WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.259 So I want you to close your eyes for just a second. 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:07.440 Seriously, just humor me here. Imagine you are 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.339 standing in a room and right on the table in 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:12.460 front of you is a briefcase. OK, a briefcase. 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:16.039 Yeah. And inside that briefcase is $5 million, 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:20.039 cash, tax free. It is yours. You don't have to 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.079 do anything else to get it. You just pick it 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:24.440 up, walk out the door, and you are totally done. 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:27.539 Wow. Right. You never have to work again. You 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.339 can pay off every debt, maybe buy a house on 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:32.179 the coast, secure your kids' college funds, buy 00:00:32.179 --> 00:00:35.719 a boat. It's the golden ticket. It's the dream 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:37.479 scenario, really. It's that kind of walk away 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:41.179 money. Exactly. But here's the catch. There is 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:44.679 another door in this room. And behind that door 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:47.880 is not a guarantee, but a chance to make $300 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:51.320 million. OK, that's a massive jump. It is. But 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:53.899 to open that door, you have to risk your life. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:55.880 You have to risk going to prison for the rest 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.259 of your natural life, risk your family being 00:00:58.259 --> 00:01:01.060 destroyed, and you have to keep doing this thing 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.400 that is slowly, day by day, rotting your soul. 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:07.819 So the question for you is, when is enough enough? 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.700 Do you take the five million and run, or do you 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:14.079 gamble it all for the empire? It's the classic 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.719 gambler's dilemma, isn't it? But, you know, raised 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.140 to the level of a Greek tragedy, I mean, most 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:22.510 of us. most rational people, we take the briefcase, 00:01:22.709 --> 00:01:25.069 we take the win. You would think so, but human 00:01:25.069 --> 00:01:27.950 psychology is a very messy thing and that is 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:29.810 the central conflict we are looking at today. 00:01:30.250 --> 00:01:33.609 We are doing a deep dive into Breaking Bad, specifically 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:36.689 season five, episode six, which is titled... 00:01:36.489 --> 00:01:39.870 Buyout. Buyout. Even just the title alone suggests 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:42.890 this business transaction. But as we know with 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:45.250 this show, nothing is ever just business. Never. 00:01:45.469 --> 00:01:47.290 If you are a fan of the show, you know this is 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:49.790 a hugely pivotal moment. It's the exact moment, 00:01:50.209 --> 00:01:52.849 well, pun intended there, starts to really wobble 00:01:52.849 --> 00:01:54.790 on the tracks. Definitely. If you haven't seen 00:01:54.790 --> 00:01:56.730 it in a while or if you're new to the analysis 00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.329 of the show, trust me, the psychological turning 00:01:59.329 --> 00:02:01.829 points here are absolutely fascinating. And we 00:02:01.829 --> 00:02:04.230 have a really extensive stack of sources for 00:02:04.230 --> 00:02:06.989 today's Deep Dives. are pulling directly from 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:09.370 the Wikipedia entry for this specific episode. 00:02:09.770 --> 00:02:12.789 So that covers the intricate plot details, the 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:14.770 critical reception, and the production notes. 