Violet recaps the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, entitled Granite State, wherein Walt gets a new home and identity in New Hampshire (the Granite State), and Jesse has an escape plan! This is the last episode before the series finale! How will it all end? Following the recap, both Violet and Josh give their thoughts on the episode, and their predictions on what will happen in the final episode.
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Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 15, Granite State Recap Overview
Need a quick Breaking Bad episode recap of Season 5 Episode 15 titled Granite State? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Breaking Bad episode recap for Granite State if you need more information!
- Saul and Walt become bunkmates as they wait to leave town with their new identities
- Jack and his men break into Marie‘s house to get Jesse’s confession video
- Jesse uses a paper clip to pick the lock on his handcuffs
- Walt tries to convince Saul to help him kill Jack and his men, but Saul declines, and instead moves on to his new life in Nebraska, after recommending that Walt turn himself in
- Skyler tells the prosecuting attorneys that she doesn’t know where Walt is, but they tell her she better come up with something they can use
- Todd breaks into Skyler‘s house and warns her not to tell the police about Lydia
- Todd meets up with Lydia to report that he sent the message to Skyler, and that his latest batch was blue and 92%
- Walt reaches his new home: a small secluded cabin in snow covered New Hampshire
- Jesse tries to escape, but he gets caught. Todd kills Andrea as punishment, while Jesse watches helplessly
- A month passes at the cabin. Walt has an idea of how to get money to his family. However, when he walks into town and calls Flynn from a pay phone in a bar to tell him about the plan, Flynn wants nothing to do with him.
- Walt calls the Albuquerque DEA office and leaves the pay phone hanging from its cord. But when the police arrive at the bar, Walt is gone.
Breaking Bad Episode Recap: Granite State, the Details
We start off the episode with the red minivan pulling into a vacuum store parking lot. However, it’s not Walt that gets out of the minivan, but Saul. It turns out to be an actual vacuum store inside. The driver takes Saul’s picture and begins to set up a Nebraska driver’s license for him. He tells Saul he’ll have to stay there 2-3 days before he can get him out of town. However, he’ll have a bunkmate during his stay — Walt.
Cut to Marie, who is riding in a car full of agents driving her home. However, when they get there, they discover that it’s been broken into and ransacked. Meanwhile, we see the culprits of the break-in: Jack and his men, who are watching Jesse’s confession video at Jack’s place, and making fun of Jesse for crying. When it gets to the part where Jesse talks about Todd shooting the kid during the train heist, Todd gets a proud look on his face. However, Jack isn’t too happy about Jesse ratting Todd out, and rushes outside to do something about that. But Todd ends up convincing Jack that they still need Jesse to cook meth. At first, Jack doesn’t understand why Todd cares about cooking meth when they have millions, but then he figures out that Todd’s sweet on Lydia.
Jesse’s sitting in his hole, holding the picture of Andrea and Brock, then takes the paper clip from the picture and uses it to pick the lock on his handcuffs.
Down in the bunk at the vacuum store, Walt makes a list and asks Saul to get contacts for a hit man to kill Jack and his men. However, Saul offers Walt some advice: if he’s worried about his wife and kids, don’t leave. Saul points out that some people might say that he’s leaving Skyler high and dry, and that despite Walt’s clever phone call, without Walt in the picture, the feds are going after Skyler, and will take the house and everything away. He further points out that getting money to Skyler would be impossible, reminding him that Mike was never able to get his money to his granddaughter. Instead, Saul offers a different solution: stay and face the music, since he doesn’t have much time left anyway, turn over his barrel of cash, and maybe Skyler will get to keep the house. However, Walt emphasizes that everything he’s doing is for his family, and that he’s not through until he kills Jack, gets all of his money back, and gives it to his children.
Just then, the vacuum guy comes in and tells Saul it’s time for him to go. However, Walt seems to think Saul’s going with him. Walt tries to convince Saul to help him, saying, “Remember what I told you? It’s not over until–” but he breaks into a coughing fit, and Saul takes that as his cue to leave, saying, “It’s over.”
Skyler is zoned out as the lawyers are talking, but when they address her, she understands that they’re going to use everything against her and her children unless she gives them Walt. However, she says she doesn’t know where he is. The prosecuting attorney tells her that she and her attorney better come up with something they can use.
Later that night, Todd and a couple guys, all wearing masks, sneak into the baby’s room in Skyler’s house, despite the police car outside monitoring the house. They ask if anyone else is in the house, and Skyler tells them Junior is at a friend’s house. Todd warns Skyler not to tell the police about Lydia, and she says she won’t saying anything.
The next day, Todd meets up with Lydia at the coffee shop. They sit at two separate tables, and talk back to back. He informs her about the message he gave to Skyler, but Lydia isn’t quite convinced. Lydia tells him they’ll have to take a break — that is, until Todd tells her that his latest batch was blue and 92%, because he has Pinkman. Todd tries to awkwardly hit on her, while she ignores him and marvels about the 92% purity, seemingly unaware of Todd creepily picking lint off of her.
Walt stumbles out of the compartment of an oil tanker onto snow covered land, as the vacuum guy tells him, “Mr. Lambert, welcome to New Hampshire.” The guy then shows him to his new home, a small cabin, where there’s bad TV reception, no phone, and no internet. The guy says he’ll make a supply run next month, for which he apparently charges $50,000. He tells Walt he’ll bring him newspapers if he wants news. The guy emphasizes the importance of Walt keeping out of sight. He tells Walt that there’s a small town about 8 miles down the road, but warns him that if he leaves, he will get caught, and that if he finds out that Walt left, he won’t be coming back. After pointing out how beautiful it is there, he says he’ll be back in a month, and leaves.
Walt takes a few handfuls of money and stuffs them in his pockets. He also dons his Heisenberg hat, then marches down to the gate at the edge of the property where the road is. But as he opens the gate, he begins coughing. He changes his mind and tells himself, “Tomorrow.”
Back in Jesse’s hole, which is covered with a tarp, he has undone all the cuffs he was wearing, and has piled up his bedding and bucket and is standing on top of the pile, struggling to reach the grating above him. However, Todd comes outside to give him some ice cream as a reward for his latest batch, which was 96%. When Todd pulls back the tarp, Jesse is laying down pretending he was asleep, and everything is back in its place, including the cuffs. Jesse asks Todd to leave the tarp off tonight so that he can “see the stars.”
After Todd leaves, Jesse gets back to work getting his cuffs off and making the pile again. He is able to jump up and grab the grating above him. The bucket falls and he is hanging, but he manages to unlock the grating and escape. Jesse runs away and begins to climb the fence — but Jack’s men catch him. He tells them to go ahead and kill him because he’s not doing anymore cooks for them.
Todd rings the doorbell at Andrea’s house. When she comes to the door, he says he’s a friend of Jesse. She comes outside and asks if Jesse’s okay. Todd says that he is, that in fact that he brought Jesse with him, and points out a truck he is in. Andrea tries to look for Jesse, and we see Jesse in tears, screaming against a gag in his mouth. Todd tells Andrea, “Just so you know, this isn’t personal,” and shoots her in the back of the head. Jesse breaks down hysterically. Jack tells him to settle down, and reminds him, “There’s still the kid.”
Presumably a month has passed, as the vacuum guy returns to Walt with a bundle of newspapers, and other supplies. He gives Walt a report on Skyler’s status: she and the kids no longer live in the house, no court date has been set, her public defender looks like a “deer in the headlights,” she’s working part time as a taxi dispatch, and using her maiden name. Also, the bank put up a fence around the house. Vacuum guy then proceeds to administer Walt’s chemo, which he learned to do by watching YouTube. Once the needle is in, he gets up to leave, but Walt asks him to stay a little longer, and when he seems reluctant, he says he’ll pay him. They negotiate, and settle on 1 hour for $10,000. They start to play poker. Walt brings up the fact that one day the guy will come up there and he’ll be dead. Walt asks if the guy would give his money to his family, to which he replies, “If I said yes, would you believe me?” Walt meekly says, “No.” He continues playing cards with Walt, as Walt looks defeated.
Walt wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of his wedding ring slipping off his finger, due to his weight loss. After he puts the ring on a string to wear around his neck, he gets an idea. He empties out a box of Ensure and stuffs money in it. The next morning, he packages it up, and walks into town to mail it.
Flynn is at school and gets called to the principal’s office, under the guise of a phone call from his Aunt Marie. But it’s really a lady at a pay phone in a bar pretending to be Marie, and she hands the phone to Walt. Walt tears up, trying to explain his actions to his son. He asks if Louis still lives at the same address, and says he’s going to send money to Flynn at Louis’s address, but that the police can’t know. Flynn suddenly gets angry, accusing Walt of killing Hank, saying he doesn’t want anything from him, and telling him to “just die already,” then slams the phone down.
Walt then calls the Albuquerque DEA office and asks to speak to the agent in charge of the Walter White case. When they ask who’s calling, he replies, “Walter White,” then drops the phone and lets it hang from its cord. He sits at the bar and orders a drink. Meanwhile, the bartender is channel surfing. Something catches Walt’s attention, and he asks the bartender to go back. It’s Gretchen and Elliott defending themselves regarding their association with Walt, saying that his only contribution to the company was the company’s name:”Schwartz” means “Black,” and Black plus White makes Gray — Gray Matters. Gretchen expresses that the Walter White they once knew is now gone. Walt sits there fuming, as we see several police officers pull up outside, and then enter the bar with their guns drawn. We see that Walt’s drink is still sitting there where he left it, but he is gone. And that’s where it ends.
Thoughts on Season 5 Episode 15 of Breaking Bad
Violet’s Thoughts on Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 15: Granite State
Another great episode of Breaking Bad in the books. It’s so sad to think that there’s only one more episode left. This one had a total run time (on the air with commercials) of about 75 minutes, rather than the usual 1 hour duration, and the series finale will be the same way. I like that they extended the run time just a little bit for both episodes, rather than try to cram everything into the normal run time, that way things don’t feel rushed, and they can take their time with the development of each scene.
Although I was rooting for Jesse to get away, and it looked like he might actually pull it off for a second there, I knew that wasn’t going to happen, and was just waiting for him to get caught, which he did. What a powerful performance by Aaron Paul in regards to his reaction to Andrea being shot. Well done. What’s going to happen to Brock now? Jack and his guys seem to be holding Brock over Jesse’s head as collateral to get him to do what they want. Will Jesse go back into his comatose state?
As for Walt, it seemed like this episode was really trying to get you to feel sorry for him. And I must admit, I did feel bad for him. First off was when he was trying to intimidate Saul into helping him, but then breaks into a coughing fit and can’t finish what he was saying. (Speaking of his coughing, where was that last episode in the skirmish with Skyler and Flynn?) Then when he goes off to New Hampshire and you realize that he’s pretty much dying a slow death up there all alone, and that in the not too distant future when the guy goes up there and finds him dead, he’s just going to take Walt’s money, and that everything Walt did was for nothing. It’s so sad and pathetic that he has to beg and pay for the vacuum guy to spend just an hour with him so that he can get some sort of human companionship. Even though the vacuum guy is pretty much just playing a waiting game for Walt’s money. To him, it’s just a matter of time until Walt dies and he can take it all. But the guy takes pity on him anyway. Then when Walt Jr., who is now going by Flynn again, presumably because he doesn’t want any association with his father’s name, flips out on Walt when he tries to tell him about sending the money to him, Walt just seems like a man who has lost everything. And just to kick him when he’s down, Gretchen and Elliott disavow any contributions to Gray Matters from Walt, other than the company name. I think it’s at this point that Walt realizes he has nothing left to lose, and decides to return to Albuquerque to settle the score with Jack and his men, because they’re the only ones he has left to blame — for killing Hank and for taking most of his money. And his attitude is probably that if he dies trying, so be it.
What I would like to happen is that when Walt returns to town to take down Jack and his men, that he figures out that they’re holding Jesse, and he and Jesse team up against the Aryans. I know when we last saw Walt and Jesse together, they hated each other. But I think that deep down they love each other, and that what they recently went through was the equivalent of a lover’s quarrel, and they were just so mad at each other that they were retaliating against each other in whatever way possible. However, now they’ve spent a little time apart, and had time to cool down towards each other. At this point, Jesse probably hates Todd for killing Andrea more than he thought he hated Walt. So now they both have a common enemy: the Aryans. Probably not a likely scenario, but I like when Walt and Jesse are friends, rather than enemies, and I guess I’m still holding out hope that they’ll “kiss and make up.” On the other hand, maybe Jesse hates Walt even more for letting the Aryans know about Andrea and Brock, and ends up screwing Walt over in the end, just when you think he’ll get away.
Whatever happens, it has been a fun ride, and I’m sure that the final episode will not disappoint.
Josh’s Thoughts on Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 15: Granite State
Breaking Bad continues its excellence as a great drama in its final season. I had thought the episode would jump forward to New Hampshire, but Saul Goodman’s story had to be wrapped up. I believe we have seen the last of Saul until his spin off show. Their exchange puts an exclamation point onto Walt’s journey so far. He is hopeless, with no allies now that his empire has crumbled. Even his trusted lawyer leaves him after Walt tries to bully him. I think this is may be the moment “Heisenberg” has died.
Todd continues his creepiness, attempting to woo Lydia. Interestingly, she comes around when Todd reveals the newly made blue meth. I have a feeling this will be her undoing, as she was about to bail on the whole operation until that came up. Another example of creepiness from Todd — the “good job” ice cream for Jesse. As if Jesse really cared about being rewarded for his work.
In his “fortress of solitude”, Walt begins to wallow in his misery. He seems determined to go into town, but gives up when he sees the daunting task ahead of him. Heisenberg has faded from him, it would seem. I am curious about the guy who has helped him out though. Why would he not kill Walt and take the money? Is he just crooked and not a murderer? I guess he may have some set of morals.
It is hard to not feel sorry for Jesse after his attempted escape, then being forced to witness Andrea’s death. I bet he wished he had taken that ride to Alaska after all now. Speaking of heartbreak, it was sad how harsh Junior was on the phone with Walt. I do not think it was undeserved, but I am sure it stung Walt right where it hurt. Then to add insult to injury, we see Gretchen on TV, completely discrediting Walt’s contributions to their company. This seems to give Walt the motivation he needed though, and he is back in action.
So the culmination of this episode and season leaves us with a few questions: Who is the Ricin for? I think I will have to go with Lydia. We saw this almost happen already, but then Walt backed off. Also, I think the Aryans are in for a “loud” death. Now where does Jesse fit in? I was wondering if perhaps Walt discovers that Jesse is alive, and they team up for one final time. I think that Walt dies in the end though. I think it would be a fitting end. Now for the money, I would have no idea how Skyler and Junior would get to it, as they seem to be watched like a hawk at the present. Perhaps Walt’s death will have that cool down , and maybe they make their escape with the money somewhere safer.
Sadly, I cannot wait for this episode, yet I never want it to come. Either way though, I think it will end great. I cannot imagine the show coming this far then screwing it up in the end.
Scenes from the Series Finale of Breaking Bad: Felina
Here are scenes from Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 15, titled Felina:
Yeah, that was pretty spot-on with the ricin and Aryans’ deaths. This was a great show and this was a great episode.