Say My Name (2024)

"Say My Name" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the fifty-third episode altogether.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

In the desert,Walt, Mike and Jesse meet with Declan. Walt informs Declan that the methylamine deal he had previously arranged with Mike and Jesse is now off the table. Walt instead offers a new deal: Declan will handle the distribution of Walt's blue meth in exchange for a 35% share of the profits, plus $5 million out of the $15 million cash they brought for the original deal would be paid to Mike as a "finder's fee" for bringing the two parties together. Declan initially refuses as he already has a meth business and does not care to produce a better high for drug addicts; Walt counters that a better high would equal customers willing to pay more for it. He brings up that he's aware Declan's meth has never exceeded a purity level of 70%, which they do not even reach most times, and therefore the methylamine would be wasted with his cooks; with this deal, Walt indicates that he and Jesse, "two of America's greatest cooks," would be better served using it.

Walt also mentions that he's aware that Declan has been using food coloring to pass his meth off as Blue Sky, thereby proving that Declan does see the value in the blue meth and that with this new deal, he can sell the authentic version instead of a knock-off. Walt then asks Declan to say his name. Declan is confused, stating that he doesn't know who he is. Walt declares that they do, since he is the one who killed Gus Fring. Declan scoffs and retorts that it was the cartel who did it, but Mike shakes his head. Walt then repeats "say my name" to which Declan, with recognition, utters "You're Heisenberg." Walt replies: "You're goddamn right."

As Declan and his crew drive away, Jesse approaches Walt. While appreciative that Walt praised him as one of the country's best meth cooks, Jesse is upset since the plan was for Walt to demand $10 million ($5 million each for Jesse and Mike) while Walt sells his blue meth through Declan, but that Walt only asked for $5 million to buyout Mike. Walt then states that he still needs help running the business and that he and Jesse can figure out the payment later.

Act I[]

Mike drops off Walt and Jesse at Vamonos Pest. Walt asks Mike if he intends to apologize for chaining him to a radiator, although Mike does not, instead just informing Walt that he needs to remove the listening devices from Hank's office since the DEA would do a sweep of the office sometime soon. Walt then heads inside and shuts the garage door, leaving Jesse and Mike outside. Jesse shakes Mike's hand and tells him that he'll see him around, but Mike refuses since he is out of the business and Jesse is not. Jesse responds that he too is out of the business, but Mike just smirks and tells him to watch out for himself. As the two talk, Walt is watching them from the window, glaring.

Meanwhile, Skyler is at the car wash, which has been shut down for the day. Walt and Jesse then arrive, with Jesse greeting Skyler warmly. Skyler opens the entrance, revealing that this is where Walt stashed the methylamine. Skyler inquires as to what exactly the chemical is and why he hid it at the car wash, wondering if someone might come looking for it and whether that someone might kill for it. Walt ignores her questions and tells her to return to the office and to leave him and Jesse to handle the matter. As she walks off, Jesse looks at her sadly before returning to his task.

Act II[]

At Cradock Marine Bank, a lawyer named Dan Wachsberger sweet-talks the receptionist, bringing her cookies with bacon bits in them. As she chats about her personal life, she leads him to a room with safety deposit boxes and opens nine smaller ones and one bigger one before leaving the room. Dan places $15,000 into the nine smaller ones before placing a much larger sum into the tenth, filling it to the brim. He then adds a note on top that says "FOR KAYLEE ON HER 18TH BIRTHDAY." In the parking lot, Dan gets into Mike's car and tells him that while Kaylee's money is set, he will continue to make repeat visits to fill the smaller safety deposit boxes, which are the accounts for Mike's nine guys in prison. Mike wonders whether the money that's currently there will be withdrawn in time for Dan to fill it up again, and Dan assures him that families have never had an issue picking up the money on time.