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:16.969 And our mission today is pretty specific. We 00:02:16.969 --> 00:02:19.389 aren't just recapping the plot here. We really 00:02:19.389 --> 00:02:22.069 want to unpack how the fallout from A Heist Gone 00:02:22.069 --> 00:02:24.830 Wrong fractures the central partnership of the 00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:26.650 show. Right, the disintegration of the trio, 00:02:26.849 --> 00:02:29.669 Walt, Jesse, and Mike. Exactly. And crucially, 00:02:29.689 --> 00:02:31.590 we're going to finally answer the question of 00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:35.689 why. Why does Walter White refuse the exit? Yeah, 00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:38.050 there's a very specific backstory involving a 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:40.689 company called Grey Matter that we absolutely 00:02:40.689 --> 00:02:43.110 need to dissect today. It's basically the Rosetta 00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:45.030 Stone for the whole series, isn't it? It really 00:02:45.030 --> 00:02:47.330 is. Once you understand Grey Matter, you understand 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:49.569 everything about Walte ego. So let's set the 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:52.330 stage. This episode, Buyout, it was written by 00:02:52.330 --> 00:02:55.210 Jennifer Hutchison, directed by Colin Buxy, and 00:02:55.210 --> 00:02:58.909 it aired on August 19th, 2012. And it drops us 00:02:58.909 --> 00:03:02.030 right into a total nightmare scenario. Right. 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:05.439 The immediate context is key here. We are picking 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:07.479 up immediately after the train heist from the 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:09.780 previous episode. Dead freight. Yes, dead freight. 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.319 And usually, in your standard heist movie, the 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:16.360 scene after the robbery is the celebration. Right, 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:18.620 popping champagne, throwing money in the air. 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:22.340 High fives all around. But Breaking Bad completely 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:25.800 subverts that expectation in just the most horrific 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:29.870 way possible. The heist... was a success, financially 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:32.210 speaking. They got the methylamine. But it ended 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:34.870 with Todd Alquist, the new guy, the employee 00:03:34.870 --> 00:03:37.469 shooting a child. Drew Sharp. Drew Sharp, a kid 00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:39.090 who just happened to be riding his dirt bike 00:03:39.090 --> 00:03:41.169 out in the desert and saw them. And that leads 00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:43.250 us directly into our first segment, the moral 00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:45.889 aftermath, or, you know, as I like to call it, 00:03:45.889 --> 00:03:49.030 the cold open from hell. It is so grim. The source 00:03:49.030 --> 00:03:51.330 material actually describes this scene in a very 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:52.969 clinical way, which, in my opinion, actually 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:55.830 makes it worse. We have Walter White, Mike German 00:03:55.830 --> 00:03:58.750 -Trock, and Todd Alquist. And they aren't counting 00:03:58.750 --> 00:04:01.909 money. They are destroying evidence. Specifically, 00:04:02.210 --> 00:04:04.770 the body of Drew Sharp and his dirt bike. Let's 00:04:04.770 --> 00:04:06.949 slow down and really look at the mechanics of 00:04:06.949 --> 00:04:09.310 this scene because the source emphasizes that 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:11.729 clinical nature. We aren't just seeing a body 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:14.729 being moved. We are seeing a process, a routine. 00:04:15.150 --> 00:04:18.230 Right. The source notes the use of specific chemicals. 00:04:18.849 --> 00:04:20.829 hydrofluoric acid, and the systematic breakdown 00:04:20.829 --> 00:04:22.949 of the dirt bike. It's manual labor to them. 00:04:23.430 --> 00:04:25.449 They are taking apart this piece of childhood 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:28.149 innocence, this bike, with wrenches and saws. 00:04:28.230 --> 00:04:30.490 That's the real horror of it for me, the total 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:32.970 banality. They are dismantling a child's bike 00:04:32.970 --> 00:04:34.970 with the same emotional detachment you'd use 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:37.470 to take apart a toaster. And the silence allows 00:04:37.470 --> 00:04:39.689 us to focus entirely on the characters' faces. 00:04:39.870 --> 00:04:42.149 Which turns us into a massive character study, 00:04:42.430 --> 00:04:45.269 particularly for Todd Alquist. The outline highlights 00:04:45.269 --> 00:04:47.899 his reaction specifically. The source notes that 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.319 Todd casually dismisses the killing. That word 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.439 casually is doing so much heavy lifting there. 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:55.500 It is genuinely terrifying. It really is. It 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:58.759 forces you to ask, is Todd just a good, pragmatic 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.800 employee or is he a full -blown psychopath? Or 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:05.019 maybe he is the perfect employee for Walter White's 00:05:05.019 --> 00:05:07.720 empire. Because look at the contrast in that 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:09.680 room. You have Jesse Pinkman over in the corner. 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:12.600 He is described as being completely incensed. 