Marie actually takes center stage for the first half of the episode. We see her as she appears to go house hunting. Things are off as she takes a cue from her sister and concocts various back stories for herself as she converse with different sellers and agents.
At first, I figured that this was a result of Hank, more specifically, I figured she had had it and was looking for a place of her own. This turns out to be half right as, I presume, the stress of the situation results in her kleptomania kicking in again. It turns out Open Houses are easy targets. I'm glad this character trait wasn't completely forgotten.
On Hank's end, his mood hasn't improved. He busts Marie's chops over the kind of chips she buys and even complains about the sports magazine she bought him. He does seem to lighten up around other people, more specifically one of Hank's cop buddies who comes to visit . It was good to see him in better spirits, even if it was brief.
The visit actually does have some plot relevance as he is investigating Gale's murder and thinks that Hank will be useful in analyzing his notebook, that contains detailed descriptions of a meth superlab. While Hank initially poo poos the idea, by the episode's end, his curiosity is piqued and he does take a look at the notes.
There isn't a whole lot of progress on Jesse's front. His spiral continues. I actually feel bad for his house. It was a nice place that's been turned into a dump as a result of the non stop partying by various drug users. Even Jesse's wealth appears to be tarnished in his eyes as he throws a wad of cash in the air so that his "guests" can claim it for themselves.
While it seems like the only progression for Walt is the installation of surveillance cameras in the lab, he and Skyler do advance as they scheme to get the car wash.
Yes, it seems that even after showing that the owner holds a grudge, Skyler is still bent on getting it. Even Saul's offer to let them run the nail salon falls on deaf ears. Walt raises a good point by reminding her that they could just buy a different car wash, but even that doesn't cut it. Where before she was able to come up with justifications as to why the car wash was the best route to go, she admits here that, at this point, she's largely driven by spite. He was mean to her, insulted Walt, and she wants payback. I can appreciate that.
It's easier said than done, especially as Skyler still has some morals and most of Saul's go to tactics are questionable to say the least.
Skyler, as it turns out, is up to the challenge. She makes it look like the car wash is polluting and has an "environmental agent" come in and shut the place down. As a result, she is able to buy the car wash. Not only that, but she is able to buy it at a lower price. It was a good moment for her.
I do wonder how "broke" the Whites are. Skyler's right to point out that Walt is technically out of work, but they did have the gambling back story. Maybe he just used some of that money? I also wonder if Walt Jr's crowdfunding page is still up. I'm guessing not, as it hasn't been mentioned and it could have also been a reasonable explanation for where the money came from.
This episode didn't have the edge of your seat tension that a lot of the recent episodes had, but it was a nice breather. The episode didn't just spin its wheels as things did progress. I don't think it's going to go down as a stand out episode, but it worked for what it was.
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