All that we can say is this is a very intense episode of Breaking Bad. This week’s Breaking Bad recap of Ozymandias will have the summary done by Josh, and commentary on the episode by both of us. If you have not seen the episode, DO NOT READ THIS YET! We would love for you to come back and share your thoughts on this episode though! Let’s get into this week’s episode recap for Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 14 Ozymandias!
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Breaking Bad Episode 14 Ozymandias Recap Overview
Need a quick Breaking Bad episode recap of episode 14 titled Ozymandias? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Breaking Bad episode recap for Ozymandias if you need more information!
- Opening scene shows Walt and Jesse early in the show, cooking in the R.V.
- The Aryans eliminate the DEA problem, and kindly let Walt keep some of his money
- Walt demands the Aryans deal with Jesse. Todd decides to torture him for information beforehand though
- Walt heads home, but has car trouble–pays a lot for a beat up pickup truck
- Marie tells Skyler of Walt‘s arrest and demands she tell Junior everything. Junior freaks out understandably.
- Walt hurriedly tries to usher the family to pack and leave–Skyler refuses, kicks Walt out, and Walt kidnaps Holly
- Walt calls to threaten Skyler, but actually has different subtext in mind. Returns Holly via fire station
- Jesse is shown beaten, and then forced to cook by Todd in their new lab.
- Walt gets in the van for his trip to a new life in New Hampshire presumably
Breaking Bad Episode Recap: Ozymandias, the Details
A brief intro before we get into the Breaking Bad recap for Ozymandias. This week’s episode was directed by Rian Johnson, interestingly enough. He is most well known for a movie called Brick and more recently Looper. A good choice for this episode I thought, as it was filmed really well. A lot of surprises are in this episode, so I would suggest coming back later if you haven’t seen it yet. Let’s get into the detailed episode summary for this week’s Breaking Bad episode Ozymandias!
The Good Ole Days of Cooking Meth in an R.V.
The episode begins in the desert. No, not where we left off last episode. Before that. Long before. Breaking Bad and Vince Gilligan have taken us back to the beginning. Walt is in his tightie-whities, cooking his meth with the immature Jesse back in the ole RV, both not realizing the path their lives will be taking. He has finished a step in the cook, and makes a phone call to Skyler. The phone call is probably Walt’s first lie to Skyler. About the meth at the very least. Skyler asks Walt to pick up a pizza on the way home. They discuss the baby’s name. Skyler settles on Holly. Walt isn’t sure, but seems to accept it. Meanwhile, young Jesse decides to swing a stick in the background. Walt plans a mini-vacation for the family. Slowly Walt fades from the screen, as does Jesse, and then the RV.
The Death of Hank
After the opening credits, we see the desert again. Gun shot sounds litter the empty looking desert. The gunshots stop, and the vehicles fade into view. The Aryans are the first people seen, who still have their guns trained towards Hank and Gomez. We see Hank is shot in the leg. He spots Gomez’s shotgun, next to the body of the now dead Gomez. The next scene is gut-wrenching–We see Hank feebly crawl for the shotgun as the Aryans approach, and by the camera angle, we the audience can tell that Hank will not make it. Jack steps on the shotgun, all but sealing Hank’s fate, aiming his pistol at Hank. Todd and the Aryans have lost Jesse and Jack sends two men to look for him. They learn that Hank is DEA, and Walt begins pleading for Hank’s life from the SUV he was handcuffed in.
Walt reveals Hank is his brother in-law. Jack seems to think he has done a favor for Walt, and Jack demands to know more information. Jack asks about backup, Hank bluffs and says they are on the way. Walt then pleads with Hank to promise that he will, “let this go”. Jack apologizes saying, “there’s no scenario where this guy lives”, and resumes aiming at Hank. Walt pleads again, and tells Jack he has 80 million dollars buried, and tells Jack he can have, “any future” he wants. He asks Hank about the deal. Walt pleads with Hank to take the deal. Walt hears Hank’s final words before Jack shoots him: “You want me to beg? You’re the smartest guy I ever met, but you’re too stupid to see. He made up his mind ten minutes ago”. Turning to Jack he says, “Do what you’re going to do–” and the gunshot echoes from the desert canyon wall.
Walt collapses to the desert floor, and weeps. Todd in his eerie way shows some remorse. Jack begins to question the coordinates that Walt provided. He then goes to the exact coordinates Walt gave him. Meanwhile, the men that searched for Jesse come back empty handed. The men begin digging, and locate Walt’s stash. The men are astonished and elated by their find, and dig the rest up. They load up their vehicles with the barrels. Uncle Jack decides that he isn’t all greedy, and leaves one barrel for Walt. Jack approaches Walt, giving him the news. Todd uncuffs Walt. Todd attempts to apologize for his “loss”. Jack tells Walt that Todd looks up to him, and wouldn’t be happy if Walt was killed. Jack tells Walt to drive away with no hard feelings, and demands to know that they are “square”.
