Phoenix (Breaking Bad)

"Phoenix"
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 12
Directed by Colin Bucksey
Written by John Shiban
Original air date May 24, 2009 (2009-05-24)
Running time 47 minutes
Episode chronology

"Phoenix" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the nineteenth overall episode of the series.

Plot summary

Walt just barely delivers the inventory of drugs to Gus in time but misses his daughter's birth. He arrives at the hospital, where he finds that Ted was the one who drove Skyler to the hospital. At Jesse's apartment, Jane wakes up when her father, Donald, calls because she is late for a rehab meeting. At lunch afterwards, she does not mention that she has started using heroin again, and acts like she does not know Jesse when her father asks about him. Jesse, seeing the aftermath of Walt's search, at first believes he was robbed, but then listens to the phone messages Walt left. Jesse shows up at Walt's classroom to ask for his share of the money, which Walt refuses because he believes it will further his addiction. "I will not contribute to your overdose," he states, promising to pay Jesse when he knows that he and his partner are clean.

Later, Jesse and Jane have taken another shot of heroin and have passed out in Jesse's apartment. As he passes out Jesse complains about Walt holding out on him, telling Jane that he is owed $480,000. Donald calls Jane again when she is late to the rehab meeting, and she rushes to get up to meet him. Unbeknownst to Jane, Donald is waiting directly outside. Seeing her emerging from Jesse's door, he barges in and finds evidence of them both using heroin. He is furious that she has relapsed and calls the police, but Jane promises she will enter rehab the next day. He relents and gives her another chance. Meanwhile, Walter Jr. has put up a website so that people can donate to Walt's surgery. Walt does not want to accept charity, especially because he earned the money to pay for his treatment, but cannot reveal its source to his family. Saul Goodman tells him that he will contact a hacker friend of his to make the money look like it is coming from computers all over the continents, in small amounts that will not raise suspicions.

Jane calls Walt to blackmail him into giving Jesse his share, despite Jesse's misgivings about possibly being seen as a snitch. Walt delivers the money to Jesse and Jane, who are ecstatic and talk of getting clean, but still feel a strong pull to use their remaining heroin. Walt goes to a bar to unwind, where he unknowingly sits next to Donald. The two start talking about Phoenix's discovery of water on Mars and about Donald's daughter and Walt's "nephew," voicing their frustrations over trying to help people who won't do what's good for them. Donald makes the observation that you can never give up on your family, because you don't have anyone else. Motivated by Donald's words, Walt goes back to Jesse's house to talk to him, but finds him and Jane passed out from heroin use. While Walt is trying to wake Jesse, he inadvertently knocks Jane onto her back; she starts to choke on her own vomit. Walt rushes to help, but then he lets her die while Jesse lays passed out next to her. Before leaving the building, Walt begins to cry.

Production

The episode was written by John Shiban, and directed by Colin Bucksey. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 24, 2009.

Critical reception

The episode was well received by critics and is generally considered to be an important entry in the series given its plot developments. Todd Vanderwerff, recapping the episode for Slant, noted that it was "a beautifully rich and layered work about the various ways parents and children disappoint each other."[1] Donna Bowman, writing for The A.V. Club, gave the episode an A rating, commenting: "it is perhaps the single best episode to date in one of the best shows television has ever produced."[2] Alan Sepinwall praised Bryan Cranston's performance in the episode's climactic scene and drew comparisons to "Kennedy and Heidi," an episode of The Sopranos.[3] Seth Amitin at IGN gave the episode an 8.9/10 and opined that the episode was effective at increasing the dramatic stakes leading into the season's finale, stating that "everything about this episode was used to push tension one step further for the finale."[4]

References

  1. ↑ Vanderwerff, Todd. "Breaking Bad Recap Season 2, Episode 12, "Phoenix"". Slant. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Bowman, Donna (May 24, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Phoenix"". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan. "Breaking Bad, "Phoenix": There's no real way to dust for vomit". What's Alan Watching. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  4. ↑ Amitin, Seth. "BREAKING BAD: "PHOENIX" REVIEW". IGN. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
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