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Abiquiu (Breaking Bad)

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Episode no.
  
Season 3 Episode 11

Running time
  
47 minutes

Directed by
  
Michelle MacLaren

Written by
  
John Shiban Thomas Schnauz

Original air date
  
May 30, 2010 (2010-05-30)

"Abiquiu" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 31st overall episode of the series. It was written by John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren.

Contents

Plot

The episode opens in a flashback, where Jesse and Jane are visiting the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum where they view Georgia O'Keeffe's painting My Last Door which depicts O'Keeffe's door in her home in the northern New Mexico town of Abiquiú. The two debate the meaning of the painting, before Jane concludes that O'Keeffe was simply trying to make a good feeling last.

In the present, Hank is becoming frustrated with his physical therapy. Marie privately gives Skyler the therapy bill to pay as they previously discussed. Walt attempts to pay the bill with the money he had made cooking meth for Gus, but Skyler insists the money source must be "unimpeachable." Walt takes Skyler to meet his lawyer Saul Goodman who laundered his money in the past. Skyler is put off by his flippant personality and a scheme to buy a laser tag facility. Instead, Skyler suggests a more believable business investment: the car wash where Walt previously worked. Saul objects, as the owner of the laser tag facility would ask no questions about the deal, while the car wash owner Bogdan is an unknown factor. Skyler insists it is the right investment and offers to help launder the money by managing the car wash. Walt worries that this would make Skyler liable for his actions, but she reveals she never signed the divorce papers, and if married, cannot be made to testify against him.

Meanwhile, Walt warns Jesse about skimming some of their meth product, which he continues to deny doing. Jesse takes what he has stolen to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to give to Badger and Skinny Pete to help peddle. The two reveal they can't bring themselves to sell meth to recovering addicts, so Jesse shows them how easy it is by striking up a conversation with Andrea, a newcomer to the meetings. He soon becomes attached to Andrea while surreptitiously attempting to sell her product. Andrea invites him to her home where Jesse discovers she has a son, Brock. From Brock, Jesse learns Andrea has a younger brother named Tomás, although she initially refuses to talk about him. Later, Andrea suggests they use meth, but Jesse declines now that he knows she has a child, and the two argue. Andrea insists she wants to avoid having Brock suffer from the same fate as Tomás. She reveals that Tomás, as part of an initiation to a local drug gang, shot a rival dealer at a street corner. Jesse recognizes the murder is similar to that of Combo's a few months prior.

Gus invites Walt to his home for a private dinner. Gus tells Walt he made many mistakes when he first began working in the drug business. He regrets that he did not have a mentor and then warns Walt never to make the same mistake twice. Although Walt does not appear to understand what Gus is referring to, it later becomes apparent he is speaking of Walt's relationship with Jesse.

The next day, Jesse travels to the corner where Combo was killed. He finds Tomás there, and confirms that not only is he working for a drug gang, but the gang works for Gus peddling the blue meth that he and Walt are making. Jesse quietly walks away.

Production

The episode was written by John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz, and directed by Michelle MacLaren; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 30, 2010.

Critical reception

The episode was critically acclaimed. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.9 out of 10 commenting: "Ah damn. Breaking Bad has been one of the few shows on television to have amazing story arcs and characters, not just in each episode, but in the series as a whole. Abiquiu was a great example of this."

References

Abiquiu (Breaking Bad) Wikipedia