Breakage (Breaking Bad)

"**Breakage**"
"Breakage"
Johan Renck
Written by	Moira Walley-Beckett
Featured music	"The Peanut Vendor" by Alvin Tyler
Cinematography by	Michael Slovis
Editing by	Kelley Dixon
Original air date	April 5, 2009
Running time	47 minutes
Guest appearances
	Jane Margolis; Badger Mayhew; Steven Gomez; Michael Shamus Wiles as George Merkert; Dale Dickey as Spooge's woman; Spooge; Clovis; Skinny Pete; Rodney Rush as Combo Ortega; David House as Dr. Delcavoli;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Down"	Next →; "Peekaboo"
	Breaking Bad season 2
	List of episodes

"Breakage" is the fifth episode of the

Jane Margolis, portrayed by Krysten Ritter. The episode was dedicated to Kim Manners

.

Plot

Tuco Salamanca is running out. While he is vomiting into the toilet, he finds something clogging it – the packet of cigarettes Skyler White

was smoking.

Jane Margolis

, who manages the property and lives next door. Although he likes the space, he has no credit history and can only pay in cash. She initially refuses to rent to him but eventually agrees after raising the price for cash only.

Albuquerque liaison for the DEA, and will have to split his time between the city and El Paso, Texas. He goes out to celebrate with his friends but has a panic attack on the elevator ride down. The next day, he takes off work to bottle some of the beer he has brewed at home. Marie Schrader

is confused at this behavior, but he assures her everything is all right. After she leaves, a bottle breaks during capping, cutting his hand.

Meanwhile, Walt and Jesse meet again to discuss how to distribute their meth. Jesse does not want to work on his own now that the DEA has found him, and suggests building a network of dealers so that they can be both distributors and producers. Walt is initially reluctant, but Jesse threatens to walk if they don't follow his plan. Later, Jesse invites his friends

Badger

to his apartment, and discusses employing them as dealers.

At a cookout celebrating Hank's promotion, Skyler demands that Marie apologize for giving Skyler the stolen tiara, or it will irreversibly drive a wedge between them; Marie tearfully does so.

Jesse's dealers are doing well selling their meth until Skinny Pete is robbed by one of his customers. When Jesse gives Walt his share, minus the stolen money, he explains that it is breakage—revenue loss from damaged, lost, or stolen goods—that must be expected as the cost of doing business. Walt, however, worries about what will happen when word gets out that they can be robbed with impunity. He later shows up at Jesse's apartment and gives him a gun, telling him to take care of the problem.

He also confronts Skyler over her smoking, but she refuses to apologize for keeping secrets when he has been doing the same. That night, Hank is woken by what he thinks are gunshots and goes through the house with his pistol drawn. It turns out to be caps popping off beer bottles due to pressure. The next day, he drives down to the Rio Grande and throws his trophy of Tuco's grill into the river.

Critical reception

Noel Murray, writing for The A.V. Club, gave the episode an A, praising the visual comparisons between different situations in the episode.^[1]

In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Breakage" 44th out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.^[2]

References

^ Murray, Noel (April 5, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Breakage"". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
^ Jack McCluskey (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer.

External links

"Breakage" at the official Breaking Bad site
"Breakage" at
IMDb

[1] Murray, Noel (April 5, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Breakage"". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 25, 2015.

[2] Jack McCluskey (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer.

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