Gliding Over All
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"Gliding Over All" is the eighth episode and mid-season finale 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 for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...
'', and the 54th overall episode of the series. Written by
Moira Walley-Beckett Moira Walley-Beckett is a Canadian-American screenwriter, producer, and former actress. She is best known for her work as a writer and producer on ''Breaking Bad''. She wrote nine episodes of the series, including "Ozymandias", widely regarded as ...
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 (TV series), The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westwor ...
, 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 *** ...
in the United States on September 2, 2012. The episode is named after poem 271 in
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
's ''
Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. After self-publishing it in 1855, he spent most of his professional life writing, revising, and expanding the collection until his death in 1892. Either six or nine separa ...
'', a book that is featured prominently in the series.


Plot

At Vamonos Pest, Walter White and Todd prepare a barrel of
hydrofluoric acid Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colorless, acidic and highly corrosive. A common concentration is 49% (48–52%) but there are also stronger solutions (e.g. 70%) and pure HF has a boiling p ...
to dispose of Mike Ehrmantraut's dead body. When
Jesse Pinkman Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a fictional character in the American crime drama television series ''Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer who works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (p ...
arrives, Walt informs him that Mike is "gone." When asked by Jesse how they will deal with Mike's nine henchmen now that they will not be receiving their hazard payments, Walt bluntly tells Jesse that, having quit, he is no longer involved in the business, and matters will be handled without him. Walt meets with Lydia Rodarte-Quayle at a coffee shop to obtain the names of Mike's henchmen. Suspecting that Walt will see her as a liability and kill her, Lydia proposes a partnership in which Walt expands his distribution overseas to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
, which has a high percentage of meth users. When Walt agrees with her proposal, Lydia provides him with the names. After Lydia leaves, Walt removes his hat from the table, revealing a hidden vial of
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 ...
presumably meant to poison her. Walt then hides the vial in his house. Walt asks Todd to meet with his uncle, Jack Welker, a high-ranking
Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood (AB or The Brand) is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate that is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern Poverty Law Center ...
gangster. Walt enlists Jack and his men to kill Mike's incarcerated henchmen, insisting that they be killed simultaneously. Though Jack tries to explain that the operation will be logistically difficult, an unfazed Walt orders him to "figure it out." In a period of less than two minutes, and across three prisons, the ten are killed. While Walt is visiting his house, Hank reminisces about a job he had tagging trees to be knocked down as a young man, wishing that he could have a job that did not involve "chasing monsters". For the next few months, Walt's meth empire runs profitably and uninhibited, raking in millions of dollars. Meanwhile,
Marie Schrader Marie Schrader (née Lambert) is a fictional character portrayed by Betsy Brandt in the American crime drama series ''Breaking Bad''. She is Skyler White's sister, Hank's wife, and Walter White's sister-in-law. In the series, Marie works as ...
encourages
Skyler White Skyler White (née Lambert) is a fictional character portrayed by Anna Gunn in the American crime drama television series ''Breaking Bad''. Skyler is married to protagonist Walter White. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim. She ...
to reconcile with Walt. Later, Skyler brings him to an enormous pile of money she has been collecting and maintaining in a storage unit. After explaining to a stunned Walt that there is simply too much money to launder through their car wash, Skyler asks him how much money will be enough before she can have her former life with their children back. Later, Walt tells Skyler that he will quit. Walt visits Jesse and the two reminisce about the simpler days of cooking meth in the RV. Before he leaves, Walt leaves behind two bags. Fearing for his safety, Jesse unzips the bags slowly, only to find them filled with cash. Relieved, he disposes of a gun he had been concealing during the visit. Walter White Jr. and Holly White move back in with Walt and Skyler, and the family seems to be in repair, with everything now going well for Walt. During lunch by the pool with Hank and Marie, Hank leaves to use the bathroom. Rummaging for reading material, he finds Walt's copy of
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
's ''
Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. After self-publishing it in 1855, he spent most of his professional life writing, revising, and expanding the collection until his death in 1892. Either six or nine separa ...
'' under some magazines in the bathroom, the same copy given to Walt by
Gale Boetticher ''Breaking Bad'' is a crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan. It started with the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), and is followed by a prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and a seq ...
. As he thumbs through the pages of the book, Hank finds a handwritten note by Gale referring to Walter as his other favorite W.W., finally coming to the realization that Walter is indeed Heisenberg.