Mike then heads out to the desert, where he sits on the hood of his car listening to his laptop, which is transmitting the audio from Hank's office. He overhears Hank tell Gomez that they have secured a search warrant for Mike's house. Mike then drops his laptop and firearms into an old well. He then acquires a second car, where he hides a go-to duffel bag above the spare tire, and parks it into at a long-term parking lot at the airport, hiding the key above a sign. At home, Mike makes a cup of coffee and waits for the DEA to arrive, with a gloating Hank personally serving the search warrant. Mike watches The Big Heat as the agents search his residence and find nothing, much to Hank's chagrin.

At Vamonos Pest, Jesse approaches Walt in order to get his $5 million so he can leave the meth business. Walt then cuts him off, stating that he will arrange for Jesse to have his own lab to run where he can cook by himself. Jesse refuses, just wanting to leave the business. Walt tells Jesse that he is one of the best meth cooks and that people who are the best should not just walk away from their gifts, and asks Jesse what he intends to do if he quits. When Jesse replies that he'll figure out, Walt states that Jesse has no one in his life to return to and that all he does in his off time is play video games or go-karting, and that he'll eventually get bored of that and start using drugs again; therefore, the "best option" would be for Jesse to remain in the business.

Jesse is still adamant, as he is still feeling guilty for Drew Sharp's murder, to which Walt responds that he feels just as bad about it as Jesse does. Jesse lashes out stating that Walt does not feel that way, which seemingly insults Walt, who claims that out of the two of them, he is a father and therefore is most affected by the killing of a child, but that he does not let his emotions sway him and instead focuses on the business at hand. Jesse inquires how many more people need to die because of them, bringing up Gale; when Walt responds that no one else will die now that they are in control of their operation, Jesse dismisses this as "bullsh*t."

Walt asks Jesse if he believes in Hell, claiming that the sins the two of them have committed have guaranteed their admission to Hell and therefore they should just live their life without worrying over past misgivings. Jesse demands his share of the $5 million, and Walt asks why he should pay him. Jesse angrily reminds him that it is his fair share, but Walt condescendingly states that since Jesse is looking down on crime and sins, he should not be desiring dirty money such as drug money or blood money. Jesse then gives up and walks out the door, saying he no longer cares about getting his money. Walt then yells at him that if he walks out he won't receive any money, but Jesse leaves, prompting Walt to yell Jesse's name, angry that he has lost Jesse.

Act III[]

At the Albuquerque DEA Field Office, Hank is distracted by pictures they have of Mike, not hearing what SAC Ramey is saying. Ramey then dismisses the others from the room so he can speak with Hank privately. Ramey reminds him that as ASAC his job is to oversee the office and all of its cases and therefore cannot personally be involved in a singular case. He reveals that he is aware Hank when to deliver Mike's search warrant personally and reminds Hank that he is not a field agent anymore. Ramey chastises the amount the DEA has spent on surveilling Mike and tells him that he can no longer can spend money and resources on Mike and to consider the Fring case as being over. Hank replies that it is not over since the blue meth is still on the streets and that Gus' guys are not talking, meaning someone is still paying them; Ramey replies that he believes what Hank is saying but that his current job is no longer to focus on just that one investigation. When the calls ends, Gomez enters the room. He mentions that while Dan does not represent Mike, he represents all nine men. He tells Gomez to obtain a search warrant for Dan, explaining that he was only told not to go after Mike anymore.

Meanwhile, at a fumigated house, Walt, who does not want to cook alone, has enlisted Todd to work alongside him, teaching him how to cook the blue meth. Todd attentively takes notes and seems to give his full effort. Nearing the end of their cook, Walt offers to discuss money, but Todd states that they can discuss money after he's got a handle on how to cook meth, impressing Walt.

Dan returns to Cradock Marine Bank, where he gives cake pops to the receptionist, who this time feels uncomfortable with his presence. She leads him to the safety deposit room without chatter, where he starts depositing more money for the nine men. Just then, the door opens and he is intercepted by Gomez and two other agents. At the White residence, Walt sits down to have a microwave dinner with Skyler and attempts to engage her in conversation, but she immediately walks out of the room. The following day, Walt visits Hank's office, with another bout of crocodile tears, again pretending that he is distraught about his marriage. When Hank seems ready to listen, Walt asks him if he has coffee to get him to leave the room. Walt then quickly removes the bug and the ethernet tracking device. Hank then returns with the coffee, but just then Gomez arrives and informs Hank that they got Dan and that he is willing to sell out Mike. Alarmed, Walt looks away from them and notices a surveillance board with photos of the bank.

