Madrigal (22 Jul. 2012)

In Germany, the head of a multinational company's fast food division - which includes Gus' franchised chicken restaurants - commits suicide when the police come to question him. With Jesse ... See full summary »

Director:

Michelle MacLaren

Writers:

Vince Gilligan (creator), Vince Gilligan

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Cranston	...	Walter White
Anna Gunn	...	Skyler White
Aaron Paul	...	Jesse Pinkman
Dean Norris	...	Hank Schrader
Betsy Brandt	...	Marie Schrader (credit only)
RJ Mitte	...	Walter White, Jr.
Bob Odenkirk	...	Saul Goodman
Jonathan Banks	...	Mike Ehrmantraut
Laura Fraser	...	Lydia Rodarte-Quayle
Steven Michael Quezada	...	Steven Gomez
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	ASAC George Merkert
Norbert Weisser	...	Peter Schuler
Wolf Muser	...	Herr Herzog
Carrington Vilmont	...	Chief Food Technician
James Ning	...	Duane Chow

Storyline

In Germany, the head of a multinational company's fast food division - which includes Gus' franchised chicken restaurants - commits suicide when the police come to question him. With Jesse fretting over what happened with the poison cigarette intended for Gus Fring, Walt plans an elaborate ruse to let him find it in his house. With that out of the way, they approach Mike to join them in starting up the business but he refuses. Mike is also approached by a woman, Lydia - obviously involved in Gus Fring's drug business - who is worried about the number of people who could have their arms twisted to testify against them and wants them eliminated. Mike declines but when someone goes after him, he knows the source.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | banging on a door | adult playing with child | change of mind | food taster | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

High Bridge Productions, Gran Via Productions, Sony Pictures Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Madrigal building, the logo for Burger Matic is seen. This was the name of the name of the restaurant in creator/writer Vince Gilligan's Home Fries.

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Goofs

Standard automatic external defibrillators do not allow the manual administration of a shock: they must first analyze the patient's heart rhythm - a tough thing to do when one of the electrodes is in your mouth - to determine what type of shock, if any, is required. Therefore, successfully using an AED to commit suicide, especially the way shown in this episode, would be a matter of extreme luck. (By the same token, don't try it as a party trick.)

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Connections

Features The Caine Mutiny (1954)

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Soundtracks

"Stay On The Outside"
Written by Whitey
Performed by Whitey

User Reviews

Breaking Bad has a new villain?

After the jaw-dropping season premiere, the outrageous in Breaking Bad is getting cranked down.

This episode centers around Walter's pulsating desire to fill the power corridors and start cooking again. In this quest of his, he is ready to make some uncanny alliances.

The highlight of the episode, however, is the introduction of a new villain, Lydia (Laura Fraser), a former associate of Gus Fring who works for Los Pollos Hermanos' parent company, Madrigal. She is described by Fraser as being "extremely highly strung, calculating, enterprising," who wants to "survive at all costs." However her intro is far from this description. In this episode she is seen as nervous, jittery and extremely uncalculating.

This episode also reinforces the concept that has been the center-piece of this series so far; "the things we do for family".