3.13 Full Measure

Summary and Spoilers

A quick flashback shows us Walt and Skylar house-hunting as a young couple; Skylar is pregnant with Walt Jr. She has picked out a suitable house that fits their budget, but Walt wants more. Always ambitious, he sees them going higher and higher. You can understand why this man was not satisfied with teaching high school chemistry – and why he turned to crime as a way of reaping top rewards.

Walt meets with Gus to discuss what will happen next. On the surface, Gus accepts Walt’s suggestion that they treat this incident as a blip in what will be a long and fruitful career. Behind the scenes, however, Gus re-hires Gale and, soon after, pays him a personal home visit to ask him if he could take over cooking should Walt’s supposed health problems suddenly worsen. Walt also senses that his lifespan has shortened; he gets Saul to arrange a clandestine meeting with he and Jesse to discuss strategy. Walt feels that the only way to prolong his life is to make himself more valuable – and that means getting rid of Gale. Walt tasks Jesse with finding Gale’s home address – and Jesse comes through. As Walt leaves to do the deed, he is intercepted by Victor and brought to the lab. Mike is waiting, there to perform the execution. Walt pleads for his life, trying everything, including agreeing to give up Jesse. Mike is intrigued by this and allows Walt to call Jesse to set up a meeting. But instead, Walt tells Jesse that he must do ‘it’ – kill Gale. Jesse, stoned and shaken, nonetheless owes Walt his life, and goes to Gale’s home. Gale opens the door and is greeted with Jesse pointing a handgun at his head. Now it is Gale’s turn to plead for his life. Jesse fires one shot – toward the camera – and the episode ends.

Comments

It seemed to me that Jesse moved the gun slightly to the right before firing that shot, so he may have purposely missed Gale. I really don’t know if he could do such – kill an innocent, even if he owed his life to someone.

I didn’t notice an advisory warning on this episode, but it could have used one. I always find it quite unnerving to see someone pleading for their very life – that mental torture and anguish is much more difficult to watch than some of the more graphically violent scenes.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Walt: I’m gonna need some – some kind of assurance.
Mike: I assure you I could kill you from way over here if it makes you feel any better.

"Walter. You’ve been busy."
- Mike

Walt: You’ve always struck me as a very pragmatic man, so if I may I would like to review options with you, of which, it seems to me, you have two. Option A: you kill me right here and now. Apparently I have made that very easy for you. You can kill me, no witnesses, and then spend the next few weeks or months tracking down Jesse Pinkman, and you kill him too. A pointless exercise it seems to me, but that is option A.
Gus: What is option B?
Walt: I continue cooking. You and I both forget about Pinkman. We forget this ever happened. We consider this a...lone hiccup in an otherwise long and fruitful business arrangement. I prefer option B.

3.12 Half Measures

Summary and Spoilers

A complex negotiation between Walt and Skylar is a win-win. Skylar gets her preferred money laundering situation – the car wash with her as bookkeeper – and Walt gets a key to the house and dinner four nights a week.

Meanwhile Marie has devised a down and dirty way to get Hank to come home. She bets him that if she can produce an erection, he will leave. Hank takes the bet, sure that she will fail…but soon after, we see Hank being wheeled from the ward, a disgusted expression on his face.

Jesse wants revenge on the two dealers who ordered the death of Kombo. He shares his plan with Walt and requests some more ricin, but Walt wants no part of it. Jesse swears that he will do it anyway. He makes his own poison from a website recipe and enlists his hooker friend to deliver the good via hamburgers to the dealers.

Walt is concerned about Jesse’s plan and tells Saul. Walt suggests that they get Jesse incarcerated for a month until he cools off. Saul agrees and contacts Mike, his PI. But Mike visits Walt on his own to tell him that his employer (Gus) would not that kind of response. Mike tells a long story from his beat cop days about a wife beater whom he tried to scare into leaving his wife alone. The result was that it seemed to work, but soon after the man killed his wife. Mike says no more half measures.

Jesse is just about to go ahead with his plan when he is intercepted by Mike and brought to a meeting with Gus, Walt, and the two dealers. Gus is incensed and tells Jesse that not for Walt, he would have had Jesse killed. Jesse does not back down, insisting that he is in the right for wanting to do away with these dealers that use kids. Gus’s priority is keeping the peace. He tells the dealer to stop using kids, and make Jesse shake hands with them. Jesse goes through with it.

Later, Jesse is at Andrea’s house when she receives the news that Tomas is dead. He has been executed by the two dealers. Jesse gets a gun and fuels his courage with a meth bump. At the same time, Walt has received the news of Tomas’ death via a TV broadcast he receives while having dinner with Skylar and Walt Jr. Walt leaves immediately.

Jesse walks toward the dealers, who also have guns ready. All pull their weapons, ready to fire, when suddenly Walt speeds up and run over the two dealers. When one is still alive, reaching for his gun, Walt picks up the piece and executes him. With a scary, steely glare, he looks at the shocked Jesse and simply says, "Run!"

Comments

This episode was prefixed by a special viewer discretion warning due to the explicit violence in the closing scene.

The episode opens with a montage of Jesse’s hooker friend going through her normal work day, all set to the background music of the song ‘Windy’. Probably the best scene is the woman’s head disappearing beneath the dashboard of a car as she performs oral sex, while The Association sing, "Who’s bending down to give me a rainbow? Everyone knows it’s Windy."

Oh yes, one more thing. Best. Episode. Ever.

Memorable Moments

This is a fantastic episode from start to finish, but I just wanted to give special credit to Aaron Paul (Jesse), whose impassioned performance should be used as a textbook model of naturalistic, sincere acting.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Walt: But I’m noting a little hole in your plot, though. Why would your estranged husband be doing all this for you?
Skylar: Because he loves his family, and desperately wants reconciliation, though it may be hopeless and futile. Then again, he’d try anything.
Walt: I’m just not buying it. You know, I think it would be better if the husband were no longer estranged. Maybe if he were back sleeping in his own bed.
Skylar: Wow! It's suddenly a fantasy story!
Walt: I am at least gonna be a part of this household! Dinner with the family every night of the week.
Skylar: Not every night, no.
Walt: Six nights a week; you get one night off.
Skylar: Dinner two nights, not weekends, with 24 hours notice.
Walt: Five nights a week, with no notice.
Skylar: Three. Six hours notice.
Walt: Five nights a week with two hours notice.
Skylar: Four. Don’t…push it.
Walt: And I want my own key to the house.
Skylar: No.
Walt: For emergencies and appearances, yes. I am going to babysit my own daughter; I am going to help my son with his homework. I am going to be a part of this family. And that is how we’ll sell your little fiction.

"I bought it from the two guys who killed Kombo. They had Kombo shot down in the streets, and now it’s our product they’re selling. Which means they work for our guy, right?"
- Jesse

"No more half measures, Walter."
- Mike

Gus: Listen to me. You have one friend in this room: this man. Those men outside are my trusted employees. And when I learned what you intended to do. If it wasn’t for this man and the respect I have for him, I would be dealing with this in a very different way. Don’t look at him, you look at me! This is what happens now: my men will come back inside, and you will shake their hands and you will make peace, and that will be the end of this.
Jesse: No.
Walt: Jesse!
Gus: Pardon me?
Jesse: They use kids! These assholes of yours, they got an 11 year old kid killing for them. You’re supposed to be some kind of reasonable businessman? This how you do business? [looks at Walt] You okay with this? You got anything to say here?

