Breaking Bad: AMC’s Fight Night

Hey, BrBa gang. I’m gonna try a slightly new format for the recaps this week. Instead of bullshittng about scenes as I recap them, I’m just going to write the recap straight and then at the end write jot down all the stuff I want to talk about. It’ll be just like the reading comprehension questions on the SAT!

I try to make every part of real life exactly like school. I make my girlfriend raise her hand and ask me if she wants to go the bathroom. (And for the sake of that joke, I really do have a girlfriend!)

Anyway, let’s recap…

COLD OPEN

A LOS POLLOS HERMANOS TRUCK

We open the week inside a refrigerated Los Pollos truck, which is driving through the desert. Mike is sitting inside the trailer, bundled up for the cold. Most likely, Mike is babysitting the weekly meth supply—last season, it was revealed that Gus smuggles meth out of the Superlab by putting it inside buckets of Los Pollos fried-chicken batter, and the truck is full of those buckets now.

It’s not clear whether this is routine for Mike, or whether it’s a new procedure. In the “previously on” this week, they reminded us of Gus’s powerplay with the Mexican cartels last season, so this could be implying that Mike’s presence is a new security precaution.

Either way, Mike looks pretty grumpy about it. I would be.

He doesn’t even have a seat belt. That’s pretty dangerous

Outside, we hear tires screeching, and the truck stops. Two Spanish-speaking voices tell the English-speaking driver to hurry up out of the cab. We hear the driver hand them the keys to the cargo doors, then suddenly shout “No, NO!” and sure enough, a couple gunshots ring out.

Wearily, Mike gets down on the floor of the truck trailer and slides some boxes around him to take cover. He knows what’s coming. A bullet flies past his head, leaving a quarter-sized hole in the trailer doors.

Soon submachine guns are raking the trailer with bullets. Mike ducks behind the boxes. The buckets start getting hit and goop splatters all over the place. Outside, the two assassins fire their entire magazines into the trailer, then reload and do it all over again.

No sign of Mike. He’s probably at least covered in batter, if not bleeding out. One of the assassins peers into the trailer through a bullet hole, doesn’t see anything, and opens the doors. Both of them climb inside.

Cut to outside the truck. A couple shots are fired and the two assassins go flying out of the trailer to the ground. Mike gets out. He feels under his fur hat finds some blood on his neck, pulls back the flap, and finds that a bullet has taken off the tip of his ear. Dang it.

ACT ONE

THE WHITES’ HOUSE

Skyler is in bed with the lights out. It’s three a.m. and she’s lying awake. On the bed next to her are several books, like she’s been studying.

She has a thought. She rolls over, turns on the light, takes up a legal pad on the bed-table beside her, and writes it down. Then she turns the light back off, but she still looks restless.

Later, she’s sitting on the couch looking over some web printouts having to do with blackjack—last season, when Walt and Skyler offered to pay Hank’s hospital and physical therapy bills using the meth money, the cover story they told Marie was that Walt won a bunch of money gambling. So far, though, only Marie knows…

GAMBLER’S ANONYMOUS MEETING

And now, Skyler and Walt are at a GA meeting. It looks like they’re doing some research into what compulsive gamblers are actually like.

But then it turns personal. One of the gamblers is telling his story. He describes the compulsions that made him gamble so much and the impact gambling had on his family—you tell yourself elaborate lies to justify the behavior and let yourself keep doing it. Skyler, shoots Walt a look, and Walt does not look amused.

Awwwwwwww. I probably laughed more here than at any other point of the episode

THE WHITES’ HOUSE

Skyler’s in the kitchen shuffling cards and talking on the phone with Marie. They’re having a discussion about the Whites paying Hank’s medical bills, and it sounds like Marie would like to be pitching in some of their own income. But Sky insists Hank and Marie won’t have to pay a dime. Then she reassures Marie that tonight at dinner, they won’t mention the medical bills; they’re just doing it to bring everyone up to speed.

