"Breaking Bad" Phoenix (TV Episode 2009) Poster

(TV Series)

(2009)

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10/10
A sin of omission
Tweekums10 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
After selling the methamphetamine to Gus Walt phones Skyler to tell her he is caught in traffic and will be at the hospital as soon as he can. Once there he is happy to discover that mother and baby daughter are both doing well. The next morning Jesse calls to tell him that their meth has all been stolen; Walt doesn't say a word he just leaves him to panic. When he eventually tells Jesse he refuses to give him the money believing that he wouldn't be able to handle it and would probably overdose within a week. Things get even worse for Jesse when Jane's father come into the house and sees all the drug paraphernalia. He threatens to call the police unless Jane agrees to go to rehab she does until she learns of the money Walt is keeping for Jesse; she is determined that they will get it and make a new life together after their one last hit of course. By an unlucky coincidence Walt and Jane's father find themselves chatting in a bar; inevitably the conversation turns to the subject of children. After this he determines that he can't abandon Jesse; he goes round and finds Jesse and Jane clearly on heroin; as he tries to wake Jesse; Jane rolls on to her back and starts vomiting; he must decide whether saving her is in his interest or not.

This was a fairly dark episode; we have seen characters die; we've even seen the protagonists kill but somehow seeing Walt standing there doing nothing while Jane was dying was more disturbing than most things we've seen so far. This is probably because it wasn't part of an action scene, she wasn't posing an immediate threat; Walt just let the person his business partner loved die because he thought she might take him away from the enterprise. Over the course of her few episodes Krysten Ritter did a good job in the role and I shall miss her character although I understand that her death will serve to be part of the evolution of Jesse's character. John de Lancie put in a great performance as her father; a man who clearly loved her and wouldn't give up on her despite her obvious failings; the scene between him and Bryan Cranston's Walt was great; there performances good enough to let us forget the coincidence that they just happened to choose to go to the same bar at the same time.
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10/10
why Walt does it
javi-505-56507117 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Walt didn't just let Jane die because it was good for his business. He wants Jesse as a partner but also doesn't want him to die. Jesse had been doing drugs on and off for the whole series and you can reasonably label him as an addict. Only now he and Jane were spiraling out of control together and it was just a matter of time before one of them (or both) died.

Walt let her die because she knew who he is and had threatened to reveal it, because Gus' advise "you can never trust a drug addict" was resonating in his mind (therefore she could blackmail him again), because she was just as bad influence on Jesse as he was on her, and because knowing Jesse's drug use history the only way to get him to quit once and for all would be to wake up next to his dead girlfriend and realise not only that he's partly responsible for it but also that next time it could be him.
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10/10
Can't Wait For What Happens Next!
g-bodyl20 May 2014
This is the twelfth episode in the second season of Breaking Bad and let me start off by saying that up to this point, this may be the best episode of the season. The first half of the episode is very calm and loose as Walt enjoys his new daughter. The second half picks up the intensity exponentially as we some legit crazy scenes. As always there is fantastic acting here, more so by Bryan Cranston.

In this episode, "Phoenix," Walt's daughter Holly is born, but Walt misses her birth due to the fact that he got his family rich. Meanwhile, Jesse and his girlfriend Jane becomes addicted to heroin and Walt refuses to give Jesse money until he sobers up. Finally, Walter Jr. comes up with an idea that would raise money for Walt's cancer treatment.

Overall, this is an incredible episode and the last five minutes will shock you. I'm eagerly anticipating on what will happen in the season finale and I so can't wait. I rate this episode 10/10.
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A Tragedy Blows...
Red_Identity10 February 2011
The Penultimate episode of the season is an amazing piece of television, and it's likely to haunt and shock many viewers. It's perhaps the best episode of the series thus far, with incredible performances. Cranston has never been better, while Paul is a force to be reckoned with. His storyline is wrapped up but will surely bring something new in the future. This season so far has shown us the addiction that is strong among druggies and this episode especially will be a key element in how Jesse's future turns out and will make many people especially be disgusted at the way these sort of situations break out. Hold on for dear life, because the last 10 minutes will rock you to the core.
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10/10
Incredible
claytode23 November 2019
Both the scene in the Bar and the final scene left me speechless, incredible atmosphere, awesome tension, and that final scene holy hell
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10/10
Phoenix (#2.12)
ComedyFan201026 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
It is just getting better and better. Walt doesn't want to give Jesse his share of money until he does get clean again. When Jane finds out about it she blackmails Walt.

The end scene is absolutely great. We have Walt come to talk to Jesse again and see Jane suffocate on her vomit, but Walt doesn't save her. One of the reasons we know he didn't is because he knows that Jesse will have trouble quitting if he is dating a junkie.