Marie: I tell you what: if I can get the groundhog to see his shadow –
Hank: It’s not gonna happen, I’m sorry.
Marie: I’m betting it will. And if he does, you check outta here.

Andrea: Bad day?
Jesse: I don’t even know.

"Run!"
- Walt’s one word of advice to Jesse

3.11 Abiquiu

Summary and Spoilers

Through flashback, we are made aware of the rough yet touching synergy between Jesse and Jane. Jane is gone, and Jesse, perhaps yearning for love again, takes up with Andrea, a new girl in the recovering addicts therapy circle. It might be yearning, or it might be the more obvious reason: Jesse is disgusted with Badger and Pete’s inability to move any meth. In fact, Badger has only manager to sell a tiny amount – and that was to Pete. Jesse seduces Andrea, and his motives seem purely evil, but he stops bringing up the idea of selling meth to her when he finds out she has a 6 year old son. In a most bizarre coincidence, Andrea’s kid brother is the drug mule who shot Kombo. Jesse is also getting quite attached to Andrea, and he is interacting beautifully with her son Brock.

Hank has started PT but is terrified of taking that first step. He also is upset (upset is a mild way to put it) when he finds out that he can go home, and that Marie has put a hospital bed in their bedroom. He wants it out – and he does not want to go home until he can walk there. Meanwhile, the first of many huge hospital bills has been delivered to Marie; she passes that on to Skylar, who in turn invites Walt over to dinner to discuss how they will pay it. Skylar is unhappy with the money laundering arrangements and gets right involved. She and Walt meet with Saul and Skylar is less than impressed. She does not think the idea of Walt investing in laser tag is a believable scenario. She has a better idea; Walt should buy the car wash, and Skylar will run it. Walt vehemently does not want her to get involved, but she says she is involved. She also has some big news; she never filed the divorce papers, because a husband and wife cannot testify against each other.

Gus invites Walt to a lovely, one on one home cooked dinner and delivers an ominous warning that must relate to missing amounts of meth: never make the same mistake twice.

Finally Jesse makes a drug deal with the two guys who had Kombo murdered. He is visibly seething, not only at coming face to face with Kombo’s executioner, but also, Jesse is good with and cares about kids, and he is appalled to see that Andrea’s kid brother Tomas holds the drugs while the dealers in the car take the money, ensuring that they cannot be caught for possession.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Jesse: You can’t get your nut up to sell? What’s the point of even coming?
Pete: Homey, I’m on like step five.
Badger: Deuce, yo. I’m catching up.
Jesse: Whatever. Later.
Pete: Dude needs to come into the fold.

Walt: It makes a better story than your laser tag.
Saul: Is that you talking, or Yoko Ono?

"C’mon. You can help me cook."
- Gus to Walt

"Never make the same mistake twice."
- Gus to Walt

3.10 Fly

Summary and Spoilers

Walt seems down, depressed, struggling with the grind of work, because for what purpose is he doing all this? His drive to provide for his family is not appreciated. In times of stress, it seems that his drive for perfection dominates his thoughts. It manifests itself here as a lone fly that invades the lab. Most people would push that insect out of their mind, but for Walt, it is a deal breaker. He will not cook while that ‘contaminant’ is in the house.

Walt discovers and attacks the fly after Jesse leaves for the day. While swatting it, he bashes equipment and bangs his head, then goes even further and falls from the second floor. His fall is only partially minimized by a storage tank.

When Jesse arrives the next day, he is made to understand how important it is that they dispose of the bug. Jesse wonders how long Walt has gone without sleep, and even accuses him of sampling some of their product. Together, they unsuccessfully hunt down the bug. Their inability to work together is highlighted. They hit each other with Walt’s hand-made swatter. When Jesse does not dedicate every moment to getting the fly, Walt locks Jesse out of the lab and vows to do it himself. Jesse retaliates by cutting the electricity. Eventually, Jesse is allowed back in. He returns from no-pest strips and various bug sprays. These are either no good, because they are also contaminants, or do not work.

Jesse wants to get on with the cooking, so he drugs Walt’s coffee to put him to sleep. Before dozing off, Walt talks about life and death, musing about what would have been the right time to die. He seems tired of living and toiling and expresses frustration that he has not been able to explain everything to Skylar. He also comes dangerously close to admitting his role in the death of Jane. Jesse gets the fly just after Walt falls asleep.

Walt discovers missing meth but hasn’t figured out Jessie took it. As the show closes, Walt gently warns Jesse that he will not be able to protect him if he has taken it and is discovered.

Breaking Bad Quotes

 "You didn’t happen to maybe try our product, did you?"
- Jesse

"He’s got some skills – yo – give him that."
- Jesse

"I mean I truly believe there exists some combination of words – there must exist certain words in a certain specific order that would explain all of this, but with her I just can’t ever seem to find them."
- Walt

"I should never have left home – never gone to your house. Maybe things would have…oh, god I was, I was at home watching TV. It was some, some nature program about elephants. Skylar and Holly were in the other room. I could hear them on the baby monitor. She was singing a lullaby. Ah…ah, if I had just lived right up to that moment, and not one second more…that would have been perfect."
- Walt

Walt: Jesse…I’m sorry.
Jesse: Sorry for what? Being a lunatic?
Walt: Sorry about Jane.
Jesse: Yeah. Me too.
Walt: I mean I…I was very sorry.
Jesse: It’s not your fault. It’s…not mine either. It’s no one’s fault. Not even hers.

3.09 Kafkaesque

Summary and Spoilers

An ad for Los Pollos Hermanos focuses on the long tradition of making tender, tasty spicy chicken the old fashioned way. This segues seamlessly from chicken nuggets to nuggets of blue meth. Walt and Jesse must be working hard to make their quota: box after box of meth is sealed and carted away. The assembly line continues, with workers packing the meth into bags, and then hiding the bags deep inside sealed buckets of Los Pollos Hermanos Fry Batter. Thusly are the various franchises used as distribution centers.

Jesse should be happy with his half share of the 3 million, but he has done some quick math and calculated that Gus will make about 96 million from sales of the 3 months of meth they create. He tries to plead his case with Walt, but Walt just says he should be happy with being a millionaire. Walt doesn’t even have the energy or inclination to try to convince Jesse otherwise, by using arguments about how protected they are and how much risk Gus is assuming, or that Gus has other costs for infrastructure, equipment, and distribution.

Marie fusses over Hank. When Gomez pops in and meekly asks to visit, Marie says yes. Gomez tries to cheer Hank up by telling him that the blue meth is popping up all over the place. Walt, who is hanging in the room, perks up when he hears this news. Hank then shares the fact that someone with a voice scrambler warned him about the attack. Now Walt and Skyler perk up, and Skyler throws a few killer looks at Walt. Outside in the car, Skyler wants to know if they are safe and if he is safe. Walt says yes to both questions in his usual confident way.

Jesse daydreams in group therapy until he is prompted to share. He gives a bland lie about working in a laundromat, although the work situation he vaguely describes sound like the Walt-run meth lab. He agrees with the group leader that it all sounds Kafkaesque.

Hank is getting some feeling back in his legs. Marie’s high hopes are dashed when she finds out the care physiotherapy care he will receive will be limited by what is covered under their health plan. She knows that the more care he receives, the faster it starts, and the better the physiotherapist, the more chance he will walk again. She vows to give him what he needs and go outside the plan, which means hundreds and thousands of dollars of out of pocket costs. Of course, there is one obvious person who comes to mind who should pay for all this: Jesse. Just kidding; it’s Walt. Or maybe Gus: what more magnanimous gesture could Gus make than to pay for Hank’s specialized care? He orders him killed, then gets brownie points in the community for helping him.

