After the intensity of the last two episodes, this episode is a bit more low key. Walt's empire has fallen and the man is clearly broken. He can't even "disappear" as he is too high profile. As such, Saul's guy has him holed up in a remote cabin. It's a cozy place, rustic. As expected, the connection to the outside world is minimal. There's no TV or internet or phone. One wonders how he passes the time. All he can do is sulk as he inches closer to death. True, he has a barrel full of money, but he can't really spend it and he can't get it to his family, which was the whole point of getting into the business in the first place.
His state is especially pitiable as he starts off wanting to go on a roaring rampage of revenge. The Nazis killed a member of his family and took his money. By all accounts, Heisenburg would not abide this, but he can't do anything. Even Saul isn't intimidated anymore, as shown in a scene that was a nice mirror and call back to when Walt threatened him earlier in the series.
It gets to the point where Walt pays Saul's guy extra money just to hang out with him a little longer after the guy stops by for a supply run. Granted, a part of that is just the result of extended isolation, but it's still a sad state of affairs.
As if that wasn't bad enough, his attempt to send money via mail to one of Junior's friends is utterly rejected when Walt tries to discreetly fill his son in on the plan. Just as his mother did before him, Junior lets his dad know that he's eagerly awaiting the day the cancer takes him. It's harsh, but he does blame Walt for Hank's death, so you can see why he becomes as venomous as he does.
Things aren't going much better for Jesse, who is still being held captive by the Nazis. His escape attempt was awesome though. Not only was it one of the highlights of the episode in terms of sheer edge of your seat tension, but from a purely physical standpoint, it was impressive. It also marks the one time in the show where the Nazis give off the impression of being Nazis. That shot of Jesse booking it to the fence, only to have the spotlights center on him and have a group of machine gun toting men rush out and surround him was very WWII camp-esque.
Speaking of the Nazis, they were pretty busy this episode. They ransack the Schraeder's house to get Jesse's confession tape, bust into the White's house to threaten Skyler as she saw Lydia at the car wash. After Jesse's attempt, they live up to their implied threat by going to Andrea's house and shooting her in the head. The fact that Jesse is forced to watch makes it that much more painful for the guy. I was expecting them to go after Brock too, but the Nazis keep that in their back pocket to help keep Jesse in line. You know, Brock's such a minor character, but he's really had a bad few months. First the poisoning, and now his mom's dead. I know Walt tends to drag those around him down, but for someone so peripheral, he got hit hard.
As this is the second to last episode of the show, it was a good way to set up Walt's end. His life is in shambles, and it looks like everything he did will be for naught. The ending does set up the finale pretty effectively. Walt was all ready to turn himself in and end it, but an interview with Elliot and Gretchen pisses him off enough to make one last go of it.
Having them show up one last time was a great move. Not only did it show how big Heisenburg had gotten, but it allowed them to unintentionally lay into Walt as they disavow any involvement he had with their company.
It's a strange move. Yeah, they want to avoid bad press, but he hadn't been involved with the company in years and his run as meth cook was a fairly recent development. Couldn't they give Walt his due and still clear the air about their company? It achieves the goal of motivating Walt and it gives the episode one last chance to kick him while he's down, but I do wonder if, from their perspective, they could have handled it better.
We're down to the final episode. It'll be sad to see it go, but it's been a fun ride. There's plenty of fodder for the finale as Walt sets his final machination against the Nazis into motion. I do wonder if the Whites will end up with the money. Junior doesn't want it and it would be appropriately tragic if they didn't, but at the same time, after all that, it would be nice to have something to show for it. I am fairly certain that Walt's cancer will finally take him, though I could be wrong on that front. It's one of those things I'll have to discover by watching it as we wrap up the saga once and for all.
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