Saturday, November 12, 2011

4.13 Face Off

Summary and Spoilers

We’re back in the parking garage, where Walt quickly removes the detonation device from Gus’s car. Walt asks Jesse for a place – any place – where Walt can get to Gus. While Jesse is thinking, he is approached by two detectives who want to talk to him about his statement regarding Brock being poisoned. Although not under arrest, he is not about to be let go either – but Jesse knows his rights, and calls Saul.

Saul, however, is long gone, as Walt finds out as well when he visits the office. Honey Tits proves she is a decent extortionist when she demands 25 thousand dollars to give Saul’s phone number to him. Walt leaves to get the money. He hatches a clever lie to get his neighbor to check for a burner left on when they went on fake vacation. This flushes two thugs out and gives Walt just enough time to sneak in and grab the cash required to purchase Saul’s phone number.

Meanwhile, Saul shows up to rescue Jesse from his endless friendly interrogation. He not only extricates Jesse, but he also has a Gus location – the nursing home where Gus visits Hector Salamanca. When Walt finds out that Gus and Hector are enemies, he sees an opening. He approaches Hector and offers him a chance for revenge. Hector tries to spell ‘Need DEA’, but the care-giver doesn’t realize that ‘DEA’ has meaning. Eventually she does figure it out. Hector asks to speak to only Hank, but when Hank arrives, all Hector does is spell out curses.

So what’s the point of all this? To pique Gus’s curiosity and make him visit Hector. It’s Tyrus who comes first to check Hector for bugs and to look around. Walt is lurking but remains undetected.

Jesse is released on the news that Brock was not poisoned with ricin. Immediately outside the station, he is Tasered and abducted by Gus’s men. Meanwhile, Tyrus lets Gus know that the area is safe. Gus is coming to ‘do this himself.’ Tyrus again clears the way, and Gus enters Hector’s room and confronts him. With a lethal injection at the ready, Gus tells Hector it is his last chance to look at him. Gus’s expression changes when Hector suddenly meets his gaze, his face twists into a smile, and he pounds over and over on his wheelchair bell. Now we find out why Hector’s finger was poised over his bell for all this time; it is the detonation device, and the explosion rips half of Gus’s face away and kills him. We discover Gus’s injury in an unusual reveal: he actually walks away from the explosion, and we can only see one side of his face, which is uninjured. The camera moves around to the other wide, which shows his face half-blown-off.

Jesse is back in the lab, cooking as usual. This is where his captors took him. It’s not exactly a great workplace relationship; when the elevator arrives, his new minder handcuffs Jesse to a pipe for safekeeping. It’s Walt in the elevator, and after he dispenses with the guards, he and Jesse trash the lab and rig it to blow up. There’s more good news when Jesse finds out that Brock is going to pull through. Apparently, he was poisoned with berries from a common plant called Lillies of the Valley.

Walt calls Skyler just as she is finding out about the death of Gus, and Walt boldly takes responsibility. More than that, the final scene shows a close-up of a potted plant in Walt’s garden: a Lilly of the Valley, of course.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Christ, you two. Let’s just say if I ever get anal polyps, I’ll know what to name them."
- Saul to Jesse

"I know you despise me and I know how much you want to see me dead. But I'm willing to bet there's a man that you hate even more. I'm offering you an opportunity for revenge.
- Walt to Hector

Skyler: Walt? Let me get somewhere where I can hear you. Walt?
Walter: How are you doing?
Skyler: How am I doing? How are you doing?
Walter: I'm, uh...I'm doing quite well. I'm good.
Skyler: Jesus, Walt, the news here. Gus Fring is dead. He was blown up along with some person from some Mexican cartel and the DEA has no idea what to make of it. Do you know about this? Walt? I need you to-
Walter: It's over. We're safe.
Skyler: Was this you? What happened?
Walter: I won.

 

4.12 End Times

Summary and Spoilers

Skyler and baby are being taken in by Federal Agents under the umbrella of Hank’s protective custody, but Walt refuses to go. He feels he is the target and it will be safer for them if he simply deals with his punishment. And so Walt waits, twirling his gun. I’m a little confused because I thought Walt’s life was not in jeopardy. Hank, yes, but as long as Walt does not make any waves, I thought he was safe. Marie seems to feel differently, as does Walt Jr. Marie tries to call Walt, but he does not answer.

Hank has pieced together his death threat is tied to his investigation of Fring, and goads Gomez to follow it up by walking and talking at the laundry in lieu of a search warrant. Gomez convinces the laundry manager to allow him, one other cop, and a sniffer dog to look around. Jesse watches from downstairs on the security camera. Gus calls to point out that this situation was caused by Walt and that he needs to be eliminated. Jesse refuses to sign off on Walt’s death; Gus replies that there will be "…an appropriate response."

Saul has been messaging Jesse all day to come by and collect his money – as Saul is leaving town. Saul tells Jesse about Gus’s ultimatum to Walt – about the death threats against his family.

Skyler looks over Hank’s shoulder as he scans the clean images from the laundry – there’s nothing there that is suspicious. She tries to call Walt again but just gets the machine. She goes outside, bums a cigarette off one of the agents, and broods.

Jesse finds out that Andrea’s son Brock is very ill, then is shocked to discover that his tainted cigarette is missing. In a panic, he leaves the information about ricin with Andrea, and rushes to see Walt. Jesse is out of control. He has convinced himself that Walt poisoned Brock, and he is ready to kill Walt without proof. But Walt has pieced together a different theory – that Gus poisoned Brock as a way of getting Jesse to kill Walt. Against the odds, Walt convinces Jesse to spare his life, and then they agree to find a way to kill Gus together.

Jesse returns to the hospital and refuses to leave, even when Tyrus tries to bully him. Things are escalating now. I think we all know that Gus will not tolerate anything that will endanger his operation. Certainly, Walt and Jesse do – this is all part of their plan. While Jesse is causing trouble, Walt is working on some kind of electronic device.

Gus visits the hospital and demands that Jesse return, but Jesse holds form. When Gus learns that the boy was poisoned, he changes heart and tells Jesse to return to cooking next week.