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:16.430 He's visibly shaken. traumatized. Jesse represents 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:19.509 the audience in this scene. He is our moral baseline. 00:05:19.930 --> 00:05:23.050 His reaction is the correct human reaction to 00:05:23.050 --> 00:05:26.009 seeing a child murdered and dissolved in acid. 00:05:26.389 --> 00:05:28.449 And the source notes that Jesse is so incensed 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:30.949 he actually punches Todd. Which is a very natural 00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:33.310 physical reaction. He needs to manifest that 00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:35.889 outrage. And that punch leads to a heated debate. 00:05:36.470 --> 00:05:39.990 You have this trio. Walt, Jesse and Mike standing 00:05:39.990 --> 00:05:41.910 there arguing about what to do with the guy who 00:05:41.910 --> 00:05:44.189 just murdered a kid. And what strikes me is the 00:05:44.189 --> 00:05:46.470 logic they apply to this situation. It is pure 00:05:46.470 --> 00:05:49.250 criminal logic. Utilitarian. If they fire him, 00:05:49.269 --> 00:05:51.509 he's a massive loose end. He knows about the 00:05:51.509 --> 00:05:54.089 train heist, the methylamine, their faces. They 00:05:54.089 --> 00:05:55.850 can't call the police, obviously, so they have 00:05:55.850 --> 00:05:58.889 two choices. Kill him to silence him or keep 00:05:58.889 --> 00:06:01.370 him close. The resolution they land on is fascinating. 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:03.899 They agree to spare Todd's life, but they decide 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:06.439 to keep him on the payroll at Vamanos Pest to 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.180 monitor him. Keep your enemies closer. Exactly. 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:12.439 But think about the tension that creates. The 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.360 tension between Jesse's moral outrage and the 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.519 pragmatic survival instincts of Mike and Walt. 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:20.319 That tension is the catalyst for the fracture 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:22.509 that drives the rest of the episode. Which brings 00:06:22.509 --> 00:06:25.529 us perfectly to segment two, the fracture. Because 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:27.470 it's not just the internal guilt eating them 00:06:27.470 --> 00:06:30.449 up. The external pressure is mounting too. Right. 00:06:30.790 --> 00:06:33.430 The DEA is back in the picture. The source mentions 00:06:33.430 --> 00:06:36.069 that the DEA begins actively surveilling Mike. 00:06:36.350 --> 00:06:38.870 And Mike is hypervigilant. He spots the heat. 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:41.550 And this changes his calculus completely. As 00:06:41.550 --> 00:06:43.629 a result of this surveillance, Mike decides to 00:06:43.629 --> 00:06:45.889 leave the meth operation entirely. Because Mike 00:06:45.889 --> 00:06:48.730 is the ultimate pragmatist. If the risk outweighs 00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:51.800 the reward, he walks away. But internally, Jesse 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.160 also wants out, just for a totally different 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.600 reason. This is a really clear divergence in 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.040 the trio. The source notes Jesse is distraught 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.660 about Drew's death. So Mike acts on logic and 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:04.720 survival. Jesse acts on emotion and sheer guilt. 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:06.660 So you have two -thirds of the partnership wanting 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:09.360 to pull the rip cord. And they come up with a 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.560 solution, the buyout proposal. Let's talk about 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.120 the plane here. Mike and Jesse propose selling 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.079 their massive tank of Methalan to a rival dealer 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.220 named Declan. Right. They essentially want to 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:21.220 wholesale a raw chemical instead of cooking it. 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:24.300 Yeah. And the numbers here are staggering. The 00:07:24.300 --> 00:07:27.160 source explicitly states this sale could net 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:30.019 them as much as five million dollars each. Five 00:07:30.019 --> 00:07:32.980 million each. Let's contextualize that. That 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:35.639 is life changing money. For Jesse, it's a fresh 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.339 start. a way to escape the trauma. For Mike, 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:40.779 it's the security he wanted for his granddaughter. 