Breaking Bad Episode 48: Madrigal

In Germany, Peter Schuler, an executive for Madrigal Electromotive GmbH (the parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos), commits suicide with a portable defibrillator in his office bathroom as police arrive to question him about his ties to the deceased Gus Fring. Meanwhile, back in Albuquerque, Jesse Pinkman panics over a missing ricin cigarette, fearing someone will find it and die from poisoning. Walter White hides the real ricin vial behind an electrical outlet cover in his own house, creates a fake version using salt, and plants it in Jesse's Roomba while helping Jesse search his home. Jesse discovers the fake cigarette, tearfully apologizes to Walt for suspecting him of poisoning Brock Cantillo, and laments his own stupidity.

Walt and Jesse then offer Mike Ehrmantraut an equal, three-way partnership in a new meth operation, but Mike initially refuses, calling Walt a dangerous "time bomb" he has no intention of waiting for. Saul Goodman suggests Walt can safely quit the drug trade now that Gus is gone, but Walt insists they must reboot the business, claiming it is a "golden opportunity" and that he is actually $40,000 in debt to Jesse due to Skyler giving $600,000 to Ted Beneke and paying for Hank Schrader's physical therapy. The main obstacle to their plan is finding a new source of methylamine, the precursor for their premium meth.

At a diner, Mike meets Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, a nervous woman who asks him to "silence" eleven people involved with Gus's operation by killing them. Mike refuses, stating his hand-picked men will never talk, but later learns their offshore finances have been compromised by Hank Schrader, who found millions in accounts linked to Fring's under-the-table workers. As Mike prepares to execute Lydia, her panicked pleas about her daughter cause him to spare her; instead, he demands she become Walt's new methylamine supplier. Mike then calls Walt and accepts the partnership.

The episode concludes with Walt trying to resume an ordinary home life with Skyler, who remains terrified of him. Walt joins the silent, motionless Skyler in bed, insists their lives will soon return to normal, and makes unreciprocated sexual advances on her. Elsewhere, a low-level employee removes the "Los Pollos Hermanos" sign from the company headquarters, symbolizing the end of Gus's operation.