"Say My Name" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American
television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 53rd overall episode of the
series. Written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, it aired on AMC on August 26,
2012. The title of the episode is a phrase
repeatedly spoken by Walt during his encounter with Declan.
This episode marks Jonathan Banks's final appearance as a series regular.
Banks and Bryan Cranston both received high praise from critics for their
performances. Banks later returned for the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call
Saul as Mike and currently stars as a series regular.
Plot Walt, Mike, and Jesse meet with Declan,
their Phoenix-based competitor. Instead of agreeing to Declan's offer to
purchase the heisted methylamine for $15 million in exchange for removing the
"blue sky" from the drug market, Walt offers a counterproposal: to sell his
superior product through Declan's southwest distribution network in
exchange for a substantial share of the business and a one-time, $5 million
payment to Mike for his share. Frustrated with having to negotiate with
Walt, Declan demands to know who he is. Refusing to back down, Walt insists that
Declan already knows his name and demands that Declan say it. When Walt
informs him that it was he who killed Gus Fring, Declan resignedly realizes
and acknowledges Walt as Heisenberg. As Mike leaves with his $5 million, he
informs Walt that he will continue to pay the legacy costs of hazard payments
to Fring's men out of his own money, but that Walt must remove the eavesdropping
bugs planted earlier in Hank's office before a sweep is performed by the DEA.
Walt avoids Jesse's attempts to get his share of the money and leave the
business. Meanwhile, Mike learns through the bugs that the DEA has a search
warrant for his house. He gets rid of his weapons and stashes a go bag with
cash, a passport, and a gun in an airport parking lot. When Hank and Gomez
search his house, they find nothing. Later, Hank is instructed by his
superior that he must end his surveillance of Mike and proceed with
other cases due to budgetary considerations. Not being instructed
otherwise, Hank decides to have Gomez follow Mike's attorney, Dan, who has
been placing cash in various safe deposit boxes to facilitate the transfer
of the hazard payments and to set aside money for Mike's granddaughter Kaylee.
Gomez successfully catches the lawyer in the act and apprehends him.
Jesse confronts Walt and demands his share of the money. Walt becomes hostile
and accuses Jesse of having nothing in his life, but his attempts to manipulate
Jesse fail and Jesse ultimately leaves without his money, angering Walt
further. Walt is forced to cook his next batch of meth with Todd, who proves to
be much more subordinate and better at following orders than Jesse. Pretending
to be distraught over Skyler, Walt visits Hank at his office and manages to
remove the bugs, but overhears Gomez telling Hank that they have arrested the
lawyer and that he plans on telling everything he knows about Mike. Walt
frantically calls Mike, who is at a park with his granddaughter, and tells him
the DEA is coming for him. Upon the arrival of the local police, Mike is
forced to flee the park without saying goodbye to his granddaughter.
Mike calls Saul Goodman and asks him to retrieve the go bag for his getaway, but
Saul fears the DEA will follow him. When Jesse volunteers to help, Mike refuses
his assistance, leaving Walt to retrieve the bag. When Walt meets with Mike, he
refuses to hand over the bag unless Mike tells him the names of the nine men he
is paying off. Mike refuses and, angered by Walt's insistence that Mike owes him
gratitude, proceeds to insult Walt's pride, insisting the entire situation
could have been avoided if Walt had continued to work for Gus and hadn't
killed him, and that all that is happening to them is because of his ego.
He walks back to his car, and Walt storms off momentarily, but then walks
over to Mike's car. Once in his car, Mike realizes his gun is missing from
the getaway bag, just as Walt uses it to shoot him through the car window. Mike
tries to run away, but - mortally wounded - ultimately resigns himself to
sitting on a log by the river. After Walt catches up to him, Walt realizes he
could have just asked Madrigal Electromotive executive Lydia for the
names of the employees and that shooting Mike was unnecessary. As Walt stammers
an apology, Mike tells him to shut up and let him die in peace; after a moment
of silence, he falls off the log, dead. Production
The episode was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz and aired on AMC on
August 26, 2012. This episode marks the final appearance
of Mike Ehrmantraut. Show creator Vince Gilligan talked about Mike's death and
why it was one of his favorite moments of the series:
Reception = Ratings=
"Say My Name" was watched by 2.98 million viewers and received a 1.4
rating among viewers aged 18-49, the series' highest ratings at the time.
= Critical reception= The episode received highly positive
reviews from critics with many critics singling out Jonathan Banks and Bryan
Cranston for particular praise. The episode is recognized by many critics as
one of the best in the series. TV Fanatic's Matt Richenthal gave "Say My
Name" a five-star rating, calling it "one of the best in series history."
Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a 9 out of 10 rating, calling it
"mind-blowing", but stating that "I hate to see Mike go out like that. He
deserved more. I literally can't give this higher than a 9.0, it was just too
sad of an ending." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix thought the episode was "a mostly
tremendous episode of a drama", adding the death of Mike "is just a gorgeous,
devastating scene." Thomas Schnauz was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for writing
this episode. References
External links "Say My Name" at the official Breaking
Bad site "Say My Name" at the Internet Movie
Database "Say My Name" at TV.com