As Walt watches from a nearby rooftop, Gus and bodyguards walk back to the car. Walt is ready to pull the trigger, but Gus suddenly stops short of the vehicle and carefully surveys the surrounding building. Lizard-like, he has somehow picked up on the threatening vibe. Suddenly, he reverses and heads back the way he came, leaving a dejected Walt to ponder his next move.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"I have lived under the threat of death for a year now, and because of that, I’ve made choices – listen to me. I alone should suffer the consequences of those choices – no one else. And those consequences – they’re coming. No more prolonging the inevitable."
- Walt to Skyler

Saul: Take a break, HT, let’s go.
HT: You’re gonna stop calling me that, or I’m gonna hang you by your tie.
Saul: Yeah, yeah, stop showing off for the client. Honey Tits! I say it’s endearing.

 

4.11 Crawl Space

Summary and Spoilers

With Gus poisoned and Mike shot, it’s up to Jesse to save their lives. He drives them to what must have been a preordained makeshift hospital. The doctors grab Gus and begin treating him immediately, but they ignore Mike, despite Jesse’s shouted pleas.

Back at the lab, Walt asks his observer to let the chain of command know that he will be driving Hank out to spy on the lab soon. Sure enough, soon he and Hank are on stakeout. Hank tries to get Walt to talk about his facial markings, but Walt says he doesn’t want to talk to Hank or anyone else.

Gus is up and about, so it is time to leave. Mike cannot travel and is left behind to heal. Once again, Gus asks Jesse if he is ready to cook by himself. But Jesse knows if he says yes, Walt will be killed.

Skyler meets with Ted. Skyler has told Ted about Walt’s gambling, and has asked Ted to help her out. Ted has decided to give the money back. He doesn’t seem to understand that if Ted does not pay, the tax department will track her down and discover her fund source. Skyler is dead serious and tries to intimidate Ted, but he does not go for it. She is on the verge of losing it.

Gus is back to visit Hector, but this time, he provokes the man to a new level by dangling Don Eladio’s medallion in his face, while explaining how all of the Don’s men are dead. He even presents Jesse as the man who killed the last living Salamanca. Still, Hector will not look at him.

Walt and Hank are back on the road, but Hank now wants to check out an industrial laundry (that just happens to be the place where Walt’s lab is located). Hank has not only pieced together the parent company that owns the laundry and manufactures an air filtration system that was purchased by Gale Boetticher. Rather than spy on the lab, Walt stages an impromptu car accident. Now Hank’s neck is in a brace, just to add to all his other problems. But Walt’s ploy is only a short stay of execution; Hank has ordered a car with hand controls, and he should have it in a week.

Skyler has hired a couple of Saul’s goons to (a) make Ted write a check, and then (b) stay with him until the check arrives at the IRS and it clears. Ted signs, then tries to make a getaway, but he trips on his own rug and slams his head into the breakfast nook.

Walt has discovered that Jesse cooked while Walt was out of commission. He visits Jesse to ask for his help, but Jesse turns him away violently. While Walt is still digesting that, two of Gus’s henchmen Taser him and bring him into the desert for a hooded meeting with Gus. Gus fires him and tells him to stay away from the laundry and from Jesse. Walt confronts Gus with the fact that he cannot be killed, or Jesse would no longer cook, but both know this is probably a temporary situation. Gus also warns Walt that he is going to deal with Hank, and if Walt interferes, Gus will kill his family.

Walt goes directly to Saul and gets the number of the guy who can disappear him and his family. This will cost half a million. Walt also asks Saul to anonymously tip-off the DEA that Hank is about to be assassinated. When Walt returns home to get the required funds, he finds there is not enough. Skyler explains it is because the money was given to Ted. This sends Walt into a panic attack / nervous breakdown. While Walt is laughing in agony, Marie is leaving a message about Hank being targeted by the cartel.

Comments

This is once again a top-shelf episode, with everything coming to a head.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Jesse (standing over Mike): This man needs help!
Doctor (working on Gus): This man pays my salary.

Gus: You did well down here. And you also proved a point. I think you can run the lab by yourself now. Don’t you?
Jesse: Let Mr. White go. Pay him off, or fire him, but don’t kill him.
Gus: You know that won’t work.
Jesse: Then you got a problem.

Gus: You are done! Fired! Do not show your face at the laundry again. Stay away from Pinkman. Do not go near him – ever. Are you listening to me?
Walt: Or else you’ll what?
Gus: What did you say?
Walt: Stay away from Pinkman, or else you’ll do – what? Kill me? If you could kill me, I’d already be dead. But you can’t. You can’t kill me. Because Jesse wouldn’t cook for you if you did. That’s it, isn’t it? No matter how hard you try to turn him against me, to screw with his head so he would hate my guts, and he still won’t let you do it.
Gus: For now. But he’ll come around. In the meantime, there’s the matter of your brother-in-law. He is a problem you promised to resolve. You have failed. Now it’s left to me to deal with him.
Walt: You can’t –
Gus: If you try to interfere, this becomes a much simpler matter. I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter.

 

4.10 Salud

Summary and Spoilers

Skyler has bought Walt Jr. a safer car and Walt Jr. is underwhelmed. He drives over to Walt’s place, where his dad is in pain and in bed, and is not answering any of Skyler’s calls. When he also does not answer any of Walt Jr.’s calls, and Junior threatens to call 911, Walt lets his son in and allows him to see his beaten face. This Walt attributes this to gambling, but midway through the lie, he loses it and sobs uncontrollably. Junior puts dad to bed, but not before Walt addresses him as ‘Jesse’. Walt later covers this up by blaming painkillers and alcohol. But although he covers this up, he reveals much about his relationship with his own father.

Saul meets with Ted to tell him that an unknown aunt passed away in Luxembourg and left him 600 thousand dollars and change. Of course, this money is being supplied by Skyler.

Mike, Gus, and Jesse are spirited away on a cartel plane, then blindfolded and driven to a Mexican meth lab. The blindfolds are removed, and it’s time for The Reluctant Chemist to show the cartel that he can cook. Jesse may not know how to make phentlacetic acid, but he knows how to take control of a situation.

The real Jesse is a tremendous success with his first cook, then finds out that he is expected to stay and continue running the cook operation in Mexico.

Skyler freaks when Saul tells her that Ted leased a fully loaded Mercedes just after receiving his windfall. She visits Ted and tries to pressure him into using the money to pay his taxes, but he has his own plans and his priorities. When he does not fold, she does the unthinkable – she tells him that she gave him the money, not his Great Aunt Birgette.

