WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Welcome back to the deep dive. So if you just 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:04.780 close your eyes right now and picture Breaking 00:00:04.780 --> 00:00:08.699 Bad, what do you see? Oh, I mean, probably the 00:00:08.699 --> 00:00:11.500 rusty RV, right? Right, the RV. The endless New 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:15.699 Mexico desert, that really harsh yellow sunlight. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:18.500 Yeah, or maybe even like a pair of tighty whities 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:20.260 flying through the air. Yeah. You really think 00:00:20.260 --> 00:00:23.739 of this gritty. local, almost Western -style 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:26.280 crime drama. Definitely. It's the quintessential 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:28.940 image of the American Southwest underworld. It 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:33.060 feels very contained and dusty. But today, we 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:35.000 are completely shattering that containment. We 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:38.600 are pulling a file that really recontextualizes 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:40.659 the entire scope of the series. We are looking 00:00:40.659 --> 00:00:42.840 at the second episode of the fifth season, the 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:45.270 one titled Magical. And we really aren't in Kansas 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:47.549 anymore with this one. No, we are not. Or Albuquerque, 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:50.109 for that matter, because we start off in this 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:52.450 sterile, high -tech corporate test kitchen in 00:00:52.450 --> 00:00:55.030 Hanover, Germany. It is a massive pivot for the 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:57.289 show. I mean, we are moving from the immediate 00:00:57.289 --> 00:01:00.469 explosive adrenaline of the season premiere. 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:02.590 Right, where they're using those giant magnets 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:04.989 to destroy the evidence room. Exactly. We go 00:01:04.989 --> 00:01:08.689 from that chaos to this geopolitical and logistical 00:01:08.689 --> 00:01:12.290 hangover. Madrigal is all about the shockwaves. 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:14.129 Yeah, it's about how the The death of a drug 00:01:14.129 --> 00:01:17.189 lord in a nursing home in the United States causes 00:01:17.189 --> 00:01:20.409 a literal corporate executive to panic across 00:01:20.409 --> 00:01:22.959 the Atlantic Ocean. We really have a tremendous 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.060 amount of ground to cover today. We do. We are 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:28.900 going to dissect the introduction of the nervous 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:31.700 wreck that is Lydia Rodar Quail. We're going 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.140 to analyze the shifting power dynamics of our 00:01:34.140 --> 00:01:36.959 central trio, Walt, Jesse, and Mike. And we're 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:38.840 going to unpack the real mission of this deep 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:41.519 dive. Which is redefining the battlefield. The 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:44.040 show transforms here from a local crime drama 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.260 into a corporate thriller. 100%. And we have 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:49.219 sources today ranging from Vince Gilligan's own 00:01:49.219 --> 00:01:51.209 production notes to some deep cut. interviews 00:01:51.209 --> 00:01:53.909 with the cast, plus these really sharp critical 00:01:53.909 --> 00:01:56.090 essays from Vulture and Entertainment Weekly. 00:01:56.310 --> 00:01:58.590 And those essays highlight a central theme for 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:01.469 this hour, which is interdependence. Interdependence. 00:02:01.569 --> 00:02:03.650 That is the buzzword for us today. The idea that 00:02:03.650 --> 00:02:06.250 the lone wolf myth is just dead. Completely dead. 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:09.330 Everyone, no matter how powerful or how isolated 00:02:09.330 --> 00:02:12.169 they think they are, is tied to someone else's 00:02:12.169 --> 00:02:15.120 mistake. Or someone else's greed. Or someone 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:17.719 else's conscience. And we are going to see that 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.259 play out in some really tragic ways, especially 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:22.800 for Mike Ermentrow. Oh, man, poor Mike. We're 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:25.219 going to get deep into his head. And specifically, 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:27.500 we're going to break down one of the most famous 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:30.379 monologues in the entire series. The time bomb 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:32.560 speech. The time bomb speech, yes. I cannot wait 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:34.860 to get to the time bomb. But let's start at the 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:38.659 very top. The title itself, Madrigal. Before 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:41.500 this episode, What did we actually know about 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:44.379 Madrigal Electromotive? Honestly, very little. 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:46.460 It was basically just a name on a piece of paper. 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:48.939 We knew Los Palos Hermanos had a parent company, 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:52.139 obviously. And we knew Gus Fring wasn't funding 00:02:52.139 --> 00:02:55.680 a massive underground super lab with just fried 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:57.500 chicken sales. Yeah, that math doesn't check 00:02:57.500 --> 00:02:59.659 out. Right. But it was abstract. It was just 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:01.939 a shell company logo lurking in the background. 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:04.659 But this episode makes it physical, flesh and 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:07.460 blood. And it does so with a cold open that, 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.819 uh, I just recall being incredibly jarring when 00:03:10.819 --> 00:03:13.400 it first aired. Oh, absolutely. You tune in, 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:15.080 you're expecting to see Walt celebrating his 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.969 victory, and instead you get Dipping sauces. 00:03:18.110 --> 00:03:21.569 Dipping sauces. It's a brilliant piece of disorientation. 00:03:22.210 --> 00:03:25.430 The scene opens in the offices of Madrigal Electromotive 00:03:25.430 --> 00:03:28.750 GmbH in Germany. And it's not even a normal office. 00:03:28.830 --> 00:03:31.750 It's a food science lab. Yeah. It's stark white, 00:03:31.949 --> 00:03:35.710 blue tints, all stainless steel. Visually, it 00:03:35.710 --> 00:03:39.270 is the polar opposite of the warm, yellow, gritty 00:03:39.270 --> 00:03:41.490 texture of albuquerque that we're so used to. 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:43.710 And we are introduced to Peter Shuler. He's the 00:03:43.710 --> 00:03:45.729 head of the fast food division. And he's just 00:03:45.729 --> 00:03:48.289 standing there. in a lab coat, looking absolutely 00:03:48.289 --> 00:03:51.370 miserable, tasting nuggets and sauces. The banality 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:53.289 of it is the whole point. Yeah. I mean, here 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:56.110 is a man who helped facilitate a multi -million 00:03:56.110 --> 00:03:58.669 dollar international methamphetamine empire. 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:01.210 A man who associated with cartel butchers. Yes. 00:04:01.490 --> 00:04:03.789 And his day job is deciding between honey mustard, 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:07.319 And French. French. Cajun kick, French dressing. 