There’s a segway to a foot being massaged. You might assume this is Hank, but it’s Saul, waiting for a meeting with Jesse. Saul’s news is that the nail salon they are in is now owned by Jesse and is to be used for laundering money. There’s no doubt that Saul knows what he’s talking about, what with layering, placement, etc., but his attempt to close the deal falters when he admits that he will take 17 percent of the laundered money for himself, whereas with Walt he only takes 5 percent.

Walt meets with Gus to ‘clear the air’. Somehow, Walt has guessed that the assassins were meant for him but were steered toward Hank. Walt is there to express his thanks to Gus for saving his life, but also to extend their deal. Gus quickly and quietly agrees to pay Walt 15 million a year, indefinitely. All is well, or is it? As Walt drives away, he floors the car and closes his eyes. He awakens just in time to avoid an oncoming tractor trailer.

Back in therapy, Jesse is asked if he had the chance to do anything he wanted, other than make more money (his first answer), what would he do. He said he would make something, work with his hands, do woodworking. He tells a story about woodworking class in high school, where he quickly built a box for a teacher named Mr. Pike, so he could cut class. But when Mr. Pike said, "Is that the best you can do?", Jesse is inspired to do better. He started again, making elaborate boxes. By the fifth box, he used Peruvian walnut with inlays. Although at first he said he gave the box to his mom, he actually traded it for an ounce of weed.

Back at Skyler’s house, Skyler tries to convince Marie to have a bath and relax while Hank gets through a heavily drugged night of sleep. Ted shows up to find out why Skyler hasn’t been returning his calls. It’s obvious that he loves her, but Skyler doesn’t love him. What’s more, she wants to make sure that Marie does not find out about their trysts. She basically boots him out, even as he is putting more pressure on her to explain why he is not welcome.

Jesse has drinks with Skinny Pete and Badger, and complains about how regimented and responsible his current cooking situation is. He longs for the days when he could cook whenever and wherever is his now crushed RV. He needs to be more of an outlaw and wants to move some meth himself, but his plan does not involve cooking – it involves skimming some meth out of the lab by lying about weights. Cut to Jesse feeding Walt incorrect bin weights so he can skim some meth with (supposedly) no one noticing. And then there are two new people in Jesse’s therapy circle – Badger and Pete – acting like they are trying to quit blue meth, but in reality talking it up as an advertisement to all those struggling addicts.

Marie is passionate about going to the press to tell the story of Hank’s battles with health care. Skyler offers to pay their bills with the money Walt has earned – from gambling. She’s made up an elaborate story about Walt’s system for counting cards in blackjack. Marie falls for the story completely – who wouldn’t? Even Walt is starting to believe it. Walt says they have seven figures of cash, and it is offered to Marie and Hank. Marie accepts, but has to promise not to tell Hank where it came from or how it was acquired.

If Walt thought this lie from Skyler was the beginning of a mending of their relationship, he was very wrong. Skyler also suspects that Hank is there because of Walt.

Memorable Moments

When Skyler is fibbing to Marie how Walt earned thousands of dollars counting cards in blackjack, when she gets to an important part of the story, both Marie and Walt lean forward in interest (since neither knows what she will say next).

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Hey! What’s more important than money!"
- Jesse to Walt

"C’mere. Closer….asshole."
- Hank to Gomez

Skyler: Are we safe?
Walt: Yes.
Skyler: Are you safe?
Walt: Absolutely.

"What’s the point of being an outlaw when you’ve got responsibilities?"
- Jesse

Skyler: Walt – we could always pay their bills.
Marie: Please, it’s tens of thousands of dollars.
Skyler: We have the money. More than enough. Walt earned it.
Walt: Skyler -
Skyler: I think Marie should know the truth.
Walt: Skyler, I – I really don’t think this is a good idea. I – I think that –

Skyler: He earned it gambling.

Skyler: We have the money.
Marie: How much money?
Skyler: Walt?
Walt: Well…it’s into seven figures.
Marie: Oh! Holy Mary mother of God.
Walt: What can I say? I did very well.

"Somehow, something tells me Hank is here because of you. And I’m not forgetting that."
- Skyler to Walt

3.08 I See You

Summary and spoilers

Jesse massages his tender and bruised shoulders and continues to slowly and painfully get dressed in his hospital room. Checkout time means an escorted wheelchair exit to a curbside waiting area. Jesse’s attention is drawn to a passing ambulance. Hank emerges from the back, unconscious and shot in four places. Jesse’s dour mood immediately brightens.

Gale is shocked to find out that Walt is unhappy with his work. Of course Walt has no real reason to fire Gale based on his work – it’s all to make a space for Jesse and to save Hank. Just as Walt is trying to convince Gale that Walt needs someone ‘classical’ and not someone ‘jazz’, Jesse stomps in, bruised and cursing with excitement at his new office. Gale leaves as he must, but he realizes he has been lied to, and I wonder if he will re-emerge in Walt’s life. Walt needs to fill his next 200 pound order in two days. He’s serious about getting started with training Jesse immediately and probably realizes that work is going to harder and production slower with his new lab assistant. Jesse also brings the news of Hank’s injury to Walt, who of course cannot get any cell phone reception within this shielded and secure bunker.

Walt rushes to the hospital and comforts Marie. Marie needs comforting after she finds out that Hank had been suspended just before the incident and did not have his gun. Marie kicks out Gomez and Hank’s boss, and then turns her attack onto Walt for buying marihuana from Jesse long ago. Little does she know the real connection between the two, but Skylar, who is also in the room, does know, and she becomes part of the web of lies.

Back at the lab, Jesse tests the acoustical qualities by yelling and banging on stainless steel equipment. Bored and worried about the cooking deadline, he pages Walt at the hospital. Jesse says he can start cooking on his own. Walt asks Jesse to wait patiently and not to touch any of the equipment. When Skylar walks nearby, Walt acts as if he is talking to a family friend who is expressing condolences.

Marie and gang take a break from worrying about Hank to eat some food. Marie now turns her attack to water spots on a fork, insisting that the silverware in the hospital cafeteria should be submitted to the same strict health standards as the operating room. How can anyone survive in a place like this, Marie wonders. Walt says he survived, and then recaps the story of his lobectomy and the fear that he felt. He convinces Marie that if he could survive this place, Hank could easily do it. The importance of family is also a comfort to Marie.

Juan grills Gus on why the cousins would attack a DEA agent. Gus pleads innocence.

The surgeon can offer no guarantees about Hank’s future. He’s made it through surgery, but the bullet’s proximity to his spine means that the future forecast cannot be determined. Walt volunteers to run home and pick up a few essentials for the vigil keepers. He slows down in the hospital lobby, which is packed with DEA well-wishers. Walt is noticeably squeamish about showing his mug to all these potential investigators. Things get even stranger when Gomez basically insists on bringing Walt upstairs to check out the damage that Hank inflicted on the surviving Salamanca brother. When the brother sees Walt’s face at the door, he drags himself out of bed, despite being a recent double amputee, and drags himself toward the door with hatred and resolve, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He is only halted when two cops physically drag him back to the bed.

Jesse has managed to kill time waiting for Walt by playing with the chairs and lab equipment. When Gus’s lieutenant walks in and sees Jesse playing in an inflated lab coat, he wonders aloud why there is no cooking going on. Soon after, Walt receives another paged call from Jesse. He accepts the call amid a hornet’s nest of DEA agents, so he quickly calls back from outside. While Jesse frets about the missed cooking deadline, Walt pieces together the memory of who Tuco said was coming up to get them – his cousins.

