Phoenix (Breaking Bad)

Last updated
"Phoenix"
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 12
Directed by Colin Bucksey
Written by John Shiban
Featured music"Green Grass and High Tides" by The Outlaws
Cinematography by Michael Slovis
Editing byKelly Dixon
Original air dateMay 24, 2009 (2009-05-24)
Running time47 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Mandala"		Next →
"ABQ"
Breaking Bad season 2
List of episodes

"Phoenix" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad . The episode aired on AMC on May 24, 2009.

Contents

Plot

Walter White barely delivers the inventory of drugs to Gus Fring in time, but misses his daughter Holly's birth. He arrives at the hospital, where he finds that Ted Beneke drove Skyler White there. At Jesse Pinkman's apartment, Jane Margolis wakes up when she is phoned by her father, Donald, because she is late for a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. At lunch afterward, she does not mention that she has started using heroin again, and acts as though she does not know Jesse when her father asks about him. Jesse, seeing the aftermath of Walt's search, initially believes he was robbed, but then listens to the phone messages Walt left. Walt, unable to tell anyone else in his family about the money, privately shows Holly the stacks of cash hidden in the garage walls. Later, Jesse shows up at Walt's classroom to ask for his share of the money, which Walt refuses because he believes it will further Jesse's addiction. He promises to pay Jesse when he knows that Jesse is clean.

Later, Jesse and Jane inject heroin in his apartment. As he passes out, Jesse complains about Walt holding out on him, telling Jane that he is owed $480,000. Donald calls Jane again when she is late for another rehab meeting; unbeknownst to Jane, he is waiting directly outside. Seeing her emerging from Jesse's door, he barges in and finds evidence of them both using heroin. He is furious that she has relapsed and calls the police, but doesn't finish it to make an official report when Jane promises she will enter rehab the next day. He relents and gives her another chance. Meanwhile, Walter Jr. has put up a website so that people can donate to Walt's cancer surgery utilizing PayPal. Walt does not want to accept charity, especially because he earned the money to pay for his treatment, but cannot reveal its source to his family. Saul Goodman tells him that he will contact a hacker to launder the money, making it look like it is coming from computers all over the world and averting suspicions by putting in small amounts.

Jane calls Walt to blackmail him into giving Jesse his share. Walt delivers the money to Jesse and Jane, who are ecstatic and talk of getting clean, but still feel a strong pull to use their remaining heroin. Walt goes to a bar to unwind, where he unknowingly sits next to Donald. The two start talking about the Phoenix probe's discovery of water on Mars and about Donald's daughter and Walt's "nephew" (Jesse), voicing their frustrations over trying to help people who will not do what is good for them. Donald opines that one can never give up on one's family. Motivated by Donald's words, Walt goes back to Jesse's house to talk to him but finds Jesse and Jane passed out from heroin use. While Walt is trying to wake Jesse, he inadvertently and unknowingly knocks Jane onto her back; she starts to choke on her own vomit. Walt rushes to help, but after hesitating for a moment he changes his mind and lets her die. He begins to cry before looking on resolutely.

Production

The episode was written by John Shiban, and directed by Colin Bucksey. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 24, 2009.

Critical reception

Emily St. James, recapping the episode for Slant , noted that it was "a beautifully rich and layered work about the various ways parents and children disappoint each other." [1] Donna Bowman, writing for The A.V. Club , gave the episode an A rating, commenting: "it is perhaps the single best episode to date in one of the best shows television has ever produced." [2] Alan Sepinwall praised Bryan Cranston's performance in the episode's climactic scene and drew comparisons to "Kennedy and Heidi," an episode of The Sopranos . [3] Seth Amitin at IGN gave the episode an 8.9/10 and opined that the episode was effective at increasing the dramatic stakes leading into the season's finale, stating that "everything about this episode was used to push tension one step further for the finale." [4]

For his performance, Cranston won his second of three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. Shiban was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for episodic drama for the episode "Phoenix" in 2010. [5]

In Cranston's own 2016 memoir A Life in Parts , he begins the book by recounting the process of filming the final scene in the episode. He recalls how he imagined his own daughter Taylor Dearden as Jane, and describes the scene as "the most harrowing I did on Breaking Bad". [6]

In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Phoenix" as the 17th best out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Breaking Bad</i> American crime drama television series (2008–2013)

Breaking Bad is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White, an underpaid, dispirited high-school chemistry teacher struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime and partners with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, to produce and distribute methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld. Breaking Bad premiered on AMC on January 20, 2008, and concluded on September 29, 2013, after five seasons consisting of 62 episodes.

