WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're doing 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:04.780 something a little bit different for you. Yeah, 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:06.820 we are. We're putting on our conductor hats today, 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:11.859 or maybe more accurately, our black ski masks 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:14.000 and those respirators, because we are looking 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.780 at what might be the single most pivotal 60 minutes 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.829 in modern television history. It really is. We 00:00:20.829 --> 00:00:23.030 are talking about Breaking Bad. And specifically, 00:00:23.309 --> 00:00:27.269 we are dissecting Season 5, Episode 5. Dead Fright. 00:00:27.730 --> 00:00:29.429 Just saying, the title feels heavier. It really 00:00:29.429 --> 00:00:31.649 does. It's one of those things where if you know 00:00:31.649 --> 00:00:33.829 the show, you hear that title, and you probably 00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:35.789 get a physical reaction to it. Like a knot in 00:00:35.789 --> 00:00:39.070 your stomach. Exactly. A shiver, a knot. It is 00:00:39.070 --> 00:00:41.770 completely infamous. It is arguably one of the 00:00:41.770 --> 00:00:44.130 most intense hours of television ever produced. 00:00:45.070 --> 00:00:47.490 Because it starts as this high adventure, almost 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.869 boyish caper. Like a classic Western heist. Exactly. 00:00:51.210 --> 00:00:54.189 A classic train robbery. And it ends as a full 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:57.170 -blown Greek tragedy. It completely pulls the 00:00:57.170 --> 00:00:59.619 rug out from under you. And our mission today 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:02.359 is to unpack exactly how this episode manages 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:05.359 to do that. We aren't just going to recap the 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:07.599 plot for you. We want to look at the machinery 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:09.920 under the hood. Right, the mechanics of it. We 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.840 want to understand how the writers and the director 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:16.060 balance this incredible technical ingenuity, 00:01:16.219 --> 00:01:20.420 the heist itself, with just absolute moral devastation. 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:23.159 And we have a really fantastic stack of sources 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:25.939 to help us navigate this with you today. We are 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:28.219 looking at the detailed plot summaries, obviously, 00:01:28.340 --> 00:01:30.840 to track the narrative. Or roadmap. Right. But 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:33.280 we're also digging into production notes regarding 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:37.379 the extreme challenges of filming this absolute 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:39.640 beast of an episode. Plus, we've got critical 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:41.780 reception from the time it aired back in 2012, 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:44.459 and the specific award nominations this hour 00:01:44.459 --> 00:01:46.439 of TV actually garnered. So we have the full 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:48.659 picture here from the camera lenses all the way 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:50.579 down to the character psychology. We do. And 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:52.540 we are going to see exactly why this matters, 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:54.900 because on the surface, it really is just a train 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.420 robbery. The great train robbery with a chemistry 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:00.840 twist. Right. Exactly. But beneath that, it is 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.159 the exact moment where the fun officially stops. 00:02:04.420 --> 00:02:07.409 Yeah. It is the point of no return. You can almost 00:02:07.409 --> 00:02:09.710 draw a line in the sand of the entire series. 00:02:10.129 --> 00:02:12.490 There is before this episode, and there is after 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:15.319 this episode. It contains what is widely considered 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:17.280 one of the most shocking pivots in the history 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:19.740 of the show. So, you know, buckle up. It's going 00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:22.080 to be a very bumpy ride. OK, let's unpack this. 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:24.500 We have to start with the setup, because before 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:26.620 we get to the trains and the hoses and the adrenaline, 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:28.919 we really have to understand the desperation 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:30.800 that drives them there in the first place. And 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.319 it starts, interestingly enough, in an office. 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:35.939 Yeah, it starts with Walter White visiting his 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:38.860 brother -in -law, Hank Schrader. But this isn't 00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:41.500 a social call. This is Walt on a very specific 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:44.280 mission. No, absolutely not a social call. And 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:46.580 the context here for you to remember is crucial. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.919 Hank has just been promoted. He's the ASAC now. 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:51.860 Right, the assistant special agent in charge. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:56.539 He is at his brand new DEA office. It's a massive 00:02:56.539 --> 00:03:01.280 position of power. And Walt walks in and he plays 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.419 this scene. While calling it a performance almost 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:05.400 feels like an understatement. It really does. 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:08.530 He puts on a complete show. The source material 00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:12.310 describes Walt literally feigning tears. He sits 00:03:12.310 --> 00:03:14.530 down in the DEA office and just starts crying 00:03:14.530 --> 00:03:17.330 about his failing marriage to Skyler. It is a 00:03:17.330 --> 00:03:20.090 master class in manipulation. It is. But it is 00:03:20.090 --> 00:03:22.830 also a master class in reading people. Because 00:03:22.830 --> 00:03:25.289 think about who Hank is. He's a tough guy. He's 00:03:25.289 --> 00:03:28.409 a DEA agent. He's a man's man in that very traditional, 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:30.550 slightly toxic sense of the word. Right. He doesn't 00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:33.210 do feelings. He absolutely does not. So he sees 00:03:33.210 --> 00:03:35.289 another man crying, especially his brother -in 00:03:35.289 --> 00:03:37.180 -law. and he just doesn't know what to do with 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:39.159 himself. He gets physically uncomfortable. It's 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:40.979 like kryptonite to him. He just wants to run 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:43.340 away. He wants to flee the room. He is looking 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:45.939 for literally any exit. He goes to get coffee, 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:48.259 doesn't he? That's his excuse. Yes. He says he's 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:50.000 going to get Walt some coffee. He leaves the 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:53.000 room to give Walt a moment, or really to just 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.419 escape the sheer awkwardness of witnessing male 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:59.400 vulnerability. And this is what fascinates me 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.819 the most. Yeah. The literal second Hank is out 00:04:01.819 --> 00:04:04.180 the door. The tears turn off. Like a light switch. 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:07.800 It is instantaneous. His face goes from this 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:12.460 contorted, sobbing, emotional mess to absolute 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:15.680 stone cold focus. And Walt goes to work. He is 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:18.279 not there to cry. He is there to bug the office. 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:21.480 He installs covert listening devices, two of 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:23.860 them, according to the plot summary. He puts 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:25.839 one on the computer to capture keystrokes or 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.259 audio near the screen. And then he plants another 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:30.300 one inside a picture frame sitting right on top 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:33.060 of Hank's desk. That is just incredibly bold. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.459 I mean planting a bug in the head of the DEA's 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:37.540 office while he is down the hall getting you 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.740 coffee. It's so risky. But what really stands 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:42.800 out to me here is the total weaponization of 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.620 vulnerability. Walt knows Hank loves him. He 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:47.519 knows Hank cares deeply about his family. And 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:49.899 he uses that. He uses that love, that empathy, 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:52.480 as the literal distraction to plant a bug that 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:55.279 will help him run a drug empire. It is chilling. 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:57.920 It just shows you how far gone Walt is at this 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:00.199 point. He is using his crumbling marriage, which 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:02.079 is crumbling entirely because of him, by the 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.180 way, as a prop. A tactical prop. He is turning 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:06.939 his own massive failures into a tactical advantage. 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:10.939 Precisely. It is pure predatory behavior. He 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:13.639 is using Hank's core humanity against him. So 00:05:13.639 --> 00:05:17.240 now they have ears on the DEA. And that becomes 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:18.819 immediately relevant because of what we can call 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:22.449 the Lydia problem. Ah, yes. Lydia Rodarte -Quail, 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:26.689 the nervous, incredibly jittery executive from 00:05:26.689 --> 00:05:29.329 Magical Electromotive. She is a handful. To put 00:05:29.329 --> 00:05:33.629 it mildly, yes. So the crew, Walt, Jesse Pinkman, 00:05:33.709 --> 00:05:36.209 and Mike Ermentrope, they have a major issue 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:38.350 on their hands. They found a tracking device. 00:05:38.569 --> 00:05:40.569 Right. It was stuck on the bottom of a metholamine 00:05:40.569 --> 00:05:43.170 barrel from one of the magical warehouses. And 00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:45.209 the immediate assumptions, specifically coming 00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:48.389 from Mike and Walt, is that Lydia planted it. 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:50.240 They think she is panicked, she is trying to 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.279 get out of the game, or she is trying to set 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:54.519 them up to save her own skin. They view her as 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:56.579 a complete loose cannon. So they bring her to 00:05:56.579 --> 00:05:59.019 the basement. It is framed as an interrogation. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:00.899 But let's be real here. Mike is totally ready 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:03.259 to wrap this up permanently. It is much more 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:06.920 than an interrogation. It is essentially a preemptive 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:10.399 execution. Mike and Wald are ready to kill her. 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:12.519 The decision has basically already been made 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.620 in their heads. She is a liability. And in their 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:17.779 world, when someone becomes a liability, they 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:20.779 disappear. But Jesse hesitates. Jesse is the 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:23.160 moral compass here, surprisingly enough. Or maybe 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:25.660 not surprisingly, given his whole character arc. 00:06:26.019 --> 00:06:28.160 He's not convinced she did it. He thinks they 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:30.000 might be rushing to judgment. So what do they 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.699 do to prove it? This is where those bugs come 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:34.220 in, right? Exactly. They force her to make a 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.379 phone call. They use those listening devices 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:38.939 Walt just planted in Hank's office. They make 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:41.540 Lydia call Hank directly to report the discovery 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:43.839 of the tracker, while they listen in on Hank's 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.319 end to see his real -time reaction. That is an 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:48.220 insanely high -stakes phone call. You have to 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:50.500 imagine being Lydia in that moment. Terrifying. 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:52.639 You have Mike staring at you, probably holding 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:54.680 a gun just out of frame, and you have to sound 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.379 completely natural on the phone with the DEA. 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.579 Incredibly high stakes for her. Because if Hank 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:03.079 reacts like, good job, Lydia, we have got them 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:05.680 right where we want them. or if he reveals she 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.399 is an informant, she is dead before she even 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:10.939 hangs up the receiver. But they listen to the 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:13.620 follow -up. They eavesdrop on Hank's next phone 00:07:13.620 --> 00:07:16.120 call right after he hangs up with Lydia. And 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:18.579 what exactly do they hear? They hear Hank calling 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:21.240 his own team. They learn the tracker was actually 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:23.800 planted by a completely different DEA team down 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:26.939 in Houston. Lydia had absolutely nothing to do 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:28.579 with it. She was telling the truth the whole 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:31.759 time. So she is exonerated. She is exonerated 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.970 of treachery, yes. but she is definitely not 00:07:34.970 --> 00:07:36.829 safe. Right, because now she is quote unquote 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:40.189 useless. Exactly. And in this particular criminal 00:07:40.189 --> 00:07:43.089 underworld, being useless is just about as bad 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:46.449 as being a traitor. Her warehouse is compromised. 