Walt returns to the waiting area. When Skylar and Marie go off to freshen up, Walt and Walt Jr. get some time alone to chat. Walt Jr. is reading about the focuses on the DEA agents that brought down drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. Hank gave the book to Walt Jr. so that he could learn about the DEA. Walt’s chat is interrupted by a call from Gus. Gus diplomatically asks about whether cooking is on schedule, knowing full well that it is not. He accepts Walt’s lies about why they are behind schedule, and takes Walt’s word that they will deliver 400 pounds of product by next week.

Walt stops by to look at the Salamanca survivor and to discuss with Gomez the possibility that more assassins will come with. Gomez expresses the desire to walk into that room and shoot Salamanca in the head. Walt says, "Me too," but of course Gomez does not realize that Walt’s motive for this is self-preservation. Its meal time, and, ironically, Gus has arranged to feed every DEA agent in the hospital, and he’s bringing the food himself. Soon, Gus is sitting down with Marie, Skylar, Walt Jr. and Walt, offering a reward for information about the killers. Gus even makes small talk with Walt, just to put him on the spot even more.

Walt corners Gus and asks, quietly as they are standing within a sea of cops, for answers about the attack on Hank, and for assurance about the safety of his family. Gus says he is sure nothing will happen to them. His comment that the surviving Salamanca is gravely injured and is not expected to survive sounds like a death sentence to me. Not surprisingly, the brother goes into cardiac arrest not long after Gus leaves, and dies soon after, causing no end of pleasure to the cops. Moments later, Mike walks by, and we are sure this was no coincidence.

Juan is under siege by cops and now believes that Gus is behind the attacks. Gus smiles with satisfaction and listens as Juan and his men are assassinated, and then he breaks the phone into two and tosses it into a garbage bin.

Hank has finally stabilized, and the doctor grudgingly lets all of them in to visit him. He is still in a coma, and probably could still go either way. In this touching scene, we see Marie touch Hank’s hand, and we hear the machines working hard to keep him alive, but we never really see his face – we just see the pain, concern, and guilt on the faces of his visitors.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Orderly: Sir. If you’d to smoke then you need to be another 20 feet from the door.
Jesse: So roll me further, bitch.

"Hey, tell your douchebag brother-in-law to head towards the light."
- Jesse to Walt

"I survived this place, and I’m not half the man your husband is."
- Walt to Marie

Gomez: I’d love to walk in there and shoot that bastard right in the head.
Walt: Me too.

Walt: being here – is this some sort of message?
Gus: I’m supporting my community. I hide in plain sight, same as you.

3.07 One Minute

Summary and spoilers

We get a glimpse into what shaped the Snake Brothers. As tweens, they were encouraged to tolerate each other no matter what they did, because family comes first. To prove this point, when the younger brother is persecuted by the older one and says he wishes his brother was dead, Don Salamanca almost drowns the older brother, and forces the younger one to save him. The familial bonds are strengthened, and everything else is secondary. In the present, the Salamanca Brothers light their shrine candles; the photo of Heisenberg has been replaced by one of Hank Schrader.

Jesse arrives home, followed closely by Hank. Jesse tells him that he has nothing to say, and foolishly assumes that Hank is going to abide by the normal rules of law enforcement officers. Instead, Hank sucker punches Jesse, knocking him to the floor, and then proceeds to pummel his face, asking how he got his cell phone number and scammed him about Marie. Hank’s strategy is cruel and illegal, but it just might elicit some key information from Jesse – namely, the Walt connection. Just how much is Jesse willing to put up with to protect this man? But Jesse says nothing, because Hank has knocked him unconscious.

Hank is going to have some ‘splainin’ to do – even his commander officer suggests that he may want to get a lawyer. Meanwhile, Jesse’s lawyer Saul is hovering over his bruised face in the hospital, taking unhappy snaps and trying to make jokes. Jesse may be in pain, but Saul is very happy to tell him that he will never face trial now, as the cops will not want Jesse’s face to be seen in public. Walt creeps into the hospital to visit Jesse and apologize. Jesse is not in the mood for forgiveness; he reveals that he is bent on destroying Hank for what he did. What’s more, Jesse plans on cooking again as soon as he leaves the hospital, knowing that he has a get out of jail free card – he’s plea bargain by giving up the great Heisenberg.

Outside Jesse’s room, Walt assures Saul that Jesse will never give him up. Saul is sure that Jesse will give him up, and mentions having a contingency plan for that situation.

Hank sits before an enquiry and tells his side of the RV / Jesse story, including how he was tricked into believing that Marie had been injured in a car accident. He tells the truth to a point but pleads the 5^th when he gets to the part about driving to Jesse’s house. The investigators inform everyone that Jesse is pressing charges, and that he is a clean, credible witness, despite his history. The investigators photograph Hank’s bruised hands and leave.

In his darkened office, Hank packs a few essentials, removes his security passes, and leaves. Marie is waiting in the elevator, and he breaks down when he embraces her. In the lobby, Hank asks her not to talk to anyone about it. Of course, she has already spoken to Skyler.

Skyler visits Walt to find out if Hank’s investigation of Jesse could lead back to Walt. Walt lies and says there is no danger for him – or her – because of that. Skyler is also there to talk about Hank, to ask Walt to help Hank by talking to Jesse and getting him to drop the charges. Skyler reminds Walt that Hank is family; Walt reminds Skyler, with hurt and anger in his voice, that currently Hank is no longer family. He dismisses Skyler and seemingly turns his back on her and her request. Walt goes into work, still carrying the upset of his previous encounter, but Gale is already there, buoyant, organized, oblivious, and one could say, in love. But the honeymoon is over when Gale sets the wrong temperature (or perhaps Walt told Gale the wrong temperature) and a batch is ruined. Walt asks Gus to get rid of Gale and hire Jesse. Gus is resistant but gives in. Walt then asks Jesse to be his lab assistant. When Jesse says no, Walt ups the stakes and offers him a 50-50 partnership. Jesse still turns him down, and makes sure Walt understands it is personal. And Jesse is smart enough to know that Walt is there to try to save his (former) brother-in-law. Jesse is passionate in his professed hatred of Walt, but behind that there is still the glimmer of the need for approval from a father figure. Before leaving, Walt admits (or lies) that Jesse’s meth is as good as his. A short time later, Walt gets a call from Jesse who agrees to the 50-50 deal.

The Salamanca Brothers are in the market to buy a couple of Kevlar bullet-proof vests from a flamboyant arms dealer who works out of the back of a semi-trailer. To test out the vest’s efficiency, they shoot the arms dealer, who foolishly brags that he is wearing one. The vest holds, although the dealer breaks a rib taking the bullet. The Brothers take their vests and dump a pile of money on the ground. This is about as nice as these guys get.

All dressed up for his interrogation, Hank finally sits down with Marie and admits he has been unraveling. He says he will not lie about what he did to Jesse. He admits that he did the wrong thing. He is about to give up and quit the force. True to his word, Hank writes a statement and admits to everything. He is suspended without pay, but then finds out that Jesse is not pressing charges. Things are looking good – Hank’s guardian angel has arrived. But as he gets into his car, he gets a scrambled cell phone call warning him that two men are coming to kill him. In a panic, he half-hopes it is a scam by Gomez, and he cannot move until a bullet shatters the rear window. Hank moves again and disables one brother by reversing and crushing him, but the other brother begins firing. Hank escapes and fires first shots, but they bounce off the vest. Shot twice, Hank falls, but he is graced by the brother’s need to finish the kill more brutally with an axe. Hank has fallen next to a hollow point bullet, and is able to load his gun and shoot the brother before being cut down.

