Buried (Breaking Bad)
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"Buried" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'', and the 56th overall episode of the series. Written by
Thomas Schnauz Thomas Schnauz (born ) is an American television producer and television writer. His credits include ''The X-Files'', ''The Lone Gunmen'', '' Night Stalker'', ''Reaper'', ''Breaking Bad'', and ''Better Call Saul''. Personal life Schnauz was bor ...
and directed by
Michelle MacLaren Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', '' Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', '' Game of Thrones'', and ''Westworld''. MacLaren won two bac ...
, it aired on
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...
in the United States and Canada on August 18, 2013.


Plot

Late at night, an elderly man, collecting the money which
Jesse Pinkman Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a main character in the American television series '' Breaking Bad'', played by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Jess ...
has thrown away, discovers him parked in a playground and absentmindedly spinning on a
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
. Meanwhile, after his confrontation with
Hank Schrader Henry R. Schrader ASAC is a fictional character in the AMC drama series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul''. He is portrayed by Dean Norris and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan. Hank's character development ...
,
Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...
frantically tries calling
Skyler White Skyler White ( née Lambert) is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Anna Gunn. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim, with some critics even lauding her character as the template for television anti-heroines. ...
, but cannot get through as Hank is already on the phone with her. Walt rushes to the car wash, but Skyler has already left to meet Hank at a diner. Believing Skyler to be a victim, Hank unwittingly reveals that Walt's cancer has returned and unsuccessfully tries enlisting her help in building a case against Walt. Skyler, however, suspects that Hank has made it a personal mission to convict Walt and worries that Hank may not truly have her best interests at heart. She then panics and leaves the diner. Walt goes to
Saul Goodman James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his trade name, business name Saul Goodman, is a character (arts), character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad (franchi ...
's office, angered that Skyler went to Hank before talking to him. When Saul asks whether Walt has considered having Hank killed, Walt admonishes him, reminding him that Hank is family. Rushing to hide his money, Walt has
Patrick Kuby Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
and
Huell Babineaux '' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...
deliver it to him in seven container drums. He then drives to the
Tohajiilee Indian Reservation To’Hajiilee ( nv, Tó Hajiileehé, ), Cañoncito Band of Navajos is a non-contiguous section of the Navajo Nation lying in parts of western Bernalillo, eastern Cibola, and southwestern Sandoval counties in the U.S. state of New Mexico, west of ...
and spends the day burying it. Meanwhile,
Marie Schrader Marie Schrader (''née'' Lambert) is a fictional character in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul.'' Portrayed by Betsy Brandt, she is Skyler White's sister, Hank's wife, and Walter White's sister-in-l ...
confronts Skyler about Walt's criminality. After learning that Skyler knew about Walt’s activities before Hank was shot, Marie slaps her, despite a tearful Skyler's attempts to apologize. Marie tries to leave with Walt and Skyler’s infant daughter
Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
, but Hank enters the house and tells Marie to give Holly back. In the car, Marie tells Hank that he "has to get" Walt. Walt returns home late and posts a
lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
ticket on the refrigerator door; its numbers correspond to the
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
coordinates of the buried drums. Unresponsive to Skyler's questioning, an exhausted Walt collapses. When he awakens, Walt offers to surrender himself on the condition that the money be kept for their children. Instead, Skyler tells Walt that they should keep quiet, noting that Hank has no evidence. Elsewhere,
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle ''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its seq ...
confronts Declan, now cooking and supplying meth, at his desert lab. She is critical of the poor standards and working conditions, but Declan rejects her suggestion to hire
Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...
, Walt's former protégé. At Lydia's behest, Todd and his uncle
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
arrive and massacre Declan and his men before taking over the operation. Hank will not approach the
DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...
until he has reliable evidence to apprehend Walt, as he believes his career will end if he reveals his unsubstantiated suspicion that Heisenberg is actually his brother-in-law. Marie insists on putting the DEA on the case, concerned over how they may respond if they learn that Hank hid his discovery. Hank returns to work, where Agent Steve Gomez reveals that Jesse is detained and under questioning. Hank, realizing Jesse's connection to Walt, keeps his discovery secret and asks for time alone with Jesse.


Production

Walt's burial scene is on
Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
land, the same spot where Walt and Jesse did their first batch in the RV. The latitude and longitude displayed on Walt's GPS receiver and on the lottery ticket are in fact the coordinates of the
Albuquerque Studios Netflix Albuquerque Studios is a film studio located in the Mesa del Sol development of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The premises include eight sound stages, production offices, and a backlot. The studios served as headquarters for the ''Breaking Bad' ...
location where ''Breaking Bad'' is filmed.


Dedication

The episode is dedicated to Thomas Schnauz Sr., father of the writer of this episode.


Music

The song played over Walt's digging is Chancha Vía Circuito's remix of
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
José Larralde José Larralde (born 22 October 1937) is an Argentine singer-songwriter of folk music. At the early age of 7 years Larralde had already written songs with social content. Throughout the years he would write various songs about crafts, situatio ...
's "Quimey Neuquén".


Reception


Viewership

The episode was watched by 4.77 million people on its original broadcast, down from the series-high 5.92 million of the previous episode.


Reviews

The episode received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.
TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...
gave
Anna Gunn Anna Gunn (born August 11, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Skyler White on the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a D ...
an honorable mention in their "Performer of the Week" feature for her performance in this episode. In 2019 '' The Ringer'' ranked "Buried" 52nd out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.


Accolades

Thomas Schnauz Thomas Schnauz (born ) is an American television producer and television writer. His credits include ''The X-Files'', ''The Lone Gunmen'', '' Night Stalker'', ''Reaper'', ''Breaking Bad'', and ''Better Call Saul''. Personal life Schnauz was bor ...
was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for this episode.


Notes


References


External links


"Buried"
at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site * {{Breaking Bad episodes Breaking Bad (season 5) episodes 2013 American television episodes