Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 7: “Say My Name”

Poor Mike. Mike knew something like this could happen; he could see it coming in the second episode of the season, when he referred to Walt as a ticking time bomb whom he wanted to be far away from when he exploded. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to realize that Walt’s fuse is best lit by a wounded pride. Or perhaps he realizes it, but thinks that he’s impervious to the blast if there are no cops around. Twice this episode, Walt expects Mike to thank him when the two are about to part ways: once for getting Mike his $5 million at the start of the episode, and then again at the end, for tipping Mike off that he is about to be arrested and for retrieving Mike’s “go” bag. In the first instance, Walt’s request for Mike’s thanks is somewhat insincere: both of them know there will be no love lost, and Walt is still high off of his impressive negotiation with Declan (more on that scene below). Mike simply stares at Walt with his mackerel eyes and reiterates the need for Walt to remove the bug from Hank’s office, and Walt smugly nods his head and walks away. At the end of the episode, however, things play out differently.

Again, Walt wants Mike’s thanks, this time in the form of the names of the nine guys in prison who might/will flip when the money stops flowing. Mike refuses, and when Walt pushes back, Mike unleashes his righteous frustration on Walt, blaming Walt for (literally) blowing up the good thing they had going with Gus: “We had everything we needed and it all ran like clockwork. You could have shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed. It was perfect. But no, you just had to blow it up, you and your pride and your ego. You just had to be the man. If you’d done your job, known your place, we’d all be fine right now.” We know that Walt will be unable to tolerate this dressing down, and all during Mike’s diatribe, I was anxious over what Walt would do as Mike lit Walt’s fuse (aided in no small part by Walt finding Mike’s gun when he first picks up the “go” bag). My anxieties were realized when, in a fit of rage, Walt gets the gun he took from Mike’s “go” bag and shoots Mike in the gut.

The scene is shot and performed beautifully: every single word out of Mike’s mouth drips with contempt. When Mike finishes lambasting him, Walt exits screen right, and then reenters the frame, his posture hunched over, his stride elongated. His body language screams: “not in control of my actions.” Once shot, Mike doesn’t look stupidly at his wound, but immediately tries to drive away. Even as he’s about to die, the writers still imbue Mike with the smarts to outlast other characters. When Walt approaches the car, Mike’s already gone, having escaped into the reeds by a creek. Walt stumbles after him, waving the gun around, but for naught: Mike knows he’s near his end, and simply sits down, trying to die a dignified death, and trying not to let Walt’s presence sully it too much. It’s a masterfully written, directed, and performed end to his character and the episode .

It also made me wonder: didn’t Mike know what he was saying would set off Walt? Perhaps Mike knew, but just didn’t care, or couldn’t resist telling off such an arrogant son of a bitch. Or perhaps Mike’s lengthy experience as a tough guy leads him to believe that there is nothing Walt could possibly do to him. For Mike, Walt will always be the pathetic guy that Mike once punched off a bar stool (Walt was armed then too, if I recall correctly). Sadly for Mike, and for those of us who’ve enjoyed his increased presence over the first half of this final season, his ability to know exactly how to infuriate Walt was not accompanied by an ability to know when not to needle him. Go in peace, Mike. Your stoic cynicism and practicality will be missed.

As for the rest of the episode, Walt does deserve some credit in the opening scene: he slides perfectly into the ruthless drug lord persona in his negotiation with Declan, leader of the crew from Phoenix. Walt is playing with somewhat of a weak hand here: he has no distribution, he’s placing himself in a risky position by revealing himself, and his only leverage is the prospect of a better product and slightly more profit (in the grand scheme of things). Really, Declan’s life would be made much less complicated by simply killing Walt and taking over his share of the market entirely. Nevertheless, Walt wins Declan over partly through his lucrative offer, but more significantly, through the audacity of his demeanor. “Say my name” indeed. In Declan, Walt is getting something he never received from Gus or Mike: respect and admiration, perhaps even awe.

Additionally, Jesse finally wises up in this episode and resists Walt’s manipulation. Walt pulls out all the stops in his attempt to get Jesse to keep cooking with him: he tries praise when he proposes Jesse start his own lab (such praise would have been enough for Jesse a couple of seasons ago); he tries to appeal to the craft of cooking meth; he tries to belittle Jesse, suggesting he’ll just turn back to using meth; he tries to sympathize with Jesse’s guilt over Drew’s death; he makes empty promises about an end to the violence; he tries to punish Jesse by withholding the $5 million he’s owed, and he tries to convince Jesse that he’s just as morally corrupt as Walt. Jesse resists every step of the way, and even pushes back, calling Walt on his bullshit empty promises, and ultimately walking away from both Walt and the money with a haunting smile on his face, one born of the realization that Walt has no more hold over him, and that this is driving Walt nuts (I believe Jesse when he says he’s willing to give up the money if it means getting away from Walt). The whole scene is a wonderful showdown, resulting in the power finally shifting from Walt to Jesse, or at the very least, in Walt’s losing control of Jesse.

In other developments, viewers should wear warm clothing while watching from now on, as things have gotten even chillier between Walt and Skyler. Keep your eye out for icebergs. Walt’s refusal to answer any of Skyler’s very specific, very prescient questions about the hidden methylamine at the car wash only further fuels her anger (or hatred) toward him. They’re smart questions too: Walt is only endangering them by refusing to give up his share of the methylamine, as evidenced by his need to hide it. Later in the episode, at dinner, Walt tries to talk to Skyler about his starting to work with Todd, and she literally gets up and leaves as he begins speaking. It’s a pale shadow of the contempt she showed for him in last week’s dinner episode, but here it’s not for show (also, note how Walt’s meal is frozen food – he peels off the plastic wrap that covers it when he sits down). It also leads to a nice edit: we cut immediately from this scene to Walt is once again bawling in Hank’s office, this time in order to remove the bug, rather than place it.

Other thoughts:

- The episode had a nice reveal when Walt suits up to cook the latest batch. We assume he’s alone, so it’s somewhat of a surprise to see that he’s enlisted Todd as his new apprentice/partner. Todd is only too eager to learn and to please. In a way, he's a perfect match for Walt, since Walt wants to be admired and looked up to. Moreover, Todd even manages to impress Walt by refusing to talk about getting paid until he starts doing a good job.

- I liked the respectful goodbye between Jesse and Mike at the start of the episode. Mike knows Walt is going to try to suck Jesse back in, and is concerned that Jesse will succumb, but is no longer in a position to do anything about it.

This week in gorgeous Breaking Bad imagery:

- Just about everything in the meeting between Walt and Declan
- The crane up to an over head shot of Mike as he removes the well covering when he disposes of his guns, as well as the shot looking up from the well as Mike drops his guns down it.
- Wrist-cam! We’ve had a shovel-cam in the past, and but never before a wrist-cam. It’s perhaps the most fun part of the jazzy montage of the non-Saul lawyer making dead drops for his nine men in prison, as well as for his granddaughter Kaylee.

- I love that Saul is upset by Mike’s using a different lawyer for the dead drops, apparently not understanding that had Mike turned to him, he would be in custody instead (perhaps – or perhaps Saul would have come up with a better, safer dead drop system). I also like that he refers to the other lawyer as a clown, when the color of Saul’s suits are the most clownish of any other character on the show.

- Another nice Saul touch: he has over a dozen phones rattling around in his desk drawer.