00:07:47.029 --> 00:07:49.730 The DEA is actively watching the barrels. She 00:07:49.730 --> 00:07:52.730 cannot provide the methylamine anymore. So Mike, 00:07:53.050 --> 00:07:55.370 being the ultimate cold pragmatist, is still 00:07:55.370 --> 00:07:57.449 looking at her like a loose end that needs to 00:07:57.449 --> 00:07:59.810 be tied up. Why keep her alive if she can't deliver 00:07:59.810 --> 00:08:02.149 the goods? Exactly his logic. This is where it 00:08:02.149 --> 00:08:04.329 gets really interesting for me. Because Lydia, 00:08:04.850 --> 00:08:07.529 staring down the barrel of a gun, literally or 00:08:07.529 --> 00:08:10.769 metaphorically, pulls a massive rabbit out of 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:14.930 a hat. She pivots from a victim to an indispensable 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:18.329 asset in about 10 seconds flat. She makes the 00:08:18.329 --> 00:08:21.350 pitch of her absolute life. She tells them she 00:08:21.350 --> 00:08:24.250 can access an ocean of methylamine. An ocean? 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:26.769 That is such a powerful image. That is the exact 00:08:26.769 --> 00:08:29.430 word she uses. She is not talking about a barrel 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:32.590 or two anymore. She completely shifts the conversation 00:08:32.590 --> 00:08:35.230 from how do we scrape by to how do we get rich 00:08:35.230 --> 00:08:37.769 forever. She suggests the train. A transiting 00:08:37.769 --> 00:08:40.230 freight train. She has the manifest. She knows 00:08:40.230 --> 00:08:42.610 the schedule. She knows there is a massive amount 00:08:42.610 --> 00:08:44.789 of this specific chemical moving across the state 00:08:44.789 --> 00:08:47.429 on the rails. Talk about a crazy shift in power 00:08:47.429 --> 00:08:50.360 dynamics. She goes from being on her knees begging 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:52.740 for her life to being the grand architect of 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:54.500 the biggest heists they have ever attempted. 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:57.559 It is a brilliant display of survival instinct. 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.240 She realizes that the only way to survive these 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:02.700 men, men like Walt and Mike, is to make herself 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:05.159 absolutely indispensable again. And nothing makes 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:07.200 you indispensable to Walter White quite like 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.779 a notion of methylamine. But the guys are skeptical, 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:12.039 right? I mean, robbing a train. That sounds like 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:13.700 something straight out of a Western movie from 00:09:13.700 --> 00:09:17.019 the 1800s, not a modern drug operation. They 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.480 are very skeptical. It seems literally impossible. 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:21.899 You can't just stop a massive freight train and 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:23.919 loot it without the entire world knowing about 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.100 it. It is too big. It is too loud. It's too heavily 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:31.000 monitored. But this is where the trio Walt, Jesse 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:33.460 and Mike really start to function as a brain 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.519 trust. And specifically. Jesse steps up here. 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:38.860 Jesse is the one who cracks the logistics. The 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.179 source notes that with Jesse's motivation, they 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:43.620 come up with the actual plan. It is not just 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:45.779 about stopping the train. It is about exactly 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:48.919 where they stop it. It is about the dark territory. 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:52.379 Ooh, dark territory. That sounds so ominous. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:54.039 It sounds like something from a fantasy novel. 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.419 It is a real technical term, but yes, it sets 00:09:56.419 --> 00:09:58.840 the mood perfectly for the show. It refers to 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:00.860 a stretch of track where there are no signals 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:03.759 and no radio communication whatsoever. A blind 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.100 spot. It is a complete blind spot in the system. 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:08.559 A dead zone. So if you were going to rob a train, 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:11.059 that is exactly where you do it. Out in the dark. 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:14.039 Exactly. But the problem isn't just taking the 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:17.840 stuff. The problem is the weight. And this brings 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.259 us to the physics of the heist, which is where 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:22.720 the plan usually falls apart in lesser television 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:24.960 shows. You can't just take liquid out and leave 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.720 the tank car empty. Why not? Because of the industrial 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:30.279 scales. When that freight train finally gets 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.179 to its destination, it gets weighed. If they 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:36.059 pump out, say, a thousand gallons of methylamine, 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:38.159 the train is going to be thousands of pounds 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:40.679 lighter. Right. And if the train is light, the 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:42.639 company immediately knows a theft occurred in 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:45.080 transit. Exactly. And if they know a theft occurred, 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:47.899 they investigate. The heat comes down on everyone. 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:50.759 The police get involved. The whole idea of the 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:53.360 perfect crime is completely ruined. So they need 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.179 a swap. They need to put something back into 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:57.559 the tank. Precisely. They plan to pump out the 00:10:57.559 --> 00:10:59.580 methylamine and simultaneously pump in water. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:03.179 Water. Simple enough, right? Well, not quite 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:04.919 simple. This is where the science comes into 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.620 play. You can't just swap liquid for liquid strictly 00:11:07.620 --> 00:11:10.360 by volume. Methylamine and water have very different 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.399 densities. Ah, right. Density equals mass over 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:15.919 volume. Look at you, breaking out the high school 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:20.100 chemistry equations. Yes, methylmamine is significantly 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:22.960 lighter than water. So if you just swap a thousand 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.899 gallons of misalamine for a thousand gallons 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.639 of water, your train car is suddenly way heavier 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:30.000 than it started. And the scales at the destination 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:33.629 will flag that discrepancy too. Exactly. So Walt 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:35.809 isn't just calculating volume down there in the 00:11:35.809 --> 00:11:38.730 dirt. He is calculating a complex weight to volume 00:11:38.730 --> 00:11:41.350 ratio on the fly. They have to pump slightly 00:11:41.350 --> 00:11:43.470 less water in than the methyl mean they take 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:45.850 out just to make the mass balance perfectly on 00:11:45.850 --> 00:11:48.629 the company scale. Which adds this completely 00:11:48.629 --> 00:11:51.610 terrifying layer of complexity to the physical 00:11:51.610 --> 00:11:54.149 act of the robbery. They aren't just turning 00:11:54.149 --> 00:11:56.909 valves and crossing their fingers. They're adhering 00:11:56.909 --> 00:11:59.570 to a strict mathematical formula while standing 00:11:59.570 --> 00:12:02.259 on top of a moving bomb, basically. It is the 00:12:02.259 --> 00:12:04.759 stark difference between a common thug robbing 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.299 a liquor store and a brilliant scientist robbing 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:09.919 a multinational corporation. So the plan is perfectly 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.200 set. When the train arrives at the destination, 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:15.080 the wait is totally correct. No alarms go off. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:17.980 And that is the absolute brilliance of the plan. 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:22.080 It is the perfect crime because theoretically, 00:12:22.939 --> 00:12:26.159 No one will ever even know it happened. The chemical 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:27.940 company will just think they got a bad batch 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:30.080 that was somehow diluted at the factory, or it 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:31.679 won't be discovered until it is way too late 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.840 to track exactly where on the route it happened. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.279 It is intellectual satisfaction at its finest. 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:40.059 It is a completely clean job. Ideally, yes, a 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:43.120 clean job. But this job requires more hands than 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:45.480 they have. The three of them simply can't do 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.799 it alone. They need someone to handle the heavy 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:49.559 lifting, someone to climb up the tanks and drop 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:51.820 the hoses. They need a crew? They do. So they 00:12:51.820 --> 00:12:54.919 bring in a newcomer. Todd Alquist. Todd. Todd. 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:57.940 He is an employee of Vamanos Pest, which is the 00:12:57.940 --> 00:12:59.700 cover company they have been using for their 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:02.440 mobile meth cooks. And he seems very helpful, 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:04.879 very polite, very eager to please the bosses. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:08.279 He has got that real yes sir, no sir kind of 00:13:08.279 --> 00:13:10.580 vibe to him. He really does. He seems entirely 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:14.179 harmless. Just a guy doing a job. But there are 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:16.480 strict rules for this operation. Jesse is very, 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:18.600 very specific with him before they start. This 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.779 is a really critical plot point for you to remember 00:13:21.779 --> 00:13:24.779 as we go forward. Jesse explicitly tells Todd 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:27.480 that no one can ever know. Nobody ever knows. 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:30.940 Total silence, the condition of his employment, 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.000 the very condition of being allowed on this highly 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.720 lucrative job is that this must remain a ghost 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:40.220 operation. No witnesses. The stakes are incredibly 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:42.769 set. If they pull this off, they are financially 00:13:42.769 --> 00:13:45.450 set for life. If they fail or if they get caught, 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:48.350 it is game over. High risk, infinite reward. 00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:50.289 Before we get to the tracks, though, the episode 00:13:50.289 --> 00:13:52.889 actually takes a little detour, a domestic detour. 00:13:53.110 --> 00:13:55.049 Right. We have to check in on the White Household. 00:13:55.610 --> 00:13:57.830 We can't forget that while Walt is out planning 00:13:57.830 --> 00:14:00.590 the crime of the century, his actual family life 00:14:00.590 --> 00:14:03.309 is completely imploding. We see Walt Junior returning 00:14:03.309 --> 00:14:06.799 home. He's confused. He is angry. He's been staying 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.379 with Hank and Marie, and he comes back demanding 00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:11.940 real answers about his parents' separation. He 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:13.539 wants to know why he can't just be in his own 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:16.399 home. He feels exiled by his own family. And 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:18.879 what does Walt do in response to his son? Walt 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:21.360 plays the father knows best card, but he plays 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.080 very aggressively. He just orders Junior back 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:26.080 to Hank and Marie's house. He doesn't give him 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.100 an explanation. He just issues a command. It 00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:32.129 is very authoritarian. And Skyler, where is she 00:14:32.129 --> 00:14:34.549 in all this? Skyler is in a fascinating position 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:38.230 here. She informs Walt of her final terms. She 00:14:38.230 --> 00:14:40.470 has essentially resigned herself to being a money 00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:43.730 launderer. She realizes she can't stop him. And 00:14:43.730 --> 00:14:46.289 she knows she can't turn him in without completely 00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:48.549 destroying the family unit. So she tells him 00:14:48.549 --> 00:14:51.070 she will keep his secrets. She will wash the 00:14:51.070 --> 00:14:54.690 cash. But the children stay away. That is her 00:14:54.690 --> 00:14:56.830 absolute line in the sand. She's bargaining for 00:14:56.830 --> 00:14:59.519 their safety. She is. Walt tries to assure her 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:02.679 that there is no danger, which is deeply ironic 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:04.700 given he is literally about to go rob a moving 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:07.700 free train. But Schuyler has made up her mind. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.159 The source material mentions she firmly believes 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.559 that one day someone will arrive at their home 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.539 with the direct intent of arming them. She is 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:16.620 very prescient. She is not wrong about the world 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:19.159 he operates in. She knows the business he is 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:22.460 in much better than he thinks she does. She calls 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.940 their house the blast zone. She wants her kids 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:28.179 completely out of the blast zone. Now, I noticed 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.539 in the source material that the critical reception 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:33.220 to these specific domestic scenes was, well, 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:35.860 kind of mixed. Yeah, that is a really interesting 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:38.759 point. Donna Bowman from the A .V. Club, who 00:15:38.759 --> 00:15:41.440 gave the episode a great rating overall, she 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:43.919 called these family scenes clumsily functional. 