Comments

That was a very intense and violent episode! It was impossible to stop watching or to escape from the feeling of suspense and terror. Not only was the final shootout spectacular, but Jesse’s highly charged hatred and Hank and Walt was also spellbinding.

Memorable Moments

Hank holds his composure as he enters the elevator where Marie is waiting, alone. He makes minimal or no eye contact and stands next to her. Once the doors close, he breaks down in her arms. When the doors open again, he has composed himself and is once again standing next to her.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Walt [re Jesse]: He’ll come around.
Saul: And if he doesn’t, there may come a time to talk options.
Walt: Options?

Skyler: There must be something you can say. Isn’t it even worth a try? Hank is your family.
Walt: [mumbles]
Skyler: What?
Walt: I said, ‘not currently.’ I’m late; I have to go.

3.06 Sunset

Summary and spoilers

A lone Mexican border patrol officer investigates a woman who has not contacted her daughter for some time. On a remote property, he sees no sign of her, but through the window, he can see candles burning, a shrine, and a crude drawing of Heisenberg. Out on the line, matching black shirts are hanging. A figure moves inside the house, but the officer does not see this. Please leave now, officer! But he doesn’t. He finds the decomposing body of the woman who used to live there. Soon after, he is ambushed and brutally murdered by the Snake Brothers.

Skyler rings Walt about the signed papers. She wants to talk about how they are going to deal with Walt Jr. if they get divorced. Walt plans to pay for all of Walt Jrs.' needs. Skyler isn’t happy about that, but Walt reminds her that this has been happening for six months. Their conversation is terminated by Walt’s need to convince a property manager to rent him the model apartment.

Gus’s normal manager duties at Los Pollos Hermanos are thrown asunder when the Snake Brothers walk in silently, grab a table, and get into a staring match with him. The boys are back each day, sitting, staring, like a guilty conscience. Eventually, Gus gets rid of them by telling them that they will have what they want by sunset. I thought they wanted Heisenberg, so I don’t know how or why Gus would deliver him.

Jesse is showing off a big nugget of blue meth to Badger and Skinny Pete. They are impressed, but a bit reticent to start selling again after what happened to Combo. But the clean and calculating Jesse has a plan to play it safe and smart this time, and the guys agree. As they emerge from Jesse’s house, Hank is outside doing surveillance, a discreet distance away.

It is Walt’s first day of work. He packs a bagged lunch and dresses smart casual. First stop is to drive Walt Jr. to school. Junior is upset that his parents are splitting, and he takes out his frustration on dad. Walt’s optimism about the future is unaffected by Junior’s negativity. At work, Walt scoots behind the machinery and enters his massive new kitchen. He will work with lab assistant Gale. Highly qualified and obviously highly intelligent, Neil wows Walt with a delicious cup of beaker-brewed coffee. These two geek scientists don yellow lab protective suits and cook together in harmony. Afterward, Gale recites Walt Whitman verses and the two bask in their love of the magic of chemistry.

Hank has reached a dead end in linking Jesse to the RV. At Marie’s suggestion, Hank rings Walt and asks if former student Jesse ever had a brown and beige recreational vehicle. Walt sits up and goes into action.

Walt calls Jesse but hangs up when Jesse answers. Next, Walt calls Saul. Saul’s advice is to go get the RV and dispose of it.

Walt drives to Jesse’s brother-in-law’s car lot and insists that the RV be disposed of immediately. Badger is there and immediately calls Jesse. Jesse runs out of the house and drives away quickly, keen to stop the RV from being destroyed. Hank is in pursuit. Jesse shows up, irate, but he cools when Walt sees Hank pull up and park just outside the RV. Walt covers the windows. Hank prowls outside, casually prying at windows and doors. How can they get out of this one? Just before Hank breaks in, he is thwarted by the lot owner, who reminds him of the 4^th amendment protection provided to domiciles like this RV. In case he doesn’t believe it, Jesse reminds him of it from inside the locked door. This merely delays disaster until Hank can get a search warrant. Inside, Jesse panics while Walt thinks of a plan. He calls someone…and soon, Hank receives a call from Albuquerque police informing him that Marie has been in a serious car accident and being airlifted to hospital. As Hank speeds off, we see that that call was made by Saul’s PA.

Hank blasts through the hospital searching for Marie until she coincidentally calls. He turns red in anger as he realizes he was duped. Meanwhile, Walt and Jesse watch the RV as it is reduced to a thin strip of crushed metal, on its way to Japan as scrap.

As sunset approaches, Gus drives to a remote location to meet face to face with the Snake Brothers. They want to kill Walter White; Gus says no, but he has something better. He allows them to kill the man who pulled the trigger and shot Tuco, a normally off-limits DEA agent named Hank Schrader.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Why the hell are we making meth?"
- Walt’s enthusiastic reaction to tasting Gale’s coffee for the first time

"This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed! Bitch!"
- Jesse to Hank

3.05 Mas

Summary and spoilers

A long time ago, Walt gave Jesse a wad of cash and entrusted him to buy an RV. Jesse promptly spent most of the cash on a stripper party, and then used what little was remaining to ‘buy’ a stolen RV.

Skyler is at Ted’s house again, raving about the heated tile floor in the bathroom. (Having just recently experienced this myself at a ski resort, I can totally relate).

Why is Walt in the closet of his room? He is having a cell phone argument with Jesse. Jesse thinks Walt went behind his back and sabotaged his deal with Gus, getting himself half of the money. Walt swears he knew nothing, and promises to get to the bottom of things, but there is not trust between these two.

Hank has turned down a career-building stint in El Paso to prowl campgrounds for his prized RV kitchen. Deep into the night, he has found one that matches, at least externally. With no way to get in, Gomez suggests they call it a night and return with a search warrant, but Hank thinks he’s onto something. He climbs on top and peers in, serious startling an innocent old couple in their underwear playing cards.

Hank is able to smooth things over by the morning, but when he suggests to Gomez that they check out a few more, Gomez says he has to go home to pack for Texas – he has gotten the El Paso job. Back at home, there was tension between Hank and Marie. She’s found out that he is not going to El Paso and that Gomez is. Her attempt to talk to Hank about his feelings end up with him yelling and her walking away, with little chance she will try that again.

Later, Marie tells Skyler about her lack of communication with Hank, about how the El Paso job is dividing them. Listening to Marie describing how Hank has changed after he faced his own death makes Skyler think a bit about how much Walt has changed after a similar experience. She still sleeps with Ted, but she begins to wean herself off the heated floor tiles by placing a towel between them and her feet.

Walt has a face to face with Gus about why he has entrusted Jesse to produce an inferior product. Walt believes that Gus is trying to lure him back in, and Gus plays along, apologizing for doing so. Gus takes Walt to a hidden underground, brand spanking new meth lab – large, clean, and shiny. Walt is more than impressed with this safe, sparkling spectacle.

Walt, Skyler, and Walt Jr. share a quiet but pleasant dinner. Walt Jr. excuses himself, leaving his parents to contemplate recent development in each of their lives. The baby cries, breaking this silent reverie. Skyler sees the longing in Walt’s eyes and invites him to hold her, and then she slips away. This is all she can do for now.

