Breaking Bad season 2: Difference between revisions

| season_number = 2

| bgcolour = #135C6B

| image = BreakingBadS2DVD.jpg

| image_size = 250

| caption = Season 2 = DVD cover

| starringshowrunner = {{Plainlist|[[Vince Gilligan]]

| countrynetwork = United[[AMC (TV Stateschannel)|AMC]]

| networkfirst_aired = [[AMC{{Start (TV channel)date|2009|03|AMC]]08}}

| first_airedlast_aired = {{StartEnd date|2009|0305|0831}}

| last_airednum_episodes = {{End date|2009|05|31}}= 13

* [[Bryan Cranston]] as [[Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter "Walt" White]], a terminally ill high -school chemistry teacher in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]. Walt runs a drug[[Methamphetamine in the United States|methamphetamine]] business with his partner Jesse Pinkman.

* [[Anna Gunn]] as [[Skyler White]], Walt's pregnant wife and a [[Bookkeeping|bookkeeper]] for the firm Beneke Fabricators.

* [[Aaron Paul]] as [[Jesse Pinkman]], a laid-back,former small-timestudent drugof dealerWalt's and cookerhis whocurrent isbusiness in partnership with Walter Whitepartner.

* [[Betsy Brandt]] as [[Marie Schrader]], Skyler's sister and Hank's wife. She is a [[radiologic technologist]].

* [[Krysten Ritter]] as [[Jane Margolis (Breaking Bad)|Jane Margolis]], Jesse's drug addictedneighbor, landlord, and later girlfriend who is in recovery from drug addiction.

* [[Christopher Cousins]] as [[Ted Beneke]], Skyler's former boss whom sheat beginsBeneke aFabricators briefand affairlater, withlover.

* [[Bob Odenkirk]] as [[Saul Goodman]], a sleazy criminal lawyer who becomes affiliatedinvolved with Walt and Jesse's crimesbusiness.

* [[Tom Kiesche]] as [[Clovis (Breaking Bad)|Clovis]], Badger's cousin and junkyard owner.

* [[Michael Shamus Wiles]] as [[George Merkert]], the head of the Albuquerque DEA office, and Hank and Steve's boss.

* [[Giancarlo Esposito]] as [[Gus Fring]], the owner of the fictional fast-food chain, [[Los Pollos Hermanos]],. andHe is secretly a drug kingpin associated with [[Drug cartel|the Cartel]] whoand isbecomes the new distributor of Walt and Jesse's meth.

* [[Mark Margolis]] as [[Hector Salamanca]], Tuco's muteuncle and wheelchair-bounda uncleformer whodrug only communicates with a bellkingpin. He is alsoparaplegic laterand revealednon-verbal, toonly becommunicating Gus'using archa nemesisbell.

