WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. It's really great 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:04.679 to have you with us again today. Yeah, thanks 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.080 for joining us. Today we are doing something 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:12.619 a little bit special, a bit... surgical, I guess 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:14.460 you could say. I like that word for it. Right. 00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:17.579 We are opening up the archives to zero in on 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:20.839 a very specific, singular moment in television 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:23.899 history. A really massive pivot point. Exactly. 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:26.980 We are looking at Breaking Bad, specifically 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:30.940 Season 2, Episode 11. And the title of this one 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:34.320 is Mandala. Mandala. It is just such an evocative 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:36.820 title, isn't it? It really is. I mean, in Sanskrit, 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:39.240 it roughly translates to circle or completion. 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:42.060 It represents the universe, the cycle of life 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:43.880 and death. Wow, yeah. And when you look at the 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:46.420 architecture of this specific episode, that concept 00:00:46.420 --> 00:00:49.140 of things coming full circle, of one door closing 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:52.100 so another door can open, it is embedded in the 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:55.049 DNA of every single scene. It absolutely is. 00:00:55.329 --> 00:00:57.570 And for you, the listener, you know, our learner, 00:00:57.990 --> 00:01:00.109 whether you are a die -hard fan who can quote 00:01:00.109 --> 00:01:02.530 every single line, or you are just someone interested 00:01:02.530 --> 00:01:04.390 in the mechanics of how great stories are built, 00:01:04.769 --> 00:01:07.010 this is the deep dive for you. Because we aren't 00:01:07.010 --> 00:01:10.329 just here to recap a plot. Right. Anyone can 00:01:10.329 --> 00:01:12.189 read a wiki summary. That's easy. We are here 00:01:12.189 --> 00:01:15.689 to analyze the exact moment breaking bad pivots. 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:19.370 That is the key word right there. Pivot. If you 00:01:19.370 --> 00:01:22.069 look at the trajectory of the whole series, Mandala 00:01:22.069 --> 00:01:24.980 is the fulcrum. Yeah. Before this episode, Breaking 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:28.079 Bad is largely a story about street -level chaos. 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:32.340 It's amateur hour, basically. Just a couple of 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:34.540 guys making it up as they go. Right. It's chemistry 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:37.760 teachers in tidy whiteys in the desert. It is 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:41.799 dealing with erratic, explosive, low -level thugs 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:44.959 like Tuco Salamanca. It's cops and robbers. Exactly. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:47.939 It's messy and it's loud. Yeah, and Mandala is 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.819 the bridge. It is the moment the show transitions 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:54.159 from a gritty street drama into a cold, calculated 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:56.500 corporate thriller. A completely different genre, 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:58.739 almost. It introduces the infrastructure of organized 00:01:58.739 --> 00:02:00.760 crime. It moves us from the street corner to 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.420 the franchise restaurant. And crucially, it introduces 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:05.680 the face of that infrastructure. Oh, yeah. This 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.659 is the episode where we meet two of the most 00:02:07.659 --> 00:02:09.879 significant figures in the show's mythology. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:13.659 We meet the terrifyingly quiet enforcer, Victor. 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.330 Such a great character. And of course, we meet 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:19.909 the man himself, Gustavo Fring. The chicken man. 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:22.590 The chicken man, played by the incredible Giancarlo 00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:26.090 Esposito. And I think it is totally fair to say 00:02:26.090 --> 00:02:28.830 that his entrance changes the gravitational pull 00:02:28.830 --> 00:02:32.349 of the entire show. It absolutely does. But before 00:02:32.349 --> 00:02:34.449 we get into the heavy analysis of Gus and his 00:02:34.449 --> 00:02:36.689 business model, let's set the stage with some 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:38.629 context from our source material. Good idea. 00:02:39.030 --> 00:02:42.889 This episode originally aired on May 17th, 2009. 00:02:43.090 --> 00:02:45.740 A long time ago now. It was, and our sources 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:48.479 note it was directed by Adam Bernstein and written 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:51.180 by George Mastros. George Mastros is a key name 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:53.280 there. He wrote some of the tensest episodes 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.639 in the series. He did, and visually Adam Bernstein 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.000 does something very interesting here. He captures 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.639 the oppressive heat of Albuquerque in a way that 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.039 just feels stifling. You can almost feel the 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.099 sweat. Exactly. We are late in season two chronologically. 