Act IV[]

While visiting a park with Kaylee, Mike receives a call from Dan, who tells him that there is a problem with the money deposits and that they need to meet. Mike offers to come by in a few hours, but Dan insists they need to meet now and asks where he is, resulting in Mike telling him his location. Seconds later, Walt calls and informs Mike that Dan has flipped and that the police are coming for him at that moment. Just then, a police cruiser pulls up behind Mike's car and two officers approach the car slowly, believing Mike is inside. Mike then hides behind a tree and is torn between retrieving Kaylee or not, as she is on a swing right by the car. When another police cruiser appears, Mike is forced to leave Kaylee at the park alone in order to escape.

Walt and Jesse are at Saul's office, where Saul berates Mike for having used Dan as a lawyer. Mike then calls Saul and asks him to retrieve his duffel bag, which contains his passport and some cash, from the airport parking lot; he cannot retrieve it himself as the authorities expect for him to leave the country and have the airport monitored. Saul refuses, speculating that since the DEA knows he represents Mike, they may follow him if they spot him at the airport. Jesse immediately offers to help him, but Mike, who has grown fond of Jesse, does not want Jesse to risk getting caught, adding that Saul should do it since he is paying Saul. When Jesse insists due to Saul's refusal, Walt agrees to do it. Walt heads to the airport parking garage and retrives the duffel bag; however, he opens it to look inside, and spots a handgun in a holster on top of the money and passport.

Walt and Mike meet in a remote area near the Rio Grande, where Walt demands that Mike tell him the names of his nine men before he gives up the duffel bag; Mike refuses and wrenches the bag out of Walt's hand. When Mike heads towards his car, Walt yells "You're welcome!" This angers Mike, who returns and says that he is not thanking Walt because everything is Walt's fault, stating that they had a good thing going with Gus, where they had a proper lab with distribution where they could've worked in peace and made millions until Walt blew the entire operation up. Mike then gets into his car while Walt, stewing, storms to retrieve something from his Chrysler. Just as Mike opens his bag and discovers that his gun is missing, Walt walks up to his car and shoots him through the window. Mike attempts to drive away but crashes into a nearby rock. Walt is left agape, realizing what he has just done, but runs to the car with the gun out, only to notice that Mike has fled. Following the muddy footprints and bloody handprints, he finds Mike calmly sitting on a log next to the river with a gunshot wound to the gut, holding another gun. Walt takes the other gun from Mike and realizes out loud that he could have gotten the names from Lydia and apologizes for shooting him; Mike interrupts him by saying, "Shut the f*ck up and let me die in peace." Mike then dies and his body slumps over onto the ground.

Official Photos[]

Trivia[]

• This episode was originally titled as "Everybody Wins", referring to the last line spoken at the end of the previous episode. It was later renamed to "Say My Name".
  • The title of this episode refers to Walter's demand for Declan to call him Heisenberg during their confrontation by urging him to "Say my name.
• Mike Ehrmantraut is the second main character to die in Breaking Bad, and the sixth overall across Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul.
• The movie Mike is watching is The Big Heat.
• This is the third time Skyler and Jesse have met on-screen, the first being in the second episode and the second being in the previous episode.
• This episode was the series' most-watched episode at the time of its airing with 2.98 million viewers, but was later passed by "Blood Money," which had 5.91 million.
• The crew members wore black clothing or black materials tied around their arms as a sad goodbye symbol toJonathan Banks.
• The code for the bank's safety deposit box room is 265.
• The number of the deposit box reserved for Kaylee, 603, is the area code for the entire state of New Hampshire.
• Antoine Lavoisier (26 August 1743 – 8 May 1794) was a French chemist mentioned during Walt and Todd's first cooking session. He is known for discovering and naming oxygen and hydrogen.