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.180 French. It really highlights the business side 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:12.000 of the drug trade. These aren't street thugs. 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:14.560 These are corporate titans in suits, or lab coats 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.199 in this case. But if you watch Shuler's face 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.759 during this, he isn't thinking about the sauce. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.379 He is staring out into the middle distance. The 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:24.519 silence in that scene is so heavy. It really 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.000 is. And then the silence breaks when his secretary 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.860 enters. And I just love the detail that he doesn't 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.699 even speak to her. No, he just looks. He just 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:35.160 looks at her. and she tells him the police are 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:37.899 there. And not just one local cop, we're talking 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:41.319 three distinct groups of law enforcement. The 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:44.300 walls are completely closing in on him. Now this 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:46.920 is where that theme of interdependence hits hard. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:51.220 Shuler knows Gus Fring is dead. He has to know. 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:53.600 He likely knows the laptop evidence was seized, 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:56.060 or at least that the investigation is incredibly 00:04:56.060 --> 00:04:59.639 active. The ripples from Albuquerque have officially 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:02.279 reached Germany. And most white collar criminals 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:04.160 in this situation, they'd call a lawyer, they'd 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:05.819 start shredding documents, right? Or looking 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:08.060 for a plea deal. Yeah, standard corporate cover 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:11.079 -up playbook. Yeah. But Schuler does none of 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:13.620 that. He makes this split -second decision that 00:05:13.620 --> 00:05:16.620 confirms just how deep the rot goes. He just 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.259 walks right past the police in the lobby, goes 00:05:19.259 --> 00:05:23.740 into the bathroom, and he grabs a portable defibrillator 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:27.730 off the wall. The AED unit. It is such a specific 00:05:27.730 --> 00:05:30.990 and honestly gruesome choice of weapon. It's 00:05:30.990 --> 00:05:33.589 a desperate and it's immediate. He attaches the 00:05:33.589 --> 00:05:36.029 pads to his own chest, goes into the restroom 00:05:36.029 --> 00:05:38.529 stall and electrocutes himself before the police 00:05:38.529 --> 00:05:41.089 can even knock on the door. It's this shocking 00:05:41.089 --> 00:05:44.209 moment of violence in a very quiet, very sterile 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:47.569 room. But, you know, why do you think the writers 00:05:47.569 --> 00:05:51.269 chose this specific method? rather than a gun 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:53.529 or pills. Yeah. Well, I think it emphasizes the 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:55.410 corporate setting. There are no guns just lying 00:05:55.410 --> 00:05:58.089 around in a high -tech German food lab. He had 00:05:58.089 --> 00:05:59.930 to use the tools of his environment. That makes 00:05:59.930 --> 00:06:02.569 sense. But narratively, it functions as a confirmation 00:06:02.569 --> 00:06:05.569 of scale. If a high -level executive is willing 00:06:05.569 --> 00:06:08.350 to die immediately rather than face a single 00:06:08.350 --> 00:06:10.730 question from police, it tells you something 00:06:10.730 --> 00:06:12.870 crucial. That the connection between Madrigal 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:15.009 and Gus Fring wasn't just some rogue franchise 00:06:15.009 --> 00:06:17.550 owner doing things off the books. Exactly. This 00:06:17.550 --> 00:06:20.629 went to the very top. It completely sets the 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:23.509 stakes for the whole season. The danger isn't 00:06:23.509 --> 00:06:26.610 the cartel anymore. The danger is this massive, 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:29.970 terrified corporate beast. Vince Gilligan actually 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:32.230 discussed this in the production notes. He posed 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:33.990 the question of whether the whole company was 00:06:33.990 --> 00:06:36.370 corrupt or just a few executives. And they leave 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:40.089 it pretty ambiguous. Intentionally so. But Shuler's 00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:42.829 sheer panic suggests he was one of the few who 00:06:42.829 --> 00:06:45.910 really knew the full extent, the dark braided 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:47.889 cord of the operation, as some critics called 00:06:47.889 --> 00:06:50.850 it. And he took that secret to the grave. Maybe 00:06:50.850 --> 00:06:53.149 to protect his legacy, or maybe just to escape 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:55.470 the sheer humiliation of it all. There is a really 00:06:55.470 --> 00:06:57.970 fascinating piece of casting trivia regarding 00:06:57.970 --> 00:07:00.449 Peter Shuler, by the way. Oh, lay it on me. The 00:07:00.449 --> 00:07:02.930 production team had a very specific vibe they 00:07:02.930 --> 00:07:04.629 wanted for this character. They actually tried 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.110 to get the legendary film director, Werner Herzog, 00:07:07.269 --> 00:07:10.149 for the role. Werner Herzog, are you serious? 00:07:10.290 --> 00:07:12.610 That would have been absolutely incredible. Right. 00:07:12.930 --> 00:07:16.120 Just think about Herzog's voice, that... existential 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:19.319 grim narration he does for all his documentaries. 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.500 I'm staring at the tater tot, and the tater tot 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.300 is scaring back into the abyss. Precisely. They 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:27.180 couldn't make the schedule work, unfortunately. 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:29.459 It's a shit. Yeah, so they cast Norbert Weisser, 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:31.699 who is a fantastic character actor, and did a 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:33.899 wonderful job conveying that silent, crushing 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:36.620 dread. You really did. But you can still feel 00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:39.399 the ghost of that Herzog casting idea in the 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:42.459 direction. The whole scene feels like a European 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:46.560 art film. cold, detached, grim. So the German 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.100 connection is basically severed. Schuller is 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:52.399 dead. The money tap from overseas is potentially 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:54.300 turned off for good. Which means we have to fly 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:56.579 back to New Mexico. Right. The king, meaning 00:07:56.579 --> 00:08:00.399 Gus, is dead. But his castle is an absolute mess. 