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:47.700 Clumsily functional. That is a bit of a backhanded 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:50.159 compliment from a critic. What does that actually 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.059 mean in this context? It implies that they felt 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:55.769 a bit mechanical to watch. Like the writers just 00:15:55.769 --> 00:15:57.529 needed to move the chess pieces around on the 00:15:57.529 --> 00:15:59.450 board. They needed to get the kids out of the 00:15:59.450 --> 00:16:02.330 house, establish the new tense status quo between 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:05.470 Walt and Skyler, all just to set up future episodes. 00:16:06.169 --> 00:16:08.049 Compared to the high octane train heist that 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:11.330 follows, these scenes felt a bit like necessary 00:16:11.330 --> 00:16:13.470 housekeeping. I can definitely see that. It is 00:16:13.470 --> 00:16:15.710 like the show saying, OK, we get it. The family's 00:16:15.710 --> 00:16:17.470 messed up. Now let's get back to the cool heist 00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:21.870 stuff. Exactly. But I would argue they are absolutely 00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:24.669 vital to the thematic core of the show. They 00:16:24.669 --> 00:16:27.129 remind you that Walt isn't doing this for the 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:29.690 family anymore. He is doing it despite the family. 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:32.990 He is actively pushing his own son away to clear 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:34.830 the decks for his criminal ambition. That is 00:16:34.830 --> 00:16:37.110 a really great point. It strips away all of his 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:41.210 noble excuses. Okay, so the family is stashed 00:16:41.210 --> 00:16:43.570 away safely. Let's go out to the train tracks. 00:16:43.830 --> 00:16:47.250 Part four, the execution. The setup out in the 00:16:47.250 --> 00:16:49.860 desert is incredibly elaborate. They need to 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:51.740 stop the train, but they can't just hijack it 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:54.620 with guns drawn. That leaves witnesses, which 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:57.299 violates the core rule. They need the train to 00:16:57.299 --> 00:16:59.960 stop naturally. Enter Patrick Cooby. Played by 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.379 the absolutely hilarious Bill Burr. Yes, he is 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:04.240 so good in this. He is driving a dump truck. 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:06.640 A broken down dump truck. Heavy air quotes on 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:08.880 broken down. He parks it right on a dirt crossing 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.740 directly on the tracks. He creates a physical 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:13.400 blockade. And he sells it so well, the acting 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:15.660 within the acting here is just great television. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:18.140 He sells it perfectly. The massive train comes 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:20.359 around the bend, the engineer sees the truck 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:22.579 blocking the path, and they have to screech to 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:25.140 a complete halt. And the engineer and the conductor? 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:28.720 They do exactly what decent, normal people would 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.160 do. They exit the locomotive to check on the 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:32.859 guy to see if they can help move the truck off 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:35.440 the tracks. They are annoyed, sure, because they 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:37.940 are on a schedule, but they aren't suspicious 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:41.339 of foul play. Kubi keeps them completely distracted 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:44.740 with his whole, ah, this piece of junk. truck 00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:47.460 routine. He plays the fool beautifully. And while 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:49.180 they're distracted at the front of the train. 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:51.960 The mechanics go in motion at the back. It is 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:55.539 a highly synchronized dance. Mike is the dedicated 00:17:55.539 --> 00:17:58.940 lookout hidden away in the brush. Walt. Jesse 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:01.140 and Todd are at the tank cars. And they have 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:03.359 to do two critical things at the exact same time. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.160 Right. They are draining the methylamine from 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:07.500 the train's tanker car down into an empty tank 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:10.279 they've pre -buried underground. At the exact 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.119 same time, they're pumping water from a separate 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:15.640 water tank back up into the train car. It is 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:17.619 a complete plumbing nightmare. It really is. 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:19.740 And remember, this is physically demanding work. 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:22.619 They're out in the desert heat hauling heavy 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:25.980 industrial hoses, forcefully turning rusted valves, 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:28.519 constantly watching the pressure meters. And 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:30.880 the production notes we have mentioned, this 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:33.160 wasn't easy to film either. No, it was a massive 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.039 challenge. George Mastras, the writer and director 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:38.279 of the episode, noted that this was logistically 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.240 incredibly complicated to pull off. They needed 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.539 many cameras running simultaneously to capture 00:18:43.539 --> 00:18:45.980 the sheer scale of the operation. They even used 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:48.500 GoPros buried down in the dirt to get those really 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:51.859 kinetic low angles. And here's a fun fact from 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:54.720 the source. The actual train they rented for 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.390 the shoot broke down on the very first day of 00:18:57.390 --> 00:19:00.230 filming. No way. You are kidding me. Life imitating 00:19:00.230 --> 00:19:04.029 art. The train sequence took four full days to 00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:06.049 shoot out in the desert. And you can really feel 00:19:06.049 --> 00:19:08.630 that physical effort on screen. The sweat on 00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:10.529 the actors looks real because it probably was 00:19:10.529 --> 00:19:13.390 real. It is hot. It is dusty. It is loud. So 00:19:13.390 --> 00:19:15.730 the pumping is happening. The fluid levels are 00:19:15.730 --> 00:19:18.250 actively changing. Kubi is successfully stalling 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:20.289 the engineers up front. It is incredibly tense, 00:19:20.410 --> 00:19:23.069 but it is working. Until it isn't. The crisis. 