This conversation is in here to explain to us why Skyler and Walt have been studying blackjack and what’s going on in this episode. It’s actually super complicated once you lay it all out, so I’ll do my best…the Whites are going over to Hank and Marie’s tonight to have dinner. Walt and Skyler have just bought Bogdan’s car wash, and they need a plausible explanation for where they got the $800K to buy it. So tonight at dinner, they plan to come clean to Hank about the source of their income, which is Walt’s illicit blackjack winnings. But they’re only going to tell Hank the blackjack money is paying for the car wash. They’re not going to mention his medical bills.

Of course, Walt’s never played blackjack. The money’s coming from meth. But since the blackjack story is what they told Marie last year when they first started paying Hank’s medical bills, they have to stick with it. And thus the web of lies gets bigger and bigger.

Boiled down, tonight Walt and Skyler are going to lie to Hank. Using the lie they already told to Marie. But not the WHOLE lie, just the part about the car wash.

Phew.

Anyway, in order for the cover story to work, Walt has to at least resemble a competent blackjack player–or, an addicted, competent blackjack player. That’s what all the research has been for, and that’s why today they’re going to practice playing.

So Skyler deals the cards. They’re playing multi-hand blackjack. Walt begins to explain a card-counting system he’s come up with. Theoretically, if he WERE to have played blackjack, this is how he would have won.

(So…Walt didn’t just learn HOW to play blackjack, he learned how to play blackjack DECEITFULLY. And he developed his OWN system to do it. To trick nonexistent card players…in order to make the lie more plausible…a lie which he’s going to use to deceive Hank and Marie. Jesus Christ this is complicated).

Walt starts waving his nerd-dick around–he spells out all the theorems involved in his system, and says most of the system is his own design, but it’s partly based on the one used by the MIT grad students who were the subject of the movie 21.

But Skyler doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to hear the reasoning behind how he plays, she just needs to know that he can play. She claims it’s for expediency’s sake, but really it’s because she has no interest in massaging Walt’s ego.

Walt gets pissy about it, but they begin to play. Walt starts by explaining his decisions–do I double-down? do I split my hand?–and Skyler spurs him forward. Get on with it! He ends up with a 15 to Skyler’s 9, and even though the smart move is to stay on the 15, (which Skyler points out), he takes another card and busts. Skyler turns over her cards and winds up with a blackjack.

Walt covers his ass. It’s a game of chance and not skill, the only thing that matters is the amount of hands you play, etc.

Sky deals again. One of Walt’s hands is a two and a jack. Again he ill-advisedly takes another card, and again he busts.

Sky gets frustrated with him, and he protests that it’s not as if he doesn’t know HOW to play. He TOTALLY does.

But…he’d rather not be playing right now. So he points out that, according to the cover story, he’s a recovering blackjack addict. He shouldn’t even be NEAR cards. That’s right…he’s using a fictional excuse.

And Skyler agrees. Why’s she letting him off the hook?

What we have next is Skyler and Walt rehearsing for what’s basically a confession. And even though in this case the confession isn’t truthful, Walt and Skyler are still going to use it to air what’s REALLY bugging them–all the lies, deceit, hurt feelings, recriminations, and so on. Let the passive-aggressive marital boxing begin!

Skyler goes over to the coffee table, where she’s two copies of a script she’s written up for the cover story. Time to rehearse. Each script is pages and pages long, and Walt grouses that it’s the size of a novella. But Skyler’s points out that they’re trying to bluff a DEA agent, a guy trained to see through bullshit, so they have to make sure their story doesn’t have any holes.

Walt definitely doesn’t like ceding control by switching from practicing blackjack to Skyler’s script, so he makes a bunch of sarcastic comments while Skyler explains her reasoning, and then he tries to get out of it entirely by suggesting Hank already KNOWS the story, because Marie most likely told him.

But Skyler knows Marie hasn’t told Hank. If she had, she tells Walt, Hank would know they’ve been paying for his medical bills. And Hank CAN’T know.