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:03.680 And we find Jesse Pinkman in a state of frantic, 00:08:03.980 --> 00:08:06.680 terrified panic. This brings us to the cleanup 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:08.939 phase of the episode. But unlike the previous 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:10.639 episode where they were physically cleaning up 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.500 a laptop with magnets, this is psychological 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:15.800 cleanup. And it revolves entirely around one 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:19.259 tiny, terrifying little object, the ricin cigarette. 00:08:19.420 --> 00:08:20.980 We probably need to rewind just a second for 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:22.759 context here, because this cigarette has been 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.259 a major plot point for a whole season. Yeah, 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:28.079 it's the ultimate Chekhov's gun of season four. 00:08:28.459 --> 00:08:31.139 Walt made the ricin. He gave it to Jesse to kill 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:33.940 Gus. But in the season four finale, Walt needed 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:36.779 to turn Jesse against Gus to save his own skin. 00:08:37.049 --> 00:08:39.730 So he convinced Jessie that Gus had stolen the 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:43.169 cigarette to poison Brock, the young son of Jessie's 00:08:43.169 --> 00:08:45.850 girlfriend. Which was a lie, a massive, truly 00:08:45.850 --> 00:08:48.470 evil lie. Walt had the cigarette the whole time. 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:51.090 Walt poisoned Brock with Lily of the Valley, 00:08:51.730 --> 00:08:54.610 a completely common plan just to simulate the 00:08:54.610 --> 00:08:56.809 sickness and manipulate Jessie. And now that 00:08:56.809 --> 00:08:59.070 the dust has settled, the rice and cigarette 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:01.929 is still missing from Jesse's pack. And Jesse 00:09:01.929 --> 00:09:04.289 is terrified because he thinks he just lost a 00:09:04.289 --> 00:09:06.110 lethal bio weapon out in the wild somewhere. 00:09:06.309 --> 00:09:08.450 He genuinely thinks some random kid is going 00:09:08.450 --> 00:09:11.070 to pick it up and die. His guilt complex is just 00:09:11.070 --> 00:09:13.370 running at red line. And watching Walt operate 00:09:13.370 --> 00:09:16.710 in the segment is chilling, truly chilling. because 00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:19.570 he sees Jesse's panic not as a problem to be 00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:22.590 solved, but as a lever to be pulled. He decides 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:25.250 to, quote unquote, help Jesse find it. It is 00:09:25.250 --> 00:09:28.289 a master class in gaslighting. Walt constructs 00:09:28.289 --> 00:09:30.850 this incredibly elaborate con. He creates a dummy 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:33.389 cigarette. He fills a little glass vial with 00:09:33.389 --> 00:09:37.070 salt. And then... He hides the real ricin, the 00:09:37.070 --> 00:09:40.149 actual lethal poison, behind an electrical outlet 00:09:40.149 --> 00:09:42.570 in his own bedroom. That hiding spot, behind 00:09:42.570 --> 00:09:44.870 the outlet plate, it's becoming totally iconic 00:09:44.870 --> 00:09:47.389 for Walt. It is. It's domestic, it's hidden in 00:09:47.389 --> 00:09:49.350 plain sight, and it's literally right there in 00:09:49.350 --> 00:09:52.029 the walls of his family home. It perfectly symbolizes 00:09:52.029 --> 00:09:54.649 how the danger is literally embedded in the foundation 00:09:54.649 --> 00:09:57.210 of his life now. But the search scene itself 00:09:57.210 --> 00:09:59.950 is where the dark comedy really comes in. Walt 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:02.450 goes over and helps Jesse tear his house apart 00:10:02.450 --> 00:10:04.450 looking for it. Yeah. And what does he use to 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:06.769 plant the fake? The Roomba. The Roomba. Yeah. 00:10:06.889 --> 00:10:09.509 The robot vacuum. It's such an absurd image. 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:12.330 You have these two high level drug manufacturers, 00:10:12.529 --> 00:10:15.230 one of whom is a literal genius chemist on their 00:10:15.230 --> 00:10:17.990 hands and knees chasing a robot vacuum cleaner 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:20.269 around the living room. It really grounds the 00:10:20.269 --> 00:10:23.129 high stakes in this weird, mundane, suburban 00:10:23.129 --> 00:10:26.409 reality. But the tragedy of the scene lands hard 00:10:26.409 --> 00:10:29.370 when Jesse actually opens it and finds the fake. 00:10:29.529 --> 00:10:32.549 It is heart wrenching. Aaron Paul is just so 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:34.970 incredibly good at playing raw vulnerability. 00:10:35.210 --> 00:10:37.389 When Jesse opens the vacuum and sees that cigarette, 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:40.309 he doesn't feel relief. He feels immense shame. 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:43.190 He just collapses. He starts crying. He looks 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:46.340 at Walt. The man who actually poisoned the child, 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:48.980 the man who has been manipulating him for months, 00:10:49.059 --> 00:10:51.139 and he apologizes to him. He says, I didn't know 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:53.039 what I was doing. I'm so sorry I suspected you. 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:56.360 He is apologizing to his abuser. And look at 00:10:56.360 --> 00:10:58.320 Walt's reaction in that moment. Ray, he doesn't 00:10:58.320 --> 00:10:59.980 look guilty, and he doesn't look like a guy who's 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:02.240 just gotten away with a massive lie. No, he looks 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.799 completely benevolent. He pats Jesse on the back. 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:08.370 He comforts him. He says, it's OK. This moment 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:12.090 cements the entire power dynamic for season five. 00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:14.909 Jesse is no longer the junior partner who questions 00:11:14.909 --> 00:11:17.909 Walt's decisions. He is now the broken, loyal 00:11:17.909 --> 00:11:20.850 disciple. Walt has successfully weaponized Jesse's 00:11:20.850 --> 00:11:23.049 own conscience against him. It ensures total 00:11:23.049 --> 00:11:26.350 loyalty. Jesse now feels he owes Walt a huge 00:11:26.350 --> 00:11:29.629 debt for ever doubting him. It's emotional blackmail 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:32.450 of the absolute highest order. Walt isn't just 00:11:32.450 --> 00:11:35.090 a meth cook anymore. He's become a full -blown 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:38.000 psychological predator. So Walt has his chemistry 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.659 skills and he has the unwavering loyalty of his 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:43.879 partner. But to rebuild the empire, and let's 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:46.379 be totally clear, that is exactly what Walt wants 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:48.980 to do, they are missing the third leg of the 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:51.940 stool. They have no distribution. They have no 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:54.240 muscle. They have zero connections left. Which 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.559 means they need Mike Ehrmantraut. And Mike is 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:00.299 not an easy sell. In fact, he might be the hardest 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:02.899 sell in the world right now. This segment is 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.960 arguably the dramatic heart of the episode. Walt 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:08.559 and Jesse drive out to meet Mike to propose a 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:11.519 brand new partnership, a three -way split. And 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.700 Mike's answer is instantaneous. It's a hard flat 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:17.059 no. He doesn't even pause to consider the money. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:19.299 Mike is trying to get out. He wants to be a grandfather. 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:21.460 He wants to sit on a park bench and feed the 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:24.159 birds. But beyond just wanting to retire, he 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:27.559 has a very specific read on Walter White. And 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.039 this is where we get the famous time bomb speech. 00:12:30.550 --> 00:12:32.690 It's such an incredible assessment of character. 00:12:33.110 --> 00:12:34.809 I want to dig into the specific wording here 00:12:34.809 --> 00:12:36.590 because Mike doesn't just say, you know, I don't 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:39.309 like you. No, he diagnoses Walt. He really does. 00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:41.590 He looks him dead in the eye and says, you are 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:43.789 trouble. I'm sorry the kid here doesn't see it, 00:12:43.809 --> 00:12:47.750 but I sure as hell do. You are a time bomb. Tick, 00:12:47.769 --> 00:12:50.269 tick, tick. And I have no intention of being 00:12:50.269 --> 00:12:53.580 around for the boom. Tick, tick, tick. Mike sees 00:12:53.580 --> 00:12:55.659 right through the Heisenberg fedora. He sees 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:58.159 the ego underneath. Mike values two things above 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.919 all else, order and professionalism. Which is 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:02.779 why he worked for Gus Fring for so many years. 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:05.940 Exactly. Gus was a machine. Gus was predictable. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:11.139 Walt is chaos. Walt is pure ego. Mike recognizes 00:13:11.139 --> 00:13:13.580 that Walt creates complete disaster wherever 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:17.039 he goes. He sees Walt not as some brilliant kingpin. 00:13:17.289 --> 00:13:20.649 but is a dangerous, arrogant amateur who just 00:13:20.649 --> 00:13:22.809 happens to have a chemistry degree. So Mike walks 00:13:22.809 --> 00:13:25.309 away. He is completely done. But the episode 00:13:25.309 --> 00:13:27.450 is titled Madrigal. And as we established earlier, 00:13:27.529 --> 00:13:30.509 the theme is interdependence. Right. Mike can't 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:32.769 just walk away. The system won't let him. This 00:13:32.769 --> 00:13:35.190 brings us to the squeeze. And it comes directly 00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:38.590 from the DEA. We see Hank Schrader and Steve 00:13:38.590 --> 00:13:41.350 Gomez really tightening the net in this episode. 00:13:41.870 --> 00:13:43.690 Hank isn't just looking for a meth lab in the 00:13:43.690 --> 00:13:45.490 desert anymore. He's following the corporate 00:13:45.490 --> 00:13:48.309 money. There is that scene where Hank meets with 00:13:48.309 --> 00:13:51.610 the madrigal CEO Schuller's boss, a guy named 00:13:51.610 --> 00:13:54.730 Herr Herzog. Ironically enough, given the casting 00:13:54.730 --> 00:13:58.090 story you told earlier. Huh, right. And the CEO 00:13:58.090 --> 00:14:00.990 is in full -blown damage control mode. He throws 00:14:00.990 --> 00:14:03.330 Schuller completely under the bus, calls him 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:06.110 a lone criminal. And then he offers full cooperation 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:09.039 to the DEA. to save the company's stock price. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:11.700 And that corporate cooperation is the knife in 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:14.259 Mike's back. Because when a massive conglomerate 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.379 opens its books to the federal government, they 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:18.759 find the offshore accounts. The Cayman Islands 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:21.759 accounts. Exactly. And we have to remember why 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.700 Mike was doing this in the first place. He wasn't 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:26.159 out buying sports cars or mansions. No, he lives 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:28.460 in a very modest house. He drinks cheap beer 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:30.759 and watches old movies. He was doing all of this 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:32.919 for Kaylee, his granddaughter. They actually 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:35.700 show the account on screen during the DEA scene. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.240 And it was substantial. $2 million. It was just 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:41.360 sitting there waiting for her 18th birthday. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:44.580 A total nest egg. Security for her future. And 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:47.340 in one scene, with a few keystrokes by the authorities, 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.659 it's gone. Just completely seized. That moment 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.480 is devastating. We cut to Mike watching Kaylee 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:56.000 play in the yard, and he just looks so incredibly 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.779 tired. Matt Richenthal from TV Fanatic pointed 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:01.419 this out in his review. He called Jonathan Banks' 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.230 performance a portrait. of an exasperated career 00:15:05.230 --> 00:15:07.590 criminal. That's a perfect description. Mike 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:10.169 excelled at the game, he did everything right 00:15:10.169 --> 00:15:12.730 by criminal standards, he kept his head down, 00:15:13.029 --> 00:15:15.110 and he still lost everything. And here is the 00:15:15.110 --> 00:15:17.470 great irony of this episode and arguably of the 00:15:17.470 --> 00:15:20.789 entire fifth season. The DEA's success is what 00:15:20.789 --> 00:15:23.669 actually creates the new danger. Precisely. If 00:15:23.669 --> 00:15:26.830 the DEA fails to find that money, Mike stays 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:29.269 retired. He feeds his chickens. He feeds the 00:15:29.269 --> 00:15:32.049 birds. He stays out of it. Exactly. If the DEA 00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:34.850 doesn't seize that $2 million, Mike never picks 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:38.009 up the phone. He never joins Walt. The new meth 00:15:38.009 --> 00:15:41.009 operation never gets the connections or the distribution 00:15:41.009 --> 00:15:43.149 network it needs to get off the ground. In a 00:15:43.149 --> 00:15:45.629 very real way, the good guy action of seizing 00:15:45.629 --> 00:15:48.509 the cartel assets forces the bad guy back into 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:50.929 the corner, where violence is his only option. 00:15:51.309 --> 00:15:54.840 It creates a massive vacuum. And Mike... desperate 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:56.860 to refill that account for Kaylee before he dies, 00:15:57.259 --> 00:15:59.539 has to step right back into the muck. But even 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:04.000 broke, Mike still has a code. And that code gets 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.259 tested almost immediately by the introduction 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:09.919 of a brand new player. Enter Lydia Rodarte -Quail. 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:13.039 Oh, Lydia, played so wonderfully by Laura Frazier. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.340 This is her debut in the series. She meets Mike 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:18.399 at a diner in Houston. And the visual contrast 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:20.840 between these two sitting in a booth is just 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:22.860 comedy gold. It's perfect character work. Mike 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:24.820 is sitting there like a stone statue. He's eating 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.480 his food, totally calm, totally grounded. And 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:29.279 Lydia's practically vibrating. She's wearing 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.659 these giant sunglasses inside the diner. She's 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:33.919 constantly looking over her shoulder. She's whispering 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.360 intensely. Mike, he is the absolute embodiment 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:39.460 of white -collar panic. She is a corporate executive 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:42.200 who is used to spreadsheets and board rooms, 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.360 not hitmen and diners. But she thinks she knows 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:46.950 how this underworld game works. misplaced. She 00:16:46.950 --> 00:16:49.129 certainly thinks she does. She slides this list 00:16:49.129 --> 00:16:51.690 across the table to him. It's a list of 11 men. 00:16:51.950 --> 00:16:54.429 All former employees of Gus Fring's operation. 00:16:54.909 --> 00:16:58.070 The laundry manager, the chemical supplier, the 00:16:58.070 --> 00:17:00.809 security guys. The loose ends. And they are all 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:03.450 currently in custody or being actively questioned 00:17:03.450 --> 00:17:07.410 by the DEA. And Lydia wants them cut. She wants 00:17:07.410 --> 00:17:10.150 Mike to kill all 11 of them. She is completely 00:17:10.150 --> 00:17:12.829 convinced that any day now, one of them is going 00:17:12.829 --> 00:17:16.309 to cut a plea deal and implicate her. And Mike's 00:17:16.309 --> 00:17:19.329 reaction is just flat -out refuse. But not just 00:17:19.329 --> 00:17:21.869 because he doesn't want to kill people. He refuses 00:17:21.869 --> 00:17:24.690 on principle. He fiercely defends the professionalism 00:17:24.690 --> 00:17:27.750 of his crew. He explains to her that Gus paid 00:17:27.750 --> 00:17:31.029 these men hazard pay. They were very well compensated 00:17:31.029 --> 00:17:33.779 for their silence. To Mike, the idea of killing 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:36.339 your own men to cover your tracks is amateurish. 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:38.900 It's panicked. It's just bad business. He tells 00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:41.359 Lydia to calm down, take a deep breath, and go 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.019 back home to her spreadsheets. He assumes rationality 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:46.460 will prevail. But Lydia isn't rational right 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:49.799 now. She's terrified. And fear makes people do 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.059 really stupid things. Which leads to a sequence 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:55.119 that feels ripped right out of a classic 1940s 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.460 noir film. The betrayal. Mike gets a phone call 00:17:57.460 --> 00:18:01.200 from Duane Chao. Fans will definitely remember 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.960 Chow. He was the chemical supplier from the previous 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.359 seasons. And Chow sounds terrified on the phone. 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.680 He asks Mike to come over to his house. And Mike, 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.460 being the seasoned veteran he is, smells a rat 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.859 immediately. The tone of Chow's voice is just 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:19.259 off. So he drives to Chow's house, but he doesn't 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.539 just walk up and knock on the front door. No, 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:23.819 he circles back, he observes the house from a 00:18:23.819 --> 00:18:26.500 distance, he spots the setup, and he sneaks in 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:29.299 through the back. And inside... He finds one 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:32.480 of his own guys, Chris Mara, waiting to ambush 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:35.440 him. Chris Mara, who is on Lydia's list, he was 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.759 one of the exact guys Mike just offended to Lydia 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.759 at the diner. That's the real heartbreak of it. 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:41.519 Chris has already killed Chow. He's standing 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.500 there holding a gun on the door, just waiting 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:45.519 for Mike to walk through. But Mike gets the drop 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:47.680 on him, again, showing that Mike is just on a 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.599 completely different level in terms of tactical 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.420 skill compared to these younger guys. And then 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:53.619 they have this conversation. It's a very quiet, 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:56.359 sad conversation before the gunshot. Chris admits 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:58.759 everything. He says, I need the money, Mike. 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:01.619 She offered me $10 ,000 ahead. It's the exact 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:04.980 same motivation. The DEA seized Chris's hazard 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:07.500 pay too. He's broke. His safety net is gone. 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:10.240 Lydia offered him a lifeline and he took it. 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:13.099 It really proves that the solid guys Mike defended 00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:17.000 weren't loyal to some grand criminal code. They 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.440 were loyal to the paycheck. Once the paycheck 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.299 vanished, the loyalty just evaporated. So Mike 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:26.160 kills Chris. He has to. He takes him out. And 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.049 now... The so -called moral center of the criminal 00:19:29.049 --> 00:19:31.049 world is back to killing his own friends. And 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:33.269 he knows exactly who is responsible for putting 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:36.230 him in this position. Lydia. She tried to have 00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:38.089 him killed. She broke the rules of the game. 00:19:38.210 --> 00:19:39.910 So he drives straight to her house to finish 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:42.450 it. This scene inside Lydia's house is visually 00:19:42.450 --> 00:19:45.470 masterful. It's dark. It's almost gothic in how 00:19:45.470 --> 00:19:48.109 it's lit. The shadows are long. Mike breaks in, 00:19:48.150 --> 00:19:51.230 just terrifyingly efficient. He finds Lydia asleep 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.349 in her bedroom. He wakes her up. He has his silencer 00:19:53.349 --> 00:19:55.730 ready. He is fully prepared to execute her right 00:19:55.730 --> 00:19:59.150 there. And Lydia, she knows she's dead, she doesn't 00:19:59.150 --> 00:20:02.450 scream or try to run, but she makes a very specific, 00:20:02.569 --> 00:20:05.289 very strange request of him. She pleads with 00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:07.490 him about her daughter. She doesn't say, please 00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:09.849 don't kill me, she says, please don't leave my 00:20:09.849 --> 00:20:12.170 body here in the house. She wants to disappear. 