Later, Skyler confides to her lawyer that she is sleeping with her boss. She says this is the only action she can take, the only thing that keeps her alive. After Skyler mentions that there is a big bag of drug money in the house, and seems to be asking the lawyer for permission to spend it, the lawyer comes down hard on her, telling her she should get out of the house and away from Walt before she and her children are also implicated as accessories to a crime.

Skyler returns home to find the money missing and the divorce papers signed.

Hank takes a short break from his dogged RV investigation to wish Gomez all the best. Hank can barely raise his eyes or look Gomez in the face.

Saul has set up a meeting between Jesse and Walt. Jesse’s deal is to pay Walt 10 percent of everything Jesse makes. But Walt has a little big surprise. First, he gives Jesse that half of the money from the last deal, so that he owes nothing. Then he informs Jesse that he is back cooking and Jesse is out. After Saul grovels all over Walt to get the rights to launder the 3 mil that will be made in 3 months, Walt warns Jesse not to cook using his formula. Jesse stalks out in anger and throws a big brick onto Walt’s windshield.

Hank has tracked down the original owner of Walt and Jesse’s RV – Combo’s parents. Combo’s mom tells Hank why she never reported the RV stolen – so her son would never get arrested. As Hank examines Combo’s shrine, he comes across a photo of Combo and Jesse, posing beneath a stripper’s breasts.

Comments

Strike those thoughts I had after the previous episode about any jumping of sharks, as this episode is top shelf, with a number of moving, highly emotional scenes that balance well with the arc of Hank’s relentless investigation.

The scene where Skyler invites Walt to hold the baby was very moving and brought me close to tears. I thought just before the baby started crying that Walt was about to tell Skyler about his new job opportunity.

Likewise the scene were Gus convinces Walt to cook again is a wondrous study of a man knowing more about another man than that man knows about himself.

Finally, the confrontation between Walt and Jesse, in the gluttonous darkness of Saul office, is perhaps one of the best scenes these two have played together. Walt is quiet, controlled, and ultra-confident. This is a man who has stared death in the face and defeated it, and he has little to fear.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"When you have children, you will always have family. They will always be your priority, your responsibility. And a man…a man provides. And he does it even when he is not appreciated – or respected…or even loved. He simply bears up and he does it…because he’s a man."
- Gus to Walt

"You wanna take her?"
- Skyler, inviting Walt to hold the baby and come back into the relationship

"And this man that I’m seeing, you know – as wrong as I know it is, as much as I know I’m probably doing it just to make Walt leave me, it is the only thing in my day where I don’t feel…like I’m..drowning."
- Skyler

Skyler: I didn’t marry a criminal.
Lawyer: Well, you’re married to one now.

Jesse: Do you think this will me from cooking?
Walt: Cook whatever you like, as long as it’s that ridiculous ‘Chili P’ or some other drek. But don’t even think about using my formula.
Jesse: Just try and stop me…bitch.

3.04 Green Light

Summary and spoilers

Jesse stops to gas up the mobile meth lab and finds himself short of cash and cards. He seduces the girl behind the counter, convincing her to trade petrol for some crystal meth. Whatever has happened in Jesse’s mind has seemingly tipped him over the edge, back into a place where he is truly evil and self-centered – or perhaps he never really left that place.

We find out about the deteriorating state of Walt and Skyler’s relationship by listening to audio surveillance tapes grabbed by Mike, Saul’s private eye. We join Walt as he reaches Ted’s office for a confrontation. When Ted will not open his office door, he tries to throw a huge plant/pot combination through Ted’s glass window – and fails. After he is kicked out by security, Walt spies a back door. As he heads toward it, Mike intercepts him, dumps him in the back of his car, and takes him to see Saul.

Saul wants Walt to channel that energy into cooking meth. Walt wants to know how Saul knew about Skyler and where he would be. Saul admits to bugging his house. When Saul makes an untoward description of Skyler’s dalliance, Walt attacks him, and then fires him. Saul instructs Mike to remove the bugging equipment from Walt’s house.

Mike follows Walt home and does remove the bugs. Mike also mentioned vaguely that perhaps it was good to have someone watching his back. He says this because someone has drawn a threatening symbol near the curb in front of the White house. Walt doesn’t even see it and has no idea what Mike means (and no idea that Mike basically already saved his life once), but I have the feeling he is going to find out soon.

Now Walt, like Jesse, has also gone off the deep end. He sits in his class, drinking coffee and gazing at the desk in a semi-hypnotic trance. When Principal Carmen talks to him about this in her office, he seems uninterested and nonchalant, then strokes her hair and tries to kiss her.

Marie drops Hank at the airport for his El Paso flight. Hank spends some time trying to last minute convince her that this is a stepping stone career move that will get him a DC job – that is something she wants. Marie knows what happened last time, and her mentioning of it to Hank immediately visually stresses him out. Just after Marie leaves, Hank receives a call that some blue meth has been found. He leaves the airport to talk to the person who was holding.

Walter appears to be cleaning out his desk at school, carrying a cardboard box to his car, when Jesse shows up. This would seem to be the opportune time for Jesse to try to interest Walt in cooking again, since Walt is now on ‘indefinite sabbatical’. But Walt is still not interested in cooking. What is of interest, however, is that when Jesse proudly shows Walt the batch of blue meth he cooked using Walt recipe, Walt reacts almost violently, claiming, basically, that his recipe was stolen and that he deserves the bigger cut of whatever profits are made. Walt also refuses to set up a meeting between Jesse and Gus. Jesse says he’ll do it directly, and they part in anger. Plus, Jesse drives off with Walt’s box of office memorabilia on his car. It falls off soon after, breaking the breakables.

Skyler is ostracized at the office, but that doesn’t stop her from continuing her torrid affair with Ted. Ted would like to know what went wrong with she and Walt, but of course Skyler tells him she is not comfortable talking about that.

Hank and Gomez interview Russell, who painfully remembers, briefly, the name of the person from whom he bought the meth. Only thing is – all he remembers is there was a ‘muh’ sound. Hank takes this tiny bad of blue meth as a sign that Heisenberg is cooking again. Gomez questions this belief and wonders aloud why Hank is turning down El Paso for such a flimsy lead. Hank reacts badly, confronting Gomez and treating him like an adversary rather than a friend. Fear will make a man destroy his friendships.

Jesse goes to Saul, dumps the blue bag on his desk, and asks for the contact to be made with Gus.

Mike brings Walt’s medical records to Gus. They show the good news about Walt’s physical health, but Mike tells the bad news about Walt’s mental health. Mike also tells Gus that the Snake Brothers left a symbol on the street outside Walt’s house. Gus tells Mike not to tell Saul about this. Mike tells Gus that Jesse is selling. Gus is not interested in dealing with junkies, but when he hears that Walt and Jesse have split, he tells Mike to do the deal. Perhaps he is hoping that this will make Walt jealous/envious and motivate him to cook. Gus makes the deal, but only gives half the agreed money to Jesse.

On his own, Hank investigates each lead on his list. His interrogation of the gas station clerk gets him the information that the white guy with blue eyes that traded the meth to her drove an RV. The non-working security camera is a dead end, but the ATM facing toward the pumps, taking photos, may provide a picture of the RV.

Back at the tense White house, Walt Jr. tries to play Kissinger to Mom Begin and Dad Sadat.

