Abiquiu (Breaking Bad)

"Abiquiu"
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 11
Directed by Michelle MacLaren
Written by John Shiban
Thomas Schnauz
Original air date May 30, 2010
Running time 47 minutes
Guest actors

"Abiquiu" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 31st overall episode of the series. It was written by John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren.

It originally aired on AMC in the United States on May 30, 2010.

Plot

In a flashback, Jesse and Jane visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum where they view Georgia O'Keeffe's painting My Last Door which depicts O'Keeffe's door in her home in the northern New Mexico town of Abiquiú. The two debate the meaning of the painting, before Jane concludes that O'Keeffe was simply trying to make a good feeling last.

Hank works with a physical therapist at the hospital, but each step he attempts is agonizingly painful, requiring every bit of his strength, and he ends the session in frustration. Privately, Marie gives Skyler the first therapy bill.

At the lab, Walter insists on personally weighing a batch of meth rather than allowing Jesse to do so, given Jesse's earlier attempts to steal small quantities. When Jesse protests, Walt reminds him that the lab might be bugged. Later, at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, Badger and Skinny Pete confess to Jesse that they can't bring themselves to sell his meth to recovering addicts. To prove to them how easy it is, Jesse starts a conversation with Andrea, a newcomer to the meetings.

When Walt gives Skyler a check to pay for Hank's medical bills, she admits her concerns about the sensibility of paying directly with drug money, insisting that it must be "unimpeachable". Walt tries to ease her worries by taking her to meet Saul Goodman, but Skyler is unimpressed by his flippant personality and his scheme to launder Walt's money through a laser tag franchise, which she argues wouldn't make sense for Walt to buy. Driving home, Walt tells Skyler that his involvement in the meth trade is ongoing, and though he is safe, he can't quit. Still seeking a more believable business through which to launder the money, Skyler stops at the car wash where Walt used to work, saying, "This is what we buy".

Jesse begins a romance with Andrea, all while hyping the blue meth, but his sales pitch is interrupted when Andrea's five-year-old son Brock and her grandmother return home. Later, Jesse learns that Andrea also has a younger brother named Tomás, though Andrea refuses to talk about him.

Walt brings Saul to the car wash and suggests buying it instead of the laser tag. Saul maintains that any story will work if you believe it enough, and explains that what's more important is that the laser tag comes with an owner who can be "trusted completely" to ignore Walt's criminal activities, something the car wash is lacking. At home, Walt describes to Skyler the need for an accomplice to manage the money laundering, so Skyler proposes that she fill that role at the car wash. When Walt objects, Skyler insists on being involved and reveals that she never actually filed the divorce papers, since married couples cannot be compelled to testify against one another.

Back at her house, Andrea asks Jesse if he's holding any of the blue meth he had mentioned, but Jesse quickly criticizes her for wanting to get high, now that he knows she has a kid. Angry, Andrea defends her good intentions and her commitment to sparing Brock the fate of Tomás, who joined a local gang as a child. Just ten years old, Tomás was made to shoot a rival dealer on a nearby street corner as part of an initiation rite. As Andrea tells the story, Jesse realizes it sounds like a description of Combo's murder just a few months ago.

Gus approaches Walt with an invitation to dinner at his home. Walt accepts, though initially confused, but Gus simply offers to help him avoid some of the mistakes he had made himself when beginning his career in the drug trade. His first piece of advice: "Never make the same mistake twice".

The next day, Jesse goes to the corner where Combo was shot and sees Tomás riding his bike. He asks to buy meth, and Tomás signals a car to approach, inside of which are the two dealers who had ordered Combo's murder. Jesse pays them and Tomás hands him a bag of the same blue meth he cooked in the lab - confirming that the dealers work for Gus. Furious, Jesse silently stalks away.

Production

The episode was written by John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz, and directed by Michelle MacLaren; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 30, 2010.

Critical reception

The episode was critically acclaimed. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.9 out of 10 commenting: "Ah damn. Breaking Bad has been one of the few shows on television to have amazing story arcs and characters, not just in each episode, but in the series as a whole. Abiquiu was a great example of this."[1]

References

  1. ↑ Amitin, Seth (June 1, 2010). "Breaking Bad: "Abiquiu" Review". IGN. Retrieved December 23, 2014.

External links