After Walt's drunken gaffe, Skyler starts to second guess things. The voice mail Walt left starts to sound less like a random romantic act and more like a final goodbye. Walt's outing that Gale wasn't Heisenburg also suggests to her that Walt is scared and in over his head. As such, she suggests going to the police.
This may have worked with Walt before, but suffice it to say, he doesn't take kindly to it. It isn't so much fear, but ego that drives his rant as he declares that he's the backbone of an empire. It's a great moment for Walt, but it is enough to drive Skyler back out of the house.
She even goes so far as to contemplate leaving the state. I'd say that she should have at least taken a lap around the four corners, but she probably could have done that dozens of times by now, robbing it of its novelty. If nothing else, she could have used that as a way to decide which state "felt right". I guess it's moot as she stays anyway, but still.
Meanwhile, Walt isn't pleased with Jesse's new role as Mike's number two. Strategic thinker that he is, he immediately deduces that the robbery was a setup. I am curious if Walt's reasoning was sound as to why. A part of it just sounds like more of his big ego, but knowing Gus, it could have also been a factor. His plans, after all, tend to operate on several levels.
At the very least, Jesse's absence is a hindrance for Walt as he has no help. I guess clean up duty doesn't warrant having someone sub in because Walt has to pay some of the laundry staff to pick up the slack.
Honestly, I thought Gus was going to kill them, but instead chooses to deport them back to Honduras as punishment. Of course, that could be a euphemism, like sending the pet to the farm. I could be reading too much into it and Walt feels bad about it in either case.
To lift his spirits, he buys his son a cool car. Junior's excited, but Skyler...not so much. She points out that it will raise questions, but Walt does have the car wash now. They have income and it's possible that there was little, if any, money down. I can see why Skyler sees it as a huge red flag, but it might not set off as many alarm bells as she thinks.
Speaking of setting off alarms, Jesse joins Mike on a stakeout to investigate the theft of some of Gus' product. We do get more of the "buddy comedy" dynamic as the two have radically different outlooks on what they're doing.
Mike takes a more patient "stakeout" style approach where Jesse doesn't have the patience. While his plan to act as a potential buyer, it wasn't a bad one. Mike gloats, but it was worth a shot at the very least.
His second plan goes slightly better, though Mike does still need to come to his aid to a certain extent. In any event, Jesse's showing that he isn't a total bust after all. He does seem to be growing into the role.
The episode was largely character driven, but it works well. There was a nice balance of tension and humor, which I always like. It also looks like Walt's turn to Heisenburg is starting to take shape. It should make for interesting episodes as we hit the second half of the season.
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