"ABQ" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of Breaking Bad and the twentieth episode altogether. It is also the season finale.

Summary

Teaser

In a continuation of the flashforward from previous episodes, workers in hazmat suits load the items collected from Walt's pool, including the charred, one-eyed pink teddy bear, into the back of a van labeled OMI on the door and NTSB on the roof. As the van drives off, the camera pans up over the White residence to reveal two giant pillars of black smoke rising in the distance over Albuquerque.

Act I

Inside his apartment, Jesse frantically tries to resuscitate Jane with chest compressions, who choked on her own vomit overnight. Distraught and panicking, Jesse calls Walt, unaware of his role in facilitating Jane's death, who assures him everything will be okay. Cuddling Holly in his arms, Walt assures Jesse, "I know who to call."

A short time later, a man named Mike Ehrmantraut drives to the apartment, having been sent there by Saul. Mike gathers Jesse's drug paraphernalia and cash, clearing away all the evidence. Smacking the shell-shocked Jesse into cognizance, Mike coaches him on how to respond to medical investigators when they arrive to collect the body and instructs him to not disclose that Mike was there.

At the White residence, Skyler and Walt Jr. are excited by the apparent donations being donated through SaveWalterWhite.com, unaware that the donations are in fact Walt's own laundered drug money. Skyler chides her husband for seeming unenthused.

Meanwhile, Jane's father Donald drives to the duplex, leaving a voicemail warning her to be ready to go to rehab. However, when he arrives, Donald is distraught to find an ambulance on the scene. He immediately realizes what has happened.

Act II

Inside Jesse's apartment, Donald watches silently as medics move Jane's body into a cadaver bag. Jesse is being interviewed by the medical investigator in the next room, following Mike's rehearsed simple script. After answering a few questions on Jane's personal details, Donald notices Jane's "Apology Girl" sketch and takes it, with not even a glance towards a guilt-ridden Jesse.

At the DEA field office, Hank hits up his co-workers for donations to Walt's surgery fund. He then briefs the team on Combo's murder. Hank questions how a "dipshit, wannabe banger" with no street rep was dealing professional-grade meth, while "Blue Sky" has disappeared from New Mexico yet has begun to appear elsewhere around the Southwest. He maintains that Heisenberg is still at large and most likely in Albuquerque, concluding that "Almost as if somebody wised up, stopped shitting where they eat."

While Skyler and Junior continue monitoring the donation counter on SaveWalterWhite.com, Walt calls Saul and demands to know where he can find Jesse. Mike drives Walt to a dilapidated trap house known as "The Shooting Gallery." Against Mike's advice, Walt enters and locates a passed-out Jesse. As Walt insists on getting him help, Jesse begins to sob in the belief that he killed Jane. A saddened Walt is conscience-stricken by Jesse's anguish.

Act III

A grieving Donald, talking over the phone with Jane's mother, visits Jane's apartment to find a suitable dress to put on Jane's body for her funeral. Meanwhile, as Junior continues watching the donation counter, the incessant dinging sound causes Walt to tells him to turn down the sound on the computer, claiming it's disturbing Holly. Skyler announces that, courtesy of Marie, the Albuquerque Journal will be interviewing Junior about his website. Later, Marie arranges for a local news station to interview Walt's family for a segment. An agonized Walt can barely fight back tears of guilt as Junior extols his virtues.

At the DEA office, Hank's boss, ASAC George Merkert, introduces him to three local businessmen who are donating to the agency, one of whom is Gus Fring. Noticing Walt's photo on Hank's donation jar, Gus asks Hank about him and learns that Walt is his brother-in-law who is fighting lung cancer. Gus slips a donation into the jar. Elsewhere, Walt takes Jesse to Serenity, a high-end rehab center. Sitting in a bathrobe by the pool, a despairing Jesse says, "What you said in the desert. I get it... what you meant. I deserve whatever happens."

In the hospital, a nurse administers a relaxant to prep Walt for surgery. As the relaxant takes effect, Skyler asks Walt where his cell phone is so she can hold it for him. "Which one?" he groggily responds. Skyler is crestfallen as Walt is taken into surgery.

Act IV

Several weeks after the operation, Walt and Skyler visit Dr. Delcavoli and Dr. Bravenec, who tell them that the operation was a success. Choosing her words carefully, Skyler asks whether Walt can now live independently, to which Dr. Bravenec says that he can.

Meanwhile, Donald returns to work for the first time since Jane's death. It is revealed he works as an air traffic controller.

Upon returning home, Skyler tells Walt that she and the kids are going to stay with Hank and Marie for the weekend and that she wants Walt out of the house by the time she returns. As she packs up her things, Skyler reveals that Walt's lie about his second cell phone led her to unravel all of his other lies, learning that Gretchen and Elliott did not pay for his cancer treatment, that he faked his "fugue state" after going missing, and that he never visited his mother or told her that he had cancer. Walt follows Skyler outside to the driveway, promising to tell her the truth if she agrees to stay. "Whatever it is, I'm afraid to know," she replies before driving away.

