Breaking Bad Episode 54: Gliding Over All

Walter White disposes of Mike Ehrmantraut’s body with Todd, then coldly informs Jesse Pinkman that Mike is “gone” and that Jesse, having quit, has no role in handling Mike’s remaining nine henchmen. Walt meets Lydia Rodarte-Quayle at a coffee shop to obtain the names of those men; fearing she’ll be killed as a loose end, Lydia proposes expanding their meth distribution to the Czech Republic using her Madrigal Electromotive connections for a 30% commission, which Walt accepts before she hands over the names. After Lydia leaves, Walt removes his hat to reveal a hidden ricin vial he had brought to poison her, then hides the vial in his house, deciding instead to keep her as a new partner.

Walt enlists Todd’s uncle, Jack Welker—a high-ranking Aryan Brotherhood gangster—to kill Mike’s incarcerated henchmen plus their imprisoned lawyer Dan, insisting all ten be killed simultaneously across three prisons. Jack’s men carry out the operation, shanking or burning all ten targets in under two minutes while Walt watches the seconds pass on his birthday watch. Jack confirms the murders with a call saying, “It’s done,” and Hank Schrader is abruptly pulled from a photoshoot at the Albuquerque DEA Field Office to be notified of the killings.

Meanwhile, Marie Schrader urges Skyler White to reconcile with Walt. Skyler brings Walt to a storage unit containing an enormous pile of money she has been collecting, and Walt tells her he will quit the meth business. Walter White Jr. and baby Holly move back in with Walt and Skyler, and the family appears restored, with everything seeming to go well for Walt.

In the episode’s final moment, Hank visits Walt’s house, uses the bathroom, and discovers a copy of Walt Whitman’s *Leaves of Grass* with a dedication from Gale Boetticher addressed to “W.W.”—leading Hank to realize that “W.W.” is Walter White, not the poet, and that his brother-in-law is the criminal Heisenberg.