Walt’s incredulous. Why go to all this trouble when there’s a simple solution–tell Hank everything.

And Skyler’s face contorts into a mask of vitriol. Doesn’t Walt remember what happened when HE had medical bills to pay? Walt wouldn’t accept any handouts either. (Although to be fair, those handouts were from the former partner who most likely stole the love of his life from him). Walt had so much pride, Skyler says, that he would rather sell DRUGS than accept a handout.

Ouch!

Walt agrees to go along with the rehearsal. Skyler also points out that it’ll feel nice to come clean–or, she corrects herself, appear to come clean to Hank, but especially to Walter Jr. Hearing that, Walt’s head drops. The whole series he’s been obsessed with what his son thinks of him, and it’s almost unbearable to admit to wrongdoing, even if it’s not factually accurate.

They go over Skyler’s script. First, they’ll break the news of purchase the car wash. “Yay!” Walt says sarcastically. Then, Skyler will prepare Hank for the blackjack story, telling him to “hang on to his hat, because this one’s a doozy”.Does that sound good to Walt? He’s not really listening, but he says yes.

Skyler looks frustrated, much like Walt did earlier. She didn’t just make that line up for no reason. It has two purposes–the language keeps things light while still letting Hank know something is coming. (Skyler’s a failed writer. Looks like some of her frustrations are as deep as Walt’s). And Walt, like Syler earlier, just shrugs. It’s fine with him.

Back to the plan. Walt will take over, starting with his cancer diagnosis. This part’ll be pretty much true. Sky wants him to really hit on the cancer part to elicit Hank’s sympathies. Really hit on the fear and despair.

Walt looks wary. Is she dictating to him how he’s felt these past months?

Now here comes the fun. Skyler tells Walt to hit on the fear and the despair because it’ll help explain why Walt could do something so stupid. Ka-pow!

Sky keeps going, but Walt’s detached himself from the moment. After Walt’s finished with this section, Skyler will go into the effect Walt’s decision had on their marriage, but then notices Skyler has him saying he’s “terribly, terribly ashamed” of his actions.

Boom!

He tries to keep things professional. He tells her he wouldn’t use the word “terribly”, definitely not twice in a row. And then, he asks her directly–why’s she having him be so ashamed of himself? Because the thing is, Walt isn’t ashamed. He doesn’t come right out and say it, but that’s the implication. He’s doing what he’s doing for his family.

This might be a bad time to ask, but would you ever be interested in a threesome?

Walt’s angry the cover story makes him look so awful, so ashamed and weak and out of control, but Skyler says they BOTH look bad. Walt doesn’t see how she looks bad. He flips through the notes and doesn’t notice an “I slept with my boss” bullet.

Passive-aggressive uppercut! Skyler’s on the ropes!

But Skyler counters with something Walt wasn’t aware of. At least, according to the story, Walt was SUCCESSFUL at gambling and managed to provide for the family. That’s how Junior will see it. And to Junior, Skyler’s just a controlling bitch who never gave Dad any slack.

Walt finally realizes just how much he’s hurt Skyler with all he’s done. And he apologizes to her for it. Sincerely.

Or maybe not. How did that apology sound? he asks her. Was it convincing? Apparently, he was just acting.

And Walt wins! What’s the prize? A pitch-black soul!

The scene keeps going a little longer. Skyler wants to practice how they’ll both feel in the moment, by using different body language. Walt should look down at his feet in shame. (Which he does right now…maybe a little too long for it to be just an act). Skyler will take Marie’s hand, and maybe when the story is told she’ll cry a little. Walt laughs. Does Skyler really think she can whip up tears on cue?

Sky’s doing the best she can, she tells him. And in a final, parting shot, she tells him lying doesn’t come naturally to her. Like it does to him

HANK AND MARIE’S

And now, it’s evening, and the White family is waiting on the doorstep to be let in. Walt and Sky look nervous, but the moment Marie opens the door they’re all smiles and hugs.

