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Recap / Breaking Bad S5 E7: "Say My Name"

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Season 5, Episode 07:

Say My Name

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Written and directed by Thomas Schnauz
Air date: August 26, 2012

Jesse: How many more people are gonna die 'cause of us?
Walt: No one. None. Now that we’re in control, no one else gets hurt.
Jesse: You keep saying that, and it’s bullshit every time!

Walt, with Jesse and Mike in tow, meets with Declan. Walt declares that they will not be selling their methylamine, and he instead offers Declan a 35% share of the profits from his blue meth in exchange for replacing Mike as his distribution network, more money than Declan could ever make from selling his own meth. Walt expects Declan to pay Mike $5 million in buyout money, but implies that Jesse will be remaining in the business. Declan refuses and asks "who the hell are you?" Walt says that Declan knows exactly who he is, and tells him to say his name. Declan claims ignorance, and Walt reveals himself as the man who killed Gus Fring. Declan looks to Mike, who confirms.

"Now, say my name...", Walt says once more.
"You're Heisenberg..." Declan says, realization dawning on him.
"You're goddamn right."

Declan pays Mike his $5 million, and Jesse approaches Walt to ask when he'll get his buyout money. Walt brushes him off and says they'll talk after Jesse helps him get everything ready for Declan's crew. Back at the Vamonos Pest office, Mike gives Walt two parting thoughts; Mike will pay the legacy costs to Gus' old crew in prison out of his own pocket, and he needs Walt to retrieve the bug he planted in Hank's office. Mike says goodbye to Jesse, and when Jesse insists to a skeptical Mike that he's out of the business too, Mike just tells him to look out for himself.

Walt and Jesse return to the Whites' car wash to retrieve the methylamine he'd hidden from Mike. Skyler is worried that someone dangerous will come looking for it, but to Jesse's discomfort, Walt brushes off her concerns and tells her to go back inside.

Meanwhile, Dan Wachsberger, the lawyer who helps Mike deliver his hush money to his guys in prison, deposits money into the safety deposit boxes of the crew's families, as well as one box with a kingly sum of money set aside for Mike's granddaughter Kaylee on her 18th birthday.

In the desert, Mike's bug in the DEA allows him to learn that Hank now has a search warrant for him. He disposes of surveillance gear and weapons, then hides a bag of emergency supplies in a second car parked at an airport with keys hidden nearby. When Hank comes to Mike's house to personally serve the search warrant, Mike calmly allows Hank to search his house, secure in the knowledge that there's nothing for Hank to find.

Back at the Vamanos Pest office, Jesse again tells Walt that he's out. Walt ignores him and tells Jesse that he deserves his own lab, since he's just as good as Walt. When Jesse refuses, Walt asks him why he's selling out his "potential"—he has nothing and nobody in his life other than Walt, and it would only be a matter of time before he goes back to drugs if he leaves. When Jesse implies that Walt isn't as upset about Todd's murder of Drew Sharp as he claims to be, Walt gets angry and asks if he's just supposed to "lie down and die with him?" He insists that no one else will get hurt now that they're in control, but Jesse tells him that line's been bullshit every time. Walt switches gears and tells Jesse that after all they've done, all the people they've killed—"Gale, and the rest"—they're just as bad as Todd and already going to hell. Walt isn't going to lie down until he gets there.

Jesse again tells Walt he just wants his buyout money so he can leave. Walt tells him that since it's "filthy blood money," Jesse shouldn't want it; Walt will "save" him from that. He again tells Jesse to stay. Jesse says that it's on Walt if he doesn't want to honor his deal with Jesse, and walks out as Walt yells after him that he gets nothing.

At a DEA meeting, Hank is reprimanded by his superiors for being derelict in his duties as a result of his focus on the Gustavo Fring case. This, in combination with the impropriety of personally serving a search warrant to Mike, leads to Hank's boss declaring Mike off limits and the surveillance budget for him cut. But Hank is not giving up, and tells Gomez to surveil the lawyer of Gus's old crew instead of Mike...

Walt continues to cook meth with Declan as distribution, now taking Todd under his wing as his new assistant. Even though cooking with Todd isn't the same as with Jesse, Todd proves to be a dedicated assistant, taking notes and giving his level best. Todd even refuses payment until he can get his cook right.

As Skyler continues to act aloof around him, Walt pays a visit to Hank and cries crocodile tears, claiming that Skyler doesn't love him anymore. While an uncomfortable Hank goes to get him coffee, Walt swipes the tracking bug, as per Mike's request. Afterwards, Gomez calls Hank. To Walt's horror, Gomez had found the lawyer Mike was using to pay off his guys and gotten him to flip!

