"Buyout" Review
The episode begins with Walt, Mike, and Todd disposing of the body in - you guessed it - hydrofluoric acid and a barrel. The teaser was especially effective by having the group deconstruct the bike before even showing the body. After, the group discuss Todd’s behavior and what needs to be done.
I often don’t blame Breaking Bad for taking shortcuts on anything, but I did feel that Jesse’s reaction was a little out of character. It’s hard to pinpoint the reason - maybe it was the forced anger - but his emotions didn’t feel as dramatic or resonant as when he shot Gale in “Full Measure.” And, I imagine a child is much worse, even if he didn’t pull the trigger himself.
Meanwhile, Skyler has a great scene with Marie, in which she laments over her poor parenting. Skyler was seemingly moments away from revealing the truth (but honestly, how would you even begin to explain all that’s gone down?), yet is taken aback by Marie’s knowledge of the affair. It was a typical Breaking Bad moment, in which the muddled lies reveal varying opinions and sentiments among characters. Both Betsy Brant and Anna Gunn were great in that scene; they really felt like sisters.
“Buyout” picks up when Jesse and Mike decide to sell out the business to competitors. We all know Walt won’t handle this well, and the escalation is handled nicely. I like that Jesse’s decision is influenced by Walt’s chilling whistle while manufacturing meth. It was a clean, effective way to show Walt’s solid foundation after the murder; he’s mostly unaffected by the closing moments of “Dead Freight,” even if he claims to lose sleep over it.
My favorite scene of “Buyout” has to be the discussion between Walt and Jesse in the White home. Walt’s explanation of Grey Matter was a long time coming and reinforced many of the interesting character arcs from Seasons 1 & 2. Not only does it reflect on Walt’s unwillingness to allow Gretchen to pay for his treatment, but it certainly connects with his current predicament: selling out of a multimillion dollar industry. But as Jesse points out, it’s not the same thing.
Also, the dinner scene bears mentioning. Seeing Jesse interact with Skyler again was perfect, as the two have absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. The dinner was appropriately awkward, as Skyler continues her passive-aggressive behavior in front of a visibly uncomfortable Jesse. I loved the conclusion, too: Jesse mutters “Thank God,” when Walt explains that his kids are gone. It’s nice to see some humor back on Breaking Bad.
The final moments of “Buyout” are purely speculative, as Walt hatches yet another plan. It should be interesting to see what that entails next week, where seemingly everybody wins. But as we’ve all come to accept: nobody ever wins on Breaking Bad.
“Buyout” likely won’t be a very memorable episode in the larger arc of the season, but it continues to tell the story honestly and with precision. With only two episodes left, it will definitely be interesting to see how the first part of the final season wraps up.
-MP