Hank and Marie too are trying to put on a good show. Hank’s shaved and put on a clean shirt, and he’s as jovial as ever—with a bit of an edge, since when he notices the serving dish in Skyler’s hands, he remarks that he might get a decent meal for once, as Marie could burn water. Very nice. Marie, not to be outdone, suggests Hank show Walt and Junior his new rock collection. Hank’s almost got a facial tic from this by now.

Skyler and Marie go off to get dinner ready, and Hank leads Walt and Junior to the bedroom to show them his rocks. (Hotttt). His wheelchair catches on the staircase when he turns it around, and Walt, ill-advisedly, moves in to help. Hank waves him off.

HANK AND MARIE’S BEDROOM

In the bedroom, Hank is showing Junior one of his minerals through a microscope, (rhodonite, in case you care), which, Hank tells him, is full of manganese. Walt, watching Hank play Science Guy, and somehow feeling threatened despite it being a hobby, jumps in and rattles off every last chemical property of manganese.

Take that, wheelchair-guy-with-a-shattered-ego!

Now that that avenue of conversation has been blocked off, Hank decides to show Walt and Junior some of his cool police stuff. He takes out a DVD and hands it to Walt, but Walt objects—there isn’t anything gory in it, is there? Like a dead body? I laughed out loud.

Because that’s exactly how my dad would have phrased that, if he were Walt

No, there isn’t anything gory. It’s actually much, much worse. Walt puts the DVD in the player, and…well, why don’t I just show you:

Yup. That’s Gale. He’s singing “Major Tom”. I have no idea what language those subtitles are in.

Walt’s just now learning how close Hank is to the truth. Somehow he’s got to go through with dinner as if nothing were wrong.

But there might be hope. When Hank explains to Junior and Hank who Gale is, he says Gale’s Albuquerque’s public enemy #1. Which could mean Hank thinks Gale is Heisenberg. If so, Walt may have inadvertently saved his own ass in two ways by having Jesse whack him, since Hank might declare the Heisenberg case closed.

But anyway, I don’t know what I loved more, the reveal itself, Gale doing dorky karaoke, or the fact that Hank and Junior are laughing at a dead man.

ACT TWO

HANK AND MARIE’S HOUSE

Jumping ahead in the evening, everyone’s now sitting at the dinner table. Skyler is wrapping up the blackjack story, and her voice sounds like it’s quavering, like she planned. But all we see is Walt looking down at his feet, and it’s a low-angle shot, so that his face takes up the whole frame. But he looks like he’s not even listening to Skyler, and instead is preoccupied with that case file in Hank’s bedroom.

Sky finishes up the story. Hank and Junior are both impressed, Hank especially impressed at stones Walt’s apparently had all this time. Junior asks how much money Walt earned in total, and Sky answers that while they don’t have an exact figure, it’s enough for the car wash and a couple college educations. But Junior’s so caught up, all he can think of is being able to get a car for his birthday.

He asks Walt why he quit. Walt looks at Skyler, then tells Junior that he’s “terribly, terribly ashamed” of his actions. Like he said he wouldn’t. But then he excuses himself to go to the bathroom, so maybe it’s just too much for him.

HANK AND MARIE’S BEDROOM

But Walt hasn’t left the table to get back his composure, it’s so he can look through Hank’s case file. First he finds the photos of dead Gale, which confirm his fears. Then he keeps looking and finds the copy of Gale’s notebook. He opens it, and to his horror, sees drawings that can only be notes on the Superlab.

But Hank calls out to him in the hallway, and Walt has to quickly shove everything back in the file and leave the room. He bumps into Hank just in time to avoid suspicion.

Before they go back to the table, Hank takes a moment to tell Walt just how impressed he is with the blackjack story. It must have been a heavy burden, he says, and if Walt ever needs a friend to talk to, Hank’s there for him.

Doesn’t that suck for Hank? All this time Hank’s been such an alpha male to him, and now that he’s got Hank’s respect it isn’t even real? Bummer.