Mike is watching his granddaughter at a park when he receives a call from Dan Wachsberger, asking his whereabouts. Mike tells him, but feels something is off. Mike gets another call, this time from Walt, telling him the DEA is coming for him. Soon after, police cars converge on the park, looking for Mike, leaving him with no choice but to leave Kaylee without even a chance to say goodbye.

Mike calls Saul, who was discussing the situation with Walt and Jesse, and tells him to bring Mike his emergency car and "go bag" containing money, a passport, and a sidearm. Saul thinks the DEA is keeping too close of a watch on him, and Mike won't let Jesse endanger himself when he volunteers to go instead, so Walt agrees to retrieve the bag. He briefly checks inside and sees Mike's gun, then brings the car and bag to Mike as he waits for him by a river.

Walt asks Mike for the names of Gus' old crew, presumably to kill them to keep them from giving up Walt's name, but Mike refuses. Tempers begin to flare as Walt blames Mike for bringing an outside lawyer into his business, which resulted in the DEA's closing in on him. Mike fires back that they had a good deal with Gus Fring, and that if Walt wasn't such a prideful son of a bitch and did as he was told, there wouldn't have been any problem.

Mike goes to his car and opens his bag, but finds something important missing: his gun. In a fit of rage, Walt storms up to him and shoots him once. Mike tries to drive away, but crashes his car.

Walt, shocked at what he'd just done, follows Mike's blood trail and finds him sitting on the riverbank. Walt remorsefully admits he could've just gotten the names from Lydia and tries awkwardly to apologize, but Mike rebuffs him with a simple request:

"Shut the fuck up... and let me die in peace."

The two men silently watch the sunset over the horizon, until Mike finally succumbs to his wound and keels over, dead.


This episode provides examples of:

