Breaking Bad – Season 4 Part 10

Episode 10: Salud

The message of this episode:  Beware of drug dealers bearing tequila.

In the opening scene, Gus, Mike and Jesse are in a field boarding a small plane for Mexico. Jesse looks sick and Gus tells him “You can do this.” Jesse doesn’t look like he believes it. Not sure Mike does either.

Skyler is trying to call Walt about Jr’s birthday but he’s not picking up. Looks like he’s still recuperating from getting stomped by Jesse. Skyler goes ahead and gives Jr. his present. It’s a freaking PT Cruiser for crying out loud. The look of disappointment on Jr’s face is a lesson to all parent’s everywhere: Do not buy your kids a PT Cruiser. They will get back at you when you’re old.

Saul is very reluctantly meeting with Ted. Looks like Skyler figured out another awesome PT Cruiser-type plan. She’s giving Ted the money he needs to pay his tax debt by fabricating a dead aunt in Luxembourg. Sure, that’s likely. Somehow, he buys it. Ted is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but come on.

Meanwile Gus, Mike and Jesse are arriving (blindfolded) at the cartel’s lab in Mexico and there’s a problem. The cartel’s chemist isn’t too psyched with Jesse and wants him to start cooking meth by making the first component (phenylacetic acid) from scratch. Jesse doesn’t know how to do that, of course, which is one of the reasons he wanted Walt to help him prepare for this meeting (thanks Walt). The cartel guy tries to make Jesse look like an idiot but then Jesse just loses it and gets all kinds of awesome. If I could find the scene I would post it because it really is one of Jesse’s best. He tells the guy if he wants to learn to make his product he’s going to do it his way and then tells him to start making the phenylacetic acid and clean the lab because “it’s disgusting.” Very cool. Even Gus is impressed, as well as amused. Giancarlo Esposito, besides having one of the all-time great names, also has an all-time great face.

Jr. drives his new geekmobile over to Walt’s place and tries to raise Walt by ringing the doorbell. When that doesn’t work he tries the phone and leaves a message on the answering machine that he’s going to call 911. That does the trick. Walt finally gets out of bed and stumbles to let Jr. in. He tells Jr. he got into a fight and asks Jr. to keep it a secret from Skyler. He blames it on gambling. Then he breaks down and seems to get very truthful. He says: “I made a mistake. It’s my own fault. I had it coming.” Truer words were never spoken. He says he sorry and Jr. tries to comfort him and put him back in bed. Walt asks about his birthday and the car and when Jr. tells him he likes the car (being nice) Walt says, “That’s good Jesse.” He calls his son Jesse. Jr. doesn’t know what to think, but for us it’s one of the most telling scenes in the series.

Walt thinks of Jesse as his son. This is not a new theme, it came up before when Walt met Jane’s father in the bar. Walt calls Jesse his “nephew” in that conversation. Jane’s dad said “You can’t give up on them, never.” Which spurs Walt to return to Jesse’s place and try to talk to him, which in turn leads to his actions with regard to Jane’s death. I thought Walt was going to tell Jesse about that at one point. He even apologized to him, but Jesse didn’t know what he meant. Walt’s near-constant anger at Jesse becomes much more explainable when viewed in the context of a father-son relationship. If Walt looked at Jesse as merely a business partner, he would be much more emotionally detached and much less angry with Jesse. It’s Walt’s feelings of parental responsibilty, guilt and disappointment that cause Walt to lose control of his emotions so often with Jesse.

Jesse is finally cooking at the cartel lab and he gets the job done. The cartel is happy and informs him: “You’re staying. You belong to the cartel now.” This is news to Jesse and he looks at Gus, who says nothing. Jesse is obviously not in the loop on what’s going down on this trip.

Skyler is disturbed when Saul shows up at the car wash, but he has news about Ted, whom Saul refers to as “Johnny Fabulous.” Saul is as astonished as I am that Ted actually bought the story of the aunt in Luxembourg, but more to the point, he found out that Ted bought a mercedes three hours after getting the money. Skyler is going to have him for lunch.

Walt wakes up and Jr. is still there, sleeping on the couch. Walt is very concerned about the impression Jr. must have from seeing Walt in the state he was in the day before. He compares it to the only memory he has of his own father, who died from Huntington’s Disease when Walt was six. The only memory he has of his father is when he visits him in the hospital when he is very sick. He doesn’t even know if his father knows who he is. The memory is frightening to Walt. He doesn’t want Jr. to think of him the way he was last night. Jr. says, “At least last night you were real.”

Skyler goes to see Ted and tries to convince him that he needs to pay his tax bill with his new-found wealth. Ted is intent on re-starting the business instead. Skyler is furious but she tries to remain calm as she firmly explains that this decision affects both of them and that he needs to pay the tax bill to avoid jail and an audit of her own finances. Ted is dumb as mud and won’t be convinced. He finally tries to throw her out, at which point she comes clean about great aunt Bergit in Luxembourg.

Gus is back at the same pool at Don Eladio’s house where his partner Max was killed years ago. He stares into the water and takes a pill out and swallows it. That seems ominous. Mike reassures Jesse by saying, “I promise you this, either we’re all going home or nobody is.” That’s way more ominous. Gus is made to hug Don Eladio in front of all his men and then Gus introduces Jesse to him. He gives Don Eladio a gift of rare tequila, which Don Eladio shares with everyone. He gives some to Jesse, but Gus says that Jesse’s an addict and needs to be sober to work. Don Eladio takes the drink away. They all drink, Gus first. Later, as the party amps up, Gus goes to the bathroom and purges. Obviously, the drink was poisoned:

As they make their escape, Gus is hurting. He must have gotten some of the poison after all. I wonder if it was ricin? Did Gus get the ricin that Walt made and gave to Jesse? He better check his cigarettes. One last cartel soldier is around and manages to shoot Mike. Jesse takes him out and puts Mike in the passenger seat and takes off. Wow, this is really Jesse’s episode. And Gus has now taken out the entire cartel, but we don’t know if he or Mike will live to enjoy it. Maybe Jesse will take over: He’s the only guy still standing.