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:09.439 The characters are exhausted. Walt and Jesse 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:12.020 have been scraping by, surviving by the skin 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.259 of their teeth. They are asset rich, cash poor, 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:17.919 to borrow a finance term. That is the perfect 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:20.219 way to describe it. And that brings us to the 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:22.280 central question this episode asks, which is 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:25.280 really a business question. What happens when 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:28.439 the amateur distribution model collapses? You 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:31.000 have the product, the Blue Sky Meth, which is 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.080 the best chemically engineered product on the 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:35.500 market. but you have literally no way to get 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:38.659 it to the customer. You have to level up or you 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:41.740 die. Precisely. You have to scale. And scaling 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:44.639 is painful. So let's dive right into section 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.020 one of our outline, the collapse of the street 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.319 trade. Because this episode does not start with 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:51.620 a handshake in a boardroom. No, it doesn't. It 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:54.229 starts with the harsh ugly reality of the corner. 00:03:54.430 --> 00:03:57.250 It starts with Combo Ortega. Combo, one of Jesse's 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.069 crew. A loyal soldier, but definitely an amateur. 00:04:00.210 --> 00:04:02.330 The source material describes a very specific, 00:04:02.629 --> 00:04:04.550 chilling scene here. Yeah, Combo is sailing on 00:04:04.550 --> 00:04:07.310 a corner that isn't his. Right, and why is he 00:04:07.310 --> 00:04:10.879 there? Because Walt and Jesse have so much product, 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:14.360 they are forcing their dealers to expand territory. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.420 They are pushing into rival turf. Which is incredibly 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:20.240 aggressive expansion. It is, and Combo is standing 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.040 there. It's hot, he's drinking a soda, and he 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.439 notices two rival dealers. Just watching them. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:29.459 Right, they are staring him down, but they aren't 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:32.100 screaming, they aren't leaving guns around. It's 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:35.670 this silent... ominous intimidation. It's psychological 00:04:35.670 --> 00:04:38.930 warfare, but the blow, when it finally comes, 00:04:39.170 --> 00:04:41.129 doesn't come from the guy staring at him. No. 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:43.569 And this is the detail that really signals the 00:04:43.569 --> 00:04:46.610 darkness of this episode. The shot comes from 00:04:46.610 --> 00:04:49.430 a young boy on a bicycle. A kid. A child, maybe 00:04:49.430 --> 00:04:52.040 10 or 11 years old. working for the rival. That 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.220 moment, it is always hard to watch. We have seen 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:56.540 violence and Breaking Bad before this. We have 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:59.540 seen bodies dissolved in acid. We've seen Tuco 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:02.279 beat a man to death. But using a kid, that feels 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:04.600 like a completely different category of evil. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:06.959 It really signals a shift in the moral landscape 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.879 of the drug war. It is not just about tough guys 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:12.759 fighting tough guys anymore. No, it's systemic. 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:16.250 It's about exploitation. The rivals are using 00:05:16.250 --> 00:05:19.329 a child because a child is invisible. A child 00:05:19.329 --> 00:05:21.329 doesn't look like a threat until he pulls the 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:24.329 trigger. It's cynical. It is brutal efficiency. 00:05:24.589 --> 00:05:26.810 And practically speaking, for Walt and Jesse, 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:30.370 it is a total disaster. Combo is dead. A child 00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:33.250 is a murderer. The illusion that they can control 00:05:33.250 --> 00:05:36.290 this street game just evaporates instantly. Because 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:39.329 the ripple effect is immediate. We cut to Skinny 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:42.029 Pete. And Skinny Pete is, well, he is done. He 00:05:42.029 --> 00:05:45.129 is spooked. And rightfully so. The source notes 00:05:45.129 --> 00:05:47.430 that Pete isn't just reacting to Combo's death 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:50.910 in a vacuum. He is looking at the pattern. Badger 00:05:50.910 --> 00:05:53.870 got arrested just a few episodes prior. Now Combo 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:57.430 is dead. It's a war of attrition. And they are 00:05:57.430 --> 00:06:00.389 losing. Exactly. Skinny Pete does the math. He 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:02.569 tells Walt and Jesse, I am out. I can't be a 00:06:02.569 --> 00:06:04.610 part of this. He quits. And just like that, the 00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:07.110 pipeline is severed. Completely broken. Think 00:06:07.110 --> 00:06:09.189 about it from a logistics perspective. You have 00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:12.350 40 pounds of product. It is worth hundreds of 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:14.649 thousands, maybe millions of dollars. But it's 00:06:14.649 --> 00:06:16.610 sitting in a cooler. It's worthless unless you 00:06:16.610 --> 00:06:18.930 can move it. So they have a supply chain crisis. 