Called before the Chief, Hank makes lame excuses about missing calls. He has been able to trace the possible motor home. With only 29 of them registered in the state, Hank wants to start knocking on doors. But the Chief tells him he must go to El Paso immediately or officially turn down the assignment (with the obvious career ramifications that would carry). Hank refuses and is left to continue on the Heisenberg case – with his career severely compromised.

As Walt drives, the radio shares the news that Donald Margolis is in hospital for a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Walt stops at a green light, his mood dour. He is somewhat cheered when a bag of money (his half of the Jesse/Gus drug deal) is tossed through his window.

Comments

There’s no denying that the acting and, to some extent, the writing, is still at the same high levels this season. But seasoned television critics are always sniffing around for the first faint sightings of the jumping shark. There’s just a whiff of shark scent in the air this season, driven by the notion that the character’s arcs have now gone as far as they are going to go, and they are now going through some of the same paces again. Jesse uses, cooks, rehabs, and cooks again. Walt is just getting crazier and more aggressive. Hank went to El Paso, went mad, came back, got it together, and is now returning to El Paso. Skyler’s arc is still traveling, but she is not awarded much air time. There is still a good chance that the shark may simply poke its nose above the water’s surface and disappear into the depths, but it may also be ready to jump. I could be wrong. I was wrong about Lost – its shark was halfway airborne early in season 5 before it sank to the bottom, probably never to be seen again.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Walter, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have someone watching your back."
- Mike

3.03 I.F.T.

Summary and spoilers

We already knew that Tortuga the drug mule was punished for squealing by having his head planted onto a namesake tortoise and exploded as a bomb, but for those of you who just had to know how his head got from being on his neck to being on that exploding tortoise, you get to find out in the opening scene. Just who did the deed (by ‘deed’, I mean hacking Tortuga’s head off while he was still alive)? Well, no other than the two Snake-Boot boys, of course – just in case you felt their moral compass was still possibly tilted into a gray area.

Walt is back at his house, retrieving the pizza he threw onto the garage. Gus’s private dick lets him know that Walt is blissfully unaware that he crossed paths with death.

Skyler returns home appalled to see Walt’s car in the driveway, and even more appalled to see Walt peering at her from inside the house. Walt claims that he has returned home because it is his house too. Walt calls Skyler’s bluff, basically daring her to turn him in, in order to get him out of the house. Skyler does call and asks for an officer to remove Walt from the house. When Walt Jr. comes home and is wildly happy to see his dad, things get a little more tricky for Skyler; she already looks like the bad person. Skyler is about to find out that without a legal separation or a restraining order, Walt cannot be barred from his own house. It’s difficult (and quite amusing) to watch her build her case that Walt is a bad presence in the house while, in the background, he is rushing to soothe the crying baby. The only way she can get rid of him is to implicate him as a meth manufacturer – and she’s not willing to go that far.

After the police leave, I loved the way Skyler gently takes the baby away from Walt, wishes him a cold ‘Welcome home’, and then walks down the hallway and enters her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her. That door will stay locked, blocking access to the toilet and forcing Walt to pee in the kitchen sink.

Saul visits Jesse in his new, unfurnished house. Saul is there for only one reason – to prompt Jesse to call Walt and convince him to cook again. Saul promises to bankroll Jesse if he succeeds. Jesse promises to do so, but seems uninterested in that or anything else. After Saul leaves, Jesse does dial the phone, but the number he calls appears to be one he has been calling over and over and that he will continue to call over and over – it’s the message on Jane’s answering machine. He calls all day and all night until, finally, it is disconnected, and he has lost that final strand that connected to her. With nowhere to turn, Jesse finds himself back in the desert, in the meth lab camper, preparing to cook.

Hank receives word that he is going back to El Paso. Outwardly, he appears psyched, but he gives away a couple of telltale clues that he is actually very worried to return to this place that broke him last time. The truth is, Hank is seriously shaken by having to return to El Paso. He goes psycho on a couple of small-time drug dealers in a shady bar, but for what reason? Is he trying to get suspended? His partner covers up his discretion as only cops can do, but he knows that Hank had left his gun in the car before going back inside.

Gus is visited by the Salamanca cartel. They are there to advise him that they must avenge the death of Tuco by killing Walt. In fact, the Snake brothers are nephews of Tuco. Gus treads the line between agreeing with their need for revenge, but also insisting that he complete his business with Walt first before they do so. The cartel boss cannot guarantee that the Snakes will grant Gus or Walt any time.

Skyler tells her story to her lawyer. Like the police, her lawyer is also trying to get Skyler to tell the whole story – to explain what she suspects or knows that Walt has done. Promised confidentiality, she tells the lawyer that Walt is a meth manufacturer. The lawyer advises her to let her tell the police what Skyler just told her, and to get a restraining order. But Skyler refuses – she doesn’t want Walt Jr. to know his father is a criminal.

The following morning, Skyler hides in her locked bedroom until she hears Walt leave; she then emerges with the baby. But Walt has tricked her. He is still there, and he’s left the open big bag of money in the hallway. He again tries to explain that everything he did, he did for his family. He asks her to accept the money that he earned, even though he earned it doing things that he regrets. He gives her until the end of the day to decide what to do. Skyler’s reaction is to interrupt her normal mundane work day to spontaneously seduce Ted.

Comments

I know little about the intricate structure of relationships, but Skyler’s seduction of Ted is probably one step toward her acceptance of what Walt did. I don’t believe it helps her attempt to take the moral high road in the relationship. However, we know that her original instincts were correct. If she wants to protect her family, she should be getting a restraining order against Walt, because when the Snake brothers come looking for him, it would be best that he is living far away from her – collateral damage doesn’t seem to worry those guys.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Skyler: They’re connecting me. Right hand to God, I will tell them.
Walt: Do what you have to do, Skyler. This family is everything to me. Without it, I have nothing to lose.

Skyler: My husband makes meth – methamphetamine.
Lawyer: Your husband’s a drug dealer.
Skyler: A manufacturer, technically – they, um,  they call them ‘cooks’ – I looked it up on the Internet.

"I fucked Ted."
- Skyler to Walt

3.02 Caballo sin nombre

Summary and spoilers

A storm is brewing over the desert as Walt drives along, grooving to A Horse With No Name. His enjoyment is interrupted by a highway patrolman who pulls him over and gives his a ticket for driving with a damaged windshield. The cop doesn’t care that the damage was caused by debris from Flight 515. When Walt argues vehemently and refuses to back away, the cop sprays his eyes with pepper spray, causing much pain and swelling to Walt.

Hank is on the case of the torched illegal carrier; he suspects that a drug cartel is involved, and he wants to know why they did it on the US side of the DMZ.

Jesse stops by his parent’s place, hoping to renew the relationship. His dad is having the place fixed up prior to selling it. Jesse delicately tries to heal the wounds, and he is just as delicately turned away – but at least this politeness is an improvement.

Walt is bailed out by Hank. Walt tells Hank, as a way of explaining his behavior, that Skyler is divorcing him and doesn’t want him to see the kids – but of course doesn’t tell Hank why.

Saul assures Walt that Skyler will never turn him in. His reasoning seems sound, but not so much when he encourages Walt to seek out Thai or Czech women because they are grateful to be in the USA. At the same time, Saul enlists a private detective to watch Skyler.

Walt Jr. is becoming more aloof and angrier. He’s interpreted Walt’s red eyes as being caused by a crying jag, and when Walt says he cannot drive Walt Jr. home, he blames Skyler for that too. This culminates at dinner when Walt Jr. confronts Skyler and calls her a bitch, right in from of Hank and Marie. Hank then tries to talk to Skyler about her refusal to let Walt see the kids, and Skyler tells him it’s none of his business.