At the air traffic control center, Donald corrects himself after identifying a charter plane, JM21, as "Jane Mike Two One" instead of "Juliet Mike Two One", having been momentarily being distracted with grief. Sweating, Donald keeps talking — trying to correct his error — but his radar screen shows JM21 on a collision course with a commercial airliner, Wayfarer 515.

As Walt sits ruminating next to his pool, he is suddenly startled by a massive explosion overhead. Walt looks up to see smoke and fire resulting from the collision of the two aircraft. Mouth agape, he watches debris fall from the sky, and witnesses a pink blur splashing into the pool—the half-burnt teddy bear. The screen transitions to the black and white of the flashforwards depicted throughout the season, as the teddy bear sinks to the bottom of the pool.

Official Photos

Trivia

• Mike Ehrmantraut makes his first appearance in this episode. The scene was originally written for Saul Goodman, but because Bob Odenkirk was unavailable to film the scene due to his obligations to How I Met Your Mother, Vince Gilligan created Mike as a new character who serves as "the cleaner," not knowing how popular the character would eventually become.
• The three 'black & white - Pink Teddy Bear' cold opens from previous episodes are reprised in sequence at the start of this episode. However the second of these, from "Down", omits the section where the pair of glasses, reminiscent of Walt's, is shown in the evidence pile.
• When Hank brings up Walt's donations in the DEA office, Walt's photo is positioned under the "WANTED" sign on the whiteboard, a possible nod to being right under their nose, and his later status as a fugitive.
• This final episode of season 2 reveals that the teddy bear was most likely from a young passenger on the plane, with the two bodies also being former airline passengers.
• This episode ties in together the titles of the other 3 episodes which also had the cold open of the teddy bear, which, when adjoined, reads : "Seven Thirty-Seven" - "Down" - "Over" - ABQ, with ABQ being the abbreviation for Albuquerque (also the IATA code for Albuquerque International Sunport), and '737' the plane model number of the Boeing that went down.
• In the podcast for this episode, Vince Gilligan mentions that the photograph on Jane's bedroom wall is a photo of his favorite poet, not Jane's mother which most people assumed. The woman in the photo is Elizabeth Bishop.
  • Earlier in the episode Jane's dad reveals that Jane's mother's maiden name was Bishop as well.
  • The fact that Jane has a famous artist’s portrait hanging on her wall, but none of her own family, seems to suggest her strained, tempestuous, relationship with them.
• Walt's pink sweater parallels with the arrival of the pink teddy bear.
• This is the first episode that Walt does not have a mustache, as he has a goatee. This goatee remains until "Granite State".
• While Donald is searching through Jane's closet, it is possible to see, in the top right corner of Jane's painted wall mural, a floating/falling pink teddy bear. As well, the central motif of a 'floating girl' is reminiscent of someone falling through the sky. It could also symbolize, both, Jane 'floating' whilst in a drugged state & her final fate/death.
• In the midst of Skyler's unpacking of Walt's lies, she mentions that she called Walt's mother. This is the second of only three times that Walt's mother has been mentioned in the series: in "4 Days Out", in this episode, and in "Salud" during Walt's speech to Walter Jr. about his only real memory of his father.
• When Hank says "Anyone, anyone, Bueller?", this is a reference to the comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Production

Credits

Filming Locations

• Crack House - Walt and Mike go to a crack house to pickup Jesse. The house was located at the corner of Silver Ave & Cornell Dr. Nowadays, the house is no longer there, likely demolished.
• Rehab Center - Jesse attends a rehab center, where he is visited by Walt. The rehab center is actually the hot tub area of the Isleta Resort & Casino/ Hard Rock Casino located just outside Albuquerque NM.
• Hospital - Walt is admitted into the hospital for his surgery. The crosswalk, entrance, and building are shown. The building used is located at Gibson Blvd & Palomas.

Featured Music

• "Unknown Track #5" by Unknown Artist (Music is heard from Flynn’s headphones as he checks his website for more donations)
• "Afterglow" by Steve Gorn (in the sweat lodge at Jesse's rehab center)
• "Life" by Chocolate Genius Inc. (during Walt's surgery)

Errors

• The item that falls into Walt's swimming pool moves at very high speed and impacts the water with great violence. This would be characteristic of a dense and heavy object, not a plush toy.
• In the air traffic control room, a worker can be heard saying "runway seventeen". Air traffic controllers are required to speak each number individually for the sake of clarity, so the worker should have said "runway one-seven".
• The NTSB workers clearing the airplane crash debris are wearing North 5400 full-face respirators, but have no filtration cartridges installed.
• Jane's dead body can be very visibly seen breathing when Mike comes in to clean up the scene.
• Mike seems to have the purple gloves in his hands when he left Jesse's house but he clearly put them in the bag before.
• In Act IV, Walt sports a new goatee. This facial hair is visibly fake, as one can clearly see mesh patterns.^[1]

Memorable Quotes

Mike: "Any other drugs in the house? Think hard. Your freedom depends on it. [Jesse shakes his head] What about guns? You got any guns in the house? [Jesse shakes his head] Here's your story: You woke up. You found her. That's all you know. Say it. Say it, please. "I woke up. I found her. That's all I know." [Jesse begins to cry. Mike slaps him] Say it. "I woke up. I found her. That's all I know.""