00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:21.790 And when you have a business crisis, who do you 00:06:21.790 --> 00:06:24.149 call? You call a consultant? You call Saul Goodman. 00:06:24.329 --> 00:06:26.750 You call Saul. And I just love this consultation 00:06:26.750 --> 00:06:29.089 scene. It's brilliant. Saul sits them down in 00:06:29.089 --> 00:06:31.949 his strip mall office, behind that ridiculous 00:06:31.949 --> 00:06:35.009 desk of his, and he gives them the most honest 00:06:35.009 --> 00:06:37.529 performance review of their lives. He calls them 00:06:37.529 --> 00:06:40.370 incompetent distributors. Incompetent distributors? 00:06:40.370 --> 00:06:43.069 It sounds so bureaucratic, doesn't it? Like they're 00:06:43.069 --> 00:06:45.209 failing at selling Tupperware. But he's right. 00:06:45.310 --> 00:06:48.230 Saul realizes that Walt and Jesse cannot function 00:06:48.230 --> 00:06:50.509 on the street. They aren't gangsters. Walt is 00:06:50.509 --> 00:06:53.860 a suburban dad. Jesse is emotional. They are 00:06:53.860 --> 00:06:56.519 failing at the retail game. So Saul proposes 00:06:56.519 --> 00:06:59.720 a strategic pivot. He says, stop selling on the 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:03.339 corner. Stop thinking small. You need a B2B model. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.740 Business to business. You need a wholesaler. 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:07.879 He suggests they find a businessman who buys 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:11.680 in bulk. One transaction. High volume. Exactly. 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.379 Instead of selling a gram to a thousand different 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:18.060 users, which exposes you to police, snitches, 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.139 and rival gangs a thousand times. You sell 40 00:07:21.139 --> 00:07:25.560 pounds to one guy. It minimizes risk. It maximizes 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.920 efficiency. But as always with Saul, there is 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:33.019 a catch. The catch is that this new distributor, 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.560 this businessman, is extremely cautious. He's 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:39.970 a ghost. Saul knows a guy who knows a guy But 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:42.310 he warns them. He says, this is not a person 00:07:42.310 --> 00:07:44.689 you mess around with. This is not Tuco. This 00:07:44.689 --> 00:07:46.910 is a professional. Which leads us to one of the 00:07:46.910 --> 00:07:48.910 most famous locations in television history. 00:07:49.529 --> 00:07:52.050 We are going to Los Palos Hermanos. The Chicken 00:07:52.050 --> 00:07:54.709 Brothers. The Chicken Brothers. So Saul sets 00:07:54.709 --> 00:07:56.870 up this meeting. This is section two of our deep 00:07:56.870 --> 00:08:00.009 dive. The introduction of Gus Fring. But it doesn't 00:08:00.009 --> 00:08:02.189 happen all at once, does it? It's a slow burn. 00:08:02.410 --> 00:08:05.089 It is a masterclass intention. The director, 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:07.449 Adam Bernstein, stages the first meeting like 00:08:07.449 --> 00:08:09.610 a stakeout. Right. Walt and Jesse are sitting 00:08:09.610 --> 00:08:11.810 in a booth. And look at the setting. It's bright. 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:14.550 It's colorful. There are families eating. It 00:08:14.550 --> 00:08:17.230 smells like fried chicken. It is the exact opposite 00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:19.589 of the drug dens and junkyards we are used to 00:08:19.589 --> 00:08:21.709 seeing them in. It's the uncanny valley of the 00:08:21.709 --> 00:08:24.470 drug trade. Just looks too normal. Walt is there, 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:27.069 checking his watch, getting anxious. He is trying 00:08:27.069 --> 00:08:29.709 to spot the drug lord. He's looking for the stereotype. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:33.019 He's expecting a guy with scars or gold chains 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:36.539 or sunglasses indoors. And instead, Jesse arrives. 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:39.879 Jesse arrives. And this is critical. The source 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.700 notes that Jesse is late. And crucially, he is 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:46.820 high. He is using. He's spinning. He walks in, 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:50.080 high as a kite, eats some chicken, gets restless, 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:52.639 and leaves. And to them, it looks like a bust. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.419 No one approaches them. Right. They think the 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.100 guy just didn't show up. Yeah. But Walt, being 00:08:57.100 --> 00:08:59.639 Walt, he lets it marinate. He thinks about it, 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:02.159 and he realizes something. He realizes the distributor 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:04.039 was there, the distributor saw them, and the 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.120 distributor made a choice. He chose not to engage. 