Breaking Bad Recap: Pain Train

Recaps

By Saint Clare of Assisi | Tuesday, August 14, 2012 | 4:34 pm | 9 Comments
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Posted in: Breaking Bad, Featured, Recaps

But why is Walt really here? He thanks Hank and Marie for taking care of his kids during the rough patch. He asks if it’s OK to stop by and see them tonight, and Hank is so gracious, he insists Walt doesn’t even need to ask permission for that sort of thing.

Walt didn’t really come by here just to for some unrequired permission, did he? Walt goes on…he has something he wants to get off his chest. Uh-oh. What will Walt confess?!

“Hey, Hank! I’m Heisenberg!” The whole show is gonna be over!

Or not. Walt tells Hank that Skyler isn’t in love with him any more. He says Skyler’s accused him of being a bad father and a bad example to the kids. Hank, again, is flabbergasted. By all outward appearances, Walt is an inspiring cancer survivor. Walt might have made a bad mistake or two, particularly with the “black jack addiction” (the cover story Walt and Skyler told Hank to explain where Walt was getting money from), but Walt’s a stand up guy in his opinion.

Come on, Walt. Are you really just here to cop some support from your brother in law? Seems like not a strong enough reason to drop by. Walt starts crying. Maybe he’s trying to garner support, to get Hank and Marie on his side, to drive a wedge between Skyler and the rest of the family? Could be…

Hank can’t stand the sight of Walt crying. He closes the blinds on his office windows to give Walt privacy, then excuses himself to get them some coffee. And NOW we get to the real reason for Walt’s visit. Walt wipes the tears away. It was an act and Walt’s surprisingly a good actor. Walt puts a bug on Hank’s computer modem, then slips a second bug inside the picture of Hank and Marie.

He finishes just as Hank returns with the coffee. Hank gives him some words of comfort… “It’s always darkest before the storm is over”. Or some platitude like that…I don’t feel like going back and looking it up. The point is, Walt just played the ASAC of the Albuquerque DEA’s office like a fiddle.

A CONCRETE BASEMENT

Lydia is being handcuffed to a metal table in a basement located god-knows-where. Her assailant turns on the lights. It’s Mike, Walt, and Jesse. Now it’s time to deal with this tracking bug situation.

Jesse is setting up a laptop. Mike is with Lydia. Walt is just watching this all go down. Mike gives Lydia the rundown. She’s going to call Hank on her phone and give him some information. Mike puts a script in front of her for her to read. If she makes Hank suspicious in any way, Mike informs her he will take out his pistol and shoot her in the head.

Lydia looks panicked, but not too panicked, so it could be that she’s feigning panic to draw sympathy. Walt looks like he might be starting to give her just that, but Mike isn’t buying it. He takes out the phone and starts dialing.

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Saint Clare of Assisi attended Boston University and has written for The Onion.  He took his name from the patron saint of television, who was a virgin and saved a boy from a wolf one time.

9 Comments

  1. 1
    Some guy
    Posted August 14, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    Welcome back and hope u feel better. I thought this was one of the better shows this year. I forgot about kid until he showed up at the end . I was wondering how they were going to divide Jessie and Walt. I think this will be the start and Mike will go with Jessie. I can see Walt and Lydia getting together she is just as ruthless as he as long it doesn’t effect her kid.

    Great recap as always and catch way more things in the show that lets me watch again in new light.
    Thanks
    T

  2. 2
    Kammie
    Posted August 14, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    I did not see it coming when the boy showed up. Actually, I had forgotten about him, which is rookie mistake #1. It did make me think that Todd isn’t an undercover agent though, which I have heard a little chatter that possibly he was working for the DEA.

    This show has had me on the edge of my seat many times, and this was definitely one of those episodes! The writing, acting, everything is just so awesome I feel privileged to witness how it’s unfolding. Between Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad, AMC is really getting my vote for best channel EVER!

  3. 3
    nativepeach
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 4:27 am

    After the cold open with the kid, I watched the rest of the episode anticipating his return. I knew when I saw the site of the train robbery that the kid would reappear there. That still didn’t prepare me for the end though. I had two physical reactions when Todd shot the kid, my stomach flipped, and my eyes teared up. I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction after knowing how brutal this show can be. Jesse isn’t going to take this well at all, and it very well may be what finally severs his loyalty to ‘Mr. White’ if Walt doesn’t measure his response very closely. Good shit!! I jones for it every week…

    Thanks for the awesome recaps, too. I always want to go back and rewatch after reading.

  4. 4
    mjhhawk
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 6:29 am

    I had forgotten about the kid by the time he pulled up at the end. I never it coming – I also thought Todd was a cop. It actually is just like the movie Heat (referenced by Hank earlier in the show), when they bring in a new guy for a job and he ends up killing an innocent.

    I personally think it was done because Gilligan wanted to remind everyone that these are all bad people. By now everyone has turned on Walt as evil, but most seem to have sympathy for Jesse and Mike. You literally forget that their business is selling life ruining meth. This was a brutal reminder that even if Jesse was horrified by the shooting, his actions have devastating collateral effects that ruin lives.

    All in all a great episode and recap (even with the prediction so good it needed a spoiler alert).

  5. 5
    MrsMiaWallace MrsMiaWallace
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 8:13 am

    Great recap!

    I too totally forgot about the kid. Congrats on putting it together so well! This was a great episode and I think you’re right about how it was set up with scant information, but the whole thing was just so… cool.

    I had the same reaction to Walt bugging Hank’s office. He didn’t bother to wipe prints, left a key logger in plain view and was caught holding Hank’s photo. Unless he plans to head back in there in a day or two, he is really risking a lot. I didn’t think of IT guy interfering but Hank doesn’t seem like someone who could fix his own PC!

    I already feel like the final showdown will be Walt v Jesse and I can totally see Walt pairing with Lydia to take out the 9 and Mike. How they get there will be interesting, and if I’m wrong of course that will be interesting too!

    I wonder what the final arc is for Walt and Skylar. I know he is turning megalomaniacal but before the show wraps (and I suspect Walt’s life), I would like to see a glimpse of the old Walt and Skylar for redemption purposes.

    @mjhhawk – you are dead on. This show is so good it is easy to forget what a terrible drug Meth is. Just have to think back to the two junkies ( and their poor kid ) who dropped the ATM… shudder

  6. 6
    sweetblondie
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    I’m crushing hard on Lydia…hope she becomes a regular. Now, back to reading…

  7. 7
    sweetblondie
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    Jesse is getting smarter (and wiser) by the week!

    My prediction stands…Jesse will find out the truth about everything, kill Walt and burn the whole operation down by end of series. And Skyler will be okay with the world.

    And I agree MsMiaWallace, I can totally see Walt and Lydia trying to forge a plan to kill the 9 too.

  8. 8
    SuburBint
    Posted August 15, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    It must be the mom in me, but when that kid pulled out the glass jar for the tarantula, all I could think of was how dangerous it is to ride a dirt bike with something that breaks in to several extremely sharp, stabby pieces in your jacket pocket.

  9. 9
    maryedith
    Posted August 16, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    I am still having trouble with the it’s-only-been-a-year business. Remember all the time spent here working out Walt’s finances? Maybe now we could construct a timeline? For some reason it’s Jesse’s stint in rehab, relapse, etc. that’s bothering me the most. Also the shifts in Hank and Marie’s relationship. I know it can all be explained, but it’s still hard for me!

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