Breaking Bad

23. Simms Building

Albuquerque, NM

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The Simms Building serves as a stand in for the Albuquerque DEA Field Office, Hank’s workplace. While a lot of the focus in the show is on Walt’s unraveling, Hank’s own spiraling out of control mirrors Walt’s, and a lot of it takes place at the DEA field office. There is much cloak and dagger within these tortured walls, making you wonder if there are really any “good guys” in this story. The Albuquerque DEA Field Office is part of the larger DEA El Paso region. After Hank fortuitously kills Tuco Salamanca, he is promoted to the Tri-State Border Interdiction Task Force meaning he will be splitting his time between Albuquerque and El Paso. Shortly after his colleagues present him with Tuco’s glittering grill in a crystalline Lucite cube, Hank suffers a panic attack while riding the elevator down to his promotion party. It seems that he has not completely dispatched Tuco after all. When Hank returns from El Paso, his PTSD compounded even further by the “Tortuga” incident, he is introduced to one of Albuquerque’s most upstanding citizens, Gustavo Fring. Fring notices a donation jar on Hank’s desk with a picture of Walt on it. When he inquires about Walt, Hank tells Gus that his brother-in-law is fighting cancer, after which Gus makes a donation. Soon Hank discovers that he is to return to El Paso, his anxiety about going back triggers another panic attack while he is in a bar with Agent Gomez who had just remarked to him that he would love to get back in the action. Not knowing how to deal with his mental health issues, Hank stashes his gun in his car before picking a fight with two “dirtballs” in the bar. Back at the office Hank and Gomez deliver less than truthful stories about what happened. On thin ice, Hank follows up on a lead about an RV that was never registered. At a campground, against Gomez’s urgings to wait for a warrant, Hank climbs atop an RV only to find an old couple playing canasta in their underwear. After calming down the frightened occupants Hank tries to prod Gomez into following up more leads, but Gomez informs Hank that he will be the one going to El Paso, further eroding Hank’s confidence. Things come to a head for Hank when Jesse tricks him into believing that Marie is in the hospital. Hank then follows Jesse and beats him ruthlessly. At a hearing at the DEA offices Hank is questioned about his less then licit detective work with the RV but pleads the fifth when they question him about Jesse. After the hearing he meets Marie in the elevator where he finally lets go and cries, barely composing himself before the door opens. But Hank’s fear of emotion gets the better of him when in Season 5, after Walt gives an Oscar worthy performance in Hank’s office about Skyler not loving him, a visibly uncomfortable Hank excuses himself to give Walt some space. Playing right into his hand, Walt uses the opportunity to bug Hank’s office and computer. While a lot of intrigue takes place at the DEA field office, in actuality The Simms Building is quite mundane. Its only claim to fame was that, at thirteen stories, it was the tallest building in New Mexico for seven years after it was completed in 1954. Photo Credit: flickr.com