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:09.039 This is our very first glimpse into the mind 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:12.100 of Gus Fring. He filters his partners, he saw 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:14.940 Jesse's behavior, the erratic movements, the 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:17.379 dilated pupils, the sheer lack of discipline, 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:20.919 and he effectively swiped left. He rejected the 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.139 application immediately. Yes. So Walt goes back. 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:25.179 He returns to the restaurant alone. And this 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:27.440 second meeting, this confrontation, is just cinematic 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.000 gold. He waits until closing. He's sitting there 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.000 while the staff is cleaning up. And he focuses 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.500 on the manager, the man in the yellow shirt and 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:37.139 the tie. The man wiping down tables, the man 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:40.820 engaging in friendly banter with the staff. Giancarlo 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:43.679 Esposito. The reveal here is so subtle. Walt 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:45.759 walks up to him and basically says, I know it's 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:49.049 you. At first, Gus plays the role. He pretends 00:09:49.049 --> 00:09:52.269 to be just a manager. He is polite. He is confused. 00:09:52.669 --> 00:09:55.509 He asks, is everything to your satisfaction, 00:09:55.549 --> 00:09:57.889 sir? Can I get you a refill? He holds the frame 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.590 perfectly. He refuses to break character. Until 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:03.669 he decides to. And this is the moment the learner 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:07.850 needs to pay attention to. Watch Giancarlo Esposito's 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:10.649 eyes. The warmth just vanishes. The customer 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:13.250 service voice completely disappears. The posture 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:16.029 stiffens just a fraction. And suddenly you aren't 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:17.549 looking at a manager anymore. You are looking 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:20.370 at a kingpin. It chills the blood. And he tells 00:10:20.370 --> 00:10:22.470 Walt exactly why he didn't sit down the first 00:10:22.470 --> 00:10:24.970 time. He says he refuses to work with a drug 00:10:24.970 --> 00:10:28.149 addict. He is directly referring to Jesse. Now, 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:31.269 Walt tries to defend him. He's desperate. He 00:10:31.269 --> 00:10:34.009 says Jesse is reliable. He says the product is 00:10:34.009 --> 00:10:36.149 the best in the world He is trying to sell the 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:38.169 commodity, but Gus isn't buying a commodity. 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:41.070 He is buying a partnership He's buying risk mitigation 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:44.230 Yeah, and he delivers a line that essentially 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:46.929 becomes the thesis statement for his character 00:10:46.929 --> 00:10:49.210 and arguably for the whole tragedy of the show 00:10:49.210 --> 00:10:52.730 He warns Walt You can never trust a drug addict. 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:55.029 You can never trust a drug addict. It is absolutely 00:10:55.029 --> 00:10:59.389 binary It establishes Gus not as a criminal in 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:02.049 the traditional sense, but as a rigid professional, 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:04.950 a strict disciplinarian. Contrast this with Tuco, 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:07.990 who is impulsive and wildly emotional. Gus is 00:11:07.990 --> 00:11:10.570 scary because he is rational. He hides in plain 00:11:10.570 --> 00:11:13.490 sight because he follows rules. And sadly, the 00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:15.730 episode immediately moves to prove Gus right. 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:18.889 It does. The narrative structure here is incredibly 00:11:18.889 --> 00:11:21.860 cruel. This takes us to section three. The downward 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:24.840 spiral of Jesse and Jane. Because while Walt 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.120 is trying to convince this million -dollar distributor 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.679 that his partner is solid, his partner is actually 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.259 falling apart. He is. Jesse is crumbling under 00:11:32.259 --> 00:11:35.419 the guilt of Combo's death. Remember, Combo was 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:38.419 his friend. Combo was doing a favor for him by 00:11:38.419 --> 00:11:41.210 holding that corner. Jesse feels responsible. 00:11:41.450 --> 00:11:43.250 And when you are an addict and you feel pain 00:11:43.250 --> 00:11:45.809 that deep, you look for the escape hatch. And 00:11:45.809 --> 00:11:48.509 Jane Margolis is there. Now, Jane is in recovery. 00:11:48.570 --> 00:11:50.429 We know this from previous episodes. She has 00:11:50.429 --> 00:11:52.490 been trying to stay clean. She has been going 00:11:52.490 --> 00:11:55.070 to meetings. The dynamic here is heartbreaking. 00:11:55.850 --> 00:11:58.090 Jesse actually tries to do the right thing in 00:11:58.090 --> 00:12:01.330 a twisted addict logic sort of way. He asks Jane 00:12:01.330 --> 00:12:03.549 to leave. He tells her to get out of the apartment 00:12:03.549 --> 00:12:05.970 so he can smoke meth without harming her recovery. 