Later, Hank and Marie discuss why Walt and Skyler broke up. Hank is sure that it was caused by Walt having an affair and getting caught, but Marie thinks it must be something else.

Jesse visits Saul to get his bag of money. Saul tells Jesse about Walt’s refusal to cook for 3 million and tries to convince Jesse to convince Walt. Jesse ignores him and instead asks Saul to represent him and to buy his parent’s house for cash. They want 875 thousand, and Saul offers 400 thousand. Why so low? Well, if they don’t go for the deal, Saul will use the existence of the meth lab to either start criminal proceedings and/or lock the house from being sold. So it looks like Jesse is still harboring a fair bit of resentment. I hope this soothes it.

Back at his hotel room, Walt is surprised to find Walt Jr. waiting for him to return, a packed bag by his side, ready to move in.

The two Mercedes dudes visit Hector in a nursing home and use a Ouija board to help him spell out the name Walter White.

At work, Skyler is visited by her boss Ted. Skyler is honest and refuses to sign off on the books. Ted promises to fix it up properly. Skyler asks Ted what he would do if his kids found out, and his response sounds very much like what Walt would say if asked the same question.

Walt calls Skyler to tell her that Walt Jr. is with him. Skyler asks Walt to bring Walt Jr. home, and of course Walt agrees. Walt Jr. wants to know why his mom is ostracizing him. Walt can’t really explain, so his talk sounds hollow. Walt gargles and slaps on some aftershave, picks up a big pizza (and dipping sticks), drives Walt home, and attempts to get himself a dinner invitation from Skyler. But Skyler holds firm and closes the door in his face. Enraged, Walt flings the pizza onto the garage roof, then returns to his motel room and drinks himself unconscious. He wakes up, in a bed of popcorn, to a ringing phone. Skyler leaves a message about the pizza on the roof and now threatens a restraining order.

It’s morning at the White house. Walt Jr. drives away, and Skyler follows – and in comes Saul’s offside, bags in hand, to install surveillance equipment. He is interrupted somewhat by Walt, who is there to have a shower. The locks have been changed, so Walt has to climb in through a vent and emerge from a trap door. Walt lets himself in just as the two Mercedes boys arrive, carrying an axe. Saul’s offside watches the skull-boot boys enter the house and quickly calls Gus to let him know what is happening. The skulls wait for Walt outside the shower. A phone message from ‘Pollos’ (I assume Gus) causes them to leave suddenly. When Walt emerges, there is no trace that they were ever there – except that he notices his glass eye souvenir has moved its location in his suitcase.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"You’ve been out of circulation for awhile. You’ll be just amazed at what’s out there. Thailand; the Czech Republic - those women are so grateful to even be here."
- Saul

Hank: Sky, the…I - I know it’s none of my business, but, um…keeping Walt from the kids?
Skyler: You’re right, Hank. It’s none of your business.

Skyler: We have discussed everything we need to discuss; I thought I made myself very clear.
Walt: I got dipping sticks.

Jesse’s mom: Jesse, the house has been sold. The new owners are expected any moment. Where do you think you’re going?
Jesse: Inside. I bought the place.

3.01 No Mas

Summary and spoilers

Why is a seemingly healthy group of male Mexican laborers crawling along a desert road? These laborers are joined by two young men with shaved heads and suits, who emerge from their Mercedes and start crawling too. They crawl to a voodoo-type shrine in the desert, a shrine adorned with flowers, mini-skulls, and a crude drawing of ‘Heisenberg’.

The news reports cover the story of the midair collision caused by Donald. The reports also detail the death of Jane.

Skyler has granted Walt a grievance period while the body parts are cleaned up from their yard. This period is now over, and Skyler is at the lawyer’s office, anxious to get the divorce proceedings started and finished.

A grieving Walt sets the remaining cash alight in the barbecue, then regrets his decision, dousing the flames and setting himself on fire as well. Just after he finishes cleaning up all the bits of bills, Hank shows up to lend support and to help Walt carry his bags into the car. A particularly heavy bag piques Hank’s curiosity regarding its contents, but he laughs off Walt’s explanation that the bag contains half a million in cash.

Walt Jr. is not happy with his absentee dad, and Skyler hasn’t been giving him enough detail about the reason for their separation. So Walt Jr. picks up the phone when Walt calls and asks for a ride to school. The school is running an assembly where students can unload about the stress caused by the plane crash. The kids are affected, but Walt is not, even though his actions indirectly led to the crash. He is forced to speak and tries to be a beacon of good news amid the tragedy by saying that thank god the planes were not full, that no one on the ground was killed, and that there have been 50 worse disasters that no one even remembers anymore. The mike is taken away before he can do more damage and make more people roll their eyes. Walt Jr. returns home and continues to berate Skyler for not talking to Walt. When he leaves, Marie takes up the cause for more dissemination of information, since she also has not been told the reasons why.

Jesse is gardening and attending group therapy sessions where he is coached on self-acceptance rather than self-improvement. When he is encouraged to speak, he questions why the group leader should be accepted as the expert with the answers. It turns out that the leader is not an outsider in this group. He killed his daughter while rushing to get more vodka before the stores closed.

Skyler shows up unexpectedly at Walt’s hotel room. Her lucky guess that Walt is a drug dealer leads to a confession from Walt. Again, like with the crash, he tries to minimize the damage by saying that he is a meth manufacturer, not a dealer. If he thought being up front would begin the reconciliation process, he was way off. Skyler promises to keep his secret, but only if he agrees to give her a divorce.

Checkout day for Jesse; Walt picks him up and drives him back to his hotel room so they can share. Jesse says he is rehabilitated and is done using. Jesse mentions the plane crash, inferring blame, but Walt tries to blame technology and other factors. Jesse has come to peace with his role in the crash and in Jane’s death, while Walt is still in denial.

Walt lunches at the fast food place so he can tell Gus – in person – that he is not making any more meth and is making a shift in his life. Gus replies by offering Walt one last job – three months for three million dollars. Walk still says no, but will Gus play his trump card (since he knows that Hank the DEA agent is related to Walt)?

The two Mercedes men drive to a farm, trade their city clothes for country clothes, and leave their car, hanging their key ring on the horns of a goat. They board an illegal immigrant truck bound for the USA, and then after it crosses the border, they shoot and kill all the other immigrants – and the driver – and torch the truck. No doubt these very bad boys are headed for a little Heisenberg revenge.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Well, at any rate, what you’re left with, casualty-wise, is just the 50^th worst air disaster – actually, tied for 50^th."
- Walt, minimizing the pain

Walt: You come in here and you wave these papers in my face, when there’s a whole other entire side to this thing. There’s your side and there’s my side and you haven’t heard my side yet. You haven’t heard any of it at all.
Skyler: You’re a drug dealer.
Walt: No! – What – how – what?
Skyler: Yeah. How else could you possibly make that kind of money? Marijuana. That Pinkman kid…No? Oh, my god, Walt. Cocaine?
Walt: Methamphetamine. But – I’m, I’m a manufacturer, I’m not a dealer. Per se. It doesn’t mean –

Skyler: I’m gonna make you a deal, Walt. I won’t tell Hank, and I won’t tell your children, or anybody else. Nobody will hear it from me. But only if you grant me this divorce and stay out of our lives.
Walt: No, Skyler -
Skyler: I mean it. Now let me the hell out of here before I throw up.

Jesse: You windshield’s broken.
Walt: Yep.