Breaking Half: "Buyout"

Left to right: Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, and Bryan Cranston

Are you tired of long, tedious accounts of Breaking Bad episode recaps? Then look no further than Breaking Half: a weekly column that takes the good and bad from each week's episode of Breaking Bad and dilutes it down to the core necessities. Each Monday, Breaking Half will attempt to take a few key moments from the episode and boil it down to one juicy paragraph.

*Originally published on August 20, 2012

Season 5, Episode 6

"Buyout"

"I'm in the empire business"

-Walter (Bryan Cranston)

This week is all about learning to move on with things. After disposing of the dead child from the end of "Dead Freight," Mike (Jonathan Banks), Jesse (Aaron Paul), and Walter (Bryan Cranston) try to figure out if they should keep Todd (Jesse Plemons). They do, but keep a watchful eye over him. Meanwhile, Mike is having trouble keeping Hank (Dean Norris) and the D.E.A. off of his trail while Jesse considers leaving the business with Mike. They decide to sell the methylamine to competitors, which Walter opposes and it ends up splitting the group. Walter reveals that he is greedy because of buying out of a program he made with his friends in college called Grey Matter, which is now worth billions. He doesn't want that to happen again and tries to keep everyone aboard, though no one trusts him anymore. After an interrogation between Mike and Hank with Saul (Bob Odenkirk) present, it is discovered that they have limited time to cover their tracks. The episode ends with Mike pointing a gun at Walter's head only for Walter to reveal that he has a plan.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Left to right: Paul and Jonathan Banks

MVP: Mike

It is a tough call for who provided the best moment in this week's episode, if just because every character had their moment. While Walter is slowly reaching the end of his rope, Mike still has a few moves left before he gives up. He also has Jesse on his side, which will make for an interesting turn in the final few episodes. There are also many moments to leave you questioning what the next move is, and frankly, it will be hard to tell as it sounds like the police are moments away from breaking this all down.

Left to right: Paul, Jesse Plemons

Best scene: On his own, Walter uses his science skills to get him out of a jam. With his hand tied to a radiator, he manages to free himself by chewing through an electrical chord like a rat and burning the shackle off. He has a hideous scar, but he is free. This is more fascinating in that it is proof that Walter will not go out without a fight and that he is fine using his scientific knowledge (which feels to be lacking lately) to work his way out of a corner. It feels like a haunting moment at which Walter is at his lowest and is essentially a rat. The question is how much worse can he do in the final moments?

Come back tomorrow when we recap "Say My Name"