Breaking Bad Episode 43: Salud

Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Gus Fring travel to Mexico to teach the cartel how to cook methamphetamine with a purity over 90%, while Walt misses his son Walter Jr.'s 16th birthday due to his injury from a fight with Jesse the previous night.

**In Mexico:** The trio arrives in the desert and boards a small plane, with Jesse appearing hesitant about the trip. Upon landing, they are led blindfolded by cartel members to a grim superlab. Inside, the cartel's chief chemist is initially skeptical of Jesse because he lacks formal scientific knowledge, but Jesse gains confidence and authority, successfully cooking a batch with 96% purity that impresses the cartel. Afterward, Jesse is horrified to learn the cartel intends for him to stay and work for them permanently, though Mike assures him he will return home.

**At Walt's House:** Skyler White cannot reach Walt and begins Walter Jr.'s birthday celebrations without him. Walter Jr. visits his father, finding him bloodied and bedridden; Walt blames the injury on gambling, tearfully apologizes, and mistakenly calls his son "Jesse" before falling asleep. Meanwhile, Skyler convinces Saul Goodman to transfer $620,000 to Ted Beneke under the false pretense of an inheritance from a distant aunt. Ted uses the money to lease a new Mercedes and restart his business, forcing Skyler to reveal the money actually came from her.

**The Poisoning:** Jesse, Mike, and Gus are brought to the residence of Don Eladio, the location where Hector Salamanca killed Gus's partner Max decades earlier. Gus and Eladio make peace, sealing the agreement by drinking a rare bottle of tequila that Gus gifted as a sign of respect. While Eladio and his men party, Gus goes to the bathroom and induces himself to vomit; the tequila was poisoned, and everyone who drank it begins to die, including Don Eladio. Gus had taken an antidote pill beforehand, but traces of the poison still affect him, causing his body to fail as he tells the surviving henchmen that Eladio and his men are dead and they no longer have a reason to fight, offering them a chance to join him.

**The Escape:** Most remaining cartel soldiers flee, but Joaquín Salamanca shoots and wounds Mike before Jesse shoots and kills him. Mike garrotes a henchman named Gaff who tries to assist Eladio. Jesse drives the wounded Mike and the failing Gus out of the residence, escaping the premises.