But Walt doesn’t seem too concerned about that right now. He returns the offer. If Hank ever needed to talk about anything, Walt’s there for him too. Like if he wanted to talk about, I dunno, a case. Or something…

HANK AND MARIE’S BEDROOM

And it worked! Hank takes Walt back to the bedroom and starts telling him about the case. It’s a really tense moment—Walt gets to find out just what Hank knows about him, and he has to maintain his composure.

Here’s what Hank knows…the Superlab in Gale’s notebook is pro-level and not some bathtub operation. Hank might not know where the Superlab is, but it’s sophisticated enough to crank out hundreds of pounds of crank a week, which explains how the blue meth could have flooded the market.

Hank knows about Heisenberg. To Hank, Heisenberg is a mystery man. Since “Heisenberg” is the name of a famous physicist, Hank’s surmised that the notorious meth-maker must be some kind of egghead. Gale fits the profile.

Walt doesn’t even blink.

Hank also has figured out that blue meth is made with phenylacetone, which is why it’s blue.

But he Walt to see something especially odd. Hank takes the notebook and flips to the first page. There’s a dedication. It says: “To WW, my star, my perfect silence”

Aaaaahhhhh!

Who does Walt think “WW” is, Hank wonders. Woodrow Wilson? Willy Wonka? Then, Hank realizes…Walter White.

Walt throws up his hands in mock-self-defense, but Hank doesn’t laugh. Does he suspect something?

Walt takes the notebook back. He might know something. He flips to a poem Gale wrote down, one that references stars and perfect silence. The poem is by Walt Whitman. (Oh my fucking god, how similar is that name to Walt’s?!)

Crisis averted, for a little while.

HANK AND MARIE’S LIVING ROOM

Hank and Walt head back out to the dinner table, and Walt asks Hank one last question—does he know anything about who murdered Gale? Hank doesn’t. It’s not his problem, since he’s DEA. A witness DID see a person of interest, though…

JESSE’S HOUSE

The next day, Walt pounds on Jesse’s door. No answer. He pushes his way inside, past a heavyset dude in a shirt and tie who’s lying behind the door. Jesse’s place is still basically a crack house, but Walt doesn’t seem to notice. He steps over the bodies.

Walt finally finds Jesse on the stairs. Jesse’s head is shaved and he’s shaving another guy’s head with an electric razor. He tries to get Jesse to step away to talk, but Jesse can’t be bothered. Walt has to unplug Jesse’s stereo, grab him by the arm and drag him away.

Jesse isn’t happy. Walt tells him the scary news, that the APD is investigating Gale’s murder and, worse, that they found prints at the scene.

Is that it? Jesse turns to go back to his shaving, but Walt stops him. Why doesn’t he get how serious this is?

Jesse points out that if the APD had HIS prints, they would have brought him in for questioning by now.

So Walt starts asking him about other details from that night—did Jesse pick up the bullet casings? How many times did he shoot Gale? They have to go over it step-by-step.

Jesse’s expression becomes detached. Maybe all this partying has been to avoid this exact thing, and Walt forcing him to remember it is freaking him out.

So he walks away from Walt and pays a couple burnouts a hundred bucks to throw Walt out.

ACT THREE

SAUL’S OFFICE

Walt has come to Saul to get his opinion on the Jesse situation. Is Jesse in danger, or is he safe like he says he is?

Saul actually agrees with Jesse. If the APD had anything, Jesse would be locked up already.

But what about Hank? Last season, Hank was investigating Jesse’s connection to the blue meth. Could Hank connect that investigation to Gale’s murder?

Not likely. Even if Hank made that connection, Saul reminds Walt that Hank and Jesse have a history—last season Hank put Jesse in the hospital and was almost charged with police brutality. He wouldn’t go barking up this tree again. Hank knows better.

What the hell is up with Odenkirk’s hair?

But the murder is the least of Walt’s worries. He starts venting them all. To Saul. What about the fact that Gus plans to murder him at the first opportunity? What about the way Jesse has gone off the deep end. Jesse has hobos living at his house! When does Gus decide Jesse is too much of a risk?

