve Drew Sharp's Yamaha TT-R 125. The acid would not be a strong enough corrosive to affect the plastic components of the dirt bike.
- Walt's escape plan of bringing live electrical wires together would produce an electrical arc, but this would most likely result in a fuse blowing or a breaker tripping (especially with a power bar involved). Walt also didn’t need to stick the wire underneath the zip-tie; he could have made the arc just on top of the tie to similar effect with less injury.
Memorable Quotes[]
- "Man, shit happens, huh?"
- ―Todd's flippant remark to Jesse about his murder of the child.
- "The whole point of this was no one was supposed to know we were there. People weren't supposed to know anything got robbed. How could we let the kid go? He made us."
- ―Todd explaining why he shot Drew Sharp.
- "Jesse, you asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business."
- ―Walt to Jesse at Walt’s house.
- "I uh... I eat a lot of frozen stuff... It's usually pretty bad, I mean the pictures are always so awesome, you know? It's like "hell yeah, I'm starved for this lasagna!" and then you nuke it and the cheese gets all scabby on top and it's like... it's like you're eating a scab... I mean, seriously, what's that about? It's like "Yo! What ever happened to truth in advertising?" You know?"
- ―Jesse attempting to lighten the mood in an awkward dinner.