* [[Carmen Serano]] as [[Carmen Molina (Breaking Bad)|Principal Carmen Molina]], Thethe principal of J.P. Wynne High School, the school that Walter Jr. attends and Walt's worksplace of atwork.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = NoThe opening scene in black-Dozeand-white diesfilm fromshows thea beatingpartially Tucoburned inflictedstuffed onanimal him,floating in the White's backyard pool. Tuco and Gonzo leavesreturn toimmediately hideto the body.junkyard meetup site asking Walt andto Jesseresuscitate areNo-Doze, horrifiedwho byhas Tuco'sdied violentfrom outbursts,his asinjuries. wellGonzo ashides the mysteriousbody appearanceunder a car. Fearful of Tuco's violent and unpredictable manner, and noticing an ominous black [[Cadillac Escalade|SUV]]. Jesseoutside resolvestheir torespective shoot Tucohomes, but Walt hasdevelops a more surreptitious plan involvingto poisoningpoison himTuco with untraceable [[ricin]], thus leaving their hands clean. Hank reviews the security surveillance footage of the methylamine warehouse break-in. without realizingThough he isdoes watchingnot recognize Walt and Jesse, though he can tell they are inexperienced thieves. InvestigatingHank and the junkyard,DEA hefind findsthe bodies of both Gonzo deadand fromNo-Doze in the junkyard after Gonzo accidentally bled out, which sets off a botchedmanhunt attemptfor toTuco. hideAfter No-Dozereceiving a picture of Gonzo's body from a jesting Hank, Walt mistakenly believes Gonzo was murdered by Tuco and becomes convinced that Tuco will come after him and Jesse next. Skyler tells Hank about Marie's [[shoplifting]], and learns she has already been receiving therapy for [[kleptomania]], though Marie still refuses to acknowledge the tiara theft. JesseSeeing andheadlights outside his home window, Walt's fearshurriedly comeleaves truea asconfused Skyler to investigate, where he finds Jesse being held at gunpoint by Tuco. Tuco orders Walt to get in the car and they kidnapsdrive themaway.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Tuco takes Walt and Jesse at gunpoint to a remote desert hideout, where he takes care of his sick uncle Hector Salamanca, a former drug kingpin who is now incapacitated due to a [[stroke]] and can only communicate with a bell. Tuco explains that Hank and the DEA have rolled his entire organization. Unaware of Gonzo's death, Tuco believes Gonzo has ratted him out and becomes extremely agitated. Tuco nowvoices intendshis plan to take Walt and Jesse to Mexico, whereand theyrun willa cookcovert methcooking foroperation himin the 24/7jungle. Desperate,After Waltseveral unsuccessful attempts to poisonhave Tuco, butingest the ricin, Hector disruptswarns Tuco using his planbell that Walt and Jesse are not to be trusted. Enraged, Tuco attacks and attempts to kill Jesse, but Jesse manages to woundshoot him andin escapethe withtorso Waltand escape. Meanwhile, Skyler isenlists worriedHank overto Walt'shelp disappearancetrack and,down afterWalt. HankAfter Marie reveals his suspicion that Walt has a second cell phone, remembersSkyler mentions that Jesse had been supplying Walt with [[marijuana]]. After visiting Jesse's mother, Hank tracks Jesse's car to Tuco's hideout and gets into a shootout with Tuco, whom he kills in self-defense. Seeing Hank from a distance, Walt and Jesse bury the gun and run off into the desert.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Walt andforms Jessea haveplan to getexplain back homehis and explainJesse's theirdisappearance disappearances;and Waltthey formssplit aup plan,to andhitchhike theyback splitto upthe city. Alone, Walt goes to a supermarket, removes his clothes, and wanders around the aisles, feigning a disoriented state. He is hospitalized and claims to have no memory of wherethe past several days. Walt is scheduled to undergo ongoing psychiatric evaluation, but is ultimately released after telling his psychiatrist that he hassimply beenwanted forto thebe pastalone fewand daysfaked his "fugue state" to cover this from his family. Meanwhile, Jesse, meanwhilewho is now a [[fugitive]], returns to his house and, with Badger's help, packs all of his lab equipment into the RV and arranges it to be towed away. He then allows the DEA to find him in a motel room with a prostitute, with whom he claims to have been shacked up all weekend. Hank does not believe him and brings in Hector to identify him, but the old man refuses to cooperate with the authorities. Jesse is freedreleased, but the DEA confiscates all of his money. Walt convinces Jesse to continue cooking meth, saying that nothing has changed.