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.