It’s time for Jesse to find out if he is coming home or staying on in Mexico to cook ‘forever’. First, there is a long ass-kissing session between Gus and Don Eladio. But Gus has gifted the gang poisoned liquor, and he kills them all – while conveniently throwing up enough of the poison to save his own life.

Memorable Moments

Well, that final scene is amazing – puts The Godfather to shame. Perhaps I am exaggerating a little – but it was great.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Cartel Chemist: Who do you think you are?
Jesse: I’m the guy your boss brought here to show you how it’s done. And if this is how you run your lab, no wonder! You’re lucky he hasn’t fired your ass! Now if you don’t want that to happen, I suggest you stop whining like a little bitch, and do what I say!

Walt: But the only thing I can remember is…him breathing. Ah, there’s  - this, this…this…rattling sound like if you shaking an empty spray paint can…you know…like there was nothing in him. Anyway – that is the only real memory that I have of my father. I don’t want you to think of me the way I was last night. I don’t want that to be the memory you have of me when I’m gone.
Walt Jr.: Remembering you that way…wouldn’t be so bad. The bad way to remember you would be the way – the way you’ve been this whole last year. At least last night, you were – you were real…you know?

Gus: Don Eladio is dead! His capos are dead! You have no one left to fight for! Fill your pockets and leave in peace. Or fight me and die!
Mike: I hope to hell that works!

 

4.09 Bug

Summary and Spoilers

The episode starts with an unseen person dripping blood onto their hush puppy shoes. This has happened sometime in the future – in the next scene, we flash back to see that those are Walt’s shoes, showing up to take Hank back to Pollos Hermanos. Walt retrieves the tracker while a new non-Mike spy looks on from a parked car. Hank is disappointed that the Tracker just shows Gus driving from home to the restaurant and back again.

When the same spy guy is parked outside Hank’s house, Walt drives up to him and calls the cops right in front of the guy. Much later, Mike warns Walt that the next time he does that, he will end up in a barrel.

Outside the lab, Walt bums a cigarette from Jesse and makes small talk until Jesse swears that he will do ‘it’.

Skyler calls Walt to tell him that she will soon be turning profits at the car wash, and to ask him again to start thinking of an exit strategy. Skyler spends part of her day dealing with real customers, and fills in her spare time by fabricating hundreds of receipts for non-existent ones. These receipts will be used to launder Walt’s cash. She is interrupted by Ted, who is being audited. Skyler is appalled that her name and signature are on all the documents and she fears that this will lead the IRS/CID to investigate her as well.

Hank has found the major distribution point for Pollos Hermanos legal and illegal inventory, and asks Walt to drive him there. Walt says he is sick and cannot go, but when Hank says he will get someone else to drive him, Walt says he really wants to be part of it and asks Hank to wait a day or two until he is feeling better. Hank is reluctant but agrees. Walt immediately phones Mike to tell him this news.

Hank’s discovery prompts Gus and Mike to task Jesse and others to cleanse and move the whole operation ‘elsewhere’. Their work is interrupted by an attack from a cartel sniper that kills one of Gus’s men. Jesse freezes in the headlights and is saved by Mike. Gus walks into the gunfire with arms outstretched, signaling that the fight is over. Soon after, Gus rings the cartel and says his answer has changed to ‘yes’. This means that he will surrender half of his business. He also entertains Jesse at home where, after cooking a home-made meal for him, asks if he can cook Walt’s formula. When Jesse replies in the affirmative, Gus asks Jesse to go to Mexico and teach the cartel chemists how to cook.

Mike and Jesse arrive at the lab with the sniper’s victim. He will be disposed of there. Walt complains and Mike quickly tells him to shut up.

Skyler bursts in on Ted’s audit, all cleavage-y and dumb blonde-y, and saves the day by acting like she was responsible for all the mistakes but that she thought she was doing the right thing. This simplifies the charge from criminal to mere negligence. Now all Ted has to do to avoid prison is to come up with about 700 thousand dollars. The simple solution is for Skyler to use some of Walt’s booty.

Jesse invites Walt over to tell him about Gus’s plan, and to ask for help. However, Walt has his own agenda. He has attached a tracker to Jesse’s car and has been tracking his movement – and he knows that he spent more than two hours at Gus’s house. Walt confronts Jesse about why he has not killed Gus. Jesse counters that Walt has been spying on him. An all-out brutal fight ensues, with both men getting smashed but with Walt definitely the loser. When it finishes, Jesse tells Walt to leave and never return.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Hank: What’s the play here, buddy? How do I get this guy?
Walt: Yeah…how.

Jesse: Look, I said…I’d do it. I’ll do it.
Walt: Yeah, well…what does it matter? We’re both dead men anyway.

Skyler: All of this is to say, maybe you could start thinking about an exit strategy.
Walt: I’m working on it.

"I can’t have this in my life – I cannot be audited."
- Skyler to Ted

 "Next time don’t stand there like an idiot – move your feet – run and so forth."
- Mike to Jesse after saving his life

Gus: I have invited you into my home - prepared food, so we could sit and talk - discuss what’s going on in this business - our business – like men. And I will explain everything that’s happening. I will answer your questions. But first…I need you to answer one question for me: can you cook Walter’s formula?
Jesse: What?
Gus: Walter’s formula. Can you produce his product – without any help, alone?
Jesse: No….Why? You’re asking me if I can cook Mr. White’s crystal? Without him? Me? The junkie loser you were about to waste and dump in the desert a month ago? This your plan, huh? Invite me in your house – make whatever this is? Be my buddy and…and make me feel important? Then get me to keep cooking for you, after you kill Mr. White. You wanna – you wanna talk like men? Let’s talk like men! You kill Mr. White – you’re gonna have to kill me too!
Gus: That…is not what I asked you. You are here because circumstances with the cartel are untenable. And I need your help. I need you to help prevent an all-out war. Now…if you would…answer the question.

"I mean, I’m supposed to go to Mexico and, and teach a bunch of cartel chemists how to cook a batch of blue!"
- Jesse to Walt

Jesse: Can you walk?
Walt: Yeah.
Jesse: Then get the fuck outta here and never come back!