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = WaltWhile andthings Jessehave appearblown toover bewith intheir the cleardisappearance, but Jesse has no money and Walt cannot leave the house to cook meth without Skyler wondering where he is. Jesse's parents, who own his house, order him to vacate, citing Hank's visit as the final straw. Now homeless and having his motorbike stolen, Jesse tracks down his hidden RV and spends the night in it. Suspicious of Walt's actions, including his denial of having a second cell phone, Skyler begins going out all day and refuses to tell Walt of her whereabouts. untilAn heincreasingly tells her the truth about what he has been up to;frustrated Walt continues to deny any wrongdoing. After stealing his RV from the impound lot, Jesse arrives at Walt's home and convinces him to give him half of their remaining money.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Walt continues his treatment and his condition improves, but he is concerned about the growing medical bills, which include the hospital visit in his "fugue state". Jesse begins to re-establish himselfhis life, paying off his debts and getting a new place to live. He develops an interest in his new next-door neighbor and landlord, [[Jane Margolis (Breaking Bad)|Jane Margolis]]. Hank and the DEA come across the name Heisenberg, but are not sure if he is real or just an urban legend. After his shootout with Tuco, Hank is promoted and appointed to a tristate drug task force, but experiences panic attacks. Skyler and Marie reconcile. Walt and Jesse resume cooking. Jesse is not keen on selling on the street and suggests he and Walt take over Tuco's role as a distributor to increase their profits; he recruits his friends Badger, Skinny Pete, and Combo as dealers. Skinny Pete is ripped off by a drug-addicted couple,. andUnimpressed, Walt tells Jesse that unless he does something about it, wordthey will getdevelop arounda thatreputation Jessefor and his crew arebeing easy marks.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Walt returns to work. Skyler receives a call from [[Gretchen Schwartz]] anddrops by the White's home where Skyler thanksexpresses her gratitude for paying for Walt's treatment. Gretchen does not reveal the truth to Skyler, but privately expresses her shock and anger to Walt's, bitternesswho atbitterly theirtells pasther relationship—personalto mind her own business and business—comesblames her and Elliott for profiting off of his research and cutting him out. In response, Gretchen calls Skyler and tells her that she and Elliott can no longer pay for Walt's treatment;. Walt covers by telling Skyler that Gretchen and Elliott are insolvent, which Skyler believes. Meanwhile, Jesse decidestracks to confrontdown the couple - a man named Spooge and his female partner - who ripped off Skinny Pete, andbut finds discoversonly their young and heavily neglected son homeat alonethe house. Jesse bondsmakes withthe theirboy sonfood and watches TV with him until the drug-addicted couple returns home; Jessewith isa heldstolen hostageATM. byThey theincapacitate coupleJesse. Later, the female addict kills her partner,crushes Spooge,'s byskull unbalancingunder athe stolenATM ATMafter he isrepeatedly workinginsults on, crushing his headher. Horrified, Jesse recovers the meth and cash from the ATM, calls the police, wraps the boy in a blanket on the front porch, and flees the scene.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Walt has trouble getting in touch with Jesse, who has been staying at home since his encounter with Spooge. Jesse is also not providing product to his dealers, so Walt arranges to deliver it. He learns that the word on the street is that Jesse killed Spooge and, due to his new reputation as a cold-blooded killer, they are having no problem at all collecting payment. Walt decides the time has come to expand their territory and put Jesse's new reputation to good use. Skyler decides to getseeks a job and goesis backrehired toas a bookkeeper by her oldprevious boss, Ted Beneke. Jesse and Jane continue to employerbond. Hank struggles to fit in at his new job in El Paso where he is perceived as a "gringo". During an investigation, Hank's task force comes across the severed head of an informant mounted on a tortoise, which causes him to feel sick and run to a nearby vehicle. AnHe is mocked by the other agents before an explosive strapped to the tortoise goes off, killing or injuring several DEA agents, and officers;while Hank escapesremains unharmed.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Hank suffers from [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] after the bombing in El Paso;. Walt triesgives Hank a motivational speech to help cheer Hankhim up. Jesse and tellsJane himhave tobegun a sexual relationship; Jesse learns that Jane is in recovery movefrom onaddiction. Walt and Jesse face yet another problem when Badger is arrested by the Albuquerque police. They end up hiring a shady lawyer, Saul Goodman, who ensures that Badger gets off with a light sentence without having to give away Jesse or Walt's identity. Through a private investigator, Saul tracks down Walt at the school and offers his services for a cut of the profit.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