Walter White (<i>Breaking Bad</i>) Breaking Bad character

Walter Hartwell White Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is the fictional antihero turned villain protagonist of the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad, portrayed by Bryan Cranston.

<i>Breaking Bad</i> season 2 Second season of the AMC crime drama television series

The second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 8, 2009, and concluded on May 31, 2009. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the second season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The complete second season was released on Region 1 DVD and Region A Blu-ray on March 16, 2010.

<i>Breaking Bad</i> season 3 Third season of the AMC crime drama television series

The third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010, and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running about 47 minutes. AMC broadcast the third season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The complete third season was released on Region 1 DVD and Region A Blu-ray on June 7, 2011.

"Seven Thirty-Seven" is the second season premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 8th episode overall. It was written by J. Roberts and directed by cast member Bryan Cranston who portrays central character Walter White. The episode aired on AMC on March 8, 2009.

"Negro y Azul" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Felix Alcala. It aired on AMC in the United States on April 19, 2009.

"Mandala" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. It was written by George Mastras and directed by Adam Bernstein. The episode aired on AMC on May 17, 2009. This episode introduces Gus Fring and Victor, played by Giancarlo Esposito and Jeremiah Bitsui respectively.

ABQ (<i>Breaking Bad</i>) 13th episode of the 2nd season of Breaking Bad

"ABQ" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad. The episode aired on AMC on May 31, 2009.

"No Más" is the first episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Bryan Cranston, it aired on AMC in the United States on March 21, 2010.

"Green Light" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 24th overall episode of the series. Written by Sam Catlin and directed by Scott Winant, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 11, 2010.

"Sunset" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 26th overall episode of the series. Written and directed by John Shiban, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 25, 2010. The episode introduces Gale Boetticher, played by David Costabile.

"Fly" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad, and the 30th overall episode of the series. Written by Sam Catlin and Moira Walley-Beckett and directed by Rian Johnson, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 23, 2010.

"Abiquiu" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 31st overall episode of the series. It was written by John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren. The title refers to Abiquiú, New Mexico, where Georgia O'Keeffe had a home and studio.

"Bullet Points" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 37th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 7, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Pinkman</span> Fictional character of the television drama series Breaking Bad

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. Jesse is the only character besides Walter to appear in every episode of the show. Paul reprised the role for the 2019 spin-off sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, set after its finale, and again in 2022 for the sixth and final season of the spin-off prequel sequel series Better Call Saul, being one of the few characters to appear across both shows and the movie.

"Open House" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 36th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 31, 2011. In the episode, Walter and Skyler advance their plans to buy a car wash as a front organization, while Jesse holds increasingly darker parties to distract from his guilt for having killed Gale. Meanwhile, Marie starts stealing to cope with the difficult recovery of her husband Hank, who is asked to offer his advice regarding Gale's murder investigation.

Crawl Space (<i>Breaking Bad</i>) 11th episode of the 4th season of Breaking Bad

"Crawl Space" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad, and the 44th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on September 25, 2011. The episode introduces Barry Goodman, played by JB Blanc.

"Say My Name" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American television crime drama series Breaking Bad, and the 53rd overall episode of the series. Written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, it aired on AMC on August 26, 2012.

Ozymandias (<i>Breaking Bad</i>) 14th episode of the 5th season of Breaking Bad

"Ozymandias" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 60th episode of the series overall. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and directed by Rian Johnson, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on September 15, 2013. The episode's narrative concludes the previous episode's cliffhanger.

"Más" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 25th overall episode of the series. Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and directed by Johan Renck, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 18, 2010.

References

  1. ↑ St. James, Emily (27 May 2009). "Breaking Bad Recap Season 2, Episode 12, "Phoenix"". Slant. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Bowman, Donna (May 24, 2009). "Breaking Bad: "Phoenix"". A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (24 May 2009). "Breaking Bad, "Phoenix": There's no real way to dust for vomit". What's Alan Watching. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  4. ↑ Amitin, Seth (26 May 2009). "BREAKING BAD: "PHOENIX" REVIEW". IGN. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ Gregg Mitchell & Sherry Goldman (2009). "2010 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  6. ↑ Bryan Cranston (October 16, 2016). "Bryan Cranston: 'I was Walter White – but I was never more myself'". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Justin Verrier (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.