One Minute (Breaking Bad)

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"One Minute"
Breaking Bad episode
One Minute Breaking Bad.jpg
Hank brutally beats Jesse, believing he was responsible for luring him away from the junkyard.
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 7
Directed byMichelle MacLaren
Written byThomas Schnauz
Featured music"Black Knight" by Badar Miandad
Cinematography byMichael Slovis
Editing bySkip Macdonald
Original air dateMay 2, 2010 (2010-05-02)
Running time47 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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Breaking Bad (season 3)
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"One Minute" is the seventh episode of the third season of American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 27th overall episode of the series. It was written by Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren. The episode follows Hank as he deals with a lawsuit against the DEA by Jesse after Hank brutally physically assaults him. Walt tries to pacify Jesse and have him be his cooking partner. Meanwhile, the Cousins plot Hank's assassination and engage in a shootout with him in a parking lot.

"One Minute" originally aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 2, 2010. It was watched by an estimated 1.519 million American viewers and received a 0.6 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode received universal acclaim from critics, with many considering it to be one of the best in the series.

Plot[]

Flashback[]

A flashback in Mexico shows a young Leonel Salamanca complaining to his uncle, Hector, about a toy broken by Leonel's twin brother, Marco, with Leonel proclaiming that he wishes Marco was dead. In response, Hector shoves Marco's head in a tub of icy water despite Leonel's objections, and finally releases him after Leonel punches Hector, while proclaiming "la familia es todo" (family is everything). In the present, Leonel and Marco light candles at a makeshift Santa Muerte shrine. In the center, the twins place a photo of Hank Schrader.

Plot[]

Furious that he was tricked into believing that his wife was in the hospital, Hank goes to Jesse Pinkman's house and attacks him as he opens the door. He knocks Jesse out cold before realizing that he has gone too far. Paramedics come and wheel Jesse away to the hospital as Hank stares in awe. Walt and Saul arrive at the hospital and meet Jesse. Walt notes that they would be in jail if they had not tricked Hank, after Jesse blames him for his predicament. Jesse also claims that he will make Hank's life miserable, and, despite Saul's objections, threatens to hand Walt to the DEA if he or Saul intervenes. At the DEA, Hank makes a statement about what happened at the junkyard, but pleads the Fifth when it comes to his actions at Jesse's house. He is then informed that Jesse is filing charges for his actions.

Skyler visits Walt at his condo. He initially believes she is mocking him, but she pleads with him to pacify Jesse so that Hank does not face charges. Walt refuses despite Skyler's assertion that Hank is his family and asks her to leave.

Later, at the lab, Gale attempts to be friendly with Walt, but he gives him the cold shoulder. He forces a disagreement with Gale and later convinces a reluctant Gus to make Jesse his partner again. At the hospital, Walt pitches the job to Jesse, who mocks it as a ploy to save Hank. He initially refuses, citing Walter's previous wrongdoings of him, but he eventually calls Walt and says he agrees to the partnership.

In the desert, Leonel and Marco meet with a trucker hawking an array of weapons. He gives them a free hollow point bullet and shows off his bulletproof vest, which Leonel and Marco test by shooting him point blank. When he survives, they purchase two vests and leave him on the floor complaining about possible broken ribs.

At the DEA office, Hank admits to assaulting Jesse, and is suspended without pay and has his gun confiscated. As Hank departs, he learns Jesse is not pressing charges after all. Later, Hank is in an SUV in a parking lot when he gets a phone call and an electronically disguised voice tells Hank that he has one minute to leave before two men show up to kill him. At first, he wonders if it is a prank call, but after one minute Leonel and Marco arrive and ambush Hank. He reverses his car into Leonel, pinning him against another car and maiming him from the waist down, then flees with Leonel's gun. Marco empties his gun shooting at Hank and reloads, dropping the hollow point bullet in the process, before eventually knocking Hank down with two shots. Rather than shooting him dead, Marco decides to hack Hank to death with his murder axe and goes to retrieve it from his car. Hank then loads the hollow point bullet into Leonel's gun and kills Marco with a gunshot to the head. Marco's axe lands right next to Hank, who falls unconscious from massive blood loss.

Production[]

The episode was written by Thomas Schnauz and directed by Michelle MacLaren; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 2, 2010.

Schnauz received writing duties for this episode based on seniority. Originally there was a plan to have the Cousins killed as early as episode 2.[1]

Reception[]

Ratings[]

"One Minute" originally aired on AMC on Sunday, May 2, 2010. The episode was viewed by an estimated 1.519 million American viewers, and received a 0.6 Nielsen rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.[2] This means that it was seen by 0.6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.[3]

Critical response[]

The episode was acclaimed by critics and is considered to be one of the best in the series. Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club praised the suspense and tension of the episode, giving it an "A" and writing that "I doubt you needed the threat of imminent natural disaster for this episode to put you on edge".[4] Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a 10/10 ("Masterpiece") rating, saying that "'One Minute' was this show's finest hour, and maybe one of the best episodes of anything we've seen on TV in the last 20 years."[5]

Maclaren was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for this episode.[6]

In 2019 The Ringer ranked "One Minute" as the 4th best out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Breaking Bad 101: The Complete Critical Companion.
  2. ^ "Breaking Bad Season 3 Ratings". TV By The Numbers. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Breaking Bad Season 3 Ratings". TV By The Numbers. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Bowman, Donna (May 2, 2010). "Breaking Bad: "One Minute"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  5. ^ Amitin, Seth (May 3, 2010). "Breaking Bad: "One Minute" Review". IGN. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  6. ^ "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  7. ^ Justin Sayles (September 30, 2019). "The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking". The Ringer.

External links[]

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