 

4.08 Hermanos

Summary and Spoilers

Gus visits the wheelchair-bound, mute Hector in a nursing home to fill him in on why his nephews are dead – blood for blood.

Walt is having his scheduled scan. A young man undergoing the same test tries to have a friendly discussion, but Walt refuses to play the victim role with him. You can see now how Walt has staved off cancer – he refuses to give in and give up control. Later, he shares his happy scan results with his family and with Hank and Marie.

Gus is called in for questioning by Hank and gang. He is so cool and completely fools everyone but Hank – who believes he has found his man, and, after Gus leaves, wonders aloud why the suspect didn’t come forward sooner to tell them that he had seen Gale just before he died.

Saul drops off a big envelope of money to Jesse’s ‘girlfriend’ while Jesse waits in the car.

Skyler has combined cash bills with old clothes in vacuum-packed bags – lots of vacuum-packed bags.

Hank asks Walt to drive him to a ‘rock’ exhibit, but it is false pretenses – he needs Walt to stick a tracking device on Gus’s car. Walt doesn’t do it on the way in, but instead tells Gus that he did not place the device. Meanwhile, Mike sits in the car, watching the whole thing. Gus tells him quietly to plant the device. Later, Gus removes it and dumps it in a bin.

Back at the lab, Walt’s soliloquy to the video camera in the lab states that Hank is working alone, and he begs to Hank to be spared.

Gus and Mike are concerned about Hank being around when the Chilean drug war starts.

Walt visits Jesse to try to pressure him into killing Gus. Jesse staves him off. While Jesse is in the toilet, his phone registers a text. Walt reads that Jesse’s scheduled meeting with the boss has been cancelled.

We flashback to a young Gus and his meth-making partner. Hector is there, too – he is the flashy henchman who kills Gus’s partner just to make a point. You can see why Gus hates Hector.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Gary: It's like what they say: man plans and God laughs.
Walter: That is such bullshit.
Gary: Excuse me?
Walter: Never give up control. Live life on your own terms.
Gary: Yeah, no, I get what you're saying, but, uh, cancer is cancer.
Walter: To hell with your cancer. I've been living with cancer for the better part of a year. Right from the start, it's a death sentence. That's what they keep telling me. Well, guess what? Every life comes with a death sentence, so every few months I come in here for my regular scan, knowing full well that one of these times - hell, maybe even today - I'm gonna hear some bad news. But until then, who's in charge? Me. That's how I live my life.

"I can give you the highlights. Your nephews grew impatient. They continued to press me for my permission to kill Walter White. When I wouldn't give it, they settled instead for DEA agent Schraeder. But a phone call was placed to Agent Schraeder moments before the attack, thus giving him the upper hand. Marco, shot in the face and died instantly. Leonel lingered for several hours. The warning call to the DEA agent, Juan Bolsa may have some insight into who placed it, for yesterday the federales raided his hacienda, and in the confusion, Juan was shot dead. An accident, perhaps. A mistake made by his own men. But we may never know. At any rate, I thought you should hear it from me. [Gus pats a furious Hector on the leg and stands up to leave] This is what comes of blood for blood, Hector. Sangre por sangre."
- Gus

"Look at me, Hector. Look…at…me! [pause] Maybe next time."
- Gus

 

4.07 Problem Dog

Summary and Spoilers

Jesse’s shoot-to-kill video game brings back memories of his cold-blooded murder of Gale. This is probably a first step out of the loop in which he is stuck; he is aided by the newfound support he has gained from Mike and Gus. While Walt sometimes protects him (and critiques him) like a father, Gus seems to actually respect him and see his value.

Skyler asks Walt to bring Junior’s car back to the dealership for a partial refund. Instead, Walt does a few donuts and accidentally crashes it. He then simply torches it, calls a cab, and lets Saul handle the 50 thousand dollar cleanup chore. No matter – he withdraws another 272 thousand dollars from the safe, which is what he makes every two weeks. Skyler now has to figure out how to launder – or just store - 272 thousand dollars in a business that normally makes about that per year.

While at Saul’s office, Walt asks Saul for the name of a hit man, but Saul is unable to help. Instead, Walt goes to Jesse’s place, to enlist Jesse in the task of killing Gus. Jesse doesn’t seem to need too much prodding to go along with the plan.

Walt prepares a batch of ricin, the same powerful and undetectable poison that Walt and Jesse used to kill Tuco. Jesse hides the tiny vial in one of his cigarettes.

Hank and Junior have lunch at Los Pollos Hermanos. Always the gracious host, Gus himself emerges to praise DEA agent Hank for his fine work. Hank asks for a Diet Coke refill, and Gus fetches it himself. Later, Hank pockets the cup for fingerprints.

It is time for the big meeting of Gus’s mob and the drug cartel that has been ambushing Gus’s trucks. Gus offers 50 million as a one-time payoff. The cartel rep offers a yes (allow yourself to be fully taken over) or no choice only. The meeting ends quickly, and war is about to break out. Jesse is there; he is even given a gun, and he briefly considers either dumping the ricin in the coffee, or shooting Gus, but instead he stays cool. Later, as he and Mike drive back, Mike praises Jesse’s loyalty but says that maybe it is directed at the wrong guy. This kind of talk seems to be swaying Jesse; later, when Walt asks Jesse if he has had a chance to kill Gus, Jesse lies that he hasn’t seen him.

Jesse is back in rehab, but he is really there to confess to his sins. He admits that he returned the first time only to find possible meth customers. And he partially admits to killing Gale, but he substitutes ‘dog’, referring to Gale as a ‘problem dog’. This elicits perhaps a more emotional response from the other group members, because they believe he killed an animal and not a person.

Finally, Hank meets with Gomez to lay out his theory about Gale and Gus. Hank now suspects that Gus could be Heisenberg – the guy who is running a huge meth operation. They think he is drawing a long bow until he pulls out his ace in the hole – fingerprint proof that Gus has been in Gale’s apartment.

