# Breaking Bad 10/02/11 "End Times" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400 "2011-10-03T03:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Prox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@Prox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prox)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/81 "2011-10-03T19:41:52Z")
I don’t think there’s any chance that Walt poisoned the kid. He has no reason to turn against Jesse so abruptly. And if Walt did for some reason want to poison Brock, why involve Saul & his goons? Walt can just make more. Gus makes more sense, and Tryus certainly can pick it up anytime he wanted to. But I don’t see how they got it to Brock. And really, trying to frame Walt this way is extremely chancy. I’d say it’s about 50/50 that Gus did, or that it was happenstance. It doesn’t really bother me that the cops haven’t showed up looking for Jesse. The cops showing up to do a perfunctory questioning would’ve slowed things down too much for no end. And anything more than that would’ve changed the entire plot. And it’s not like _Breaking Bad_ hasn’t ignored this sort of thing before. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/82 "2011-10-03T19:49:21Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So does anybody know the street value of 200 lbs. of pure meth? I’m just curious as to how much of a financial hit Gus is taking by a batch being ruined. Well, we can guesstimate. Wasn’t there an episode in which Jesse calculated Gus was pulling in some $96 million a year? And 200lbs was a weekly quota, so… $1.8 million? ---
**Author:** ![Prox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@Prox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prox)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/83 "2011-10-03T19:49:32Z")
Oh, and Walt was never delusional. Gus has wanted Walt dead since maybe 3/4 through the last season. Basically, Walt was brought in just so Gale could learn how to make the high purity meth. Almost immediately after hiring Walt, Walt forced Gale out to bring in Jesse, which led to the killing of the drug dealers. Walt was to unstable to keep on, so Gus worked to bring Gale back in. This means killing Walt, since you don’t exactly fire someone who knows all the details of your criminal conspiracy ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/84 "2011-10-03T19:56:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > … can someone remind me of exactly why Gus needs to get rid of Walt? Is there some reason Gus can’t let Walt continue to cook? … > > So now I’m curious, in my head Walt started acting strange first thinking that Gus had it out for him. I guess I really don’t remember what order things happened in. > For example, Walt had Gale killed to ensure his own employment, but why was he worried about his job to begin with. Just before that incident, Walt had killed two of Gus’s street dealers. Up until that point, I think Gus was more or less fine with Walt as an employee — for example he had offered to extend Walt’s initial 3-month agreement to a full year. But Walt’s insistence on including Jesse as a partner in the lab was certainly an irritation. Then there’s the fact that Walt is closely related to a DEA agent, a risk Gus surely would have been anxious about from the start. So starting with the events above, Walt showed himself to be too much of a risk to the operation. That was when Gus visited Gale and started talking about life without Walt (though he framed the problem to Gale as being about Walt’s cancer). ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/85 "2011-10-03T21:20:23Z")
It seems unlikely Gus would go through all the trouble of building Jesse’s loyalty to him just to ruin it by poisoning Brock. Also, while Tyrus could have taken the ricin, how could he have gotten it to Brock? He’s in the lab with Jesse all day. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/86 "2011-10-03T22:15:00Z")
> [@kenetic](#): > > It seems unlikely Gus would go through all the trouble of building Jesse’s loyalty to him just to ruin it by poisoning Brock. Also, while Tyrus could have taken the ricin, how could he have gotten it to Brock? He’s in the lab with Jesse all day. I think, _if_ Gus did it, the idea would have been to make Jesse think Walt had done it. As far as Tyrus taking it; I haven’t seen anything to make me certain that Tyrus is in the lab visible to Jesse constantly. He could have stepped out long enough to pass it to someone else, perhaps Mike. But here’s what I’m thinking we might see. Jesse goes home and sees another cigarette pack on a table, looks, and finds the ricin, or maybe he finds it in his locker. That would be perfect. We’ve seen zero confirmation that Brock has actually been exposed to ricin, rather than having meningitis or something. It would explain the absence of homeland security and why no one has waterboarded Jesse yet. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/87 "2011-10-03T22:21:16Z")
