I'm no shrink, but I can't help but question Jesse's coping mechanism. I mean, if you're wracked with guilt over having to shoot somebody, first person rail shooters may not be the first thing you flock towards, just saying. It does get in some product placement, both for the game itself (Rage) and for the (admittedly pretty freaking sweet) Sony TV that Jesse is using, so there's that at least.
Walt, meanwhile, is convinced that things aren't as copacetic with Gus as they appear. As such, he coaxes Jesse into attempting to poison Gus the same way they had planned against Tuco.
Wouldn't it be interesting if Gus really had let it slide and Walt's own paranoia and apophenia ended up being what demolished their arrangement? I'm not sure how you convey that without the writers tipping their hands and obliterating any sense of tension, but it would be an appropriately tragic way for Walt's fate to play out.
Speaking of tragic fates, Walt is forced to destroy the car he bought for his son. Well, technically, he was only tasked with returning it, but blowing it up seems to be an acceptable substitute for him. Even the fact that it cost him 50 grand to cover it up doesn't seem to faze him.
You can't really blame him though as he reveals that he's pulling in $7 and a half million a year. The number blows Skyler away and she notes that it's hard to cover a number that big through a car wash. Of course, neither a nail salon or a laser tag arena stand a much better chance of raking in that much, so who knows what Saul was doing?
What's more surprising is that it's all $50 bills, making it even harder to cover. You'd think that paying in assorted bills would be standard practice in this sort of thing for the very reason that Skyler notes. Maybe it's Gus' passive aggressive way of punishing Walt? I don't know.
As for Jesse's attempt at assassination, he doesn't really get much of a chance. The episode plays up his making coffee as the big moment, but it seems like it would have been too obvious. Both Gus and Mike were still in the room. Even if they were conversing, they'd probably notice Jesse digging into his pockets and adding something else to the drink.
Business gets in the way anyway as Gus arranges a meeting with a representative from the cartel. It seems that he IS connected to them, but is attempting to buy his way out. While it doesn't get violent, it doesn't go particularly well. It was a little weird to see Gus on the defensive. I guess that's a testament to the people he's dealing with.
Following this, Jesse returns to his rehab group. He's not on drugs, but he does attempt to get some catharsis by telling them about how he killed a dog and feels really bad. The group does try to reassure him and offer possible justifications (accident, mercy killing, the dog was violent) Jesse notes that it wasn't any of that and that he just did it.
Not surprisingly, the group doesn't take this well. Jesse probably thought killing a dog wasn't that big a deal, but people like dogs. He does get to retort by admitting that he was there to sell to them and even calls the "self acceptance" mindset out as not everything should be accepted. Paul did a great job in the scene and his performance really sells it.
Dean Norris also gets to shine as Hank is in better spirits. He gets to bond with his nephew, but also shows his deductive skills as he suspects that Gus is tied to the Meth market. It seems Gale's belongings really started to put the pieces together as Hank also finds out that Gus' finger prints were in Gale's apartment, something that doesn't make any sense. He also comes across a serial number for an industrial air filter and has his inquiries road blocked when he starts to question the parent company of Gus' restaurant. What initially seems like a pie in the sky theory suddenly sounds a lot more concrete.
This was a solid episode, but I don't know if I'd mark it as a powerhouse. It did advance a lot of character plot lines and it was paced well enough, but I don't know if this will go down as one of the show's more memorable episodes.
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