Comments

This is a deliberately paced, intensely powerful episode, as virtually every character has to come face to face with a seemingly insurmountable dilemma. Skyler has to figure out how to launder 7.5 million dollars a year. Jesse is trying to overcome the specter of himself as murderer. Gus is faced with a drug cartel that will settle for nothing less than total domination. And Jesse has to decide exactly where his loyalties lie. He is already slipping across to Gus’s camp; you’ll notice a rare lie to Walt about not having had the opportunity to kill Gus. And with the way Walt has treated Jesse, it’s easy to think that he would be making the right choice if he changed sides.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"No, I’m sure he’ll see me."
- Walt to cab dispatcher, as car burns in background

"I’m sorry, did I wake you? I – I caught this thing before it got into the system. That means your record stays clean; the wife never finds out. I’ve been working magic here! I could at least get an ‘attaboy’."
- Saul

Walt: Did he speak to you?
Jesse: it – it was over in ten seconds.
Walt: Would you just answer!
Jesse: He said he sees things in people.
Walt: What things? What people?

Jesse: Drop the sales pitch! I’ll do it!
Walt: You’ll do what?
Jesse: I’ll kill him – first chance I get!

Mike: Alright, what’s the order of the day?
Jesse: Eyes open; mouth shut.

Cartel rep: Is it to be yes…or no?
Gus: A hard way to begin a negotiation.
Cartel rep: This is not a negotiation.

Jesse: He said he sees something in me. Like what?
Mike: If I had to put it in a word, I’d guess…loyalty.
Jesse: Loyalty.
Mike: Although maybe you’ve got it for the wrong guy.

Woman at rehab: He was suffering? It was a kindness.
Jesse: No, he wasn’t sick…he was just like a – I don’t know, like a…problem dog.

"You know I – I couldn’t agree more, guys. Gustavo Fring – blue meth – you know – whole thing is…off the map nuts. I had to be wearing a tin foil hat, you know? Except…I can’t seem to wrap my mind around this one little thing, and that is – what are Gustavo Fring’s fingerprints doing in Gale Boetticher’s apartment?"
- Hank

 

4.06 Cornered

Summary and Spoilers

Once again, even before the credits roll, one of Gus’s trucks is ambushed. Last time, the indestructible Mike was on board and managed to fend off the attackers. This time, there are two different guards inside the truck. They are disposed of by a pipe, pumping in the truck’s own exhaust. The hijackers shoot the driver, hook up the pipe, lean back and wait. While they are waiting, they share a cooler full of lunch food that originally belonged to the truck driver and his mates. I guess they won’t be needing it. When all are dead, the hijackers open the back, scan the many tubs of chicken sauce, find the one with the laser-only-readable star, and take it.

Now we have the follow-up to Walt’s drunken blurts at the Hank and Marie dinner. Skyler has been looking up Gale Boetticher on the internet, and has surmised that he and Walt worked together. When he finally wakes up, she asks him about this and also about who killed Gale. Our old Walt denies all and again assures Skyler that no one would want to kill him in the same manner. Despite his normal assurances, Skyler has pieced together Walt’s bone thrown to Hank and Walt’s earlier scared phone message declaration of love, and believes that he is scared and on some level wants to get caught so that this whole thing can end. Walt laughs it off, but Skyler will not be denied so easily. Her confrontation finally breaks through Walt’s façade, and he shows her his ‘Heisenberg’ side, scaring her as he tells her that "…he is the one who knocks," inferring that he killed Gale – or gave the order to do so. Skyler is visibly shaken. Walt showers. When he emerges, Skyler is gone.

Walt checks out the car wash with Bogdon. Bogdon gives some unwanted advice, goading Walt about how bosses have to be tough enough to make cashiers wipe down cars. Bogdon keeps reminding Walt that he is handing over the car wash ‘as is’, so when he spies his first dollar earned in a frame and tries to take it, Walt says no. As soon as Bogdon leaves, Walt breaks the frame and uses to dollar to buy a soft drink from a vending machine.

Mike is hanging out in a restaurant with Jesse. I thought maybe Gus had made Jesse into a hero to mask his plan to kill him, but now it seems that they may be trying to get Jesse to stop using. Mike is just getting Jesse to eat something when the call comes in about the truck hijack. Mike heads off alone, telling Jesse that he doesn’t need any help.

Walt tries to get some logistical information out of Walt Jr. regarding Skyler’s whereabouts. Nothing is forthcoming. Walt plays the political game by suddenly veering from driving Junior to school, and instead buys him a Chevrolet sports car – red, no less.

Well, this episode is just filled with people who have read the scripts! Back at work, Walt tells Jesse that he believes Mike’s robbery was a setup. This of courses angers Jesse, who is just starting to feel a little bit better about himself. Later, after cooking is done, Jesse is called away before he is able to finish cleaning up. Walt reacts by going upstairs to the main factory and enlisting three textile working women to clean. This is a huge and obvious mistake – to allow them to see the inside of the meth lab – that I find it hard to believe he would do it – except that he is doing it to purposely piss off Gus, as he reveals when he toasts the camera with his mug of coffee. Sure enough, when the women finish, Tyrus arrives to take them back to Honduras. When Walt asks Tyrus to blame him, not the women, Tyrus assures him that Gus does blame him.

Skyler has driven to the four states monument – where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado share a corner. There she flips a coin – it lands ‘heads’ – which doesn’t satisfy her, so she flips again. Her question might be whether to leave Walt or to turn him in.

Mike and Jesse are parked a respectable distance from a small house. Mike says that he believes that the guys who hijacked the truck are inside. The plan is to wait until one or more of them emerge, and then confront them and get their product back. Jesse tries to buy some meth, but the guy who answers the door says they don’t sell to strangers. Jesse is not a good waiter; soon after returning to the car, he hatches another plan: he digs a hole, which against all odds lures the first meth-head out, the goes inside and knocks out the other, more violent meth-head, grabbing his semi-automatic rifle too. Mike pops in and is impressed.

Back at the restaurant, Mike and Jesse’s meal is interrupted by Gus. Jesse leaves; Mike tells Gus that the people who stole the meth left a ‘Ready to talk?’ message scrawled on the chicken tub lid. Mike wants to hire 15 guys to hit back, but Gus wants the war to stay ‘cold’ for the moment, and instead asks Mike to set up a meeting. Mike also briefs Gus on Jesse’s performance; although we are not privy to that part of the conversation, Gus praises Jesse on his way out.

Skyler returns home and throws a look of disdain at Junior’s car. Walt tries to apologize for being so ‘forward’. Skyler insists that the car must go back – that it puts the family in jeopardy. Their reaction over this is controlled but laced with deep anger and distrust.

