‘Breaking Bad’ Retro Recap: ‘Fifty-One’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It is definitely safe to say, that our modern world cherishes the wonder of the Birthday, and it makes sense as to why. After all, the date of our birth signals the beginning of an incredible journey, one that we are still traversing and what better way to celebrate our accomplishments than by sitting down with close friends and family to partake in joy and reflection. Which is why we work so hard to try and make this special day for those we love, as memorable and as fun as possible. But alas, what we often forget about this personal holiday, is that we have a lot of them in front of us and sometimes… they won’t be epic and heartwarming in nature, they’ll just be another day now and again, and/or sour in nature.

If anything, the more somber side to birthdays is top of mind today, simply because Walter White experienced a rough one in the next episode of Breaking Bad. For ‘Fifty-One’ featured the buildup to Walter’s big birthday, where his age matched the title of this episode and well, Walter was definitely hoping for a celebration of life as epic as his fiftieth birthday. After all, he’d survived cancer and he’d made it through hell as well in this past year. One that also saw him transition in careers from schoolteacher to meth genius and burgeoning kingpin. So why not celebrate the big day in style and really relish in the second chance he'd been given and in the discovery of his newfound path toward riches untold.

In fact, he was so excited about the future that he leased a couple of slick rides for himself and his son and for a brief moment there, it really did seem as though this episode was going to be quite beautiful in nature. But alas, Skyler’s attitude during this time frame was pretty darn rough. To the point where she actually took the time to appear to attempt to drown herself in the family’s pool. A move that turned out to be nothing more than an attempt to spite Walter and exert power over him, and to try and convince him to move the kids out of the house, and that led to one heck of a birthday blowout between the couple. One where Walter made it clear how powerless she was in this mess and how come hell or high water, his plan for the future was going to work and keep them safe and rekindle their love. 

Which truly hammered home, how birthdays aren’t always a perfect day through and through, and when you sell drugs, the joy is a little harder to find. But while that alone could have carried this episode from beginning to end, there were still more important plot points to be found in this tale. For instance, Hank’s fine work in going after the meth market in the ABQ, led to his promotion of ASAC (Assistant Special Agent in Charge) of the Albuquerque office. A move that could lead to more drama. In part because, more resources will be available to him, but also because… nothing is going to stop Walter from having his empire. As evidenced by how he pushed to keep the methylamine flowing, despite Lydia’s weak protest attempts to move the business away from Madrigal, and the discovery of a GPS tracker on one of the barrels. 

In the end however, this was just… a solid episode through and through. One that really did a wonderful job of contrasting how much can change in a year, and how different our lives can be when that change is negative in nature. Plus, this episode also deserves a round of applause, for finally allowing for Walter and Skyler to have it out and get their sour emotions in the open for a change. In part because it needed to happen, but also because it led to some powerful moments. The kind that really demonstrated once again how the darkness is consuming Walter through and through and how drunk with confidence he’s become and well, it will be interesting to see what comes next for this family, now that Walter has taken charge of his home life in an uncomfortable manner. Until next time.    

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