End Times (Breaking Bad)
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"End Times" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the fourth 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 45th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on October 2, 2011. '' GQ'', and '' Salon.com'' named "End Times" as one of the best television episodes of 2011.


Plot

After receiving an anonymous warning from Saul Goodman about
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 ...
having been targeted by a drug cartel, the DEA dispatches a squad of agents to guard Hank and Marie Schrader's house. The White family is also brought to the Schrader household for protection, but Walter White convinces
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. ...
to let him stay behind at their own house, ready to face the consequences of his actions. Walt sits nervously in the backyard, spinning a gun on the table that keeps pointing at him, but takes note when it points at a potted plant. Hank deduces that his investigation of
Gus Fring Gustavo "Gus" Fring is a fictional character portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in the crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' and its prequel ''Better Call Saul''. He is a Chilean-American businessman and major narcotics distributor in the Southwester ...
is the reason for the threat on his life, so he asks Steve "Gomey" Gomez to search the industrial laundromat for him. Gomez and an officer with a
drug-sniffing dog A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by ...
later check out the laundromat but don't find anything, although
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 ...
and
Tyrus Kitt ''Breaking Bad (franchise), Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama Media franchise, franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, '' ...
were below them in the hidden meth lab. Gus, in a phone call to Jesse, implies the police attention is Walter's fault, and Walter must be killed to protect themselves, but Jesse again refuses to cook if Walter is killed. Saul later hands Jesse's entire share of the meth profits to Jesse, since Saul is planning to temporarily flee Albuquerque until the feud between Walter and Gus is over. Saul reveals that Gus took Walter to the desert and threatened his family, a revelation by which Jesse is taken aback. Jesse later receives a call from Andrea Cantillo that her son,
Brock Cantillo '' 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 ...
, has become seriously ill and is in the hospital. Jesse discovers the
ricin Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...
cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...
, which he kept handy to poison Gus, is missing and concludes that Brock somehow ingested the ricin. Jesse confronts a paranoid Walter at the Whites' house. Jesse grabs Walter's gun and points it at him, accusing him of poisoning Brock out of spite. Walter claims that Gus must have planned Brock's poisoning and framed Walter for it in order to manipulate Jesse into killing him; the cameras around the lab probably spotted the cigarette, and Tyrus must have taken it out of Jesse's locker, tracked down Brock, and poisoned him. Walter and Jesse know Gus is not above killing children, after the death of Andrea's younger brother,
Tomás Cantillo ''Breaking Bad (franchise), Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama Media franchise, franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, '' ...
, and Jesse ultimately decides that Walter is innocent. The two team up to kill Gus. Jesse visits the hospital daily, but Andrea will not let him see Brock after he divulges knowledge about the ricin poisoning. Jesse refuses to leave the hospital, which ruins the latest meth cook and says he will only leave if Gus orders him to in person. When Gus arrives at the hospital, Walter plants a homemade bomb under Gus' car and watches from a nearby rooftop for the right moment to detonate it. As Gus and his bodyguards return to the car, Gus senses something is amiss and leaves the area, leaving Walter distraught about missing his chance.


Production

On the ''Breaking Bad Insider Podcast'', director Vince Gilligan reveals that the crew faced time constraints during this episode's production. Consequently, Gilligan decided during filming to cut a scripted scene wherein Walt and Jesse formulate a plan to kill Gus. In addition, the episode was filmed concurrently with the following episode, " Face Off", in order to save time. "End Times" is the only episode in the series that Gilligan directed without having written.


Reception

The episode received critical acclaim and it is regarded as one of Season 4's best episodes. Critics praised Aaron Paul's performance, the ending with Walt and Gus and the revelation in the episode that Brock is poisoned. Seth Amitin of ''IGN'' gave the episode a 9 out of 10. In 2019 The Ringer ranked "End Times" as the 29th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.


Accolades

Aaron Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance in this episode.
Kelley Dixon was also nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series. This award and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series replaced Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Series ...
for this episode.


References


External links


"End Times"
at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site * {{Breaking Bad episodes 2011 American television episodes Breaking Bad (season 4) episodes Television episodes directed by Vince Gilligan