00:12:06.190 --> 00:12:09.570 He knows he's toxic. He knows he is a contagion. 00:12:09.750 --> 00:12:12.909 But she stays. She reluctantly stays. And this 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:15.250 is the relapse. The source material notes that 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:17.870 Jane relapses into addiction alongside Jesse, 00:12:18.129 --> 00:12:20.789 but it escalates. It's not just meth anymore. 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:24.330 Jane introduces Jesse to heroin. Heroin. It is 00:12:24.330 --> 00:12:27.149 a completely different beast. Meth, the blue 00:12:27.149 --> 00:12:30.110 sky they manufacture, is a stimulant. It's paranoia, 00:12:30.110 --> 00:12:33.320 mania, energy. Heroin is a downer. It's a void. 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:35.720 It's oblivion. And narratively, why is that shift 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:38.799 important? Because it renders Jesse completely 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.360 incapacitated. It validates Gus Fring's warning 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.200 almost instantly. Right. Walt told Gus that Jesse 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:48.620 was reliable. Meanwhile, Jesse is shooting a 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.440 heroin and passing out. He is physically unable 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:54.100 to answer the phone. He is unable to work. He 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:57.000 is the very definition of unreliable. It creates 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.399 this incredible dramatic irony. We, the audience, 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:04.139 No, Gus is right. We see Jesse failing. But we 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:06.500 are also rooting for Walt to make the deal. It 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:08.179 puts us in this really uncomfortable position. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:11.299 It does. It forces us to align with the corporate 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:13.659 view of the drug trade. We start thinking like 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.100 Gus. We start thinking Jesse is a liability. 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:18.600 Which is a very dangerous way to think. Extremely. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:20.980 But Walt isn't the only one breaking bad in this 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.379 episode. And this is where it gets really interesting 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:26.169 for me. We need to talk about Skylar White. We 00:13:26.169 --> 00:13:28.769 do. This is section four, the parallel crime. 00:13:29.049 --> 00:13:31.769 We shift gears to the White Household, or rather, 00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:34.750 the workplace. Skyler's gone back to work at 00:13:34.750 --> 00:13:37.509 Benaki Fabricators. It's her boss Ted Benaki's 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:40.529 birthday. And we get the scene. The scene. I 00:13:40.529 --> 00:13:42.769 think half the audience watches this scene through 00:13:42.769 --> 00:13:45.830 their fingers. It is so cringe -inducing. It 00:13:45.830 --> 00:13:48.789 is agonizingly awkward. Skyler sings happy birthday, 00:13:48.889 --> 00:13:51.769 Mr. President, to Ted. It's sultry. It's intimate. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.440 And it is in front of all the employees. It's 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:58.659 full Marilyn Monroe style. And it screams that 00:13:58.659 --> 00:14:00.320 there is something going on between them, or 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.419 at least a massive amount of tension. It's uncomfortable 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.820 to watch because it feels like an affair happening 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:07.460 in public. But underneath the awkwardness, there 00:14:07.460 --> 00:14:10.320 is a crime happening here, too. A white -collar 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.419 crime. And this is the parallel the episode really 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:15.860 wants us to see. Skylar is an accountant. She 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:18.440 is looking at the books for Ted's company. And 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:21.519 she finds inaccuracies. Inaccuracies is a very 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:23.940 polite way of putting it. She finds massive tax 00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:26.980 fraud. Ted Benaki is cooking the books. He is 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:29.559 underreporting revenue. Millions of dollars are 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:32.899 being hidden from the IRS. Now when Skyler confronts 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:35.259 him, Ted's defense is fascinating. He doesn't 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:37.299 deny it. He doesn't say it was a mistake. What 00:14:37.299 --> 00:14:40.730 does he say? He admits it fully. But he justifies 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:43.230 it. He says he is doing it to keep the company 00:14:43.230 --> 00:14:45.909 afloat. He's doing it to save the jobs of his 00:14:45.909 --> 00:14:49.649 employees. He frames it as a noble act. Exactly. 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:52.190 He says, I am breaking the law to help people. 00:14:52.450 --> 00:14:54.929 I'm doing it for the family, his work family. 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:57.370 Does that sound familiar to anyone? It is a direct 00:14:57.370 --> 00:15:00.450 moral mirror to Walter White. Walt claims he 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:03.590 cooks meth to support his family. Ted claims 00:15:03.590 --> 00:15:05.870 he commits tax fraud to support his company. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:09.460 Both men are justifying illegal acts with altruistic 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:11.860 motives. And Skylar is the judge for both of 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.460 them, in a way. She is, and her reaction here 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:17.039 is pivotal for her character arc. Initially, 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.279 she reacts with integrity. She tells Ted she 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.179 won't turn him in, but she says, I'm quitting, 00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:23.259 I can't be a part of this. She packs her box 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:25.659 and walks away. But she doesn't stay away. No. 00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:28.259 She returns to work the next day. She goes back. 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.639 She goes back. She becomes complicit. By staying... 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:34.100 By keeping the secret, by helping him manage 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:36.940 the books, knowing they are fraudulent, she is 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:39.039 entering the gray zone. She is breaking bad in 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.700 her own way. That is such a crucial point. It 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.799 is not just The Walt Show. It is about how crime 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:47.759 infects everything around it. It's a contagion. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:51.200 Exactly. And it strips Schuyler of her moral 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.200 high ground. She is now compromising her ethics 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:57.070 for money and security. Just like Walt. Okay, 00:15:57.210 --> 00:15:59.230 so let's look at the board. We've got the collapsed 00:15:59.230 --> 00:16:01.289 street trade. We've got the introduction of Gus 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:04.070 Fring, the skeptic. We've got Jesse, incapacitated 00:16:04.070 --> 00:16:06.669 by heroin. We've got Skyler, complicit in tax 00:16:06.669 --> 00:16:09.190 fraud. The pressure cooker is whistling. And 00:16:09.190 --> 00:16:12.950 that brings us to section five. The climax. The 00:16:12.950 --> 00:16:15.549 ultimatum. The pacing of this episode really 00:16:15.549 --> 00:16:17.509 ramps up here. It turns into a straight thriller. 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:20.710 Walt receives a message. He is summoned back 00:16:20.710 --> 00:16:23.789 to Los Palos Hermanos. And this time... The dynamic 00:16:23.789 --> 00:16:26.049 has completely changed. He learns the truth. 00:16:26.450 --> 00:16:29.049 The man he met isn't just a manager. He is the 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:32.190 owner. But when he arrives, the actual manager, 00:16:32.409 --> 00:16:34.990 the civilian, tells Walt that Gus isn't there. 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:37.470 Walt is confused. He tries to leave. And this 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:40.289 is where we finally meet Victor. Victor. We mentioned 00:16:40.289 --> 00:16:42.429 him earlier. Up until now, we have mostly seen 00:16:42.429 --> 00:16:45.740 Gus. But Victor steps in. He blocks Walt from 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:48.039 leaving the restaurant. He is physically imposing, 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:51.000 silent, very scary. He represents the muscle 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.019 behind the management. And he delivers the terms. 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.559 The deal is on the table. But it's not a negotiation. 00:16:56.700 --> 00:16:59.580 It's an ultimatum. Gus is buying. He wants the 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:05.779 entire inventory. $1 .2 million in cash. $1 .2 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:08.000 million. That is a life -changing amount of money 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.380 for Walt. That is the goal. That's the provide 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:13.839 for the family after I die money. That is the 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:15.900 finish line he has been running toward since 00:17:15.900 --> 00:17:18.579 the pilot. But the logistics are a total nightmare. 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:20.720 Victor tells him the delivery must happen at 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.299 a specific truck stop. It has to happen within 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:26.480 one hour. One hour. A literal ticking clock. 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:29.940 And the stakes. If Walt misses this window, Gus 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.089 Fring will never do business with him. The door 00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:34.470 closes forever. There are no second chances in 00:17:34.470 --> 00:17:36.630 the corporate world. So the clock starts ticking. 00:17:36.970 --> 00:17:38.690 And of course, because this is Breaking Bad, 00:17:38.930 --> 00:17:40.630 everything goes wrong at the exact same time. 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:44.190 It is Murphy's Law on steroids. It's the convergence 00:17:44.190 --> 00:17:47.849 of crises. Crisis A, the meth is not with Walt. 00:17:48.309 --> 00:17:51.069 It is at Jesse's apartment. Walt does not have 00:17:51.069 --> 00:17:53.430 the product. And Crisis B, this is the big one. 00:17:53.710 --> 00:17:55.529 Skyler goes into labor. She's having the baby. 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:59.019 She is having the baby. She is texting Walt. 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:02.160 She's calling Walt. Where are you? It's happening. 