Jesse: "I woke up. I found her. That's all I know."

Mike: "Again."

Jesse: "I woke up. I found her. That's all I know."

Mike: "Again. Again."

Jesse: "I woke up. I found her. That's all I know. I woke up. I found her. That's all I know."

Mike: "Once you call it in, the people who show up will be with the Office of Medical Investigations. That's primarily who you'll talk to. Police officers may arrive, they may not. Depends on how busy a morning they're having. Typically OD's are not a high priority call. There's nothing here to incriminate you so I'd be amazed if you got placed under arrest. However, if you do, you say nothing. You tell them you just want your lawyer and you call Saul Goodman. And do I need to state the obvious? I was not here. You put on a long sleeve shirt and cover those track marks on your arm. [hands Jesse a phone] Count down from twenty and then you dial. Hang tough. You're in the home stretch."

―Mike dealing the Jane situation.

---

Walt: "Sky? What do you think? Doesn't [Walt's goatee] look so bad, right? (comes into the bedroom) What are you doing?"

Skyler: "I'm going to Hank and Marie's for the weekend."

Walt: "Since when?"

Skyler: "I'm taking the baby with me. Marie will pick up Walter Jr. from school. You'll have the house to yourself for two days. I want you to pack your things and leave."

Walt: "Why would I do that?"

Skyler: "Hank has offered to help. You shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting."

Walt: "Skyler."

Skyler: "I want you gone by Monday morning. I want— I want you gone."

Walt: "Okay. Can you at least tell me why?"

Skyler: "Because you're a liar, Walt. Two cell phones, after all."

―Skyler wants Walt to leave the house.

---

Skyler: "Before your surgery, I asked if you had packed your cell phone, and you said, "Which one?""

Walt: "When? Skyler, I was medicated. I mean, I could have said the world was flat."

Skyler: "You know what I think? I think you accidentally told the truth."

Walt: "Honey, we have been over this. Asked and answered, right?"

Skyler: "Then it got me thinking again about all the strange behavior. Not the least of which was the disappearance. Out of my mind with worry, calling hospitals, checking the morgue. (...) Your fugue state? I had to believe that, didn't I? I had to find a way. I mean, who would lie about such a thing?"

Walt: "You tell me, Skyler. You tell me exactly what it is you think I'm lying about. (Skyler laughs in his face) What? I'm having an affair. Is that what you think?"

Skyler: "Yeah. For the last few weeks."

Walt: "With whom? Who am I having an affair with?"

Skyler: "Well, my guess was Gretchen Schwartz. Something was going on between you. I just knew."

Walt: "Jesus. Skyler. Get me a Bible to swear on, if that's what it takes. I am not having an affair with Gretchen!"

Skyler: "I know. I know you're not. Because I asked her. It really took me forever to get in touch with her. She was ducking my calls for weeks. So I finally left a message: "What exactly is going on between you and my husband?" I thought that'd get her attention, and it did. So she called me back, and she finally told me. The money for your treatment... Gretchen and Elliott didn't give you a dime. They paid for nothing. You refused every offer they made you. But that didn't make sense because I checked with Delcavoli and the hospital and not including your surgery we're nearly paid up. Over $100,000. Out of where? Out of thin air?"

―Skyler reveals Walt's lies.

---

Skyler: "(whispering to Walt) But then... I called your mother. Yeah. Oh, thanks for that too. But I thought, you know, maybe she has some money that I don't... know about. Maybe she contributed. It's possible. And it turns out that not only is the money not from your mother, she didn't even know that you have cancer. You never went to see her. I— I dropped you at the airport. I picked you up. You were gone for four days, and... yet she swears that you were never there. (Walt tries to hug Skyler, but she raises her hands up) Lies on top of lies on-on top of lies. (Skyler quits the room)"

Walt: "Skyler."

Skyler: "Could you... just once... do me the courtesy of not denying it?"

―Walt listens to Skyler expressing disgust on his lies.

---

Walt: "Skyler. Skyler, don't do this, please. I... Skyler, please don't go. (Walt opens the car) If I tell you the truth, will you stay? Stay, and I will tell you everything."

Skyler: "Whatever it is, I'm afraid to know."

―Walt tries to make amends with his wife, but fails.

Notes