This is what makes this episode special. We see Walt care for Jesse more than we have seen before. And the scene we saw him and Jane's in a bar was definitely sad. Her dad basically said what made Walt go back to Jesse in the first place.
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10/10
Amazingly intense
mlh-8148615 September 2020
I'm a little late to the party but I've begun binging on Breaking Bad. This episode may very well be the most intense single episode I have seen. I believe that by the end, I was sitting there with my mouth open and bug-eyed. Exceptional TV.
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10/10
One of the most devastating episodes of the series sees Walt fall way beyond redemption
RicinBeans9424 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
"Not on your back, in case you throw up. On your side. Sleep on your side."

The one Breaking Bad moment that I have argued about the most with my friends is the end of this episode, when Walt knocks Jane Margolis onto her back and then chooses not to stop her choking to death. His immediate reaction, when he notices her choking, is indeed to save her, but then he changes his mind - in that moment, the life of a young woman is in his hands and his hands only, and he chooses to let her die. Many of my friends think this action is justified because of two things: Jane's attempts to blackmail Walt and the fact that Jesse will be better off without her. First of all, while her blackmail of Walt is selfish and it makes us start to dislike her, it in no way means she deserves to die. Secondly, Walt is only thinking about himself in the moment - any love he does have for Jesse comes second to his own personal needs.

I'm not quite sure what show my friends are watching, because this is a show where actions have consequences. The show itself does not treat actions like this as justified - so I question why some of the audience do. A possible answer, of course, lies in the fact that shows like Dexter exist. (I did very much enjoy Dexter at its best, which for me was the fourth season, but I found much of what happened to make no sense and was disappointed with the lack of consequences for certain actions.)

All that, of course, is besides the point. What we have here, in 'Phoenix', is a devastating, yet fantastic episode of television. It's the ending that will stick in the mind, but it's consistently excellent the entire way through. Jane telling Jesse to make sure not to lie on his back has a huge impact on a second watch of the episode, as we know what her ultimate fate is.

Is it a coincidence that Walt meets Donald Margolis in the bar? Yes. Do coincidences happen in the real world? Yes they do. It's actually one of my favourite scenes - they talk about Jesse and Jane respectively and they can relate to each other, without ever really knowing who each other are.

Watching through the second season for the third time, I now consider 'Phoenix' to be the high point of the series up until this point.

10/10
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10/10
Deus Ex Machina
Hitchcoc1 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Jesse has gone down the road to self-destruction. He is hooked up with this similarly dead end woman. She has him hooked on heroin and when she finds that Walter is holding half a million dollars, she decides to take action and blackmail him. Walter comes with evil intent, but forces beyond him take over. He has always been a moral man, but now he makes the most horrible decision of his life. And it is inaction, not action. Of course, Jesse is a loose cannon and can't be depended on to be trusted. This is a gut wrenching episode to say the least.
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10/10
Incredible
Leofwine_draca4 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Another wonderful episode, incredibly dark and going to places that you never thought even this show would dare to go. Jesse's descent into addiction is tragic and appalling to watch, and guest star John De Lancie brings so much emotion it's incredible. As for the last scene - well, it's one that'll stay with me for a long time to come.
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9/10
"You cant never trust a drug addict"
firmanfmn18 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This episode take addiction to its nature ,we see Jesse and Jane who previously doing heroin take it more deeper and deeper as they go by,walt sense this and got worried and decided to visit his ex partner Once for all just to find they sleep high on heroin but this time walt in perfect time to witnesse Jane who threatened to burn him down earlier got choked from her dope,and walt let her die.Good move walt good move.
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10/10
Excellent
markmourad-00716 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I mean walter white character deserves an oscar i know it's a tv show but.. And the last scene walter looking at jane dying and not knowing whether to save her or not.. it's brilliant!!
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6/10
Flawed after rewatch
abmnml6 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Wow, after rewatch, I feel this episode does not deliver on its promise, having two glaring flaws:

Jane's father just gives up?! If he was just tired of trying, he should have gone ahead with the police report. But he wasn't, he hung up because he listened to his daughter and he still loved her and wanted to fight for her... So how does he then just leaver alone in that state with a junkie?! Just say: "Tomorrow you'll go to rehab, but I will stay with you the rest of the day, we will do this together, I'm here to help you, I love you." and STAY WITH HER! If she pushes you away (because she is an adult and has that legal right) just say, "baby, then I will have to call the cops, sorry."

Walt just folds too easily to Jane's threat, he should have spotted the bluff right away, there's no way she could go to the police and not ending up framing Jesse. That was such a weak threat for a protagonist who was already protecting territory, willing to kill and die to protect his new business. Walt just gives the money with no guarantees of safety other than Jesse's word, weak.
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1/10
Wah Wah Wah for 40 minutes
ANannyMoose0229 June 2022
If you're like most viewers you probably can't stand the sound of a baby crying in a tv show. Well it just so happens that over 90% of this episode is a baby crying excessively, almost always for no other reason than she's just in the scene. While this episode has a central plot point at the end which mostly makes up for the rest of this screechfest, it still doesn't excuse all pointless Skyler and baby scenes. The first one in the hospital was enough for the episode.
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10/10
Redemptive fall
TheLittleSongbird5 June 2018
'Breaking Bad' is one of the most popular rated shows on IMDb, is one of those rarities where every season has either been very positively received or near-universally acclaimed critically and where all of my friends have said nothing but great things about.

