"Fifty-One" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

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 h ...

'', and the 50th overall episode of the series. Written by Sam Catlin and directed by

Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget. Transitio ...

, it originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 5, 2012.

Plot

After having it repaired, Walter White impulsively sells his Pontiac Aztek to the mechanic for $50 and leases himself a new Chrysler 300 and a

Dodge Challenger The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles (two of those being pony cars) produced by American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge was in 1959 for marketing ...

for

Walter White Jr. Walter Hartwell White Jr. (also known as Flynn) is a fictional character in the crime drama series ''Breaking Bad''. Played by RJ Mitte, Walt Jr. is the son of protagonist Walter White and his wife Skyler. He has cerebral palsy, as manifested ...

At Madrigal's

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

branch, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle's inside man for

methylamine Methylamine is an organic compound with a formula of . This colorless gas is a derivative of ammonia, but with one hydrogen atom being replaced by a methyl group. It is the simplest primary amine. Methylamine is sold as a solution in methanol, ...

is arrested by the DEA.

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

reassures Lydia that Ron will not talk, adding that she will have a new guy in the warehouse soon. The next day, SAC Ramey offers

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 developm ...

the position of ASAC (Assistant Special Agent in Charge) vacated by Merkert. Hank accepts, even though his pursuit of Heisenberg will be given to a field agent. That evening, the Whites and the Schraders finish a meager 51st birthday dinner for Walt. After Walt Jr. leaves, Walt notes that it has been a year since his cancer diagnosis. As he reflects, a fully clothed

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. ...

steps into the pool and slowly submerges herself. Marie Schrader panics while Walt jumps in to pull her out. Walt then learns that Skyler has asked Marie and Hank to look after the kids until her issues with Walt are resolved. Skyler insists that she will not have her children living in a house where dangerous events that occur are just shrugged off. She threatens to further harm herself, to fake spousal abuse, and to send Walt Jr. to boarding school if Walt brings the kids back home, but he belittles her plans as unworkable. Breaking down and realizing there is no way out of her situation without hurting her family, she relents to his arguments but not without admitting to him that her only option is to hope that Walt's cancer will come back and kill him. At the warehouse, Lydia leads

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). J ...

to a barrel of methylamine. They find a GPS tracker on the bottom of a barrel of methylamine, compromising it. Mike is skeptical that the tracker was planted by the DEA because of its crude placement on the bottom of the barrel. When informed by Jesse that it was Lydia who spotted it first, Mike concludes that Lydia planted it herself in order to get out of their deal and vows to kill her. Jesse pleads for Mike to show mercy and asks for Walt's opinion. Walt votes to keep her alive so no time is lost finding a new precursor supplier. Jesse later gives Walt a

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Calibre 12 wristwatch as a birthday present, which pleases Walt.

Production

Dean Norris (

) spoke about the "tense" family dinner scene: "Those are some of my favorites because we all get together, and they've kind of become a signature thing on the show. I work with the DEA guys all the time, who I love, but from a personal side it's nice to hang out with the rest of the gang. Those scenes are going to be even more interesting if Hank ever knows something about Walt that Walt doesn't know he knows, because for the entire series Walt's had this secret that everybody in the audience knows and Hank is the one guy that doesn't know it."

Reception

Ratings

"Fifty-One" was watched by approximately 2.29 million American viewers in its original broadcast, matching the second episode's numbers.

Critical reception

The episode received critical praise with many critics singling out Anna Gunn's and Bryan Cranston's performances. ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

''s Wesley Case called Skyler's pool scene "unnerving" and "heart-wrenchingly sad", adding "''Breaking Bad'' is a show built around action — big explosions, shoot-outs, throat-cutting murders, and other vivid portraits of the messy drug-dealing business. Besides Jesse's breakdowns, we rarely see the existential crises all of these characters must be dealing with at all times." In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Fifty-One" as the 30th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.

Awards and nominations

For his direction of this episode, Rian Johnson won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series. Anna Gunn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in this episode at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards.

References

External links

"Fifty-One"
at AMCTV.com * {{DirectorsGuildofAmericaOutstandingDirectingDramaSeries 2010–2029 2012 American television episodes Breaking Bad (season 5) episodes Television episodes directed by Rian Johnson