  • Alas, Poor Villain: Mike's death is portrayed as the pointless and somber affair that it is – there was absolutely no reason for Walt to kill Mike, and Mike was just trying to protect his loyal guys from him. The way that Mike calmly sits down at the edge of a lake watching a sunrise and asks Walt to just let him die in peace is genuinely tragic, and even Walt himself instantly regrets it and laments that he could've just gotten the names from Lydia.
  • Anyone Can Die: You know the rest of Season 5 will live up to this when mainstay Mike is killed off halfway through it.
  • Backhanded Apology: Zigzagged. Walt is genuinely shocked and regretful for shooting Mike since he could have just gotten the names from Lydia. His subsequent apology, however, isn't so much "I'm sorry I killed you for insulting my ego because I'm that petty" as it is "I'm sorry I didn't use common sense to figure out how else to get what I wanted", showing that, subconsciously or otherwise, he felt bad for the wrong reasons. Mike, no doubt knowing that his guys are practically screwed as him now, shuts up Walt so he can at least retain some dignity in death.
  • Call-Back: Walt retrieves the bug from Hank's office with the same cover he used while planting it: Needing a shoulder to cry on because of his failing marriage. After the second time carrying Walter's emotions, Hank looks hilariously exhausted.
  • Can't Take Criticism: Walt's ego is so massive, that he shoots Mike in a blind rage for his rant.
  • "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
    • Mike tells Walter that he wouldn't be in this mess if Walter had simply done what he was told, among other things.
    • After shooting Mike, Walter just realized that he could have just gotten the names of Mike's security team from Lydia. On the other hand, Walter eliminating those people on his own initiative after Mike fled the country might just have incensed Mike enough to come back for both Walt and Lydia.
    • Saul even points this out to Mike saying his lawyer the DEA got to flip was unreliable and if Mike stayed with Saul, that wouldn't have happened!
  • Crocodile Tears: Walt once again fakes an emotional breakdown as a pretext to get into Hank's office.
  • Downer Ending: Walt kills Mike after a heated argument, making all his efforts in both here and Better Call Saul all for nothing. The worst part is that it's completely pointless.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Walt is baffled by Jesse's desire to leave the meth business after Drew Sharp's death. He seems to be even more baffled that Jesse is willing to leave with or without his share of the money.
  • Exact Words: Hank's boss orders him to cease his investigation on Mike. He doesn't however, mention anything about being disallowed to investigate Mike's associates.
  • Face Death with Dignity: As Walt chases him with a gun, Mike first tries to run away, but having been mortally wounded, he resigns to just calmly sitting on a log by the river, enjoying one last moment of tranquillity as his life ebbs out. Even when Walt walks up to him and tries to apologize for shooting him, as he has realized that it actually was not necessary at all, Mike just coldly rebuffs him, telling him not to ruin the moment for him.
    Mike: [to Walt] Shut the fuck up... and let me die in peace.
  • Five-Second Foreshadowing: Two-fold with how the episode ends:
    • After Mike finishes chewing out Walt, he storms off to his car, causing Walt to storm away as well... before walking back into frame to follow after Mike.
    • Mike then opens up his handbag, only to see that his gun is missing. Just as Walt is marching up to his car, gun in hand...
  • Gaslighting: Walt goes through this as he heaps praise on Jesse's talent as a meth cook, only to then immediately follow up with saying that he has nothing and that if he is not cooking he'll probably slip back into addiction.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Walt is clearly irritated when he gets a glimpse of the positive dynamic Jesse had with Mike for a while. Mike parts with Jesse with much more warmth and civility than he did with Walt.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: For all of Walt's deriding of Jesse that he'd start getting high again when not occupying himself with cooking meth, Jesse does indeed start smoking marijuana in the next episode with Walt giving a "just as I called it" smirk when he sees the cannabis device in Jesse's house.
  • Moral Myopia: Walter's ridiculing Jesse for wanting out of the business since he has nobody and nothing else to live for is this when you think about how Walt indirectly or otherwise caused all of his relationships outside of Walter himself to be ruined or ended:note 
    • Walt insisted on dealing with Tuco despite Jesse warning him it was too dangerous, leading to them setting up a laboratory in Jesse's basement where his mother discovered his manufacturing meth; she and his father disowned him entirely for this after being on the rocks for years beforehand.
    • Ordering Jesse to expand the territory when trying to run their own empire got Combo killed by Tomas, which led to Jesse using heroin and getting his girlfriend Jane off the wagon as well. To say nothing of Walt accidentally causing Jane to roll over on her back seconds before overdosing and choking on her own vomit, which Walt could have prevented but chose not to so he could rein Jesse in and so Jane wouldn't reveal his meth operations to the world. Plus Tomas died a few months later shortly after Walt squealed on Jesse for attempting to poison the two dealers responsible for getting the boy into the game in the first place.
    • Ultimately gaslit Jesse into breaking up with Andrea and leaving Brock behind so that he wouldn't have to listen to his guilty conscience about poisoning the latter (which in itself could count as an example) and possibly so that Jesse couldn't have any happiness while Walt's marriage had become anything but in name only. He also showed no remorse for Jesse's sadness over ending the relationship, being more annoyed at his partner for not being as irritated as him for getting a smaller amount of the meth profits.
    • Then in this episode, he kills Mike, albeit not for any reason related to Jesse, probably, but for rightly calling Walt out on his pride and ego which caused the downfall of the Fring Empire and put them all in a less-than-ideal situation. It has been shown over the season that Walt has been jealous of Mike's growing attachment to Jesse, which also may have played a role in why he ultimately killed him.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Walt almost immediately becomes shocked over the fact that he shot Mike.
  • Oh, Crap!: Four big ones: one when Mike's lawyer realizes the DEA has busted him, one when Walt learns the lawyer flipped, one when Mike finds out the lawyer flipped, and finally, one when Mike finds out his gun is missing and sees a very pissed off Walt marching up to him with said gun.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Mike's tirade against Walt in his "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Mike's refusal to sell out his guys to Walt leads to Walter killing him.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: Jonathan Banks considers the moment where Mike abandons his granddaughter at the playground to escape the police to be something Mike never would have done, but didn't protest out of respect for the writers and producers. He also found the end of the train heist, and Mike's lack of reaction to Todd killing Drew Sharp, as out-of-character.
