Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 6 Recap: Buyout

It looked like curtains for Mike Ermantraut. Between pressure from the DEA, the need to keep paying former associates to keep quiet, and of course the escalating bravado of Walter White, Mike recognized that it was time to cut his losses and get out.

But as Mike found out, that’s easier said than done. When you’re dealing with Walter, the way out is never simple. And as Sunday’s episode showed, when you push a desperate man, he’ll do desperate things.

Mike sees the writing on the wall. Listening in to Hank and Gomez strategize the DEA’s continuing surveillance, he knows it’s only a matter of time till they catch him. Ever on the money, Hank points out that even the most careful criminals eventually screw up. Mike knows this is true –after all, he’s been in this business for a long time. He knows the pitfalls, and he’s getting out before he falls into one.

Mike’s not the only one who wants out. Jesse, too, is deeply, emotionally compromised by the death of the kid on the dirtbike. For Jesse, the high of last week’s successful train heist violently bottoms out. He wants out not to save his hide, but to save his soul.

But the gears of Walt’s machine are turning, they have a momentum that Mike and Jesse are helpless to stop. Their plan to sell the methylamine to a competitor is unsuccessful—without Walter’s tonnage in the mix, the deal to sell falls apart. They’re left with only one option: force Walter to sell.

In the aftermath of the kid’s death, Walt is faced with a decision. His choice to either disavow or commend the murder places him on one side of the line or the other. This is the moment that Walt declares what kind of leader he is. In Walt’s words, he’s in this for the legacy: he’s building an empire. The shooting could be a fluke – a horrible accident perpetrated by an uninitiated member. Or, it could be an emerging gestalt, the MO of a psychopath who won’t stop at anything to get what he wants.

Shackled to a radiator by Mike, Walter’s will to cook was never more clear than as he burned his wrist with an electrical current in order to free himself. A less obsessed person might consider $5 million a fair deal and choose to walk away. Considering all that Walt’s been through, it would be the wise move. But for Walt, walking away isn’t an option. It’s not even on the table.

And so he sets out to get what he wants. First, he manipulates Jesse. After all, Walt’s seen Jesse fall down the rabbit hole before, he’s seen his conscience rear up and devour his entire being. This is a big problem, because for Walt, there’s no time for moralizing questions of right and wrong.

The chilling dismantlement of the bike harkens back to the first gory use of the acid in season one – and its disastrous results. It’s also a stark reminder of how far Walter has come from making cheese sandwiches for his hostages. The Walt we now know, who makes a show of concern for both his partners and victims, lacks real empathy. His real feelings are betrayed not in his words but in his actions – specifically, in his light-hearted whistle, the tell-tale sign of a man without a care in the world, one who doesn’t have the weight of a child’s death on his conscience.

Walt doesn’t understand the relationship of power and respect. Mike, on the other hand, is the intimidator Walt wishes he was, and with a tenth of the effort earns the respect Walt so desperately wants.  He can’t even control Skyler, who, despite her promise to be “whatever kind of partner you want me to be”, brazenly flaunts her contempt of Walter in front of dinner guest Jesse.

Left with precious few options, Walter needs Jesse on his side to even have a prayer against Mike.

Mike, with hours ticking down till the DEA come knocking on his door, needs an escape plan.

So what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?

We’ll find out next week.