YMMV / Breaking Bad S5 E6 "Buyout"

• Alternative Character Interpretation: What exactly motivated Mike to vote with Walt to keep Todd on. Jonathan Banks feels this was an Out-of-Character Moment for Mike, but immediately afterwards he threatens Todd for what he did. Since the only other options were to either fire Todd and inevitably pay him off or outright kill him, he possibly thought it was the least shitty out of several shitty options. Mike wouldn't pick the former because his guys depend on him, it's not like he has more money to spare. He could have chosen to simply kill Todd, but it would have resulted in a three-way tie between Jesse, Mike, and Walt on how to handle it; it's unclear how they would have resolved such a situation. Drew's death might also have played into his subsequent decision to retire along with Jesse, even though Mike only brings up the DEA ramping up their surveillance.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Jesse's comment calling Todd "Ricky Hitler" is a lot harder to hear after it's not only confirmed that Todd is part of the Aryan Brotherhood, but especially after Jesse is enslaved by said Brotherhood.
  • While defending Mike, Saul remarks "Well, some hurts only show on the inside". As it would turn out, he's speaking from personal experience.

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