Walt Wants Jesse Dead, But Doesn’t Mind If He is Tortured First
As the Aryans leave, Walt demands the deal of Jesse be completed. Jack agrees to follow through if Jesse can be found. Walt spots Jesse under his car. The Aryans drag him out from under the car, and aim a pistol to his head. Jesse looks to the sky and sees to birds flying together as he hears Jack say, “Good to go?” to Walt. Walt nods, but Todd asks if there is some information that they can get out of Jesse. He insinuates that they can get some information out of him with torture. Todd assures Walt they would take care of the job after. Jack and Walt agree, and Jesse is taken away kicking. Walt tells them to wait, and he tells Jesse, “I watched Jane die. I was there and I watched her die, I watched her overdose and choke to death. I could have saved her but I didn’t”. Jesse goes limp as they continue dragging him. The Aryans leave, towing the DEA SUV with them.
Walt’s Journey Home
Walt gets into his car. He looks in the rear view mirror where the bodies of Gomez and Hank were buried. He starts the car and drives away. On the road back, the car breaks down. He has run out of gas. He gets out of the car, and finds a fuel leak–from a bullet hole left during the gun fight. He removes the barrel from the car and begins to roll it through the seemingly endless desert.
Eventually he hits an older Native American’s house. There is a rundown pickup truck there, which Walt offers to buy. The elderly man refuses until he sees the amount of money Walt is offering.
Skyler’s Admission to to Flynn
Meanwhile, back in town, Skyler has left a voicemail for Walt asking where he is. Marie has decided to pay Skyler a visit. Junior is happy to see her, but she tells him that she and his mother need to talk–in Skyler’s office. They sit silently for a while. Marie then makes the big reveal–Hank arrested Walt “Dead to rights”. She tells Skyler about Jesse’s cooperation as well. Skyler is looking solemn, and is silent, as Marie continues to explain how she feels there is still hope for Skyler. Marie tells her that she and Hank will help Skyler under certain conditions–firstly asking for every copy of the DVD confession. Skyler agrees. The second is that Skyler must tell Flynn/Junior. Skyler refuses at first, but then agrees.
While we do not see Skyler’s confession to Junior, we see the aftermath. Junior freaks out, saying that both Marie and Skyler are crazy. He demands to know why this was kept a secret for so long. He demands to know when is she lying, this whole time or is this the lie now. Junior leaves angrily, and Marie tells Skyler to go home to “regroup”.
Walt Attempts to Save His Family, Skyler Refuses to Follow
Walt has already made it home however, and begins rapidly packing clothes. Skyler is getting close to the house, as we get a camera shot of Holly in the back seat. Skyler asks Flynn to put his seat belt on, to which he scoffs at. Junior then ominously says, “If all this is true, and you knew about it, then you’re just as bad as him”. Skyler pulls into the driveway, and sees the beat up pickup, but has no clue who it belongs to. Walt is coming out of the house with luggage, and Junior spots him. He tells Junior to go pack. Junior asks Walt about the accusations. Walt tries to brush them aside, and tells him and Skyler forcibly to pack. Skyler demands to know what happened to Hank. Walt tries to bumble an excuse, but is unable to. Skyler and Walt continue with their questions. Walt then whispers to Skyler, “I have 11 million dollars in cash. We can have a fresh start. Whole new lives. All we have to do is go–go right now. That’s all we have to do!”
Skyler then says what she has realized since she has seen Walt. “You killed him”. Walt pleads, “No, no, no! I tried to save him!” Walt continues to demand that they leave immediately. Walt and Junior head to the back of the house, and we see Skyler approach a counter that has a knife and a phone. A call back to the beginning of the episode, where she answers Walt’s phone call in the opening scene. This time she grabs the knife, however. Skyler then puts herself in between Junior and Walt. Skyler demands that Walt leaves. She begins to scream, and swings the knife, cutting his hand. Walt and Skyler then wrestle for the knife. Walt manages to get the upper hand, and Junior jumps on to him to grab the knife. Walt stands up and yells, “What the hell is wrong with you! We’re a family!” Junior then calls the police on Walt. Walt then makes his getaway, and grabs Holly on the way out. Skyler sees this, and runs after him. Walt makes it to the truck before she can get to him, and locks her out. He pushes Skyler’s vehicle out of the way, and takes off in the beat up truck. Skyler starts to chase after him, then collapses to her knees in the middle of the street.
Walt’s Realization
Walt has made it to a public restroom, and is changing Holly. He is calm, and talking to her lovingly. She begins to cry however, saying, “momma”. Walt hugs her, and seems to realize that this was probably a mistake.
Back at the house, Skyler, Marie, and Junior are solemn on the couch, and the cops are there. Walt calls, and speaks on the answering machine. The police try to trace the call, and they listen in on the conversation. Skyler demands to know where Holly is. Walt goes into anger mode, and begins to berate her. He tells her, “if you cross me, there will be consequences”. He continues his tirade and threats. Skyler takes it all silently. Skyler seems to realize something, and apologizes. He screams at her, “You have no right to discuss anything about what I do! Oh what the hell do you know about it anyway! Nothing! I built this. Me, me alone, nobody else!” Skyler asks to know where Hank is. Walt says, “You’re never going to see Hank again. He crossed me. You think about that! Family or no! You let that sink in!”. Marie hears this, and immediately breaks down. We then see Walt’s face–he is crying. Skyler tells Walt, “I just want Holly back!” Walt says, “I still have things left to do.” He hangs up the phone and breaks it.
The camera then pans from Walt to the left–to a fire station. Then, inside the fire station, the firemen see lights of an engine flashing. They find Holly, who has a note attached to her.
Jesse’s Enslavement
The next time we see Jesse, he is in his Aryan prison, beaten and chained. Todd pays him a visit, and Jesse crawls away in agony and fear. Jesse pleads that he told Todd where to find the tape. He repeatedly screams, “no one else knows!” referring to the existence of the tape. Todd takes Jesse to a large building, perhaps an airplane hangar? We learn that this hangar is Todd’s new lab, however. Todd chains Jesse’s belt to a sort of track, and removes his handcuffs. Jesse seemingly calmer, but still in severe pain, examines the equipment. He then sees a photo–a photo of Brock and Andrea–likely a warning to Jesse to cooperate or else…Jesse begins to whimper, and Todd says, “Let’s cook!”
Walt’s Trip to New Hampshire
The last time we see Walt, he is at the waiting point where Jesse was when he was supposed to leave for Alaska. The red minivan pulls up. Walt has his barrel of cash and some luggage. He gets in, and the van drives away. As the van leaves, a mangy black and white dogs scampers across the street behind it.
Josh’s Thoughts: Breaking Bad Episode 14 Ozymandias
A very powerful episode, probably one of the most powerful episodes so far in an already strong final season for Breaking Bad. While I did not want to see Hank’s death, and thought there might be a way out of it for him last episode, once I saw the shot of Jack walking towards Hank as he futility tries to get the gun, I knew it was over. Walt’s pleading for Hank’s life, and willingness to give up his 80 million dollars to save him shows that, while Walt has made some horrible decisions, family is still his number one priority, even above his greed for money.
As for Jesse, I had hopes that he had gotten away, or at the very least, Walt may let him go. Or at the very, very least, given him a swift death. Unfortunately, none of these options were true, and he is now a slave to Todd it would seem. I am curious to know–does Jack know about this enslavement? With 80 million dollars, I can’t imagine they really need to cook anymore. Is this a sense of pride for Todd? Does Jesse have a chance at living? Or is Todd simply using him as a slave until the recipe is figured out?
The scene with Walt and Skyler at home was so gut-wrenching! Skyler is completely justified in kicking Walt out, but at the same time it is hard not to feel for Walt. Knowing that family is what Walt holds most dear, we can see how hard this is on him. Also, everything he has worked for has essentially gone out the window. Not only has he lost all of the money he was supposed to leave for his family, he doesn’t even have a family anymore. His final ditch effort to maintain a semblance of family is kidnapping Holly, but he realizes where he is going is no life for his family, and he can’t ruin her life, too.
Another moving scene is the phone conversation with Skyler, where he threatens her. I think some people may miss the point of this scene–his threats are empty, and an intentional alibi for Skyler. He is coming off as such an angry, controlling, dangerous man, because he knows someone besides Skyler is listening on the other side of the phone. This is his way to hopefully minimize her inclusion in whatever charges Walt would face. While some of what he said was probably true feelings, the emotions on his face towards the end of the conversation, and the fact that he leaves Holly behind show that much of what he says wasn’t meant. I think Skyler picked up on this too, but that part is hard for me to say for certain.
Where does the episode go from here? I am almost positive we are flashing forward to the future, in New Hampshire. What happens there, I am not sure. Unless the show picks up where the opening for season 5B left off, with Walt leaving the house after it has been vandalized, with the Ricin and artillery in tow. I really want to know what has become of Jesse. Also, what is Walt doing back in town? Serving up some ice cold revenge for the Aryans? Sunday cannot come soon enough!