  • Precision F-Strike: Mike delivers one of these to Walt before dying.
  • Rage Breaking Point: Walt's disdain for Mike climbs to a fever pitch when Mike tears into the ex-science teacher on the count of his self-defeating ambitions and bloated entitlement causing the downfall of Gus Fring's empire and subsequently leading the DEA to RICO the incarcerated Los Pollos Hermanos employees' hush money. He's so pissed at his ego being attacked that he doesn't hesitate to speedwalk over to Mike's car and shoots him for it.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Mike gives Walt one of these. It doesn't end well for him.
    Walt: I want those names, Mike. You owe me that much.
    Mike: I don't owe you a damn thing. All of this, falling apart like this, is on you!
    Walt: Wow. [disbelieving chuckle] Wow! Oh, that's some kind of logic right there, Mike. You screw up, get yourself followed by the DEA, and now suddenly this is all my fault? Why don't you walk me through this, Mike?
    Mike: We had a good thing, you stupid son of a bitch! We had Fring, we had a lab, we had everything we needed, and it all ran like clockwork! You could have shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed! It was perfect! But no! You just had to blow it up! You, and your pride and your ego! You just had to be the man! If you’d done your job and known your place, we’d all be fine right now.
  • Replacement Goldfish: After failing to convince Jesse to continue cooking with him, Walt takes on Todd as his new lab partner.
  • Retirony: Mike is just about to skip town and presumably retire from the criminal life forever when Walt caps him.
  • Say My Name: Invoked. This proves that Walter's ego has gone to his head in a major fashion after killing Gus Fring. The last three lines of the following quote are the trope's current page quote:
    Declan: Who the hell are you?
    Walt: You know. You all know exactly who I am. Say my name.
    Declan: Do what? I don't–I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are.
    Walt: Yeah you do. I'm the cook. I'm the man who killed Gus Fring.
    Declan: Bullshit. Cartel got Fring.
    Walt: You sure?
    [Declan glances at Mike, who shakes his head.]
    Walt: That's right. Now, say my name.
    Declan: ...You're Heisenberg.
    Walt: You're goddamn right.
  • Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Even Walt's threat of withholding his $5 million share does nothing to deter Jesse from walking right out. Contrast his indignation at Walt back in season 2, when the share he owed him amounted to ten times less...
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jesse, finally tired of Walt's abuse and manipulations, coupled with all the blood on both their hands, decides to leave the meth trade for good.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: Despite all of his efforts, Mike lost all $5 million of his money that he earned thanks to the DEA busting his lawyer, including the $2 million he wanted to leave for his granddaughter, Kaylee. Then he loses his life.
  • Self-Serving Memory: Mike is guilty of this when he lambasts Walter for ruining everything. Walter has his share of the blame to go around, but Mike conveniently leaves out that Gus started the feud between them. Gus wanted Jesse killed, and Walter intervened, which disgusted Gus because this proved (in his mind at least) that Walter couldn't be controlled. It was Gus' insecurity and his ego about being the boss that made him deem Walter a threat and sought to have him eliminated. The fact that Mike is so buddy-buddy with Jesse at this point in time leaves out that Mike was originally okay with Gus killing Jesse, and Walter was the only one advocating for Jesse back then. Walter "keeping his mouth shut and doing what he was told" would have resulted in Jesse's death.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Mike is a badass and a tough guy but ultimately a bullet in the gut will kill even him.
  • Take a Third Option: The previous episode saw that Mike will sell all the methylamine and get him $15 million; even ensuring Walt that he will get his $5 million cut. Walter decides to recruit a new line of distributors, get Mike his $5 million so he may leave for good, and still keep his empire afloat.
  • Tempting Fate: As seen in the page quote, Walter tells Jesse that now that they're in charge no one else will die because of them. Jesse points out that Walter has always said that and it's never true. Sure enough in this episode, Mike dies at Walt's hands, and in the next when he kills the remaining Los Pollos employees in prison.
  • Villain Has a Point: Despite Walt's increasingly out-of-control ego, he has a legitimate case that the collapse of his relationship with Fring wasn't the fault of his pride. Fring became determined to kill Walt after Walt killed the rival dealers to stop them from killing Jesse; everything that followed, including Fring's attempt to have Mike kill Walt in the laundromat lab, Walt having Jesse kill Gale to prevent this, and Fring's attempts to split off Jesse from Walt so that he could kill Walt while still having a meth cook, all followed from that. The only way for Walt to have stayed in Fring's good graces would have been to allow the rival dealers to gun down Jesse (or, if Jesse won that fight, let Mike kill Jesse in revenge), and while the wisdom of Walt intervening there is debatable, his interference there wasn't on account of pride.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Walt exhausts all his negotiating tactics to get Jesse to stay with him: portraying them as equal partners, belittling any outside interests for Jesse that's not cooking meth, implying Jesse will fall back into addiction if he's out, maintaining that he's upset about Drew Sharp's death (and then equivocating Drew's murder with Gale's), insisting that no one will get hurt now that they're the kingpins of Albuquerque, proclaiming that Jesse's cut is "blood money", and finally playing on Jesse's (assumed) greed by claiming he can make exponentially more by cooking with Walt. When none of it takes, Walt's reduced to screaming at Jesse as he leaves Walt's lab for good.
    Walt: If you leave, you get nothing! Do you understand me?! Nothing! JESSE!
  • Wham Episode: Mike's operation is busted and he's on the run, and Fring's men whom he's been paying to keep quiet are now loose ends. Walt confronts him about it and in his anger shoots him, only to realize later that he could have gotten the information about them from Lydia. Mike tells Walt to let him die in peace.
  • Wham Shot: As Dan Wachsberger adds money to Mike's bank account, the operation seems to be working well, until Steve Gomez and his cops are shown watching Dan Wachsberger from behind.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: Mike once his lawyer gets caught by the DEA and flips on him, forcing him to flee the park where his granddaughter is blissfully swinging and unaware of her pop-pop's fate.

"Shut the fuck up... and let me die in peace."

 
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Say My Name

Walt makes sure his new business partner, Declan, knows exactly who he is.

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