Mandala (Breaking Bad)

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"Mandala"
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 11
Directed byAdam Bernstein
Written byGeorge Mastras
Featured music
Cinematography byMichael Slovis
Editing bySkip Macdonald
Original air dateMay 17, 2009 (2009-05-17)
Running time47 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Phoenix"
Breaking Bad season 2
List of episodes

"Mandala" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by George Mastras and directed by Adam Bernstein. This episode introduces Gus Fring and Victor, played by Giancarlo Esposito and Jeremiah Bitsui respectively.[1]

Plot

Jane Margolis to leave his apartment so that he does not harm her recovery when he smokes meth
. Jane reluctantly decides to stay with him.

The next day, Walt waits at a local chicken restaurant called Los Pollos Hermanos, where the distributor has arranged to meet them; Jesse comes in late, still high, and leaves quickly afterward. Nobody talks to Walt, but he realizes later that the distributor saw him and has refused to work with him. Meanwhile, Jane relapses into drug addiction and introduces Jesse to heroin. The next day, Walt goes back to the same restaurant and waits until closing. He eventually realizes that the man he assumes is the restaurant manager is the distributor. Although the distributor maintains he is unwilling to work with a drug addict, Walt assures him that Jesse can be relied on and that their product is the best. The distributor tells Walt that he will be in touch if he decides to work with the duo, and warns Walt never to trust a drug addict.

Ted Beneke's birthday, where she sings him a sultry version of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President". She later finds, while investigating the accounts, that there are many inaccuracies in the payments to the company. Ted admits that he has evaded taxation
on millions of dollars by under-reporting revenue to keep the company afloat and support its employees. Skyler says she will not turn him in, but cannot be a part of his illegal doings; however, she later comes back to work.

Walt gets a message telling him to come to the restaurant, where he learns that the distributor is not the restaurant manager but the owner of the Los Pollos Hermanos chain of restaurants,

Victor blocks him from exiting and tells him to deliver the meth to a truck stop
within the next hour in exchange for $1.2 million cash. Walt rushes to Jesse's apartment and breaks in while Jesse and Jane are in a heroin-induced haze. At the same time, Skyler goes into labor and tries to contact Walt. Walt is tortured about his choice.

Critical reception

Seth Amitin, of IGN, gave the episode an 8.6/10, commenting the episode was: "about crossing the lines..." and that it "is the beginning of the set-up for the finale in two weeks".[2] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, writing that "it's inevitable that we'd have a merely good episode at some point" and, like Amitin, thought that the episode "seemed to be mostly concerned with moving the pieces into place for the finale".[3]

In 2019, The Ringer ranked "Mandala" 46th out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.[4]

References

  1. Vulture. Archived
    from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Amitin, Seth (May 18, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Mandala" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Bowman, Donna (May 17, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Mandala"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  4. ^ Shaker Samman (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2022.

External links

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