Production

This episode features several nods to earlier episodes, such as the fly at the beginning of the episode (referencing " Fly"), the painting Walt stares at during the planning of the prison murders (the same painting from " Bit by a Dead Bee"), the damaged paper towel dispenser (caused by Walt punching it in " 4 Days Out") in the restroom of Walt's cancer clinic, and Lydia telling Walt "We're gonna make a lot of money together," reiterating
Tuco Salamanca ''Breaking Bad (franchise), Breaking Bad'' is a crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan. It started with the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), and is followed by a prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Sau ...
's quote from the first season finale. Walt tells Lydia "Learn to take yes for an answer," which is exactly the same advice Mike gave him in the bar (" Thirty-Eight Snub"). Series creator
Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He is best known as the creator, primary writer, executive producer, and occasional director of the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Brea ...
saw the ending somewhat as
Gale's Gale's is a United Kingdom brand of honey, currently owned by Premier Foods. The former company had been established in 1919, remaining independent until it was acquired by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1986. History The company was es ...
"poetic justice from beyond the grave." It was estimated that the pile of money measured 6 ft × 3 ft × 2 ft and that Skyler would have not needed a storage unit until she had upwards of $10 million. In "
Ozymandias "Ozymandias" ( ) is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of '' The Examiner'' of London. The poem was included the following year in Shelley's collection '' Ros ...
", Walt tells Jack Welker that the buried pile equals $80 million; however, Gilligan expressed his doubts during an earlier podcast:
"I asked prop master Mark Hansen, and he and his guys had tried, just for their own edification, to figure out how much that would be if it was roughly a half-and-half mix of twenties and fifties, and he guessed somewhere in the vicinity of eighty million dollars—eighty, eighty-five, ninety—that's a lotta dough. I don't know, we may have erred on the side of showmanship there instead of reality, I don't know if
alt Alt or ALT may refer to: Abbreviations for words * Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account * Alternate character, in online gaming * Alternate route, type of highway designation * Alternating group, mathem ...
could've made that much that quickly."
According to
Peter Gould Peter Gould is an American television writer, director and producer. He worked on all five seasons of the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad'', and was nominated for four Writers Guild of America (WGA) Awards for his work on the series. After ''Breakin ...
, the episode originally featured a scene where Walt is told by his doctor that his cancer is still in remission. However, the scene was cut so that Walt's current state would be left ambiguous.


Reception


Ratings

"Gliding Over All" was watched by 2.78 million viewers and received a 1.3
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...). Rating or rating system may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
among viewers aged 18–49.


Critical reception

TV Fanatic's Matt Richenthal gave it a 4.8 out of 5 star rating, stating: "'Gliding Over All' still managed to shock, taking Walt to a place I never imagined he'd be prior to the big reveal: contentment. Happiness. A sense of satisfaction over a job well done, an emperor who no longer needed an empire." Richenthal particularly liked the two montages showing the prison hits and the time-lapse.
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
called the episode "an absolutely gorgeous piece of work, in both the visual sense and the way it brought us to the next, final phase of Walter White's story." This episode was nominated for three
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
.
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 (TV series), The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westwor ...
was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...
for directing this episode. Kelley Dixon won Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, and
Michael Slovis Michael Slovis is an American cinematographer and television director. He is best known for his cinematography on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad.'' Career Slovis began his professional career in 1981. For many years, he worked as a camera operat ...
was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour). In 2019, '' The Ringer'' ranked "Gliding Over All" as the 13th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.


Notes


References


External links


"Gliding Over All"
at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site * {{Breaking Bad episodes 2012 American television episodes Breaking Bad season 5 episodes Television episodes directed by Michelle MacLaren