Salud (Breaking Bad)

"Salud"
Breaking Bad episode
Having exacted his revenge, years in the making, Jesse and Mike must now escort Gus to safety.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 10
Directed by	Michelle MacLaren
Written by	Peter Gould Gennifer Hutchison
Cinematography by	Michael Slovis
Editing by	Kelley Dixon
Original air date	September 18, 2011 (2011-09-18)
Running time	47 minutes
Guest appearances
Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke Maurice Compte as Gaff Carlo Rota as Benicio Fuentes Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt Tina Parker as Francesca Liddy Steven Bauer as Don Eladio Vuente
Episode chronology
← Previous "Bug" Next → "Crawl Space"
Breaking Bad (season 4)
List of episodes

"Salud" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on September 18, 2011.

Plot[]

Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut, and Gus Fring take a chartered plane to Mexico so Jesse can teach the cartel how to cook Walter White's blue meth. Although the cartel's chief chemist is initially skeptical because Jesse cannot synthesize phenylacetic acid, the cartel is impressed when Jesse cooks a successful batch. Jesse is then horrified to hear the cartel state that they now own him and that he will cook for them from now on. Later, Mike reassures him that either the three of them will leave together, or none of them will.

It is Walter Jr.'s birthday but Walt never arrives to help Skyler White present his birthday gift, a Chrysler PT Cruiser which he is less than excited about. Concerned about his father, Walter Jr. pays him a visit, only to find him bloodied and on painkillers and alcohol. Walt blames it on gambling; he tearfully apologizes but later accidentally calls Walter Jr. "Jesse" before drifting off to sleep. The next morning, Walt finds Walter Jr. on his couch and apologizes for his drugged state, saying he does not want to be remembered that way after he has gone. However, Walter Jr. seems to be more satisfied with Walt's apparent truthfulness than his double life for the past year.

Ted Beneke is unable to pay back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which in turn raises Skyler's concerns of being investigated herself. She convinces a highly skeptical Saul Goodman to tell Ted of an inheritance from a fictitious aunt, a cover story for the money she plans to give Ted. Instead of paying off the IRS, Ted uses the money to lease a new Mercedes-Benz and restart his business, forcing Skyler to tell him that the money actually came from her.

Jesse, Mike, and Gus are brought to the hacienda of Don Eladio Vuente, where Gus and Eladio make peace, capped off with a bottle of rare tequila from Gus. As Eladio and his henchmen party, Gus goes to the bathroom calmly and induces himself to vomit – the tequila was poisoned, and everyone who drank it collapses. Gus, who is affected despite taking activated charcoal and vomiting, tells the surviving henchmen that Eladio and his men are dead and they therefore no longer have a reason to fight, suggesting they leave with whatever riches they can carry. Most remaining cartel soldiers then flee. As the trio escapes, Mike is shot by one of the enforcers, Joaquin Salamanca, Hector Salamanca's grandson. Jesse kills Joaquin and drives the weakened Gus and the wounded Mike away from the hacienda.

Reception[]

Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a 10/10 ("Masterpiece") rating.^[1] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave it an A− grade.^[2]

In 2019 The Ringer ranked "Salud" as the 20th best out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• "Salud" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Salud" at IMDb