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.359 So Walt is torn. Literally torn. On one side, 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:09.039 the birth of his daughter, Holly. The symbol 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.680 of his family. The reason he claims he's doing 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.720 all of this. And on the other side, the drug 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:15.720 deal that will secure the money for said family. 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:18.960 It is the ultimate test of his stated motivations. 00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:21.559 If he really is doing this for his family, shouldn't 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:24.420 he be at the birth? He rushes to Jesse's place 00:18:24.420 --> 00:18:27.500 first. He needs the product. But when he gets 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:29.720 there, the obstacle we set up in section three 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:32.279 pays off. Jesse and Jane. They are passed out. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.339 They are in a heroin -induced haze. They are 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:36.720 completely unresponsive. Walt is banging on the 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.539 door. No answer. So he has to break in. He breaks 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:42.240 the back door. He enters the squalor of the apartment. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.759 And the scene is just so degrading. He has to 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.940 physically scramble over their comatose bodies 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.539 to find the stash. He's stepping over his friend. 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:51.799 He's treating them like furniture. It's a frantic 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.019 scene. He is tearing the place apart. He finds 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:57.559 the meth underneath the sink. He grabs the black 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:00.660 garbage bag. He has the product. And then the 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:03.920 phone buzzes again. This is the moment. The mandala 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:06.900 moment. He checks the phone. It's Skyler. Baby 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:09.700 coming. Walt stands there. He has the black garbage 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:11.819 bag full of crystal meth in his hand. He has 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:14.420 the phone in the other. He hesitates. The source 00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:17.140 material explicitly notes this specific moment 00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:19.779 of hesitation. It's a cross herbs. And what does 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:22.480 he choose? He chooses the deal. He chooses the 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:24.500 deal. He gathers the meth and he runs out the 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:27.099 door. He leaves the house. He ignores the birth 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:29.019 of his daughter to meet the drug lord at the 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:32.799 truck stop. Man, when you say it like that, he 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:34.880 ignores the birth of his daughter to meet the 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:38.640 drug lord. It sounds monstrous. It is the definition 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.519 of the episode title. A mandala represents the 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.200 universe, circles, cycles. Here, Walt is completing 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.859 a cycle. He is fully committing to the criminal 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:50.150 path. He isn't a chemistry teacher who cooks 00:19:50.150 --> 00:19:52.750 meth on the side anymore. He is a drug dealer 00:19:52.750 --> 00:19:55.349 who used to be a teacher. He chooses the business 00:19:55.349 --> 00:19:58.390 over the family. It is tragic. It is the point 00:19:58.390 --> 00:20:01.329 of no return. You cannot unmiss the birth of 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:03.589 your child. That is a bell you cannot unring. 00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:07.430 No. That is an irreversible choice. And it's 00:20:07.430 --> 00:20:10.210 the climax of the episode. He drives into the 00:20:10.210 --> 00:20:12.549 night to meet the truck. He secures the money. 00:20:13.109 --> 00:20:16.009 But he loses his soul. So looking back at this 00:20:16.009 --> 00:20:18.930 episode, Mandala, it feels huge. It feels monumental. 00:20:19.309 --> 00:20:21.410 But looking at the critical reception, it is 00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:22.950 actually pretty interesting. This is section 00:20:22.950 --> 00:20:25.890 six, critical reception and legacy. Right. If 00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:27.970 we look at the reviews from the time, they were 00:20:27.970 --> 00:20:31.390 positive, but maybe not series best positive. 00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:36.250 Seth Emerton from IGN gave it an 8 .6 out of 00:20:36.250 --> 00:20:39.230 10. Which is a solid score. It is. He noted it 00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:41.910 was about crossing the lines and saw it as the 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:44.369 setup for the finale. But then you have Donna 00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:47.430 Bowman from the A .V. club. She graded it a B. 00:20:47.609 --> 00:20:49.809 A .B. She felt it was a merely good episode. 