Comments

We’ve seen Jesse go from lows to highs. It’s pleasant to see him in a better space at the moment. And on that subject, I would watch Aaron Paul cleaning his toenails for 40 minutes. This guy is a great actor.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how much I make a year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going into work? A business big enough that it could be listed on the NASDEC goes belly up. Disappear! It ceases to exist without me – no - you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in: I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! I am the one who knocks!"
- Walt

Gus: I hear you can handle yourself.
Jesse: I guess.
Gus: Good night.
Jesse: Eh, excuse me. Why me?
Gus: I like to think I can see things in people.

Walt: Everything that I do – everything – I do it to protect this family.
Skyler: So buy that car: that was protecting your family?

"Someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family."
- Skyler

 

4.05 Shotgun

Summary and Spoilers

Walt drives more than recklessly to try to save Jesse, calling Saul enroute to tell him to get all the money to Skyler, and leaving a goodbye message to Skyler on the White answering machine. His gun is loaded and ready. His Jihad has begun. His destination is the chicken shop; despite Gus’s car parked outside, the woman behind the counter says Gus is not there. Walt just waits, watching the cameras watching him. Eventually, Mike calls to say Jesse is with him and is fine. Jesse says the same things, and seems unconcerned with his own fate or destination. Walt walks straight into Gus’s office without permission, ostensibly to shoot him, but it’s true – Gus really is not in the building.

Mike drives Jesse to a remote location. Jesse grips his keys as a makeshift weapon. But they are not required; Mike is there to dig up a satchel of money. He tells Jesse that they have six more stops to make, and they get back in the car.

Hank briefs his policeman buddy about the belief that Gale was Heisenberg. Despite a few leads on the shooter, Hank says he is no longer interested in being briefed on the case, so Tim gathers up his paperwork.

Mike and Jesse continue their pilgrimage. Jesse seems to think he is there as backup, but Mike angrily straightens him out about that. It seems that Mike was ordered to bring Jesse – even he doesn’t know why – and he’s not happy about it.

Walt rushes back to do what he was told – continue the cook on his own – then rushes out to attend the signing of the car wash purchase. Skyler signs but has now gotten nervous, and once again asks Walt to promise that there be no more secrets. In the middle of this vulnerable moment, Skyler plays Walt’s loving goodbye message, but she doesn’t recognize it as such. Soon, they are in bed.

Later, after Walt Jr. comes home, Skyler sort of asks Walt to move back in. His alarm watch beeps, saving him from answering that question, and he rushes back to the lab. When he experiences some forklift issues, he quits working, demanding that Jesse be brought back. Instead, an unknown guy comes down and works the forklift.

Mike and Jesse reach their final stop. While Jesse is waiting in the car, he sees a shotgun-carrying guy approaching. Jesse floors the car and is soon being pursued at high speed by the shotgun guy and his partner. When Mike comes back outside and sees no car, he calls for alternate ride. Soon after, Jesse drives up, having lost the assailants. Mike is so impressed that he allows Jesse to smoke in the car for the first time.

Walt and Walt Jr. meet one fine morning in the kitchen and drink a cup of coffee together. There Walt learns that Skyler thinks that he is moving back in next Tuesday.

Back at the lab, Walt is surprised to find Jesse working away, and more surprised to hear his story about saving the stash. He’s right to be wary; over at the chicken shop, a meeting between Gus and Mike reveals that the shotgun dudes were hired by Mike at Gus’s request to make Jesse look like a hero. Why? Mike wonders but does not ask. Maybe they are planning on killing Jesse but they do not want Walt to think they did it.

Perhaps the burden of the pressure of knowing he is being pressured into getting back with Skyler has skewed Walt. He drinks too much at the Hank and Marie dinner. When Hank says that Gale was a genius, Walt blurts out that, in his humble opinion, the notebook was merely rote copying, and that maybe this Heisenberg is still out there. Skyler seems to know that is going on here, and she is very unhappy about it.

Finally, Hank has rediscovered his love of detecting, armed now with the thought that Heisenberg may still be at large. He wonders about the Los Pollos Hermanos logo that he has found in staunch vegan Gale’s effects.

Comments

This episode slowly builds tension and keeps it ratcheted until we can find out what is going to happen to Jesse – and Hank’s pursuit of Walt -  and Walt and Skyler’s relationship.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Hank: This guy Gale Boetticher, he was eccentric. Real character, y' know? He's, uh, he's dead now.
Skyler: Who was he?
Walter Jr.: He was a meth cook.
Hank: Uh, he was a meth chef. We're talking 5-stars, candles, and white tablecloth, y'know. I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but he was a genius, plain and simple. I mean, uh, boy, if he applied that big brain of his to something good, I dunno, who knows? He could've helped humanity or something like that. I mean, how many actual geniuses are there in the world? If he'd have taken his life in a different direction, who knows?
Walter: Hank, not to tell you your business, but I'm not sure I agree.
Hank: What do you mean?
Walter: Well, you showed me that notebook and from what I saw - and this is just my humble opinion - from what I saw on those papers...genius? Not so much. I mean, there was no reasoning, no deductions in those pages, so to my eye, all this brilliance looks like nothing more than just simple rote copying, probably of someone else's work. Believe me, I have been around enough students to know. So this genius of yours, maybe he's still out there.

"Since when do vegans eat fried chicken?"
- Hank, wondering about the Los Pollos Hermanos logo found in Gale’s effects (closing line)

 

4.04 Bullet Points

Summary and Spoilers

Even before the opening credits, we are treated to a gruesome event: one of Gus’s trucks is ambushed by two machine gun wielding men. They kill the driver in cold blood, then poke thousands of holes in the truck body. Assured incorrectly that it is now clear, they open the doors, and are promptly blown away by Mike, who is wearing a bullet-proof suit. Mike is slightly annoyed that one bullet has evaded his garb and clipped off the top of his ear.

Skyler can’t sleep; she is planning how Walt will present his gambling addiction as fact to Marie and Hank. She and Walt practice counting cards, attend a Gamblers Anonymous meetings, and review their bullet point script. This is a well-written and hilarious scene, interlaced with the tension of how their performance will determine whether or not Hank gets suspicious.

