To'hajiilee

Plot

Lydia (Laura Fraser) participates in watching a methamphetamine cook performed by Todd (Jesse Plemons). The purity of Todd's product has now improved to 76%, but Lydia notes it lacks the trademark blue coloring, which her foreign buyers demand. Before leaving, she orders Todd to improve his cook. Todd then receives a call from Walt (Bryan Cranston) asking his uncle to put a hit on Jesse (Aaron Paul).

Meanwhile, Jesse tells Hank (Dean Norris) and Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) about his plan to get Walt, by using Walt's money. At Jesse's lead, Hank visits Huell (Lavell Crawford) and manipulates him into cooperating by having him believe that Walt has put hits on him, Kuby, and Saul. Hank shows Huell a staged photo of Jesse shot in the head as proof. Huell confesses that he stored Walt's money in barrels, and Kuby gave him a rental van and a shovel, but he does not know where the money is hidden. Hank advises Huell not to answer any calls or leave the house.

Walt meets with Todd's uncle Jack (Michael Bowen) and Kenny (Kevin Rankin) to discuss the hit on Jesse. Walt is still hesitant because of his past with Jesse and wishes the job to be quick and painless. Jack tells Walt that he will do it only if Walt teaches Todd to cook his signature blue meth, which Walt reluctantly agrees to do. Walt attempts to lure Jesse out into the open by visiting Andrea (Emily Rios), telling her that Jesse is using drugs again and Walt hasn't heard from him in a while. Andrea calls Jesse and leaves a voicemail about her and Walt's concern, but Hank intercepts the voicemail and does not tell Jesse. Hank then checks out the van rental company but finds they were forced to remove their GPS trackers six months ago thanks to an ACLU lawsuit. Meanwhile, a very frightened Saul, while wearing a bulletproof vest, approaches Walt at the car wash and tells him Huell is missing.

Jesse sends Walt a photo of what appears to be his money barrels, and tells Walt the van had a GPS unit and he has found the money. As Walt frantically rushes to the location, Jesse threatens to burn it all if their call is disrupted for any reason. In a heated confrontation, Walt apologizes for poisoning Brock but states that he ensured Brock's survival and all the murders he has committed were also committed to protect Jesse. As Walt approaches the desert location where his money was buried, the phone conversation cuts off. Upon arrival, he finds no one there. He then sees another car approaching carrying Jesse and hides, believing Jesse is going to kill him. He calls Jack and gives the gang the GPS coordinates where he buried the money, but then calls it off when he sees that Hank and Gomez are with Jesse.

Cornered, Walt gives himself up to Hank, who handcuffs him and reads him his Miranda rights. Walt ignores the request to acknowledge he understands the rights, however, and instead glares at Jesse and calls him a coward. Jesse then spits in Walt's face and a scuffle ensues until Gomez and Hank break them up. Walt is put in the backseat of Gomez's SUV while Jesse is escorted to Walt's car. Hank then calls Marie (Betsy Brandt) to inform her that he has caught Walt. However, Jack and his men approach from the desert, having ignored Walt's cancellation, and confront Hank and Gomez. A panicked Walt attempts to defuse the situation to no avail. Jack signals his man Kenny to open fire, beginning a gunfight. As Jesse and Walt take cover in their cars to avoid the fusillade of bullets, the screen cuts to black.

Title reference

The episode is named after the Tohajiilee Navajo Indian Reservation, where Walt and Jesse did their first meth cook, Walt's money is buried, and the gunfight takes place at the end of the episode.

Viewership

The episode was viewed by 5.11 million people on its original broadcast, which was an increase from the 4.41 million of the previous episode.

Reviews

The episode has been universally praised by critics, with several reviewers calling it one of the best in the series' history and praising Michelle MacLaren's directing work as having created a perfect hour of television. Tim Surette at TV.com calls "To'hajiilee" '"a direct hit and one of the best (episodes) of the season, maybe even the series". Seth Amitin from IGN gave this episode a score of 10 out of 10, praising the direction and the twists and turns the episode took.