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.459 Is the definition of a clean win. You take the 00:07:43.459 --> 00:07:45.399 five million and you walk away before anyone 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:47.459 else gets hurt or arrested. It seems like the 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:50.519 perfect logical ending. And yet. And yet we hit 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:53.279 the brick wall named Walter White, which takes 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:56.339 us to segment three, The Empire Business. This 00:07:56.339 --> 00:07:58.800 is where the episode elevates from a tense crime 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:02.139 drama into a deep psychological tragedy. Walt 00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:05.060 outright. refuses to sell his share. And let's 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:07.720 look at the economics of meth because Walt justifies 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:10.339 this refusal with math. He claims that processing 00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:12.779 the methylamine into blue meth is worth quote 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:15.740 as much as three hundred million dollars. The 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.480 spread there is massive. Five million versus 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.560 three hundred million. On paper, purely looking 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:24.569 at potential yield. Walt is right. But the conflict 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:27.149 is that Declan wants all the methylamine to get 00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:29.470 the blue meth off the market. So because Walt 00:08:29.470 --> 00:08:32.610 refuses to sell his third, he effectively blocks 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:34.990 Mike and Jesse from selling their shares. He 00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:37.970 holds them hostage. But the real motivation isn't 00:08:37.970 --> 00:08:40.750 the 300 million. And we learn this in what I 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:42.750 think is the psychological key to the entire 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:46.129 episode, the gray matter backstory. Yes. The 00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:48.529 scene where Jesse visits Walt's house to try 00:08:48.529 --> 00:08:50.899 and change his mind. Walt compares this current 00:08:50.899 --> 00:08:54.059 buyout situation to a specific past trauma involving 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:57.440 his old company, Grey Matter Technologies. The 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.740 source gives us the specific details of this 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:02.570 revelation. Walt tells Jesse that he sold his 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:06.809 33 .3 % share in gray matter for a mere $5 ,000. 00:09:06.950 --> 00:09:09.210 Five grand. Five grand. He took the clean win 00:09:09.210 --> 00:09:11.389 back then. He took the quick buyout. And then 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:13.590 he watched that company go on to be worth, according 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:16.950 to the source, over $2 billion. That is just 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:19.629 a nauseating realization. He lost out on hundreds 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:22.809 of millions of dollars. It is a profound psychological 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:25.789 wound. So when Walt looks at this $5 million 00:09:25.789 --> 00:09:29.399 offer, he doesn't see a win. He sees himself 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:31.500 making the exact same mistake he made with Grey 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:34.220 Matter. He isn't chasing money anymore. He's 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:36.639 chasing the billions he feels he was robbed of 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.659 years ago. Exactly. He is trying to correct a 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:42.779 past mistake through the meth trade. And he tells 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:45.740 Jesse, quote, he doesn't see this as a drug business, 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:48.379 but as the building of an empire. Building of 00:09:48.379 --> 00:09:50.960 an empire? That line gives me chills. because 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:53.379 it shows he is so obsessed with his ego and this 00:09:53.379 --> 00:09:56.139 perceived legacy that he is willing to destroy 00:09:56.139 --> 00:09:58.340 everyone around him. Which leads us right into 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:01.539 the domestic side of things. Segment four, domestic 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:04.899 irony. Because while Walt is fantasizing about 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:07.769 empires, his homewife is a total nightmare. We 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:09.809 have to talk about the subplot involving Skylar 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:12.110 White and her sister Marie Schrader. Skylar is 00:10:12.110 --> 00:10:14.470 really suffering. The source describes a moment 00:10:14.470 --> 00:10:16.850 where a tearful Skylar is tempted to confess 00:10:16.850 --> 00:10:18.929 her criminal involvement to Marie. The pressure 00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:21.409 is just too much for her. But then we get this 00:10:21.409 --> 00:10:24.409 incredible twist. Marie stops her from confessing, 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:26.090 revealing that she already knows what's wrong. 