00:19:23.250 --> 00:19:25.009 There is always a crisis in this show. There 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:26.869 is always a variable you just can't predict. 00:19:27.210 --> 00:19:29.529 And in this specific case, it is a Good Samaritan. 00:19:29.750 --> 00:19:32.630 A random passerby. Just a guy in a pickup truck 00:19:32.630 --> 00:19:35.349 driving up the dirt road. He sees the broken 00:19:35.349 --> 00:19:37.750 down dump truck and decides to get out and help 00:19:37.750 --> 00:19:40.150 push it off the tracks. Which is a massive problem 00:19:40.150 --> 00:19:42.609 because Kubi needs that truck on the tracks to 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:45.109 keep the train stopped. Exactly. If the truck 00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:47.930 moves, the train engineers get back in and the 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:50.150 train leaves. And the hoses are still physically 00:19:50.150 --> 00:19:52.789 connected to the tank car. If the train moves 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:54.690 with the hoses connected, it rips all the equipment 00:19:54.690 --> 00:19:57.829 apart, spills toxic chemicals everywhere, and 00:19:57.829 --> 00:19:59.829 probably kills Walt and Jesse in the process. 00:20:00.130 --> 00:20:02.109 Mike sees this happening from his lookout post. 00:20:02.269 --> 00:20:04.789 And Mike? Being the seasoned professional that 00:20:04.789 --> 00:20:08.190 he is makes the definitive call. He radios down 00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:11.410 to Walt and says, abort, pack it up. It is over. 00:20:11.569 --> 00:20:13.349 We got some of the chemical, but we have to go 00:20:13.349 --> 00:20:16.170 right now. But Walt? Walt is Walt. He looks at 00:20:16.170 --> 00:20:18.410 the meter. They aren't at the target volume yet. 00:20:18.869 --> 00:20:21.509 He insists on pushing the absolute limit. He 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:24.190 wants the full amount they plan for. He outright 00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:26.549 refuses to stop the pump when Mike tells him 00:20:26.549 --> 00:20:29.069 to. This really highlights his greed, doesn't 00:20:29.069 --> 00:20:32.390 it? It highlights his greed and his massive hubris. 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.730 He risks the entire crew, their collective freedom, 00:20:35.789 --> 00:20:38.089 their actual lives just for those last few gallons 00:20:38.089 --> 00:20:41.069 of chemical. It is a terrifying moment of leadership 00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:44.190 failure, really. He's gambling with their lives 00:20:44.190 --> 00:20:46.710 because his ego can't stand to leave money on 00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:49.829 the table. He is completely addicted to the win. 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:52.890 He is. And they barely, I mean, barely make it 00:20:52.890 --> 00:20:55.829 out. They disconnect the heavy hoses just as 00:20:55.829 --> 00:20:57.829 the train starts to lurch forward. They have 00:20:57.829 --> 00:21:00.250 to dive under the tracks into a shallow depression 00:21:00.250 --> 00:21:02.690 in the earth. The train literally rolls right 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:05.250 over them. The adrenaline in that scene is just 00:21:05.250 --> 00:21:07.269 off the charts. The sound design of it all, the 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:09.490 screeching metal, the roaring engine overhead. 00:21:09.690 --> 00:21:13.099 It is pure cinematic thrill. They pulled it off, 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:14.900 the truck is gone, the train is moving again, 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:17.380 nobody saw them do it. They are lying there in 00:21:17.380 --> 00:21:19.779 the dirt, absolutely covered in dust, but they 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:22.380 have the methiamine. Total success. The ultimate 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:24.740 success. They effectively just stole millions 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:26.900 of dollars in future profit without firing a 00:21:26.900 --> 00:21:29.259 single shot. For a few minutes there, the show 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:31.240 really lets you believe they got away with it. 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:34.289 They're dusty. They are exhausted, but they are 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.150 laughing. It is that classic Butch and Sundance 00:21:37.150 --> 00:21:39.250 kind of camaraderie. You almost forget for a 00:21:39.250 --> 00:21:41.869 second that they are ruining lives to get this 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:45.009 chemical. The show deliberately lulls you into 00:21:45.009 --> 00:21:48.049 a false sense of victory. The music is triumphant. 00:21:48.430 --> 00:21:50.809 The lighting is bright and sunny. It feels exactly 00:21:50.809 --> 00:21:53.269 like a fun adventure movie. And that tonal setup 00:21:53.269 --> 00:21:55.829 is incredibly cruel because it makes what happens 00:21:55.829 --> 00:21:59.029 next hit you so much harder. It is the calm before 00:21:59.029 --> 00:22:01.819 the psychological storm. Because just as the 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:04.140 massive engine noise fades away down the tracks, 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:08.160 we hear a new sound. A different engine. But 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:11.539 not a train. A dirt bike. Part five. The aftermath. 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:14.539 The observer. They notice someone right behind 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:17.640 them, stopped on the small dirt bike. A young 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:20.319 boy. Drew Sharp. Now, we have to connect this 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:21.880 back to the very beginning of the episode for 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:24.799 you. The source plot summary mentions a young 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.920 boy capturing a tarantula in a glass jar right 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:29.740 at the start of the hour. Right, the cold open 00:22:29.740 --> 00:22:31.359 scene. We didn't know who he was then. It seemed 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.740 completely unconnected to anything Walt and Jesse 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:37.079 were doing. But now we know. He is just a local 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.740 kid riding his bike through the desert. But he 00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:42.900 has stopped. And he is looking right at them. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.140 He saw the celebration. He saw the hoses. He 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:48.720 saw the huge tank of chemicals buried in the 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.509 dirt. He is a witness. So... The interaction 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:54.349 happens. The boy waves. It is such an innocent, 00:22:54.349 --> 00:22:57.130 normal gesture. He just waves hello to the men 00:22:57.130 --> 00:22:59.170 working in the desert. He doesn't look scared. 00:22:59.470 --> 00:23:02.150 He is just a curious kid. And Todd, he waves 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:05.849 back. Todd waves back. It seems friendly. For 00:23:05.849 --> 00:23:08.049 a split second, you watch it and you think, okay, 00:23:08.109 --> 00:23:09.809 maybe he just thinks they're construction workers. 