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:14.769 She wants Mike to dispose of her body so that 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:17.279 her daughter thinks she just abandoned her. She 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.980 cannot bear the thought of her young child waking 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:22.779 up and finding her mother's corpse with a bullet 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:25.359 in her head. She would literally rather her daughter 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.579 hate her for the rest of her life for leaving 00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:30.539 than be permanently traumatized by the violence 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.400 of finding her murdered. That is a very grim, 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:38.039 very twisted kind of motherly love. But it lands 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:40.700 with Mike. It hits the one single soft spot he 00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:43.539 has left. He's a grandfather. He lives for Kaylee. 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:46.259 He completely understands that protective instinct, 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:49.200 the desperate need to shield the child from the 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.960 horror of the business. And so, he hesitates. 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:54.420 And in that brief hesitation, the gears start 00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:57.259 turning in his head. The deal is struck. Necessity 00:20:57.259 --> 00:21:00.250 breeds invention. Mike realizes that pulling 00:21:00.250 --> 00:21:02.329 the trigger solves the immediate threat of Lydia, 00:21:02.829 --> 00:21:05.829 but it does absolutely nothing to fix his financial 00:21:05.829 --> 00:21:09.569 issue. He is still flat broke. But Lydia has 00:21:09.569 --> 00:21:12.509 access. She runs the logistics at Madrigal. She 00:21:12.509 --> 00:21:15.029 can get them the one thing they desperately need. 00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:18.160 Methylamine. That's the golden ticket for Walt's 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.539 new operation. Walt and Jesse have the mobile 00:21:20.539 --> 00:21:22.980 lab plan all figured out using the Vimano's pest 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:25.559 control cover, but they don't have the precursor 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:28.000 chemical to actually cook. Lydia is the tap. 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:30.480 So Mike makes the call, takes his phone out, 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:33.480 calls Walt, and utters the words that ultimately 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.599 seal his fate. He says, I've reconsidered. He's 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:38.680 in. Not because he likes Walt, not because he 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:41.099 wants to cook meth or build an empire. No, strictly 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:44.039 because he has to earn back that $2 million for 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.519 Kaylee, and leveraging Lydia is the only way 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.680 to get the chemicals to do it. It is such a tragic 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.160 loop. He willingly enters into a partnership 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.519 with the time bomb, all because he's trying to 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.380 defuse the financial bomb going off in his own 00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:57.539 life. So the band is officially back together. 00:21:57.720 --> 00:22:01.660 Walt, Jesse, Mike, and their very nervous, very 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:04.829 volatile new supplier, Lydia. It's a powder keg, 00:22:04.990 --> 00:22:07.250 just waiting for a match. Now, we really have 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:09.289 to talk about Walt's motivation in all of this. 00:22:10.109 --> 00:22:12.549 Mike is in it for the money he lost to the feds. 00:22:12.750 --> 00:22:14.650 Jesse is in it because he's being emotionally 00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:17.589 manipulated. But Walt... Saul Goodman actually 00:22:17.589 --> 00:22:19.849 brings this exact point up in a great scene. 00:22:20.329 --> 00:22:24.190 He tells Walt, look, you won. Gus is dead. You 00:22:24.190 --> 00:22:26.309 beat the cartel. Take your chips off the table 00:22:26.309 --> 00:22:29.059 and retire. It's the most logical advice in the 00:22:29.059 --> 00:22:31.740 world. Saul is practically begging him to stop 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:33.940 while he's ahead. But Walt counters with this 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:36.859 financial reality check. He reveals to Saul that 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:39.599 he is technically broke. Which just sounds insane 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:41.920 to the listener. He was making millions working 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:44.319 for Gus. Where did it all go? Well, Walt breaks 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.700 it down for him. The overhead for keeping everyone 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:50.740 quiet was astronomical. But specifically, Skyler 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:54.220 gave $600 ,000 of their cash to Ted Benike to 00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:56.700 pay off the IRS so they could avoid a tax audit. 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:59.319 Plus, they paid tens of thousands out of pocket 00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:01.960 for Hank's physical therapy. The best doctors, 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:04.319 the best equipment. They bought the car wash 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.140 outright to launder the money. Walt tells Saul 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:10.259 that when you add it all up, he is actually $40 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:13.779 ,000 in the hole. So he uses that debt as his 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:16.480 grand justification. He says, I have to cook 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.140 just to get back to zero. But that's a lie, isn't 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:20.900 it? It's the lie he tells himself, and it's the 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:23.559 lie he tells Saul. But if you look at the subtext 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:25.500 of the writing and if you listen to what Vince 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.960 Gilligan has said about this specific era of 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.519 Walt's care grid arc, it's not about the forty 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.519 thousand dollars. Not at all. It's about the 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:35.460 golden opportunity, the empire business. Exactly. 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.460 Walt looks out at the landscape. No Gus Fring, 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:42.450 no cartel. He sees a wide open market with a 00:23:42.450 --> 00:23:45.150 massive demand for his blue meth product. He 00:23:45.150 --> 00:23:47.430 sees an empire just sitting there for the taking. 00:23:47.609 --> 00:23:50.150 The debt is just a convenient, rational sounding 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:52.950 excuse to keep going. The drive behind it is 00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:56.230 pure, unadulterated ego. He wants to be the king. 00:23:56.549 --> 00:23:59.230 And watching the king try to operate at home 00:23:59.230 --> 00:24:03.009 is, well, it's deeply disturbing. The domestic 00:24:03.009 --> 00:24:04.970 scenes in The White Household in this episode 00:24:04.970 --> 00:24:07.109 are playing out like a psychological horror movie. 