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:51.890 She wrote that it seemed mostly concerned with 00:20:51.890 --> 00:20:54.190 moving pieces into place for the finale. And 00:20:54.190 --> 00:20:55.890 I guess that's fair. Technically, it is a setup 00:20:55.890 --> 00:20:58.190 episode of setting up the finale. Exactly. And 00:20:58.190 --> 00:21:00.269 even in retrospective rankings, it often layers 00:21:00.269 --> 00:21:02.210 in the middle of the pack. The Ringer ranked 00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:06.009 it 46th out of 62 episodes. Vulture ranked it 00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:09.009 47th. That seems criminal. low for the episode 00:21:09.009 --> 00:21:11.789 that introduces Gus Fring. It does seem low, 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:14.309 but I think it speaks to the fact that Mandala 00:21:14.309 --> 00:21:17.210 is a structural episode. It is the steel beams 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:19.170 holding up the building rather than the flashy 00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:21.269 decoration. It's doing the heavy lifting. Without 00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:24.269 Mandala, the explosive finale of season two doesn't 00:21:24.269 --> 00:21:27.089 happen. Without Mandala, the entire Gus Fring 00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:29.589 arc, the chess match that defines season three 00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.269 and season four, none of that exists. It is the 00:21:32.269 --> 00:21:34.930 foundation. It is the pivot. It establishes the 00:21:34.930 --> 00:21:37.309 rules of the new world. It tells us that the 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:39.890 amateur hour is over. And if we connect the dots, 00:21:39.970 --> 00:21:43.890 as we like to do, the theme of business is everywhere 00:21:43.890 --> 00:21:47.250 here. Saul gives business advice. Gus runs a 00:21:47.250 --> 00:21:50.089 business operation. Ted commits business fraud. 00:21:50.549 --> 00:21:52.549 Everyone in this episode is treating crime as 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:55.109 a corporate entity. And Walt is finally promoted 00:21:55.109 --> 00:21:57.869 to CEO, whether he's ready for it or not. Or 00:21:57.869 --> 00:22:00.250 perhaps he has just become an employee of a much 00:22:00.250 --> 00:22:03.950 larger corporation. Ooh. That is a chilling thought. 00:22:04.730 --> 00:22:06.650 He thinks he's the boss, but he's really just 00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:09.710 another cog in Gus's machine. It is. So let's 00:22:09.710 --> 00:22:11.930 wrap this up. What are our key takeaways from 00:22:11.930 --> 00:22:14.599 Mandala for the learner? First, This episode 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.140 forces Walt and Jesse out of the amateur league. 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:19.740 The street trade collapses and they have to level 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:22.500 up. Second, it establishes the central conflict 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:24.960 of the show's middle era. The danger of erratic 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:27.500 addiction represented by Jane and Jesse versus 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:30.519 the cold, ruthless efficiency of business represented 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:34.210 by Gus. Chaos versus order. Precisely. And third, 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:36.910 it mirrors Walt's criminality with Skyler and 00:22:36.910 --> 00:22:39.549 Ted. It shows us that Breaking Bad is a contagion. 00:22:39.690 --> 00:22:42.630 It spreads. It infects the innocent. And finally, 00:22:42.910 --> 00:22:45.509 we have that choice. The choice to leave the 00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:48.809 family for the money. The choice that truly defines 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:51.690 Walter White. Which brings us to our final provocative 00:22:51.690 --> 00:22:54.269 thought for you. The learner. We have talked 00:22:54.269 --> 00:22:57.089 a lot about Gus Fring's philosophy. Never trust 00:22:57.089 --> 00:22:59.990 a drug addict. Gus demands reliability above 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:02.150 all else. He demands professionalism. He demands 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:04.349 that you do the job you were hired to do. Right. 00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:07.289 Walt leaves his wife in labor, possibly the most 00:23:07.289 --> 00:23:09.890 critical family moment a man can have, to secure 00:23:09.890 --> 00:23:12.490 this deal. He does it to prove to Gus that he 00:23:12.490 --> 00:23:15.210 can deliver, that he is reliable, that he is 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:17.670 a professional. He makes the drop. He gets the 00:23:17.670 --> 00:23:21.190 cash. But here is the question. By choosing the 00:23:21.190 --> 00:23:23.569 drug deal over his family obligations, has Walt 00:23:23.569 --> 00:23:27.210 actually proved he is reliable? Or has he become 00:23:27.210 --> 00:23:30.109 something even more inhuman than Gus expected? 00:23:30.349 --> 00:23:33.490 Is he the perfect employee? Or is he a monster? 00:23:33.809 --> 00:23:36.990 Gus despises drug addicts because they prioritize 00:23:36.990 --> 00:23:39.529 the drug over everything else. Walt prioritized 00:23:39.529 --> 00:23:41.910 the money over everything else. Is there a difference? 00:23:42.369 --> 00:23:45.170 Does Gus want a good father? Or does he want 00:23:45.170 --> 00:23:47.710 a machine? Exactly. Who is the real professional 00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:49.940 here? and is becoming that professional worth 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:52.420 the cost of your soul. That is something to chew 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:54.740 on. Indeed. Thank you so much for listening. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:57.299 We hope this deep dive gave you a new perspective 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:59.839 on a classic episode. Keep learning. And we will 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:00.380 see you next time.