|ShortSummary = Despite the good news about his condition, Walt is unhappy, verging on anger. Skyler decides to throw a party to celebrate the news and thank all of their friends for their support, but; Walt gets drunk and thenforces provokesWalt Jr. to drink an excessive amount of tequila, provoking an argument with Hank. He is embarrassedEmbarrassed about his behavior, andWalt tries to make amends. Walt also tells Jesse the good news and tells him that he is finished with their enterprise. Skyler confides to her boss, Ted, about Walt's condition. Jesse's relationship with Jane continues to grow, but he is taken aback when her father, Donald, drops in to see her; Jane does not introduce Jesse as her boyfriend. The ensuing confrontation compromises their relationship; however, they make up in the end.

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

{{Episode list/sublist|Breaking Bad (season 2)

The writers of ''Breaking Bad'' planned the storyline for the entire season in advance of filming and knew how the season would end right from the beginning. That differed from subsequent seasons, in which the writers did not have a complete plan and developed the storyline as the episodes progressed. Series creator [[Vince Gilligan]] said of season two, "That came about through many, many hours of beating our heads against the wall—very laborious work, which is probably why we haven't repeated that formula since."<ref>{{cite web |last=VanDerWerff |first=Emily |title=Vince Gilligan walks us through season four of ''Breaking Bad'' (part 1 of 4) |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=October 10, 2011 |url=httphttps://www.avclub.com/articles/vince-gilligan-walks-us-through-season-four-of-bre,63013/breaking-1798228161 |access-date=October 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012125632/http://www.avclub.com/articles/vince-gilligan-walks-us-through-season-four-of-bre%2C63013/ |archive-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=deadlive }}</ref>

The second season of ''Breaking Bad'' received very positive reviews from critics, scoring 84 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/tv/breaking-bad/season-2 |title=Breaking Bad: Season 2 |work=Metacritic |access-date=November 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226015625/http://www.metacritic.com/tv/breaking-bad/season-2 |archive-date=February 26, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> On review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the second season has an approval rating of 97% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 9.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Breaking Bad'' continues to soar, thanks to its artsy style and suspenseful thrills."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/breaking_bad/s02 |title=Breaking Bad: Season 2 (2009) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523145346/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/breaking_bad/s02/ |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' critic [[Ken Tucker]] stated "''Bad'' is a superlatively fresh metaphor for a middle-age crisis: It took cancer and lawbreaking to jolt Walt out of his suburban stupor, to experience life again—to take chances, risk danger, do things he didn't think himself capable of doing. None of this would work, of course, without Emmy winner Cranston's ferocious, funny selflessness as an actor. For all its bleakness and darkness, there's a glowing exhilaration about this series: It's a feel-good show about feeling really bad."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=httphttps://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20261336,00.html2009/03/08/breaking-bad/ |title=Breaking Bad review |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=March 8, 2009 |access-date=December 20, 2011 |author=Tucker, Ken |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229063324/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20261336,00.html |archive-date=December 29, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'''s Tim Goodman claimed "The first three episodes of Season 2 that AMC sent out continue that level of achievement with no evident missteps. In fact, it looks as if Gilligan's bold vision for ''Breaking Bad'', now duly rewarded against all odds, has invigorated everyone involved in the project. You can sense its maturity and rising ambition in each episode."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/06/DDIG169229.DTL&type=entertainment |title=TV review: 'Breaking Bad' proves anything but |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=March 6, 2009 |access-date=December 20, 2011 |author=Goodman, Tim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131121542/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F06%2FDDIG169229.DTL&type=entertainment |archive-date=January 31, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Horror novelist [[Stephen King]] lauded the series, comparing it to ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' and ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=httphttps://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20263453,00.html2009/03/06/stephen-king-why-i-love-breaking-bad/ |title=Stephen King: I Love 'Breaking Bad'! |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=March 6, 2009 |access-date=December 20, 2011 |author=King, Stephen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106032427/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20263453,00.html |archive-date=January 6, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Alan Sepinwall]] of ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'' praised the season, calling it "brilliant". He lauded the sound design as well as the cinematography, enjoying the "emphasis of beautiful desert vistas and disturbing tableaux". He also compared the series to ''[[The Sopranos]],'' more specifically on the similarity of [[Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter White]] and [[Tony Soprano]] and their respective reactions to similar situations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/05/breaking_bad_ends_killer_secon.html |title='Breaking Bad' ends killer second season |work=The Star-Ledger |first=Alan |last=Sepinwall |date=May 29, 2009 |access-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127111023/https://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/05/breaking_bad_ends_killer_secon.html |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> David Hinckley of the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' praised Cranston's performance of Walter White, calling him "one of the best played characters on television".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/breaking-bad-dealing-good-stuff-article-1.366901 |title='Breaking Bad' still dealing good stuff |last=Hinckley |first=David |work=New York Daily News |date=March 6, 2009 |access-date=November 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127110636/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/breaking-bad-dealing-good-stuff-article-1.366901 |archive-date=November 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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[[Category:Breaking Bad (season 2) episodes| ]]