Violets’s Thoughts on this week’s episode of Breaking Bad, Ozymandias
I had a feeling that this episode wouldn’t start right back up where the last episode left off, with the gunfight. Of course they wanted to keep us in suspense for just a little while longer. But you know what? I didn’t mind that. In fact, I really liked how they went back in time and showed us happier times, where it all began, and how much the past contrasts to where we are now. I liked the fading out of the RV scene from the past, followed by the fading in of the gunfight scene from the present. Yes, Jesse did mention last episode that it was the same spot where they originally cooked together, which, okay, sure, I recognize it as same general area. But the fading out and fading in really drives home the fact that it is the EXACT same spot, and just how much things have changed since then.
Before the episode I thought there was no way they were going to kill off Hank. I figured he had probably gotten shot, and I definitely had written off Gomez for dead, but not Hank. I was surprised at how quickly Walt offered up his entire $80 million in exchange for Hank’s life. At first, I thought he was just saying in general that he had $80 million and was willing to give Jack some of it, but then I realized he was offering ALL of it. Wow. It goes to show you that he’s not the “greedy bastard” that Jesse and Hank were making him out to be last episode, and that he really does care about his family. I wonder if Hank’s thoughts on Walt changed towards the end when he heard what Walt was willing to give up.
But after that display of emotion and selflessness toward Hank, I was surprised at how cold and callous Walt acted toward Jesse, who Walt claimed was “like family” last episode. He didn’t have to insist that Jack hold up his end of the deal to kill Jesse (how is there still a deal if they don’t need Walt to cook for them anymore?), and he didn’t have to point out to them that Jesse was hiding under the car (how is it that Walt was the only one who thought to look there?). As far as the Aryans were concerned, Jesse was long gone. Then when they dragged him out and Jack asked Walt for approval, I kept expecting Walt to have a change of heart. But nope. I really thought Jesse was going to get shot then and there. But Todd interrupted in his awkward way. I wonder if Todd did that because he looks up to Jesse kind of like he looks up to Walt, and didn’t want Jesse to die? Anyway, so then they’re carrying Jesse off to be tortured, and Walt frantically tells them to wait, and I thought, okay, NOW he’s going to have the change of heart. But he adds insult to injury and rubs it in about Jane! What the heck, Walt? I wanted to be on your side, but then you have to go and do something like that! I really thought Walt had a soft spot for Jesse, and wouldn’t let any harm come to him if he could help it, but apparently I was wrong. I thought Jesse was like family to you, Walt? I suppose one could argue that he’s only “like” family, he’s not actually Walt’s family. But at the same time, Hank isn’t blood related to Walt either. He’s not even Walt’s own sister’s husband, he’s Walt’s wife‘s sister’s husband. So it would seem that family doesn’t have to be blood to Walt. I thought Walt had accepted Jesse into his heart as part of his family, and that to Walt, when you’re family, you’re family for life. Oh, how wrong I was.
Despite all of that, I still felt bad for Walt when he was trying to get his family to pack up and leave, then Skyler pulled the knife on him and cut him, and somehow Walt Jr. reports that it’s his dad that attacked his mom with the knife? Um, no, that’s not what happened… I guess I can see from Walt Jr’s point of view that he’s not sure what his dad is capable of, now that he thinks his dad killed his uncle, so he has to protect his mom from getting hurt. But what happened to the Walt Jr. from the past couple episodes who was so afraid of his dad dying from cancer? How did he flip flop and turn against his dad so quickly? Maybe Walt should have thrown in a few coughs to get some sympathy. Speaking of which, he was coughing last episode when he was climbing up the rocks, but I don’t remember any coughing this episode, despite all of Walt’s vigorous activity.
When Walt called Skyler at the end, at first I was caught off guard at his tone, but I quickly caught on to what he was trying to do: clear Skyler’s name while the police were listening. I think Skyler caught on too, when the tear drips down her face as she says, “I’m sorry.” If it wasn’t obvious to the audience yet, the end of the call attempts to make it obvious, as Walt keeps emphasizing that he did everything alone, and especially when we see his tears. Hopefully no one missed this point and thought Walt was just being mean and hurtful, because that’s not at all what he was doing. However, if it’s obvious to the audience what he was doing, will it also be obvious to the police?
So, why is Todd still cooking anyway? Because he’s into Lydia and wants her to be proud of him? Does he think if he can make the meth blue and improve the purity that Lydia will like him? What’s his plan for Jesse?
Overall, an amazing episode. So intense, so intriguing, so well done. Great directing job by Rian Johnson. Only 2 episodes left! Can’t wait to see what’s in store next week!
Scenes from Breaking Bad, Episode 15, Granite State
Here are scenes from next week’s Breaking Bad episode titled Granite State:
This was a heavy episode. Everything that happened in that desert was very heavy, and it really ups the momentum for the final few episodes. This is one of my favorite episodes in this final season.