Granite State (Breaking Bad)

"Granite State (Breaking Bad)"

"Granite State" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 61st and penultimate episode of the series. Written and directed by Peter Gould, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on September 22, 2013.

Plot

Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) is brought by the extractor, Ed (Robert Forster), to his base, an actual vacuum repair shop. There he finds Walt (Bryan Cranston), who also paid for extraction. Both have to stay together for a few days while their arrangements are made. Walt asks Saul to put him in contact with hitmen so he can kill Jack and his men and recover the other barrels of money, but Saul refuses. Saul tells Walt that by giving himself up, Skyler might still keep their house instead of losing it to the authorities. Walt can only think of doing so once his entire wealth is recovered and given to his family, though the police are monitoring any contact between them and Walt. With Saul's transportation ready, he leaves Walt and heads for Nebraska with a new identity.

Jack and his men raid Marie Schrader's house and find Jesse's (Aaron Paul) confession tape. After viewing it, they decide to kill Jesse, but Todd needs him to cook more meth, having taken a liking to Lydia. They then break into Walt's house and threaten Skyler not to reveal Lydia's existence, since Skyler could identify Lydia from her visit to the car wash, to which a shaken Skyler complies. Lydia visits Todd and wishes for a temporary hold to the operation because of the recent police heat, but she reneges after he reveals that the meth composition is now at 92% purity due to Jesse. Jesse later uses a paper clip to unlock his chains and tries to run from Jack's base of operations, but is captured. The gang punishes him by taking him to Andrea's house and shooting her as he watches horrified, while threatening to do the same to Brock if he disobeys again.

Walt is taken by Ed to his new location, a secluded cabin in the woods of northern New Hampshire, where he is told that he may be seen and caught if he chooses to leave his place and the two acres around it. Walt almost leaves the first day but relents. Some time later, in a disheveled state, Walt has a full beard and head of hair. Ed arrives on his monthly visit to drop off food and other supplies, including new glasses and a chemotherapy dose which Walt requested. Ed tells Walt that Skyler is now going by her maiden name and works as a part-time taxi dispatcher to earn money, while the family has moved out. There is an intense manhunt for Walt, while his vacated home has become something of a tourist attraction, but also vandalized due to its abandonment. A lonely Walt pays Ed to stay with him for an extra hour.

Later, Walt stuffs $100,000 into a cardboard box and then leaves the cabin grounds. He goes into a local bar and pays the barmaid to call Walt Jr.'s school pretending to be Marie, and Walt Jr. is pulled from class to answer the call. Walt tries reconciling with his son. To get around the police, Walt tells him that he is going to send a box with $100,000 to Walt Jr.'s friend Louis, but that he should take it and give it to Skyler. Though initially emotional, Walt Jr. is angered at a gift of money, especially due to the murder of Hank. Walt argues that everything he did cannot be for nothing, but Walt Jr. puts the phone down after angrily screaming that Walt should just die already.

Dejected, Walt uses the payphone to call the DEA, requesting to speak to the officer in charge of the investigation against him. He identifies himself as Walter White and leaves the phone off the hook so they can trace his location, before going over to the bar and ordering a drink. At that moment however he sees Elliott and Gretchen Schwartz being interviewed by Charlie Rose on TV. The two of them have made a multimillion dollar contribution to drug rehabilitation for the southwestern states. Rose asks whether this was a publicity stunt to make amends for their association with Walt, a co-founder of their company, whilst also mentioning that the supply of blue meth continues without him. Elliott and Gretchen respond by explicitly denying that Walt made any contribution besides the company name, which Walt is visibly angered by. The police arrive, but Walt is gone.

Production

On September 18, 2013, it was announced that both "Granite State" and "Felina" would run 75 minutes, including commercials (actual length, 53 minutes). The episode title refers to the nickname of New Hampshire, which is where Walt is relocated upon being given a new identity. Parts of the phone call of Walter and Walter Jr. needed to be reshot, because during the transport a Boeing 737 drove over the film.

Reception

The episode was watched by 6.6 million viewers on its original broadcast, becoming the most watched episode of the show's history, breaking the record set by the previous episode.

The episode received very positive reviews from critics, commenting on how the change of pace from the previous week's explosive episode allowed for a more contemplative narrative.

External links

• "Granite State" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Granite State" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode