2.11 Mandala

Summary and spoilers

Walt and Jesse and their gang of pushers have been enjoying a long run with good sales and no conflicts, but that has ended. A young boy kills Kombo (Jesse’s friend and foot soldier). This was the offshoot of trying to sell more and moving into new territory – plus the word on the street now is that everyone knows Jesse did not kill a man with an ATM.

Kombo’s death causes Skinny Pete to quit too, and Badger has already left town. This is bad news for Walt. He has just decided to have a lobectomy, an operation that, if successful, would rid his body of cancer. The cost will be close to 200 thousand dollars.

Walt and the depressed Jesse meet with Saul. Saul knows someone who knows someone who…knows someone who can move huge amounts of meth quickly and safely. Walt and Jesse have a meeting arranged in a fast food chicken place, but no one shows up. On a hunch, Walt returns and stays there most of the day, finally realizing that the man he is looking for works (and actually owns) the fast food place. Walt speaks to him – the man, Gus, has reservations centering around Jesse’s drug addiction, but he is somewhat swayed by Walt’s arguments concerning the quality and profitability of the product. Gus makes no commitment, but the meeting appears to be open-ended.

Jesse’s depression has escalated. He blames himself for Kombo’s death. Preparing to drown himself in bowls of smoky meth, he asks Jane, the recovering addict, to leave. She does not leave – she stays, and before long the apartment is a wreck and Jane and Jesse only leave to get more drugs. On one of Jane’s trips, she returns with heroin and syringes. For the first time in his life, Jesse tries a combination of heroin and ice injected, and appears to be having a non-stop orgasm.

Skyler has an ultrasound and all is well. Walt arrives late from his first drug meeting. Skyler has decided to have a c-section this time. She dashes off to get a cake and return to the office for Ted’s birthday party, where – at his request – she imitates Marilyn Monroe and sings a sultry, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to him. Later, Skyler finds a huge discrepancy in the books. Ted has been hiding millions of dollars in revenue from the tax office. Skyler agrees to keep it a secret but says she cannot be a part of it. Yet the next day, Ted is pleased to see what she has returned to her desk. She is still torn and upset, and as she stares at her Benecke screensaver, she feels the first pang of labor. She rings Walt, and then SMS’s him, but Walt is involved in a different drama. Walt has just received word that he can move the whole 38 pounds of meth through Gus, but he must have it at a truck stop in an hour, or no deal – ever again. When Jesse does not answer the phone, Walt drives over at top speed, breaks in, shakes the location of the meth out of the comatose Jesse, bags it up, and rushes out, ignoring the messages from Skyler.

Comments

This feels like a season-ending cliffhanger, even though I know it isn’t. It’s such an intense, well-paced episode.

Hank and Marie do not make an appearance in this episode, nor does Walt Jr.

Memorable Moments

• Jesse floating above the bed in the throes of a heroin/ice trip

Breaking Bad Quotes

Skinny Pete: This game we playin’ – we don’t got the street cred to survive it. Back when everyone thought you killed Spooge, maybe we were doin’ okay, but that whole…thing to the head thing, the ATM?
Jesse: Yeah?
Skinny Pete: His junkie bitch copped to it - whole town knows it wasn’t you.

"Let’s start with some tough love, alright? Ready for this? Here goes: you two suck at peddling meth. Period."
- Saul

Jesse: One of my guys…a friend who worked for me…got murdered. It was my fault, I put him on that corner. I’m gonna smoke some crystal and …I just think you should go, being that you’re in a program and all.
Jane: You could come with me to a meeting?
Jesse: No. No meetings.

"Yeah, we’re, uh, we’re in the big time now."
- Jesse (underimpressed with the fast food meeting location)

Gus: I have to ask – why? Why him?
Walt: Because he does what I say. Because I can trust him.

"And you shoulda seen the coffin! It was like this shiny white pearlescent, like I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the exact same paint job on a Lexus, right? So we’re definitely talkin’ high end."
- Skinny Pete (describing Kombo’s funeral)