Then Walt just starts whining. Mike sucker-punched him! Gus killed Victor right in front of him! It’s like Walt’s the only one who treats this as a business.

Saul’s more concerned about whether Gus is still mad at him for giving Mike a false address for Jesse back in the Season 3 premier, so he’s just interested in whether Gus has said anything about it. Walt continues raving.

He thinks Skyler is in denial, that if they just bought a car wash, things would work themselves out. That he could actually walk away from the life one day. Walt’s starting to realize that might never happen, and he’s despairing.

And Saul agrees. Walt’s up shit creek. But there is one option Walt has if things truly ever get too bad to continue. Saul knows a guy who makes people disappear. For a hefty sum, Walt can get a brand new life for himself and the family. Nobody could ever track them down. The guy is good.

Walt’s not ready to go there—yet. There has to be some other way to keep everything from spiraling out of control. So first thing’s first, Walt has to deal with Jesse. Gus is too cautious to risk Jesse being arrested.

JESSE’S HOUSE

It’s somewhere mid-morning at Jesse’s house. He wakes up next to a random naked chick in his bed. He pulls on his jacket and heads downstairs.

That scrawny conspiracy theorist from last week’s episode is at it again. This time he’s spouting off about the dangers of cell phones and airport X-ray machines. One day you’re fine, the next, BOOM, you have cancer. (Which, given the circumstances of Walt’s diagnosis, isn’t that crazy actually).

The reluctant listener to all this crazy is a tattooed hobo who looks a lot like Victor. Is it the same actor? Is it Victor’s brother? Weird!

One’s a drug dealer, the other’s a junkie. Identical strangers, separated at birth! It’s like an Olsen twins movie!

Jesse turns on the stereo to get everyone up, then goes over to the scrawny guy and asks him to make sure there’s pizza at the house when he comes home from work. The scrawny guy doesn’t have any money, so Jesse goes back upstairs to his room, opens a dresser drawer containing the duffel bag with all his cash, and comes back down with some bills. He hands them over to the scrawny guy.

And the Victor-looking guy sees everything. Bad move, Jesse.

AT THE LAB

Walt and Jesse work. The surveillance camera is still there. It tracks Jesse as he carts the week’s batch across the lab. Walt still looks uneasy. Time passes.

BACK AT JESSE’S HOUSE

Jesse comes home from work. Things are exactly as he left them, except everyone has pizza now. That guy in a shirt and tie with no pants is sitting upright with a whole box to himself. Who the hell is he? Maybe he’s a Mormon…

“I was at a work function recently—I’m a financial planner—and we were celebrating our third-quarter revenue spike, and I thought hey, I’ll have a sip of champagne. And now I’m here. That was about a week ago, I think”

Jesse also tosses a bag of meth on the table for everyone to fight over. On the way upstairs, he spots a burnt-out waif, so he takes her by the arm and leads her to his bedroom. She seems like she knows what’s going on.

Upstairs, Jesse sees that his dresser drawer is open and the duffel bag is gone. But he doesn’t seem to care. Rather, he and the girl sit on his bed and play Xbox.

So it looks like Jesse is so whacked-out he can’t understand something as simple as having his entire nest egg stolen. Probably.

ACT FOUR

JESSE’S HOUSE

It’s some indeterminate amount of time later. Jesse’s asleep in bed, alone. Mike enters his room. Jesse notices Mike’s ear and asks him about it, but Mike yanks him downstairs. There, Jesse sees that his guests are gone. Mike got rid of them.

In the living room, Tyrus stands next to the Victor-looking guy who stole Jesse’s money. The thief is blindfolded and gagged and struggling. He sounds terrified.

Mike tells Jesse it’s the guy who stole his money. Jesse says “OK”. Tyrus slides the money over to Jesse. Jesse accepts it without a “thank you”. Mike tells him it’s all there—all $78K, he says, for emphasis—but Jesse just picks it up and heads back upstairs. He isn’t getting it.