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:29.950 But she is completely incorrect. Exactly. Marie 00:10:29.950 --> 00:10:32.409 believes Skylar's anguish is due to an affair 00:10:32.409 --> 00:10:35.570 with Ted Benaki. Which is such brilliant situational 00:10:35.570 --> 00:10:38.730 irony. The affair cover story, which is supposed 00:10:38.730 --> 00:10:41.230 to be this shameful secret, actually protects 00:10:41.230 --> 00:10:43.929 Skyler from revealing the much darker truth about 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:46.809 the drug empire. It isolates Skyler even further 00:10:46.809 --> 00:10:48.690 because her sister has already accepted a false 00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:51.789 narrative. And then we get the dinner scene. 00:10:51.929 --> 00:10:54.649 Oh, the dinner scene. Skyler arrives home while 00:10:54.649 --> 00:10:56.750 Jesse is there discussing the buyout and Walt 00:10:56.750 --> 00:10:59.190 insists that Jesse stay for dinner. The source 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:02.710 simply describes it as an awkward meal, which 00:11:02.710 --> 00:11:04.889 might be the understatement of the year. It really 00:11:04.889 --> 00:11:07.110 is. It brings these three distinct worlds together 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:09.330 at one table. You have the criminal world, the 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:12.110 domestic world and the victim, Skyler. And Walt 00:11:12.110 --> 00:11:14.950 is sitting there essentially using his own broken 00:11:14.950 --> 00:11:18.009 marriage to manipulate Jesse. He's trying to 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:20.190 show Jesse that the business is all he has left 00:11:20.190 --> 00:11:23.009 to make Jesse feel sorry for him. It is a master 00:11:23.009 --> 00:11:24.889 class in emotional manipulation. But despite 00:11:24.889 --> 00:11:27.029 all that, Mike is still out there and Mike wants 00:11:27.029 --> 00:11:29.690 his money, which shifts the episode into high 00:11:29.690 --> 00:11:32.769 gear. Segment five, cat and mouse. Walt versus 00:11:32.769 --> 00:11:36.330 Mike. The heist within a heist. Walt attempts 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:38.870 to physically hide the methylamine to prevent 00:11:38.870 --> 00:11:41.789 the sale entirely. But Mike is a seasoned pro. 00:11:41.990 --> 00:11:44.750 He anticipates the move. He catches Walt and 00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:47.889 restrains him in the Vimonos pest offices. Literally 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:50.570 zip ties his hands. And while Walt is tied up, 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:53.309 Mike executes this brilliant legal maneuver. 00:11:53.970 --> 00:11:56.090 He and Saul Goodman meet with Hank Schrader and 00:11:56.090 --> 00:11:59.009 Steve Gomez at the DEA. They actually serve an 00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:01.049 injunction to stop the surveillance of Mike. 00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:03.649 It is incredibly bold. And it works. It buys 00:12:03.649 --> 00:12:06.350 Mike the time he needs. But they underestimated 00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:09.149 Walt's desperation. The source outlines his escape. 00:12:09.549 --> 00:12:11.970 Walt manages to free himself, improvising a way 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:14.009 to burn through the zip ties. And he successfully 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:16.149 hides the methylamine before Mike gets back. 00:12:16.289 --> 00:12:18.190 Which brings us to the climax of the episode. 00:12:18.590 --> 00:12:20.909 Mike returns, finds the tank gone, and threatens 00:12:20.909 --> 00:12:23.029 to kill Walt. He has a gun right to his head. 00:12:23.350 --> 00:12:25.429 But Jesse interrupts the standoff. And Jesse 00:12:25.429 --> 00:12:27.730 offers a cliffhanger solution. He claims Walt 00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:30.049 has a plan to get everyone their money. Mike? 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:33.659 Jesse and Walt, a magical win -win scenario that 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:35.740 Walt has supposedly cooked up to save his own 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.419 life. It leaves the audience completely breathless. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.139 Now let's look at how the world reacted to this 00:12:41.139 --> 00:12:44.500 intense setup. Segment six, critical reception 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:47.100 and legacy. The numbers for this broadcast were 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:50.679 strong. We were looking at 2 .81 million viewers 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:54.799 and a five rating in the 18 to 49 demographic. 