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:10.380 It is suffocating to watch. Walt is trying to 00:24:10.380 --> 00:24:13.079 force this bizarre return to normalcy. He is 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:15.319 unpacking groceries in the kitchen. He's making 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:18.000 dinner. He's chirping away about his day. He 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:20.140 is acting like the last four seasons of Blood 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:22.640 and Violence just didn't happen. And Skyler is 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:25.400 having absolutely none of it. She is basically 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:28.180 catatonic. She just stays in bed, hiding under 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:30.880 the covers. She is terrified of her own husband. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:33.819 She knows he killed Gus. She knows he built a 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:36.279 pipe bomb and blew up a nursing home to do it. 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:38.569 There is this scene at the very end where Walt 00:24:38.569 --> 00:24:40.809 climbs into bed with her and starts kissing her 00:24:40.809 --> 00:24:44.210 shoulder, making these very deliberate, un -respirated 00:24:44.210 --> 00:24:47.549 sexual advances. And she just lies there, completely 00:24:47.549 --> 00:24:50.430 motionless, staring at the wall. It is horrifying. 00:24:50.509 --> 00:24:52.910 She is essentially a hostage in her own marriage. 00:24:53.029 --> 00:24:55.569 It really highlights the depths of Walt's total 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:58.410 delusion at this point. He genuinely thinks he 00:24:58.410 --> 00:25:01.089 can be a ruthless, murdering drug lord during 00:25:01.089 --> 00:25:03.990 the day and a loving, normal, suburban husband 00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:06.910 at night. He thinks he can neatly compartmentalize 00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:09.430 the two halves of his life. But Skyler knows 00:25:09.430 --> 00:25:11.890 the truth. She knows she is sleeping next to 00:25:11.890 --> 00:25:14.490 a monster. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly 00:25:14.490 --> 00:25:17.109 noted that ending the episode in that bedroom 00:25:17.109 --> 00:25:21.170 with that oppressive, heavy silence was a really 00:25:21.170 --> 00:25:23.670 bold choice by the director. It was. A typical 00:25:23.670 --> 00:25:25.329 crime show would end with Mike's phone call. 00:25:25.609 --> 00:25:27.690 That plot ending the whole we're back in business 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:30.569 cliffhanger. But breaking bad ends with Skyler 00:25:30.569 --> 00:25:33.509 trapped in the dark with Heisenberg. It emphasizes 00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:37.130 the personal cost of his ambition. The rot hasn't 00:25:37.130 --> 00:25:39.950 just infected the business, it has come home. 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:42.650 And speaking of the home environment, there is 00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:44.990 a very specific movie reference playing on the 00:25:44.990 --> 00:25:46.630 TV in the background of this episode that we 00:25:46.630 --> 00:25:49.750 have to mention. The Kane Uteny. Oh, good catch. 00:25:50.130 --> 00:25:52.369 The classic Bogart film. It's definitely not 00:25:52.369 --> 00:25:54.789 an accidental choice by the set decorators. Vince 00:25:54.789 --> 00:25:56.670 Gilligan has cited it as one of his favorite 00:25:56.670 --> 00:25:58.869 movies of all time. And it fits the themes perfectly. 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:01.589 It's about a Navy ship. Captain, Captain Queeg, 00:26:01.869 --> 00:26:04.730 who slowly descends into this intense paranoia 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:07.190 and madness. And he eventually causes a mutiny 00:26:07.190 --> 00:26:10.170 among his own crew because of his erratic authoritarian 00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:14.089 behavior. Very subtle, Vince. Very subtle. It's 00:26:14.089 --> 00:26:17.829 a direct, brilliant mirror to Walt's arc. He 00:26:17.829 --> 00:26:20.670 sees himself as the undisputed captain now. He 00:26:20.670 --> 00:26:23.589 finally has his own ship. But he is already paranoid. 00:26:24.069 --> 00:26:26.769 He is obsessed with his own authority. And the 00:26:26.769 --> 00:26:28.329 mutiny, whether it's eventually going to come 00:26:28.329 --> 00:26:31.730 from Mike or from Jesse, is always bubbling just 00:26:31.730 --> 00:26:34.130 under the surface. It heavily foreshadows the 00:26:34.130 --> 00:26:37.430 conflict that will tear this new three way partnership 00:26:37.430 --> 00:26:39.710 apart. Plus, on a purely practical production 00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:42.769 level, The King Mutiny is a Sony movie and Breaking 00:26:42.769 --> 00:26:45.349 Bad is a Sony television production. So the clip 00:26:45.349 --> 00:26:48.089 rights were probably free. Synergy, efficiency 00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:50.569 meets artistry. I do want to pivot to the production 00:26:50.569 --> 00:26:52.730 side for a moment, actually. We've talked a lot 00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:54.809 about the writing and the acting, but the direction 00:26:54.809 --> 00:26:57.730 in this hour is just stellar. Michelle McLaren 00:26:57.730 --> 00:27:00.009 directed this episode. Michelle McLaren is an 00:27:00.009 --> 00:27:02.170 absolute powerhouse director. She handled some 00:27:02.170 --> 00:27:05.029 of the most action heavy and tension filled episodes 00:27:05.029 --> 00:27:07.930 of the entire series. Episodes like One Minute 00:27:07.930 --> 00:27:11.170 with the parking lot shootout. and later to Haji 00:27:11.170 --> 00:27:13.869 Lee. Matt Zollercytes from Vulture wrote a great 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:16.190 piece where he compared her directorial work 00:27:16.190 --> 00:27:19.569 in Madrigal to Alan J. Pakula's thrillers from 00:27:19.569 --> 00:27:23.309 the 1970s. Movies like The Parallax View or All 00:27:23.309 --> 00:27:26.109 the President's Men. Exactly. It's that pervasive 00:27:26.109 --> 00:27:28.609 sense of paranoia, right? The feeling that the 00:27:28.609 --> 00:27:30.789 characters are always being watched by some larger 00:27:30.789 --> 00:27:33.670 unseen force. The incredible use of shadows. 00:27:34.309 --> 00:27:36.849 The wide clinical shots in the German office 00:27:36.849 --> 00:27:39.670 that make the humans look like tiny ants. trapped 00:27:39.670 --> 00:27:41.809 in a massive machine. And the way she shoots 00:27:41.809 --> 00:27:44.170 Lydia's house during the break in with all these 00:27:44.170 --> 00:27:46.710 dark corners and harsh slats of light cutting 00:27:46.710 --> 00:27:49.009 through the blinds. States said there wasn't 00:27:49.009 --> 00:27:52.329 a single dull shot in the entire episode. It 00:27:52.329 --> 00:27:55.269 elevates the script from a standard crime procedural 00:27:55.269 --> 00:27:58.309 to something far more cinematic and atmospheric. 00:27:58.410 --> 00:28:01.210 And we really can't ignore the realism they tried 00:28:01.210 --> 00:28:03.690 to build with the Madrigal Corporation itself. 00:28:03.849 --> 00:28:05.509 They didn't just casually mention the parent 00:28:05.509 --> 00:28:08.369 company. They built out an entire corporate portfolio. 00:28:08.490 --> 00:28:10.700 They really did. If you look closely at the documents 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:13.279 Hank is reviewing, or the wall art in the German 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:16.680 office, the art department created distinct logos 00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:19.099 and branding for all these fake subsidiaries 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:21.539 under the magical umbrella. Los Polos Hermanos 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:24.279 was just one tiny piece of the pie. They had 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:27.079 whisker stays, cat food, they had industrial 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:29.640 air filter companies. And one of them, Burger 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:32.119 Matic, was actually a really fun Easter egg for 00:28:32.119 --> 00:28:35.240 the diehards. Yes. Burger Matic was the name 00:28:35.240 --> 00:28:38.019 of a fictional fast food restaurant in a script 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:40.480 Vince Gilligan wrote years and years ago for 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:43.220 a movie called Home Fries. I love that they recycle 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:45.539 their own universe like that. It just adds a 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:48.140 fun layer of depth for the super fans pausing 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:50.599 their screens. So let's look at the overall reception. 