Prep pack · temporal graph

Breaking Bad

About to watch S05E01 · Live Free or Die

Spoiler-free to End of Season 4 · Episode 13 "Face Off"

100% spoiler-free up to the final frame of S04E13. Nothing from S05E01 or later is included. Gold pack · temporal graph at ordinal 46.

Months since last watch

14m

Long gap (passport-weighted): foundational who/where listed first.

Standard

Gus Fring is dead - nursing-home explosion with Hector Salamanca.

Walt engineered Gus's death after a long war for the meth empire.

Hank is alive and recovering; he does not know Walt is Heisenberg.

Season 4 ended with Walt using Hector as bait and bomb. Before that, Walt poisoned Brock (lily of the valley, not ricin) to turn Jesse against Gus.

Hank's Fring investigation produced real institutional heat that does not vanish with Gus's death.

Walt partners with Jesse; early cooks and Tuco danger establish the trade.

Skyler grows suspicious; Hank is DEA family.

Walt's Heisenberg identity begins.

Tuco falls; distribution expands; plane crash aftermath hangs over ABQ.

Jane dies; Jesse breaks; Walt's moral freefall accelerates.

Saul Goodman enters as counsel.

Gus Fring institutionalizes Walt and Jesse in the superlab.

Gale is killed; Jesse pulls the trigger under coercion chain.

Hank survives the cousins; becomes obsessed with Heisenberg evidence later.

War with Gus ends in Gus's death via Hector's bomb.

Walt poisons Brock to turn Jesse; lily of the valley, not ricin.

Hank still does not know Walt is Heisenberg.

Season bridge: everything above is end of Season 4. S05E01 ("Live Free or Die") has not started.

Cutoff discipline: every fact above ends at S04E13. Do not import anything from S05E01 ("Live Free or Die") or later.

Key events (pre-cutoff)

01Gale is dead; Jesse pulled the trigger under Walt's coercion chain.
02Brock poisoned; Jesse turned against Gus via Walt's plot.
03Hector's wheelchair bomb kills Gus at Casa Tranquila; Walt claims victory.
04S1: Walt partners with Jesse; early cooks and Tuco danger establish the trade.
05Skyler grows suspicious; Hank is DEA family.
06S1: Walt's Heisenberg identity begins.
07S2: Tuco falls; distribution expands; plane crash aftermath hangs over ABQ.
08S2: Jane dies; Jesse breaks; Walt's moral freefall accelerates.
09Saul Goodman enters as counsel.
10S3: Gus Fring institutionalizes Walt and Jesse in the superlab.
11S3: Gale is killed; Jesse pulls the trigger under coercion chain.
12S3: Hank survives the cousins; becomes obsessed with Heisenberg evidence later.
13S4: War with Gus ends in Gus's death via Hector's bomb.
14S4: Walt poisons Brock to turn Jesse; lily of the valley, not ricin.
15S4: Hank still does not know Walt is Heisenberg.

Character status cards

Snapshots as of graph ordinal ≤ 46 (S04E13).

Walter White

Heisenberg

alive

Meth manufacturer who toppled Gus

Loc. Albuquerque

Motivation: Control, pride, empire framed as family provision
Emotional state: Triumphant and dangerous
Last known: Won the war with Gus; told Jesse he won

Allies

Jesse (unstable), Saul

Threats

DEA heat on Fring network, exposure to Hank, cartel remnants

Jesse Pinkman

alive

Cook and partner; moral casualty

Loc. Albuquerque

Motivation: Survive, matter, escape Walt's worst games
Emotional state: Trauma and twisted loyalty
Last known: Allied with Walt against Gus after Brock crisis

Allies

Walt (toxic), Andrea (personal)

Threats

Legal consequences, Walt's control

Skyler White

alive

Wife drawn into laundering and cover

Loc. White household / car wash

Motivation: Protect children; contain Walt
Emotional state: Fear, anger, trapped competence
Last known: Managing illegal proceeds and optics

Allies

family facade

Threats

Blowback, legal exposure

Hank Schrader

alive

DEA; Fring hunter

Loc. Albuquerque (recovering)

Motivation: Close the Fring case; reclaim strength
Emotional state: Driven, wounded pride; does not know Walt is Heisenberg
Last known: Built a serious case against Gus before Gus died

Allies

Marie, Gomie, DEA

Threats

Incomplete picture of Heisenberg

Saul Goodman

alive

Criminal lawyer / fixer

Loc. Albuquerque

Motivation: Get paid; manage client risk
Emotional state: Nervous professionalism
Last known: Embedded in Walt/Jesse logistics

Allies

Walt/Jesse as clients

Threats

Client chaos, DEA

Mike Ehrmantraut

alive

Fixer from Gus's shattered org

Loc. Albuquerque area

Motivation: Professional survival
Emotional state: Cold competence after organization collapse
Last known: Part of Gus security apparatus as Gus falls

Allies

remnants of Gus crew

Threats

Power vacuum, Walt

Gustavo Fring

dead

Late meth empire chief

Loc. Casa Tranquila

Motivation: —
Emotional state: —
Last known: Killed with Hector by wheelchair bomb

Continuity web

Relationship map

Ink diagram of who is bound, opposed, or entangled as of the cutoff (End of Season 4 · Episode 13 "Face Off"). Click a name to pin. Edge labels appear on focus.

7 figures26/26 ties shownhub: Walter (12)

Hover or click any figure to open their tie dossier. Hostile and tense ties carry direction marks. Secret ties are dashed.

Open threads

Hank still has not named Walt

critical

Fring case proved the empire; Heisenberg's face remains a family secret.

Who cares: Hank, Walt, Skyler

Who owns the business now?

critical

Lab, product, money, and employees need a new order or collapse.

Who cares: Walt, Jesse, Mike

What does Jesse believe about Brock?

high

Alliance against Gus rests on a poisoned narrative.

Who cares: Jesse, Walt, Andrea

Path to now

S4 mid · ABQ

War with Gus intensifies

Threats, surveillance, lab coercion tighten.

S4 late · ABQ

Brock poisoned; Jesse turned

Lily-of-the-valley plot reframes loyalty.

S4E13 · Casa Tranquila

Face Off

Gus dies; Walt claims victory.

World state

Fring empire headless; Los Pollos cover shattered by death and investigation.
DEA has blood in the water on Fring; Heisenberg still unnamed to Hank.
Status quo at season end is the baseline for the next stretch.

Constrained desk chat

Temporal RAG over this pack only. No model calls. No post-cutoff index rows exist.

Desk · Cutoff desk open. I only know this show through End of Season 4 · Episode 13 "Face Off". Ask about characters, threads, or events before that line. I will refuse anything later.

Spoiler-free to End of Season 4 · Episode 13 "Face Off"

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