00:12:55.049 --> 00:12:57.289 The critical response was actually quite mixed, 00:12:57.429 --> 00:13:00.110 which is interesting. On the positive side, Donna 00:13:00.110 --> 00:13:02.809 Bowman from the A .V. Club gave it an A. She 00:13:02.809 --> 00:13:05.049 called it a standout episode for showing two 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:07.529 sides of the truth of Walt's life. Seth Emetan 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:10.330 at IGN also praised it, rating it an 8 .5 out 00:13:10.330 --> 00:13:12.750 of 10. He really liked how the show dealt with 00:13:12.750 --> 00:13:15.389 the emotional impact of the characters own messes. 00:13:15.429 --> 00:13:18.049 But then we have the mixed reviews. Sean T. Collins 00:13:18.049 --> 00:13:20.129 from Rolling Stone felt the episode stumbled. 00:13:20.529 --> 00:13:22.730 He criticized it for lacking compelling drama 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:25.159 where characters act within recognized reasonable 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:27.519 human behavior. Which is an interesting critique 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.960 and Alan Sepinwall at HitFix called it muddled 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.519 compared to previous episodes. He liked individual 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.059 components like Walt's improvised blowtorch escape 00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:37.480 and the awkward meal but felt they didn't entirely 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:39.480 work together. Why do you think it got those 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:41.820 mixed reactions? Well my analysis is that this 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:44.500 is a classic bridge episode. It's moving major 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.440 pieces around Mike leaving. the buyout offer, 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:49.980 rather than being a high -octane action episode. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:52.919 But it contains incredibly deep character work 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.120 regarding Walt's ego. Sometimes set -up episodes 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.440 feel a bit disjointed to critics in the moment. 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:00.909 That makes total sense. But the performances 00:14:00.909 --> 00:14:03.269 were undeniable. Aaron Paul was nominated for 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:05.389 a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor 00:14:05.389 --> 00:14:07.669 specifically for this episode. Very well deserved. 00:14:07.809 --> 00:14:11.350 And as for its legacy, in 2019, The Ringer ranked 00:14:11.350 --> 00:14:15.330 Buyout 42nd out of 62 total episodes. Which places 00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:17.809 it solid middle of the pack, but structurally 00:14:17.809 --> 00:14:19.649 it's foundational for everything that follows. 00:14:19.970 --> 00:14:22.129 So as we wrap up this deep dive, let's summarize 00:14:22.129 --> 00:14:24.509 the main takeaways. We witnessed the permanent 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:26.820 fracturing of the central team. the introduction 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:29.460 of the empire motivation as the core driver for 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:32.220 Walt, and a tense logistical chess match over 00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:34.299 the methylamine. It all connects back to the 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:37.399 concept of sunk cost and ego. We have to ask 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.440 ourselves, how often do we refuse a real win 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:43.440 like that $5 million because we are haunted by 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.899 a past loss, like the gray matter $2 billion? 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:48.220 It's a powerful lesson. And I want to leave you 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:50.639 with one final provocative thought based on the 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.360 source material. Walt sold his share of gray 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.139 matter for $5 ,000. If he had never sold that 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:00.519 share, he would be a legitimate legal billionaire 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:04.100 today. Right. So, is every single criminal action, 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:06.840 Walt takes simply a desperate, toxic attempt 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:09.159 to get back to a timeline that no longer exists? 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.399 Does the empire business actually exist, or is 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:14.059 it just a ghost story Walt tells himself to justify 00:15:14.059 --> 00:15:16.720 the nightmare he's created? That is the ultimate 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:18.620 question of the show. If it's a ghost story, 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.120 it's one of the very real body count. Absolutely. 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:23.240 Thank you for joining us on this deep dive. We 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:24.139 will catch you next time.