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:11.809 Maybe he will just ride away and we'll be fine. 00:23:11.950 --> 00:23:14.690 But then comes the shot. Todd draws a handgun 00:23:14.690 --> 00:23:17.009 from his waistband and shoots the child dead. 00:23:17.069 --> 00:23:19.859 Just like that. Without any hesitation. without 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:22.839 any warning to the others. One second, it is 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:25.839 a friendly wave. The next second, a dead child 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:28.339 falling off his bike. And Jesse's reaction? Jesse 00:23:28.339 --> 00:23:32.440 just screams. It is absolute primal horror. He 00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:35.940 collapses in on himself. He's completely devastated. 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.220 This is the massive thematic shift we talked 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:40.500 about in the intro. It is the ultimate pivot. 00:23:40.740 --> 00:23:43.859 The episode goes from an adventurous, fun caper, 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:46.380 something almost out of a heroic heist movie, 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:50.740 to a horrific totally irredeemable crime in one 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.740 single second. It is the true cost of the perfect 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:56.059 crime. Exactly. They said the rule was no one 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:58.660 can know. Todd took that instruction absolutely 00:23:58.660 --> 00:24:01.240 literally. To him, the boy was just a loose end 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:04.079 that compromised the mission. To Jesse, the boy 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:06.559 was a boy. It permanently destroys the innocence 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:08.700 of the adventure. You just can't root for them 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:11.339 anymore after that. You really can't. It forces 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:14.160 you, the audience, to confront what you were 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:17.019 actually watching. These aren't cool outlaws 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:19.339 outsmarting the system. They are child killers. 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:21.259 Or at the very least, they are in business with 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:23.339 child killers. Let's spend a moment on Todd here, 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.480 because this is really our true introduction 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:28.400 to who he really is inside. It is. This is the 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.140 Todd factor we saw in the critical reception. 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:32.799 Critics really praise the character development 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.180 of Todd here, played brilliantly by Jesse Plemons, 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:37.920 because before this moment, he was just a background 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:40.500 character, a compliant worker bee. He seemed 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:43.569 so polite, the yes sir, no sir guy. But this 00:24:43.569 --> 00:24:46.349 one action reveals something deeply, deeply disturbing 00:24:46.349 --> 00:24:49.470 about his psychology. He isn't malicious in the 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:52.589 way a cartel boss is malicious. He's just empty. 00:24:52.990 --> 00:24:55.829 He sees a problem, which is a witness, and he 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:58.410 applies a practical solution, which is a bullet. 00:24:59.150 --> 00:25:01.950 It's purely transactional logic. He is the perfect 00:25:01.950 --> 00:25:04.950 soldier for Walt in a sick way. He is. And that 00:25:04.950 --> 00:25:07.559 is what is truly terrifying. Walt has been looking 00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:10.380 for ruthless competence all season. Well, this 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:12.299 is exactly what competence looks like when you 00:25:12.299 --> 00:25:14.769 strip away all human morality. Let's pivot and 00:25:14.769 --> 00:25:16.730 talk about the actual production of this episode, 00:25:16.890 --> 00:25:19.009 because it is clearly a massive undertaking behind 00:25:19.009 --> 00:25:21.269 the scenes. We mentioned George Mastros earlier. 00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:23.910 Yes, George Mastros. He wrote the episode, which 00:25:23.910 --> 00:25:26.529 is a massive feat in itself to construct this 00:25:26.529 --> 00:25:28.849 puzzle. But this is also his directing debut 00:25:28.849 --> 00:25:31.670 on the series. Talk about a trial by fire. Hey, 00:25:31.849 --> 00:25:33.769 for your very first television directing gig, 00:25:34.130 --> 00:25:36.609 here is a moving freight train, a complex heist 00:25:36.609 --> 00:25:39.549 sequence, and a tragic child murder. No kidding. 00:25:39.970 --> 00:25:42.839 The pressure must have been immense. and he completely 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:45.779 nailed it. The pacing of the tension, the visual 00:25:45.779 --> 00:25:48.079 geography of the heist, so you always know where 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:51.220 everyone is, it is all crystal clear on screen. 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:53.740 Now, let's talk about the title, Dead Freight. 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:56.480 There is some really interesting trivia here 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:59.579 in our sources. The original title for the episode 00:25:59.579 --> 00:26:02.480 was actually going to be Dark Territory. Which 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.579 makes total sense, given the location of the 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:07.019 heist we discussed earlier. It does. but they 00:26:07.019 --> 00:26:10.039 ultimately changed it to avoid confusion with 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:13.119 his Steven Seagal action film under Siege II, 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:16.240 Dark Territory. Ah, yeah. Good call by the network. 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:18.579 You probably don't want that specific comparison 00:26:18.579 --> 00:26:20.779 being made by critics. So they went with Dead 00:26:20.779 --> 00:26:23.039 Freight instead. And what does that term mean, 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:25.059 technically speaking? The title Dead Freight 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:28.079 is actually a fascinating double entendre. In 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.480 the commercial shipping industry, Dead Freight 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:33.039 refers to wasted space on a vessel that is paid 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:35.500 for in full. It is empty space you are paying 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:38.339 to transport. That is fascinating. So if we look 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:40.839 at it metaphorically. What exactly is the dead 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:43.119 freight in this episode? Is it the water they 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:45.799 pumped into the chemical tank? That is technically 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:48.559 dead freight. It is useless weight they are shipping 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:51.539 just to hide their crime. Or is it the boy? That 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:54.759 is the much darker interpretation. Ju Sharpe. 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:57.339 A body that wasn't supposed to be there. He is 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:00.299 literally dead freight carried by this criminal 00:27:00.299 --> 00:27:02.960 operation. A terrible cost they didn't anticipate, 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:05.019 but now have to pay for with their conscience. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.299 That connects right back to what Mike said earlier 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.779 in the season about half measures. There is simply 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:13.039 no clean way to do this business. Every single 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.599 gallon of that methylamine is now contaminated, 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.299 metaphorically speaking. Exactly. They stole 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:22.119 it to make pure money. But the human cost of 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:24.519 acquiring it, the murder of an innocent child, 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:28.450 makes the profits spiritually worthless. It is 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:30.549 dead weight on their souls. It is chilling. It 00:27:30.549 --> 00:27:32.609 really makes you rethink the whole concept of 00:27:32.609 --> 00:27:35.089 success in this show. It really does alter how 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:37.250 you view their victories. Let's look at the reception. 00:27:37.430 --> 00:27:39.309 How did the world actually react to this when 00:27:39.309 --> 00:27:42.930 it aired back in 2012? It was huge. The critics 00:27:42.930 --> 00:27:45.190 absolutely loved it despite the sheer horror 00:27:45.190 --> 00:27:47.849 of the ending. Or actually, because of the horror 00:27:47.849 --> 00:27:49.670 of the ending. So the audience ratings were solid, 00:27:49.809 --> 00:27:53.410 right? Very solid. Watched by 2 .48 million viewers 00:27:53.410 --> 00:27:56.329 live. And the professional reviews. Glowing across 00:27:56.329 --> 00:27:59.029 the board. IGN... gave it a perfect 10 out of 00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:02.289 10. They called it beautifully crafted and excellently 00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:04.849 executed. High praise from them. Rolling Stone 00:28:04.849 --> 00:28:07.650 magazine called it harrowing, heartbreaking, 00:28:07.990 --> 00:28:09.910 magnificent television. And what about the A 00:28:09.910 --> 00:28:12.490 .V. club? We mentioned them earlier. In A minus 00:28:12.490 --> 00:28:15.339 from Donna Bowman. We mentioned her specific 00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:18.299 critique of the Schuyler domestic scenes, but 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:20.559 she went on to say that the weak patch was more 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:23.200 than made up for by the tremendous extended heist 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.019 sequence and its tragic culmination. It seems 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:27.759 like everyone agreed that the ending was just 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.339 an absolute gut punch. Alan Sepinwall, a major 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:34.240 critic, called it a devastating but not unfair 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:36.960 gut punch. And I think not unfair is the real 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:39.619 key word there. It didn't feel cheap. It didn't 00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:41.400 feel like a shock just for the sake of shock 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:44.279 value. It felt like the totally logical consequence 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:47.480 of the violent world they'd created. If you bring 00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:49.859 loaded guns to a train robbery, eventually they're 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:51.960 going to go off. Exactly. You can't control every 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:54.720 variable. And the episode got some serious hardware 00:28:54.720 --> 00:29:05.960 nods, too, from the industry. and two nominations 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:09.740 for sound, outstanding sound mixing, and outstanding 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:12.140 sound editing. Which makes perfect sense given 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:14.779 the train sequence. The sound design there must 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:16.539 have been an incredible technical challenge. 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:19.130 Absolutely. layering the screeching metal, the 00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:21.930 roaring pumps, the hiss of the gas, all while 00:29:21.930 --> 00:29:24.769 maintaining the dialogue. It was a complete auditory 00:29:24.769 --> 00:29:26.869 experience. It fully immersed you in the heavy 00:29:26.869 --> 00:29:29.269 mechanics of the crime. And its legacy really 00:29:29.269 --> 00:29:32.670 holds up over time. Oh, yes. In 2019, the Renger 00:29:32.670 --> 00:29:35.569 ranked it as the 18th best Breaking Bad episode 00:29:35.569 --> 00:29:38.710 out of the entire 62 episode run. It is firmly 00:29:38.710 --> 00:29:41.230 remembered as a massive standout. It is the episode 00:29:41.230 --> 00:29:43.369 where the cool Heisenberg mythos really starts 00:29:43.369 --> 00:29:45.910 to curdle and turn sour for the audience. So 00:29:45.910 --> 00:29:47.490 bringing it all together, what does this all 00:29:47.490 --> 00:29:49.529 mean for you as a viewer? We've got a heist fakes 00:29:49.529 --> 00:29:52.029 heist, we've got murder, we've got a train. It 00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:55.069 serves as a perfect microcosm of the entire show. 00:29:55.509 --> 00:29:58.250 It starts with science and ingenuity, which are 00:29:58.250 --> 00:30:00.869 Walt's quote unquote superpowers. It involves 00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:04.880 massive unchecked greed. and it inevitably ends 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:07.259 with the total destruction of innocence. It is 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:10.380 all fun until someone gets hurt. Exactly. The 00:30:10.380 --> 00:30:13.099 heist was the absolute high point of their criminal 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:15.539 cooperation. They worked perfectly together as 00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:18.319 a well -oiled machine, and the shooting at the 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:22.039 end was the immediate violent shattering of that 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:24.680 fantasy reality. It is a profound tragedy. It 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:27.039 really is. I want to leave you, our listener, 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:29.920 with a final thought to chew on. The entire plan, 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:32.420 the water displacement, the dead zone, it was 00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:34.799 all designed so that no one would know. The literal 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:37.380 definition of a perfect crime. But now they know. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.779 Walt, Jesse, Mike, Todd, they all know what happened 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:42.579 out there in the desert. And that raises a really 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:45.140 profound question. Does a crime only matter if 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:47.700 there are outside witnesses? or does the act 00:30:47.700 --> 00:30:50.200 itself rot you from the inside out, regardless 00:30:50.200 --> 00:30:52.220 of who saw it? They got away with the money and 00:30:52.220 --> 00:30:54.220 the chemicals, but can they actually get away 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:56.940 with the memory of what it cost? I think we all 00:30:56.940 --> 00:30:58.920 know the dark answer to that. And that brings 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:02.700 us back to that final haunting image, the tarantula 00:31:02.700 --> 00:31:05.420 in the jar. Right from the opening scene. The 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:07.900 boy caught it in the desert. Now the boy is gone 00:31:07.900 --> 00:31:11.200 forever. And the tarantula is still trapped in 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.700 the glass, just like these characters are now 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:16.240 permanently trapped by this murder. They are 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:19.039 all in the jar together now. On that very cheery 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:21.140 note, thank you for listening to this deep dive 00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:22.779 into Dead Freight. We will see you next time. 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:23.940 Keep watching the tracks.