Buried (Breaking Bad)

"Buried" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 56th overall episode of the series. Written by Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on August 18, 2013.

Plot

An elderly man, while collecting money which Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was seen throwing away in the previous episode, discovers him parked in a playground and absentmindedly spinning on a merry-go-round. Meanwhile, after his confrontation with Hank (Dean Norris), Walt (Bryan Cranston) frantically tries calling Skyler (Anna Gunn), but cannot get through as Hank has already reached her. Walt rushes to the car wash, but Skyler has already left to meet Hank at a diner. Hank, believing Skyler to be a victim, inadvertently reveals that Walt's cancer has returned and unsuccessfully tries seeking her help in building up a case against him while he still lives. Sensing that Hank has his own aims to control the case and have Walt swiftly brought to justice, Skyler panics, and leaves.

Walt goes to Saul Goodman's (Bob Odenkirk) office. Walt is angered that Skyler went to Hank before him, believing she may have confessed. When Saul asks whether Walt has considered having Hank killed, Walt sternly admonishes him, reminding him that Hank is family. Rushing to hide the money he has amassed, Walt has Kuby (Bill Burr) and Huell (Lavell Crawford) deliver it to him in container drums. He then drives to the desert and spends the whole day burying it.

Meanwhile, Marie (Betsy Brandt) has learned about Walt's criminality, and visits Skyler. After learning that Skyler knew about Walt’s activities prior to Hank being shot, Marie slaps her, despite a tearful Skyler's attempts to apologize. Marie accuses Skyler of wanting Walt to remain free and attempts to leave with Skyler’s daughter Holly in a heated confrontation. Hank enters the house and tells Marie to give Holly back, before they leave. In the car, Marie tells Hank that he must get Walt.

Walt encodes the GPS coordinates of the buried drums with a lottery ticket, which he posts on the refrigerator door upon his late return home. Unresponsive to Skyler's questioning, an exhausted Walt collapses. When he awakens, Walt offers to surrender himself on the condition that the money be kept for their children. Skyler instead shows her true stance on the situation when, as Hank possesses suspicions only, she tells Walt that they should simply keep quiet.

Lydia (Laura Fraser) confronts Declan (Louis Ferreira), now in charge of cooking and supplying meth, at his desert lab. Lydia addresses the falling standards of their operations since Walt left and is critical of the filthy working conditions, but Declan is not concerned and rejects her suggestion to hire Todd (Jesse Plemons), Walt's former protégé who she claims can cook his formula. Lydia then puts her plan into motion. Todd and his uncle Jack (Michael Bowen), with their associates, arrive and massacre Declan and his men in a one-sided shootout, before retrieving her as they take over.

Believing his career with the DEA will end if he reveals his unsubstantiated suspicion that Heisenberg is actually his brother-in-law, Hank needs evidence to apprehend Walt. Marie insists on putting the whole DEA on the case but expresses concern over how they might respond when learning that Hank did not share his revelation with them immediately. Hank returns to work, where Agent Steven Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) reveals that Jesse is currently detained and under questioning by Detectives Kalanchoe and Munn (Gonzalo Menendez and Jason Douglas). Hank, realizing Jesse's connection to Walt, negotiates with them for time with Jesse alone, before entering the interrogation room.

Production

Walt's burial scene is on Navajo land, the same spot where Walt and Jesse did their first batch in the RV.^[1] The GPS coordinates displayed on Walt's device and on the Lotto ticket are in fact the coordinates of the Albuquerque studio location where Breaking Bad is filmed.^[1]

Dedication

The episode is dedicated to Thomas Schnauz, Sr., father of the writer of this episode.^[2]

Music

The song played over Walt's digging is Chancha Vía Circuito's remix of Argentine José Larralde's "Quimey Neuquén".^[3]

Reception

Viewership

The episode was watched by 4.77 million people on its original broadcast,^[4] down from the series-high 5.92 million of the previous episode.

Reviews

The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.^[5] TVLine gave Anna Gunn an honorable mention in their "Performer of the Week" feature for her performance in this episode.^[6]

Accolades

Thomas Schnauz was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for this episode.^[7]

References

External links

• "Buried" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Buried" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Buried" at TV.com

Breaking Bad
Characters	Walter White Skyler White Jesse Pinkman Hank Schrader Saul Goodman Gustavo Fring Mike Ehrmantraut
Episodes	Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5
Related shows	Talking Bad Metástasis Better Call Saul
Related articles	Awards and nominations
Category