Finally, it is time for the fateful visit to Hank and Marie’s. The evening start with a tour of Hank’s rock…er, mineral collection. Soon, however, things get even worse when Hank plays a DVD of Gale singing karaoke, pulled from that same file that holds Gale’s notebook.

Later, after the gambling yarn has been spun, Hank invites Walt to bend his ear anytime if needed. When Walt returns the invitation, Hank opens the file again and they pore over the Gale case. Hank thinks Gale was the elusive Heisenberg and expresses severe disappointment that he was unable to handcuff and bring him in.

When Hank says that Gale’s murder is being investigated and that prints were found, Walt heads to Jesse’s place to both warn and interrogate him. Jesse ignores the former and doesn’t react well to the latter; he offers one hundred dollars to a couple of his party people and they eject Walt from the house.

Saul assures Walt that the police have nothing on Jesse. Saul may be dodgy as a lawyer, so Walt uses him as a father-confessor slash therapy agent instead. Saul, however, does offer an out: a guy who will, for a substantial fee, make Walt and his family disappear without a trace.

More glimpses of Jesse’s lifestyle: rave music; graffiti, random sex, meth use. One of his guests steals a satchel – a big satchel – filled with Jesse’s hundred dollar bills. Jesse finds it missing and doesn’t even blink – just goes on playing Xbox with Mrs. Jesse du jour. Later, Jesse is visited by Mike. Mike brings the thief, tied up and whimpering, and the satchel. Jesse takes his satchel back and out bluffs Mike, saying they are not going to kill the guy which is why they blindfolded him.

Mike meets with Gus to tell him that Jesse is out of control, and that something needs to be done, despite how Walt might react.

Walt, after a day alone at the lab, visits Jesse again when there is no answer to his many phone messages. He breaks into Jesse’s place, deserted save for Jesse’s ringing cell phone.

Back at the lab, Walt asks the camera, "Where is he?" Cut to Mike driving Jesse through the desert, destination unknown.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Bullet points – like a novella."
- Walt

"Just make sure to really…hit the cancer. Really touch on the fear and despair. It’s good to remind them, and the get their sympathy right off the bat. We want them to understand why you could do something so stupid."
- Skyler

"How do you look bad exactly? And where is the ‘I slept with my boss’ bullet point – I can’t seem to find that anywhere."
- Walt

"You might look down at the floor with remorse…what? You don’t have to mean it! Just stare down at your feet Walt, okay?"
- Skyler

 

4.03 Open House

Summary and Spoilers

Walter’s back at work in the lab, sporting a lovely shiner courtesy of Mike. Despite this, he is almost smug. He thinks he’s gotten to Mike and that his plan is taking shape. He’s not too happy to discover that motion-tracking cameras have been installed in the lab and are following his every move.

Skyler drops by Walt’s place to talk about the car wash. He tries to get rid of her, but she insists on coming in when she sees his damaged face. Egged on by Skyler, Walt gives a typical Walt-speak of the incident, downplaying everything. Skyler accepts it as usual, and there’s no sign that she suspects that he is not telling the truth.

Speaking of lies, Marie is off looking at a house with a separate small studio that would suit grumpy Hank. She has fabricated her own divorce and created a child for herself too. I’m not sure why she is going to such extremes of fable-creation, but she’s very good at it.

Jesse and Walt get through another day at work. Walt prods Jesse about his health and well-being, since it’s obvious that Jesse is a little out of it. Jesse prods back about Walt’s eye bruise. Neither gets anything in return.

Saul tries to get Skyler to drop the idea of buying the car wash and purchase a nail salon, but she’s not willing to give up just yet. For some reason, Skyler will not budge. She wants to buy out Bogdon because she does not like him or his attitude.

Marie is at another open house, with a new name and a new story. When she leaves, the realtor notices one of the collectible spoons is missing from a display. Why she decided to take one from the middle and not from the end, I don’t know.

After mindlessly racing a go-cart around an indoor track, Jesse returns to his home. There, the people he has left to continue partying are trashing the place. Some are having violent and sweaty sex in full view; others are fighting and drawing blood; while others are busy graffiti-ing the walls. In a terrifying scene, Jesse walks in, sits down, and lights a cigarette – he seems totally numb to the violence and destruction.

So now we see what Marie has been doing at each house – stealing meaningless items – and now she has been caught and arrested. It’s obviously the only way she can get Hank to pay any attention to her. Lucky for her, Hank, although upset, consoles her and makes a call. None of the homeowners press charges and she is free to go, but this does not cheer her up – rather, it sends her into a crying jag.

Skyler’s solution to the car wash standoff is to hire a very convincing actor to pose as an EPA agent accusing the owner of dumping noxious waste into the groundwater. This will require hundreds of thousands of dollars in new filtering equipment, he says. Skyler sits nearby in her car, feeding specific law texts to him via Bluetooth.

Hank is visited by the detective that helped free Marie. The detective is on the Gayle murder case and has brought over Gale’s detailed meth notebook. He wants Hank to have a look and tell him what he’s found. Hank resists but lets him leave the notebook, then goes back to watching ten pin bowling.

Skyler has successfully talked Bogdon down to 800 thousand for the car wash, demonstrating her business acumen. While Jesse’s party keeps going, fueled by Jesse tossing cash to the masses, Skyler and Walt toast with champagne while two suspicious guys wait outside in a car. Skyler gets upset that Walt has purchased $320. Champagne, but she still thinks they should finish the bottle.

Hank has finally exhausted his appetite for Court TV and has picked up Gale’s notes. It seems to immediately grab his full attention.

Breaking Bad Quotes

Saul: Alright, how about an ICE raid? You know he's got illegals working over there. I mean, he just has to.
Skyler: We're not getting a bunch of poor innocent people in trouble, no.
Saul: Yeah, and also you're gonna need them after you take over.

 

4.02 Thirty Eight Snub

Summary and Spoilers

Walt shops for the perfect concealable gun, and practices his stilted quick draw, in preparation for shooting Gus before Gus shoots him. Before long, Walt has increased his speed, practicing specifically from a sitting position. He even sets up an empty Gus chair across from him.

Mike is still perhaps the most effected by Gus’s coldblooded slaying of Victor. The appearance of a small dried blood stain on his sleeve almost causes him to lose it in a diner.