Very few shows in recent memory had me so hooked from the very start that before the week was over the whole show had been watched, especially when for a lot of shows now airing watching one episode all the way through can be an endeavour. 'Breaking Bad' had that effect on me, and its reputation as one of the best, consistently brilliant and most addictive shows in many years (maybe even ever) is more than deserved in my eyes. Its weakest season is perhaps the first season, understandable as any show's first season is the one where things are still settling.

Actually everything is established remarkably from the very start, but once the writing and characterisation becomes even meatier the show reaches even higher levels.

"Phoenix" is yet another brilliant episode of a consistently great season, difficult to decide which is the best of the second season for me between this and "Grilled". It has intensity but is also one of the show's most emotionally devastating episodes.

Visually, "Phoenix" is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing in "Phoenix" is a fine example of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and tense, while also have a darkly wicked sense of humour, nail-biting tension and heart-tugging pathos. The story is texturally rich, intimate, tense and layered, with the pace of it consistently deliberate but taut.

Can't say anything bad about the acting. Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as one of the most fascinating anti-heroes, or even of any kind of character, in either film or television. Aaron Paul has never been better and Anna Gunn is affecting. The characters are compelling in their realism.

Overall, amazing and powerful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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10/10
Deteriorating humanity!
and_mikkelsen29 March 2023
Once you slip back in, it is hard to get out again! This was both a tragic but also very important episode in the series! This is the episode that comes to mind when i think about season two! Sometimes people go to a dark place, looses themselves to the point where you can't recognize them anymore! You want to help them, but you can't

The final scene made me emotional and was hard to watch! Very realistic and dark! Walts reaction is such an important moment in his charactet developmemt and his transcension into Heisenberg! That final fascial expression says it all!

Janes actress did a phenomenal job in this episode!
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9/10
Good. Grief.
Trey_Trebuchet8 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Chilling...

I never witnessed a drug overdose before, but I'm related to people who use to be laced on all sorts of drugs. My sister was one of them. Watching shows like this and Euphoria is very challenging sometimes. Jane's dialogue and actions took me back to the days of my sister's addiction. I wasn't in the thick of it, but it still haunts me to think about. The life of an addict isn't pretty. Thankfully this show doesn't seem to be glorifying it.

The final moments are chilling. Walt could have possibly (possibly) saved her, and he didn't... What will this imply for our protagonists? Will Jesse end up going in to rehab to keep selling? Will Walt be carrying guilt? I seems to feel terrible about it, but he also accidentally rolled her on to her back... MAN this is some truly heavy, disturbing stuff.

Everything up to that point was still expertly paced and crafted though. Paul and Cranston are excellent, and the guest appearances were great this season as well. All of them. This has been a great season. I can't believe there's still one more episode after this one.
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10/10
walter white sucks
shwhwhtbbfxjis27 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The whole episode builds up to the end, based on things said you know it's going to happen. Jane says things like 'i promise i'll go to rehab tommorow' 'don't sleep on your back in case something happens.' and right before the end her and jesse talk about getting clean, flushing everything, running away and starting a new life, you hope for the best, but the truth is you figure out her end when she decides not to leave and instead use with jesse. However i never would think it would happen the way it did. It was incredibly disturbing the way it goes down because she could be saved, instead walt let's her die, he watches as she dies with many opportunities to save her, but instead after accidentally pushing her on her back, instead of putting her back on her side he leaves her there, instead of doing anything when she starts to die he watches, knowing he can do something but deciding not to, he says he's trying to do what's best for jesse but that is not true at all, he's just using jesse for what's best for himself. Walter white is a very selfish person who pretends to look out for others, he's made very bad decisions in the past but this one is probably unforgivable.
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10/10
A Tale of Birth and Death.
snwbatz23 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is easily one of the most interesting episodes to talk about. The episode has a vibe about it like no other episode. It opens up with Walt delivering the meth and getting a call from Marie that the baby is born. And from then on the majority of the episode is pretty chill and happy except for Jesse and Jane doing heroine. There's a lot to talk about like the fact that there's to point of views in the episode those are Walt's and Donald's. The scene where Walt and Donald are talking in the bar is tragic because they're talking about wanting to help they're children change for the better. Donald says you can't give up on family. Which motivates Walt to go see Jesse and he pushes Jane onto her back. She starts vomiting and she begins to choke on it. And Walt lets her die because she knows everything about him and Jesse and could rat them out at any point. It is the beginning of the end for Walt. The episode begins with the birth of Walt's daughter and the death of Donald's daughter.
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9/10
Jagger Jane is NOT an Innocent Victim
TheFearmakers29 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Tiresome how Jane's death is supposed to be so sad and tragic when she is a junky who turns Jesse into a junky and then threatens the show's main star via blackmail. She's not innocent and on a show like this, she got what was coming to her. This isn't Melrose Place.
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10/10
Born from the ashes
paullwetzel23 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Walt has successfully gone through with Gus' deal, yet refuses to pay Jesse his half because he has been getting high with Jane.