00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:55.240 The episode aired in July 2012. People were incredibly 00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:57.220 hyped after the magnet stunt in the premiere. 00:28:57.640 --> 00:28:59.819 What was the verdict? The live ratings actually 00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:03.529 saw a slight dip. It drew 2 .29 million viewers, 00:29:03.970 --> 00:29:06.009 which was down from nearly 3 million for the 00:29:06.009 --> 00:29:07.990 season premiere. But that is pretty common for 00:29:07.990 --> 00:29:09.950 a second episode of a season, right? The premiere 00:29:09.950 --> 00:29:13.309 always gets that massive event status bump. Exactly. 00:29:13.869 --> 00:29:16.150 The critical reception, however, was incredibly 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:18.730 strong across the board. People really dug the 00:29:18.730 --> 00:29:21.990 sudden corporate thriller vibe. They did. That 00:29:21.990 --> 00:29:24.210 interdependence theme we talked about really 00:29:24.210 --> 00:29:27.269 resonated with reviewers. Critics liked seeing 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:30.089 the scope of the universe expand beyond the local 00:29:30.089 --> 00:29:32.990 cartel politics. The Ringer later did a massive 00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:35.130 ranking of the series and they placed this episode 00:29:35.130 --> 00:29:39.190 37th out of the 62 total episodes. Which sounds 00:29:39.190 --> 00:29:42.069 a bit low. Middle of the pack. But in a prestige 00:29:42.069 --> 00:29:45.569 show like Breaking Bad, even the 37th best episode 00:29:45.569 --> 00:29:48.369 is better than most television shows series finales. 00:29:48.509 --> 00:29:50.690 That is very true. It's fundamentally a setter 00:29:50.690 --> 00:29:53.369 episode. It's moving vital chess pieces around 00:29:53.369 --> 00:29:56.150 the board. It doesn't have the flashy exploding 00:29:56.150 --> 00:29:59.380 nursing home face off or a giant magnet. But 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:01.700 it does all the heavy dramatic lifting required 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:04.640 to set up the architecture of season five. You 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:07.079 literally cannot have the great train heist later 00:30:07.079 --> 00:30:10.519 on or the iconic say my name moment without establishing 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:13.039 Lydia and the Madrigal supply chain right here. 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:15.519 So we've unpacked a lot today. The dipping sauces, 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:17.700 the Roomba, the time bomb speech, the hit list. 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:20.359 If we boil all this down, what are we really 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:22.299 walking away with? What are the big pillars of 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:25.259 Madrigal? I see three main pillars that support 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:28.099 the rest of the season. First is manipulation. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:31.400 Walt has successfully re -hooked Jesse using 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.299 the immense guilt of the ricin cigarette. He 00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:36.779 has fully weaponized Jesse's conscience to ensure 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:39.740 his absolute loyalty moving forward. Second pillar. 00:30:40.140 --> 00:30:43.549 Coercion. Mike Ehrmantraut didn't break bad again 00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:45.650 because he wanted the thrill of it. He was forced 00:30:45.650 --> 00:30:48.089 back into the game by the state. The seizure 00:30:48.089 --> 00:30:50.529 of his assets backed him into a desperate corner 00:30:50.529 --> 00:30:52.789 where violence was the only liquidity he had 00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:55.710 left. The system inadvertently created the monster 00:30:55.710 --> 00:30:58.490 it was trying to fight. And the third. Expansion. 00:30:58.950 --> 00:31:01.089 The scope of the show has fundamentally changed 00:31:01.089 --> 00:31:03.900 forever. We aren't just out in the desert cooking 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:06.759 in an RV anymore. We are dealing with multinational 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:09.660 corporate complicity. The new villains are wearing 00:31:09.660 --> 00:31:11.920 tailored suits and working in glass offices in 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:15.680 Germany. The empire business now has global stakeholders. 00:31:15.940 --> 00:31:18.279 It sits the stage for the absolute peak of Heisenberg 00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:20.960 perfectly. The main obstacles aren't violent 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.539 rival gangs anymore. The obstacles are logistics, 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:26.799 supply chain management, and legacy. And as always 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:29.619 with Walt, the insurmountable internal obstacles 00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:32.660 of unchecked ego and bottomless greed. So here 00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:35.019 is a final thought to chew on as we wrap things 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:37.799 up today. We talked earlier about the tragic 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:41.039 irony of the DEA's actions. Think about Mike's 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:44.279 code for a second. He flatly refused to kill 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:46.940 those 11 men for Lydia because he wanted to do 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:49.279 things the right way. He wanted to honor the 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.269 agreement of the hazard pay. He wanted to be 00:31:51.269 --> 00:31:54.309 an honorable thief. But because the DEA aggressively 00:31:54.309 --> 00:31:57.109 seized the hazard pay accounts, those men ended 00:31:57.109 --> 00:32:00.170 up dying anyway. They were killed by Chris or 00:32:00.170 --> 00:32:02.470 eventually by Mike and Walt's crew later in the 00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:04.809 season to tie up the loose ends. It's a deeply 00:32:04.809 --> 00:32:07.910 disturbing paradox. Did the DEA's financial seizure 00:32:07.910 --> 00:32:09.930 actually cause more death than it prevented? 00:32:10.569 --> 00:32:12.509 If they just leave the offshore money alone, 00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:15.369 Mike stays retired. The list of 11 men stays 00:32:15.369 --> 00:32:18.589 alive in prison. And Walt has no viable distribution 00:32:18.589 --> 00:32:20.849 network to restart his cooks. In a weird way, 00:32:20.970 --> 00:32:23.329 the actions of the good guys created the exact 00:32:23.329 --> 00:32:25.630 power vacuum that Heisenberg needed to fill. 00:32:26.069 --> 00:32:27.849 It certainly suggests that in the Breaking Bad 00:32:27.849 --> 00:32:30.910 universe, every action, even a perfectly legal 00:32:30.910 --> 00:32:33.970 justified one, has a massive reaction that usually 00:32:33.970 --> 00:32:36.809 ends with someone in a body bag. A cheery thought 00:32:36.809 --> 00:32:39.269 for a cheery show. But that is exactly why we 00:32:39.269 --> 00:32:42.470 love it. The moral complexity is just unmatched. 00:32:43.639 --> 00:32:45.779 Thank you for listening to this deep dive into 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:48.400 Madrigal. We hope you enjoyed exploring the corporate 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:50.359 side of the cartel with us. We will catch you 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:50.940 on the next one.