Things aren't looking good. Jesse is in custody and being pressured to flip and Hank shows no signs of letting up the pressure as he is dead set on nailing Walt for his crimes. As bad as his relationship with Walt has gotten, Jesse's disdain for Hank still trumps it and he remains quiet until Saul shows up.
Marie's attempt to get Junior out of the house backfires, but does result in a rather tense meal at a restaurant where she and Hank press Walt to confess. It's an odd dynamic as Walt asserts innocence, but uses language that implies guilt. Skyler even tries to argue that the things that "didn't happen" are behind them. You can see why Skyler would try to play that card, but at the same time, when you're trying to assert innocence, it really doesn't make any sense.
I did feel bad for that waiter, though. They were never hostile towards him, but the tension between the main four was so thick that his attempt at jovial friendliness is rather jarring. It gets so bad that Marie tells Walt to just kill himself so that it can all die with him. Even that doesn't satisfy Hank, who thinks that death would be too easy.
Walt eventually leaves, but not before leaving a jaw dropping video confession. It seems like an odd thing to do, but when you see the video, you see what game he's playing. Rather than cop to the crimes, Walt instead incriminates Hank. In true Heisenburg fashion, Walt spins a believable narrative about how Hank put him up to it that still sounds convincing while being completely fabricated. Not every point is covered. There's no mention of Gale or Tuco, but the ordeal with Fring is discussed at length and Walt notes that Hank was able to use his DEA connections to help set Walt up, possibly tying back to Krazy-8. The cherry on top is using the money that they lent Marie to pay for Hank's treatment to further tie the two together and add legitimacy to Walt's claims.
Odd as it may sound, the video was one of the major highlights of the episode. It was a gutsy move on Walt's part, but it worked well and from a strategic standpoint, it was downright brilliant. I dare say Light Yagami would have been proud.
As if that scene wasn't tense enough, it's followed by another where Walt tries to convince Jesse to use Saul's guy to disappear and start a new life. It sounds completely sincere and Walt isn't wrong in saying that Jesse could use a fresh start. I mean, look at the guy. Still, Jesse sees through it and cites that it's just Walt's way of getting him out of the way so that he can't incriminate Walt.
Jesse's not wrong, but at the same time, are the two things mutually exclusive? Walt could have just stipulated that, yes, Jesse disappearing benefits him, but thinks that it would really be good for him to get away from it all. Instead, all he does is give Jesse a hug. You'd think it would be a genuine moment as Walt realizes how badly his relationship with Jesse has gone awry, but there's not a whole lot of emotion in it.
Jesse does agree to book it until he comes to the sudden realization that Saul and Huell were the ones who took the ricin cigarette. How did he come to the realization? It turns out that Huell pickpocketed a bag of weed that Jesse had. Upon realizing that said bag was gone, he concludes that the same thing could have happened with the cigarette.
Technically, the cigarette had nothing to do with Brock being poisoned (or he wasn't poisoned by the cigarette to be more specific), but it does show Jesse that Walt was behind it. Suffice it to say, he's none too happy about it. Kids getting hurt was always a berserk button for him, but it gets taken to new heights here. He pummels Saul, holds the others in the office at gunpoint, and even starts soaking Walt's house in gasoline, presumably with the intent to burn it to the ground. The next episode's title is "Rabid Dog" and you can already see that comparison as the look on Jesse's face, as well as the primal grunting he makes are very much in that vein.
This episode has gotten rave reviews and it is definitely deserving of them. The acting is top notch and there are so many great scenes that take place. Even though the episode is more dialogue driven, the plot does still manage to advance significantly and the status quo is upended on several fronts. It also ends on a great note as Jesse is fully consumed by manic rage. It's the sort of ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next. All in all, a great hour of television.
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