Jane blackmails Walt and threatens to expose his identity if he doesn't give Jesse his money.

In the night, Walt arrives at Jesse's apartment to talk to him. However, he finds Jane, lying on her back and choking on her vomit due to the drug's influence. Within a few seconds, he must make the decision of whether to save her or whether to let her die. Seeing all the trouble that Jane has caused him, Walt decides to end her life.

This is one of the most brutal scenes in the show. With the amount of chemistry and energy that there has been between Jesse and Jane, this scene is gut-wrenching. They really had to insert the cutest moments between the two in this episode, from ranking Jesse's high school drawings to their plans of moving to New Zealand before killing her off.

I feel that this episode's title is metaphorical for Walt embracing his position as a cold-hearted drug lord. From the ashes if his unfulfilling life, he is now rising up as a flaming phoenix, embracing his hatred, cold-bloodedness and ego.
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Momentarily Outstanding, But Not Perfect as a Whole
stillworkingfortheknife5 November 2013
Season two's penultimate episode doesn't feel as if we were coming to an intense season finale, but nevertheless includes scenes of great importance. Firstly, Walt's and Skyler's second kid Holly is finally born. After the tumultuous ending of "Mandala", "Phoenix" takes it a bit calmer and includes some lovely scenes between Walt and his daughter. The fact that Skyler's boss Ted was present at the birth and her actual husband Walt wasn't, is an interesting idea already and the 'introduction shot' of Ted was made very well too.

Yet the bigger aspect of this episode is a new problem that Walt faces: through his incredible deal in "Mandala", he made him and his family rich, but can't tell them because the deal's methods were a bit disgraceful, to say the least. The growing suspicion of his family about Walt so decisively objecting to any form of subsidies is another really well-made part of "Phoenix". In one rememberable scene, he shows the tremendous money stash to his infantile daughter, which makes her fall asleep. Walt's new lawyer Saul also gets a word into that dilemma and comes up with an ingenious solution – again in his "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy" technique.

However, the plot part that you will surely not forget about "Phoenix" is neither of those two but what happens to Jesse and Jane in this episode. I'm not spoiling it for you, but it's indubitably the most intense moment up to that point on Breaking Bad. Bryan Cranston, who is also involved in this unforgettable scene, does a phenomenal acting job – in that particular scene, it is crystal clear (no pun intended) why this man has won three Emmys for this role. What happened previous to that excellent closing scene is not nearly as good, but I at least appreciate the writer's idea of how to let this story come to an end. It's just that the screenplay gives the involved actors some cheesy lines and admittedly, Aaron Paul and Krysten Ritter don't seem to have had their best of days whilst shooting this episode. Anyway, there's still the aforementioned stand-out scene and before that, a great conversation between two characters you wouldn't have expected to meet up for a talk.

I consider "Phoenix" to be one of season two's best episodes, yet it still isn't perfect and a tad unentertaining at times.
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7/10
Probably the most depressing episode in the show
bellino-angelo201423 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
After the events at the end of the previous episode Walter White managed to take the heroin for Gus Fring but didn't manage to go in time to see the birth of his new daughter and Jesse soon after calls Walter because he think he's been robbed but Walt hangs up: when Jesse finds the truth goes to Walt's high school for having half of the money but Walt decides that they'll share the right dose of money when Jesse will appear more sober but Jesse doesn't feel ok about it and assaults Walt in the classroom. In the meanwhile Jane's father is angry because she finds his daughter hanging with Jesse soon after she went out of rehabilitation. Jane soons blackmail Walt and he is forced reluctantly to give half of his money to Jesse. In the evening Walt goes again to Jesse for talking with him but after noticing that Jesse doesn't wake up because of too many heroin and in an attempt of waking him up moves Jane a bit and she has a throw up crisis in her sleep because of the overdose; Walt attempts to rescue her but soon stops, letting her die.

The story arcs up until the ending were good but what bogged me to give an higher score was the ending, because it would have been better if Jane wouldn't have been died. Still, good but one of the lesser episodes in the show so far.
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8/10
Well deserved
zhyarTheChosen3 July 2020
Really loved the balance but I wish that the main character were a bad ass
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