In Germany, Peter Schuler, an executive for Madrigal Electromotive GmbH, the parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos, kills himself with a portable defibrillator after police arrive to question him about his longstanding ties to Gus Fring.
However, Walt justifies rebooting the meth business by claiming that it is a golden opportunity that he cannot afford to leave behind since he is actually $40,000 in debt to Jesse after Skyler White gave over $600,000 to Ted Beneke, and paid for Hank Schrader's physical therapy.
Meanwhile, Hank takes part in a meeting between the DEA and Madrigal's CEO, who claims Schuler was a lone criminal within the company and promises full cooperation.
A Houston-based Madrigal executive named Lydia Rodarte-Quayle asks Mike to kill eleven men from Gus's operation in order to tie up loose ends.
However, when he is called in to meet with Hank and Steve Gomez, Mike learns the authorities have seized all of the offshore accounts Gus had set up for key underlings in his meth operation.
While Walt joins a visibly frightened Skyler in bed for the night, he tells her things are much better than she thinks, and makes unreciprocated sexual advances on her.
He also spoke about Jonathan Banks, who was the main focus of the episode, and Mike's evolving over the series: "It’s a testament to the great actors on this show – Aaron Paul, Dean Norris who plays Hank – that those characters became more important over time.
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly called "Madrigal" "terrific", stating: "One of the methods to Breaking Bad's endless fascination is the way it unfurls maps of inter-dependence.
Certain characters may like to see themselves as independent agents, as lone wolves, but everyone is dependent upon someone else – someone else's errors, or rare twinge of good conscience – and thus must remain part of a group.
[6] TV Fanatic's Matt Richenthal gave the episode 4.8 out of 5 stars, commenting: "Through its attention to detail, direction and dialogue, Breaking Bad possesses an uncanny ability to enrapture and enthrall.
"[7] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture cited the episode as an example of great directing in television, stating that it "contained not a single dull shot" and is stylistically reminiscent of Alan J. Pakula's thriller films through Michelle MacLaren's "sense of space, light, and pacing".