Mike asks if he’d like to know what’s going to happen to the thief. And Jesse doesn’t. He keeps walking. So Mike stops him on the stairs.

And Jesse turns the tables on him. He knows exactly what all this is about—Mike and Tyrus brought the guy here with the money to scare Jesse into straightening up. But Jesse knows they aren’t going to kill the guy, because why bother putting a blindfold on him if they were just going to shoot him on Jesse’s living room floor? He’s seen through their attempt to scare him straight, and he laughs in their faces. Mike watches him go back upstairs.

GUS’S OFFICE

And Mike, being a dutiful employee, tells Gus. He knows Walt and Jesse come as a team, but something has to be done about Jesse.

THE LAB

Walt’s working. Alone this time. He pours some sodium dioxide into a vat and closes the lid. He looks pissed. He thinks Jesse’s blown off work completely.

JESSE’S HOUSE

Walt tears into Jesse’s driveway. He’s angrily leaving a message on Jesse’s cell. Pulse-pounding music starts up, so you know shit’s about to go down.

Walt yells into the phone that Jesse needs to be ready to go NOW, but when he pounds on the door, he gets no response. Walks around back, finds the door locked, pounds again. Nothing.

Walt starts to head back around to the front, but then notices a window open a crack. He hoists himself up and into Jesse’s house. It’s still deserted.

Walt goes upstairs. Jesse’s bedroom is empty. He calls Jesse’s phone one last time. And hears the phone ringing on Jesse’s bedside table.

THE LAB

Back at the lab, Walt runs down the spiral staircase. He walks straight to the surveillance camera, looks right into it, and demands to know where Jesse is.

A CAR SOMEWHERE

And we end with a car driving under a highway underpass on a road that leads to who knows where. Mike is driving, with Jesse in the passenger seat, looking out the window.

Isn’t Jesse gonna ask where they’re going, Mike asks.

“Nope,” Jesse replies.

THE END

-What does the cold open segment mean for Gus’s business? The Los Pollos franchise is his legitimate front, so does this mean his cover has been blown? Rival drug dealers might know about his use of Los Pollos to cover his dealings. Will the DEA catch on now, too? And does that tie in thematically to what Walt and Skyler are about to start doing now, with the car wash? (Ugh, “thematically”…I hope I don’t sound like a high school English teacher)

-Despite what I said last week, it doesn’t look like Skyler and Walt are any closer. I’d be REALLY surprised if they ever do get back together. Last week was an aberration.

-I don’t really fault them for having the Skyler-and-Marie phone exposition conversation, because the web of lies is just so damn complicated. That’s probably the best way to convey the information, just having Anna Gunn say it into the phone.

-Also, isn’t it amazing how the web of lies is so big now that they can do whole episodes about it?

-In that scene when Walt trampled Hank with all of his science knowledge, it felt to me like Walt sounded like his old nebbishy, insecure self—when he finished rattling off all the stuff about manganese, he kinda shrugged and said something like “Or something like that…”. Which isn’t really how he behaves around anyone anymore, now that he’s become Heisenberg. Do you think Walt was acting, or does he maybe involuntarily slip into that persona when he’s around Hank?

-But when Walt protested about Hank showing them police stuff, for fear of it containing photos of a dead body, he was TOTALLY acting.

-If this is how Hank reacts to being parapalegic, imagine how devastated he’s gonna be when he finds out a) his brother- and sister-in-law have been paying his medical bills, and b) Walt is Heisenberg. I wonder if he can even survive that.

-Doesn’t it seem like Hank’s pretty close to figuring it out? Do you think they’ll wait until the end of the series for him to finally get it? Or if he figures it out earlier, do you think Walt will have to kill him?

-What the hell was up with Jesse shaving the guy’s head?

-The “end game” scenario could actually be how the show ends. But I don’t think Walt would be able to have the family come with him. Maybe they abandon him at the last minute and he has to go by himself. Purgatory.

That’s it for me this week. Thanks for reading!

Yours in meth,

SCOA