Breaking Bad Episode 504 ‘Fifty-One’: Heisenberg Rises

Heisenberg is back. At least sort of. The black-hatted baron of terror and meth dealings has been cultivating and brewing within Walt’s frame for several seasons now. We’re finally seeing its froth seep out of Walt’s pores, the bulk of the violent matter yet to come to surface.

The black hat makes several appearances in the episode, first when Walt spontaneously sells his SUV for a pair of new muscle cars for he and his son—which they get to wearing out side by side in the driveway, jubilantly.

At the end of the episode, when Mike does more than just suggest Lydia needs to “get got”—due to the notion that she might have planted a GPS device on a barrel of Methylamine to scare off the team of Mike/Jesse/Walt—Walt sits quietly, with the hat, until providing his assessment: “We’re just getting started. Nothing stops this train.”

Hank takes an uninvited visit to Madrigal and Lydia’s office. The DEA wants someone so she gives Hank, Ron. Ron is a Madrigal employee who has been helping facilitate the movement of the barrels of chemicals to Gus’ operation. Lydia essentially sets Ron up as a fall guy. Someone has to go and it isn’t going to be her.

As for the Walt/Skyler relationship drama, it goes like this: Walt hands her $20k. She’s unimpressed. “We have to make up for the $600k we lost,” he says in a passive aggressive manner. She suggests that she wants the kids out of the house. Walt brushes the notion off.

The next day is Walt’s birthday, and with Walt and Walt Jr. at the table, Skyler attempts to manipulate Walt’s bacon onto his plate as per tradition. She fails to, at the displeasure of Walt Jr., but Walt shrugs off the lazy celebration.

When Skyler attempts to stand behind her notion of getting the kids out of the house while Walt continues his business practices, Walt shuts down her feeble scenarios, menacingly stalking Skyler around the house until she cowers down and pleads to him that his cancer comes back to kill him. It’s all very deflating. Skyler’s heart is bleeding out and it’s unnerving to watch.

Elsewhere in Breaking Bad land…

➢ Marie told Hank that Skyler cheated on Walt. She remains the least likeable character on the show.

➢ Hank accepted a promotion from the DEA. He’s movin’ on up.

➢ Walt likes chocolate cake. He deserves it, damnit.

➢ The DEA and Hank are watching Mike. They believe him to be the one holding Gus’ guys “in line.” No one is squealing yet due to the “hazard pay.”

➢ It’s only been one year since Walt was diagnosed with cancer. Yeah, that doesn’t seem right to me either. Feels like it’s been longer.

➢ Skyler either tried to commit suicide, or she just wanted to chill in the deep end of the pool for a while. If it was suicide, points for style, but deductions for laziness…and for follow-through.

➢ Jesse gave Walt a watch for his b-day. It doesn’t seem like much of a thing, until Walt arrives home in the final scene, and shows it to a disassociated, jaded and disconnected Skyler—who’s chain smoking—and proclaims that he received the gift from a man that once pointed a gun between his eyes. In other words, she may hate him now, but she’ll eventually come around. How can you not love the creepy black hat?