Production[]

Credits[]

Featured Music[]

• "The Long Walk Alone (Heisenberg's Theme)" by Dave Porter (as Walt, Jesse & Mike arrive to the meet in the teaser)
• "Clear Waters (A)" by Alan Hawkshaw & Alan Parker (as Dan brings bacon & banana cookies to the bank teller)
• "Overture" [From Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's, "The Nutcracker Suite"] (Remastered) by Duke Ellington (feat. Johnny Hodge & Paul Gonzalves)(while Dan fills the safety deposit boxes)
• "Goin' Down"by The Monkees (as Walt and Todd cook for the first time)
• "Return To Summer" by Reg Tilsley (in the background as Dan returns to the bank)

Memorable Quotes[]

Declan: "Who the hell are you?"

Walter: "You know. You all know exactly who I am. Say my name."

Declan: "Do what? I don't–I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are."

Walter: "Yeah, you do. I’m the cook. I’m the man who killed Gus Fring."

Declan: "Bullsh*t. The cartel got Fring."

Walter: "Are you sure? That’s right. Now say my name."

Declan: "You're Heisenberg."

Walter: "You’re goddamn right."

―Walter and Declan at their meeting in the desert.

Walter: "What have you got in your life, huh? Nothing. Nobody. Oh, wait. Yes. Video games and go-karts..."

Jesse: "Mr. W--"

Walter: "...And when you get tired of that, what then? And how soon will you start using again? (...) Look-- Look, I know how upset you are about what happened to this boy. I am just as upset as you are."

Jesse: "Are you? Really?"

Walt: "How can you say that to me? Jesus! I mean, I'm the one who's the father here. What, do I have to curl up in a ball in tears in front of you? Do I have to lock myself away in a room and get high to prove it to you? What happened to that boy is a tragedy... and it tears me up inside! But because it happened, what, am I supposed to just lie down and die with him? It's done! It makes me sick that it happened just like everyone else who has died in our wake... What Todd did... you and I have done things that are just as bad."

Jesse: "Yeah."

Walter: "All the people that we've killed, Gale and the rest. If you believe that there's a hell, I don't know if you're into that, but we're already pretty much going there, right? But I'm not gonna lie down until I get there."

―Walt tries to convince Jesse to further work with him.

Jesse: "What–just because I don’t want to cook meth anymore, I’m lying down? How many more people are going to die ‘cause of us?"

Walter: "No one. None. Now that we’re in control, no one else gets hurt."

Jesse: "You keep saying that, and it’s bullsh*t every time!"

Walter: "No."

Jesse: "Always! You know what? I’m done, okay? You just give me my money, and you and I–we’re done."

―Walter and Jesse arguing at Vamonos Pest.

Walter: "Okay... Why? Why do you want this money?"

Jesse: "Because it's mine. It's my cut."

Walter: "But isn't it filthy blood money? I mean, you're so pure. You have such emotional depth. No, no, no. You shouldn't touch that dirty money. I'll save you from that, Jesse... Come on. You want it. You want it just as much as I want it. And it's not wrong to want it. Okay? So stay and work with me... and you can make ten ti—Twenty times as much."

Jesse: "Whatever, man. You don't wanna pay me, I don't care."

Walt: "Yes, you do."

Jesse: "It's on you, all right? I'm done."

Walt: "No, you're not. You're not done. You're not leaving. Because if you leave, you get nothing! Do you understand me? Nothing! (Jesse quits the room, while Walt stares at him) Jesse!"

―Jesse ultimately quits Walt's business despite the latter's attempts.

"We had a good thing, you stupid son of a bitch! We had Fring. We had a lab. We had everything we needed, and it all ran like clockwork. You could’ve shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed. It was perfect. But, no, you just had to blow it up. You and your pride and your ego! You just had to be the man. If you’d done your job, known your place, we’d all be fine right now!"

―Mike to Walter at their meeting by the river.

Walter: "I just... I just realized that Lydia has the names. I can get them from her. I’m sorry, Mike. This– this whole thing could’ve been avoided..."

Mike: "Shut the f*ck up, and let me die in peace."

―Walter and Mike after Walter shot Mike. Also Mike's last words before his death.