Jesse has purchased the type of high-woofer sound system that would make me (as his neighbor) want to move somewhere else. He shows it off to Badger and Skinny Pete. It doesn’t take much urging from Jesse to get both of these guys off their 12 step program and back into having a ‘little’ bump – and soon they are arguing about which shoot-em-up video game is the best.

Jesse is looking paranoid and unwell, but rather than visiting a doctor, he decides a massive party is what he needs – noise, and lots of it. Now I’m really moving away from this guy.

Hank is sort of numb and depressed at the same time. He spends his late nights examining his mineral collection while Marie tries to sleep. Hank is trying to push Marie away, but she’s not that easy to push. I think he’s fighting a losing battle here.

Its next morning at Jesse’s party – and everyone looks wiped out on the floor, ready to be vacuumed up by the auto-vac. But Jesse has other ideas. He tasks Badger and Skinny Pete with restocking the booze, and tells the sleepy people to start partying again. Then he head off to work at the lab.

Walt is edgy, packing and fondling his gun, especially when Victor’s replacement shows up. Walt asks Mike for a meeting with Gus to clear the air, but Mike just laughs quietly and says that Walt will never see Gus again.

Hank has again made great strides in his rehabilitation. He responds with enthusiasm to his personal therapist, but as soon as the man leaves, he grows somber and shuts Marie out.

Jesse is confronted by Andrea, who has come to find out why a huge wad of cash was played in her mailbox, and who left it. Jesse doesn’t say anything, proving he did it. He also promises that it is hers to keep.

Walt has really changed, as has Breaking Bad. He has gone from being a guy in survival mode to a cold-blooded killer. Yes, you could say that he is defending himself, but he is pro-active now. When Gus will not see him, he shows up at Gus’s door – or at least he intends to, until he is interrupted by a cell phone call from Gus, who intercepts him before he finishes crossing the street and tells him to go home.

Marie takes delivery of numerous boxes of rocks – I mean, minerals – delivered to Hank. Marie is almost jealous of these lumps. They invoke so much more passion in Hank than she does. Protective of them in the way that men can be protective of their lady, Hank begs Marie to check the boxes carefully for damage.

Skyler makes a considered, generous offer of 879 thousand dollars for the car wash, but the heavily eyebrowed owner, still smarting from the way Walter quit, says he will only sell it for 20 million.

Mike just hangs out in the bar, drinking and watching tacky Saul Goodman TV ads and waiting for the pain to go away. Walt visits, specifically to try to convince Mike that his life is also hanging by a thread, and to get Mike to arrange a Gus/Walt private meeting so Walt can "…do the rest." Mike listens patiently and then punches Walt to the floor, kicking him a couple of times to finish his reply.

After three days, the partiers are leaving, and Jesse is looking very scared to see them go. Alone, Jesse turns up the stereo and tries not to lose his mind.

Comments

Fantastic episode from start to finish. It took one episode to immerse myself in these characters, but it’s all coming back now.

Memorable Moments

  • Automated vacuum-cam, cleaning up after the party
  • Overhead night shot, with elongated shadows, of Walter outside Gus’s house

Breaking Bad Quotes

"It’s for defence…defence. I’ll take it."
- Walt, rationalizing his purchase of a snub-nosed revolver

"Get me in a room with him. Mike – just get me in a room, and I’ll do the rest."
- Walt

 

4.01 Box Cutter

Summary and Spoilers

Jesse has shot Gale dead. Victor easily captures the catatonic Jesse and brings him to the lab at gunpoint. Now they all wait for Gus to arrive and pass judgment.

Meanwhile, Marie has dropped in to thank Skyler for paying all those bills and to drop off a few newer, bigger ones. She notices Walt’s car parked in the driveway and expresses how happy she is that Skyler and Walt are back together – that is, if they really are back together. Skyler doesn’t volunteer any information, and immediately after, she parks Walt’s car a few blocks away so Walt Jr. does not see it and start asking questions.

Skyler calls Saul to try to get some information, but he is less than useless. He assures her Walt is okay, although he has no information, and after she hangs up he goes back to worrying about whether or not his office is bugged.

Skyler convinces a locksmith to pick the lock on Walter’s unit, but it takes a full-on Oscar-worthy performance to do so. Inside, she finds nothing that has any meaning to her – just a glass eye.

Hank doesn’t want to talk about his PE session. The PE may be encouraged, but Hank isn’t that thrilled that he walked 16 feet in 20 minutes.

Victor starts cooking, saying Walt is not needed, and he seems to be doing a pretty good job. Then Gus arrives. While Gus slowly, and without a word, dons full protective gear and brandishes neon blue box cutters, Walt makes one more impassioned desperate plea for his life and Jesse’s. Of course, we know where this is leading. Victor was sighted at Gale’s. Mike would have told Gus this. Gus kills Victor right in front of Walt, Jesse, and Mike. This is a lesson for them all, and the first sign that Gus is not just a godfather order giver. He is also a ruthless killer if required. He then gets back into his street clothes and ascends the stairs. Just before leaving, Gus says his first, last, and only words: "Well…get back to work."

Walt and Jesse’s first job is to dispose of the body, using their old favorite – hydrofluoric acid.

Later, Jesse eats a big breakfast and Walt sips a coffee. You would think Jesse would be distraught after his last 24 hours, but he eats big and talks big. He’s gone over the edge and seems bothered by none of what has happened.

Walt returns to Skyler’s house to find his car gone. Skyler points him in the right direction.

Finally, we see a quick view of Gale’s apartment as investigators pore over it. On the coffee table is a book titled ‘Lab Notes.’

Comments

Ah…finally it is back. I waited so long. And it is still good – and very shocking to reacquaint myself with this violence after a long time.

Memorable Moments

Gus’s quiet and horrific scene.

Breaking Bad Quotes

"Alright, let's talk about Gale Boetticher. He was a good man and a good chemist. He didn't deserve what happened to him. He didn't deserve it at all. But I'd shoot him again and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. When you make it Gale versus me, or Gale versus Jesse, Gale loses! Simple as that. This is on you, Gus, not me, not Jesse. I mean really, what'd you expect me to do? Just simply roll over and allow you to murder us? That I wouldn't take measures - extreme measures - to defend myself? Wrong! Think again."
- Walt