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Episode 13: Face Off

I started this episode with a lot of questions and some are answered right off the bat.

After Gus walks away from his car, Walt runs up and removes his homemade bomb from underneath it. That seems risky if Gus left someone behind to watch the car, but apparently Walt was able to see them leave, because he doesn’t appear troubled by this. He goes into the hospital to see Jesse and accuses him of tipping Gus off somehow. Jesse apparently didn’t do that, but he has a problem with Walt bringing the bomb into the hospital, which seems reasonable. Walt is all about getting Jesse to think of a place he could surprise Gus. Jesse is trying to think about this when two police officers approach and ask Jesse to talk with them about the issue of Jesse’s prediction that Brock was poisoned by ricin. Once the questioning starts, Jesse says he got the idea of ricin from watching “House” or the Discovery Channel. The officers say Jesse isn’t under arrest, but it’s clear they’re not going to let him leave. Jesse tells them to call Saul. Yes, in this case, you really better call Saul. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 12: End Times

This episode is a bit hard to follow in some ways. A lot is happening here as we accellerate toward whatever doom awaits at the end of the season. I had no idea what to expect with this episode: whether Walt would be in a rubber room or going on a violent killing spree or hanging himself in a closet or what?

Turns out, he didn’t completely crack up. He’s helping Skyler pack the family for protective custody at Hank’s. Walt is not going. He wants Skyler to take the family and leave him there. Skyler actually must still like him because she objects, but in the end, he convinces her. Walt clearly thinks this is the end and that he will not survive. The family heads off without him and he says goodbye, maybe forever. Then he sits down by the pool with his gun to wait. He seems calm. Resigned. Then he spins the gun on the table. It points to him initially, then, after a couple tries, it points to a plant with white flowers growing beside the pool. What does that mean? Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 11: Crawl Space

The title of this episode can’t help but make you think of the place where Walt’s money is hidden. Something tells me bad things are in store for Walt’s hiding place.

This brings up the isssue of the episode names in general. The episode names in this series are always very clever, often with more than one meaning that becomes evident only after viewing the episode. for example, the title “Open House” in episode 3 of this season obviously referred to the open houses that Marie was going to for her crazy lying and stealing jags, but it could also refer to the way Jesse was making his house a constant house party for druggies in order to cover his fear of being alone. The title of episode 5, “Shotgun” refers to Jesse riding shotgun with Mike, but also the weapon of choice of their would-be assailants. Trying to figure out the clever meanings of the episode titles is part of the fun of this show. Read the rest of this entry →

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. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 9: Bug

When I saw the name of this episode I was worried that it was going to be another episode like “Fly” from last season, where Walt went crazy and chased a fly around the lab the whole time. I hated that episode.

But no, something very bad is happening here. The episode opens with Walt’s glasses broken on the floor and blood dripping on his shoe. This must be a flash-forward, because in the next scene, Walt is fine. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 8: Hermanos

This episode is where we find out the connection between Gus and the cartel and Hector Salamanca.

We flashback to the time when Walt is speaking with Gus in the hospital immediately after Hank’s shootout with the twins. After Gus leaves the hospital, we find out that he went to speak with Hector Salamanca, where he tortured the old man by telling him of the death of his nephews and the hit on the cartel. Hector refuses to look at Gus. Gus tells him, “This is what comes of blood for blood.” We don’t know what that means yet. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 7: Problem Dog

Jesse is playing a video game in his house. It’s a first-person shooter that looks to be called Rage. Fairly nasty. He keeps seeing Gale instead of the bad guys. He restarts when he dies. Looks like he’s trying to burn the image of shooting Gale out of his head. Not working so well.

Skyler has prevailed on the issue of taking Jr.’s car back to the dealer, and Walt is supposed to drive it over and pay an $800 restocking fee. He’s not happy about it, and decides to go do doughnuts in an empty parking lot. Not what I would choose to do on my last ride in a new sports car, but whatever. Walt is surprisingly good at the brodies but then ends up getting high-centered in a ditch and instead of calling a tow truck he torches the car and hops a cab. This is the new Walt. Money is no object, but there will be some collateral damage. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 6: Cornered

We are back inside one of the Pollos Hermanos shipping trucks, sitting in the dark and the cold. This time, it’s not Mike, but a couple of hired guns with assault rifles. Seems like plenty of firepower, but it’s not. The cartel has figured out a new system. this time, instead of shooting into the truck to try to kill whoever is inside, they simply attach a hose to the air intake on the refrigeration unit and attach the other end to the exhaust pipe. After several minutes, Gus’s hired guns are dead and the cartel men simply find the right container and are on their way. Gus is going to have to up his game again. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 5: Shotgun

Walt is operating under the assumption that Jesse has been taken by Gus and is about to be killed or may already be dead. He panics and gives final instructions to Saul and leaves a loving farewell-ish message to Skyler. He then goes to Pollos Hermanos and demands to see Gus, who doesn’t appear. As he waits to see him, Mike calls and says Jesse is with him and is fine. Jesse speaks with Walt and appeatrs, as usual, unconcerned by the whole thing and ignorant of any details, as well as frustratingly apathetic. Mike concludes the call by saying Jesse is “with me today” and that Walt should get back to work without Jesse. Walt pushes his way into the office and finds no one there. Read the rest of this entry →

Episode 4: Bullet Points

This episode begins a new era for Jesse, where he is not necessarily the denigrated, junkie loser that Gus is always trying to get Walt to dump, and begins instead to evolve into something else. As I’ve pointed out regularly, Jesse has always been portrayed as smarter and more capable than the other characters in the show (even, and maybe especially, Walt) give him credit for, and now the other characters are starting to take some notice of this fact, even though they may only be doing so as part of a larger strategy to use Jesse for their own purposes.  Jesse has become the ultimate pawn in the chess match between Gus and Walt.  Both begin to recognize that winning Jesse’s heart and mind to their cause, at least enough that they can use him when necessary, may be a vital play. Read the rest of this entry →