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