Walt makes a big decision in the bloody mid-season finale of 'Breaking Bad'

Sept. 3, 2012, 12:02 PM UTC

By Jason Zabel

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Believe it or not, on last week's "Breaking Bad," we saw the end of grandfatherly distribution king Mike. After deciding he wanted out of the meth-making and distributing game, a series of unfortunate events, most of which resulted from pissing Walt off, saw Walt pulling the trigger on his on-again, off-again partner in crime. Can this show get any bleaker? (Probably.)

What We Learned

Getting rid of Mike's body: Well, whoever thought Mike would one day be getting the disappearing-a-body-treatment from Walt? If ever there was any question of Walt's total transformation into power-hungry badass, look no further than this episode -- the season finale of the first half of season 5. (That's right -- this season is split up into two parts, and now we have to wait months to see just how badly this whole thing goes for everyone.) Anyway, Jesse waltzes in to Walt's makeshift meth office, and it's confirmed: Walt wants nothing to do with Jesse. If you're out, you're out.

Mike gets out the hard way

Heisenberg International: Now that Mike's out of the picture, someone needs to shut up the 10 people who know too much about the multimillion dollar meth empire. But Walt and Jesse don't even know the names of the people who could destroy them. Only one person does -- Lydia. So Walt goes for coffee with the ever-jittery Lydia. She's no dummy, and she's aware that once she gives this info to Walt, there's really no reason for him to keep her around. So she makes a plan: She can help Walt distribute internationally. That's right, to the Czech Republic, where 5 percent of the population uses meth, she says. And Walt is totally down, because he has made a habit of following the big money. But how easy could it be?

And now it's time to watch a bunch of prisoners get stabbed to death: Now with names in hand, Walt goes to Todd's (the new Jesse) criminal uncle for a bit of help with murdering people. That's right -- Walt's putting out a hit on 10 men, all of whom know too much. In an incredibly gruesome but awesomely-directed scene, we see these men stabbed and beaten, lit on fire, and just generally have the blood beaten out of them. It's the type of disgusting scene "Breaking Bad" does best. But it makes you wonder: Does Walt have a chance? Just think of how convoluted this thing has become. Turns out cooking and distributing meth can get kind of messy. Who knew?

Aren't they all OMG Moments on Breaking Bad?

Can you take your kids back, Skyler?: Walt is back in the swing of things with meth making, and once again everything seems clean and tidy. So here comes Marie, who notes Skyler's new-found and oddly unexplained happiness: She wants Skyler and Walt to take their kids back. It's been 3 months, and it's time. Repair the family, she tells her. So Skyler goes home to Walt. She drives him to a storage locker, opens it, and to his surprise, he's introduced to the whole of his earnings: a massive, uncountable pile of money. "More than we could spend in ten lifetimes," says Skyler. She can't launder it, because there's too much of it. She can't even keep up. "How much is enough?" she asks. She wants her kids back.

Now Walt's out too: It's like this meth making thing isn't sustainable, or something. Walt drops by Jesse's place, and together they have a cute little reminiscing session -- remember back in the old mobile meth lab days? Things were real quaint then! -- and then Walt leaves, but not before giving Jesse bags and bags of money. Some gift. This all comes, mind you, after an ominous shot of Walt receiving a cancer scan. Who knows how that went -- we won't find out until the second half of this season. After visiting with Jesse, Walt returns home to Skyler, and delivers some big news: "I'm out," he says. I'm out." And now we just have to wait and see. Is it possible for Walt to be out? Well, not quite. Hank and Marie come over for a nice little barbecue. Hank takes a trip to the bathroom, and what does he find? A book. A book gifted to Walt by someone who goes by G.B. -- Gale Boetticher, Walt's one-time assistant back in the Fring days. And, suddenly, everything makes sense to Hank. As he sits on the toilet, it all just clicks. Life makes sense for Hank again. And Walt? Well, things aren't looking so peachy.

"Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," Emmy faves

One-Liners

"This is what I do--I move things across the globe, from Point A to Point B." -- Lydia

"Lydia, learn to take 'yes' for an answer." -- Walt

"We're going to make a lot of money together." -- Lydia

"Even whacking Bin Laden wasn't this complicated." -- Todd's murderous uncle

"Maybe the best way to repair the family is to...repair the family." -- Marie

"How big does this pile have to be?" -- Skyler

"I'm out. I'm out." -- Walt

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