Thinking he doesn't have much time left, and not having a whole lot of money to show for his efforts, Walt recruits Jesse for a marathon cooking session out in the desert. Oddly enough, Jesse isn't all that excited about the prospect as he'd rather spend time with his new lady friend. If you think about it though, Walt's idea would work to his benefit. Make all the product in one go, and then just kick back and let the money roll in while he spends all his time with his new paramour.
Still, the resentment does lead to some amusing banter between the two. Walt's criticism of Jesse's diet was funny, though to be fair, that is generally the sort of stuff you would feed on during a road trip. By that same token, feasting on salty snacks when you're out in the desert is somewhat counter-intuitive.
Still, things seem to go well as they manage to cook up over 40 pounds of product, with supply left to spare. As it is, they have enough to make over $600,000 each. As many times as things have gone awry and as frequently as the two get on each other's nerves, it was nice to see the two genuinely celebratory over their feat.
As is often the case in life, and especially this show, pride comes before the fall as things start to plummet downhill soon after. The RV's battery dies because Jesse left the keys in the ignition for two days and the two are left stranded.
I have a feeling that the phone calls that Jesse made on Walt's phone are going to come back. Had they just called once, Walt could pass it off as being a good samaritan letting a stranger use his phone to make a quick phone call, but calling the number again? That's going to draw Skyler's attention for sure.
Did anyone else wonder what happened to Skinny Pete? He makes the effort to get them, but he gets lost somewhere and ends up near a river. I guess he just turned around and went back home? It would be sad if they just left him out there in the middle of nowhere with no idea of where he was or how to get him back.
As has often been the case, the two show themselves to be rather resourceful, attempting to use RV fuel to keep the generator powered so that they can use that to jump the battery. It doesn't work and the battery catches fire.
Walt chides Jesse for using their drinking water to put out the fire, but doesn't pouring water on a gas fire generally just make things worse? You could say it was still stupid as the battery is ruined and they are going to dehydrate, but the fact that the fire went out at all was incredibly lucky.
Confronted with their own mortality, the two adapt very different mindsets. Walt more or less throws in the towel. I guess he figured he was dying anyway, so whatever. Jesse, on the other hand, is more determined to survive. It was actually rather admirable how he was unwilling to throw in the towel. He even went so far as to declare that he would just walk out into the desert and hope to get back to civilization in time. Granted, Walt points out why it wouldn't work, but still, the fact that he refuses to give in is impressive.
While Jesse doesn't have the smarts that Walt does, I did like that he was responsible for the eureka moment that ended up saving the day. Sure, all the other suggestions that Jesse made were stupid and inane, but he was just shooting off the cuff. Who knows, maybe the simple reminder that they have a lab at their disposal would have been enough to inspire Walt to assemble a makeshift battery. It was a cool moment, in any event.
As if surviving and having enough product to earn a small fortune wasn't enough, Walt gets more good news as he learns that his cancer is in remission. While the doctor makes a point to say that "in remission" doesn't necessarily mean what the popular perception implies, he goes on to say that the treatment has worked much better than they could have hoped and that the tumor is almost completely gone. It was a nice moment to see the family revel in the good news.
The ending shows that Walt isn't pleased as he beats the hell out of a towel dispenser. It's not what you would expect, but there are more than a few reasons I can think of as to why Walt wouldn't be happy.
There was an episode of Scrubs where Elliot diagnoses a patient with terminal cancer and tells him how much time he has left. Later on, the patient goes into remission and sues Elliot for misdiagnosing him. His explanation was that he was ready to die and that going through that process is an ordeal not easily negated. Maybe Walt is in the same boat.
Another possibility is that Walt no longer has the excuse he had to deal in his particular trade. Even when he was given multiple options, he always had the justification that everything he did was to make sure his family was OK. Now that line is off the table. He can't even say they need the money anymore as he has the stash, his teaching job, and his wife's income on top of that. Maybe he doesn't want to admit that he's where he wants to be. Only time will tell.
For those who find the bits with Walt and Jesse to be the best part of the show (and a quick reminder that I am one of those people) this is the episode for you. They take center stage and it works really well. They continue to have a strong dynamic and seeing them pull themselves from the brink makes for good viewing as it has before. It also ends on a resounding moment that leaves you intrigued to where Walt's journey is going to take him next. I might actually mark it as one of the better endings as it catches you off guard and leaves a lasting impression.
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