I listened to the first half of the Insider podcast on the way home from work and Vince mentioned that they did originally have Jesse going over to Saul’s office to accuse him of giving Brock the ricin first. But it was night and there were no cars in the lot so Saul wasn’t there. It was really only to buy Jesse some time to piece together that it was (in Jesse’s mind) Walt. They ended up cutting out the scene as unnecessary. They also said the script called for Walt’s gun to be picked up by Jesse off camera. They shot it both ways and decided in the editing room to show Jesse picking it up. Vince likes crossing his T’s and dotting his I’s and figured if they didn’t Jesse picking up the gun instead of focusing on the scene everyone would spend their time debating why Walt didn’t go back for his gun (assuming Jesse was using his own gun). Makes sense. I’m sure we would have had quite a few back and forths over whether or not Jesse had his own gun (and why didn’t Walt go back and get his) or did Jesse pick up Mr. White’s gun. I think we ultimately would have figured it out because we know from his ride alongs with Mike that Jesse doesn’t own a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/88 "2011-10-03T22:27:56Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I think, _if_ Gus did it, the idea would have been to make Jesse think Walt had done it. > > As far as Tyrus taking it; I haven’t seen anything to make me certain that Tyrus is in the lab visible to Jesse constantly. He could have stepped out long enough to pass it to someone else, perhaps Mike. Along those lines, if someone else managed to get a hold of it, they could have done it somewhere else too. Don’t forget, Brock and Andrea don’t know Mike so he could have done it at a gas station or the grocery store etc. > [@](#): > > But here’s what I’m thinking we might see. Jesse goes home and sees another cigarette pack on a table, looks, and finds the ricin, or maybe he finds it in his locker. > > That would be perfect. We’ve seen zero confirmation that Brock has actually been exposed to ricin, rather than having meningitis or something. It would explain the absence of homeland security and why no one has waterboarded Jesse yet. I wonder, just out of curiosity, if the authorities would get involved just from someone suggesting it? If I bring my child to the hospital and say that I think he has anthrax poisoning would they run some tests and say “Nope, just the flu, you can go home” or would they say “Nope, just the flu, but this officer would like to have a word with you as to why you had that idea” Of course, assuming you were wrong you could probably get away with claiming that your a hypochondriac and you thought the symptoms matched anthrax poisoning…but other then that no reason. Other then some minor black marks on his record, Jesse wouldn’t have anything that would make the FBI or Homeland Security think he was some sort of terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/89 "2011-10-03T22:49:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > But Jesse had it that morning and didn’t have it at the hospital and Walt hadn’t seen him all day. It would be a pretty big coincidence if Walt poisoned him AND he lost the cigarette. My theory is that Huell switched Jesse’s cigarette packs, and then Walt somehow gave Brock enough poison to get him sick, but not enough to kill him. There is a picture floating around the internet of Huell putting something in his [pocket](http://imgur.com/bUOc9) after frisking Jesse. While Walt has never heard of Brock, Saul has. If Walt teamed up with Saul, then Saul would have told him everything he needs to know about Brock and Jesse. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/90 "2011-10-03T23:03:36Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > My theory is that Huell switched Jesse’s cigarette packs, and then Walt somehow gave Brock enough poison to get him sick, but not enough to kill him. > > There is a picture floating around the internet of Huell putting something in his [pocket](http://imgur.com/bUOc9) after frisking Jesse. > > While Walt has never heard of Brock, Saul has. If Walt teamed up with Saul, then Saul would have told him everything he needs to know about Brock and Jesse. I rewatched that part just now, yeah, that was suspicious as hell. I don’t think Gus had anything to do with Brock anyway. Why on Earth doesn’t Gus just let Walt go. Walt is scared of the man and he knows he’s dead if he rats out Gus, Walt wants to be done anyway. Walt is right though, killing Hank will only make this worse, after the dogs sniffed and found nothing no one is going to believe Hank now anyway. Pushing this further will endanger any chance Hank ever had of getting back on the force. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/91 "2011-10-03T23:06:29Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > My theory is that Huell switched Jesse’s cigarette packs, and then Walt somehow gave Brock enough poison to get him sick, but not enough to kill him. > > There is a picture floating around the internet of Huell putting something in his [pocket](http://imgur.com/bUOc9) after frisking Jesse. > > While Walt has never heard of Brock, Saul has. If Walt teamed up with Saul, then Saul would have told him everything he needs to know about Brock and Jesse. My issues with that would be that A)Why would Saul want to get mixed up in that kind of drama this is between Walt/Jesse/Gus, Saul has no dog in that fight, and B)as far as Saul knows Walt is about to disappear himself, what gain would there be in killing Brock? The problem (as far as Saul knows) has already resolved itself. ETA, I’ve got that scene up now and it’s tough to tell what’s going on. Do we know which pocket Jesse keeps his cigarettes in? Most smokers keep them in the same pocket all the time. If Walt or Gus arranged this they would have let Gus know which pocket to grab them from. IIRC, the last time we saw Jesse grab his pack was when they were outside the laundry when Walt asked for one…except maybe outside the hospital…let me check that…Nope, they don’t show it or it’s in one of his lower jacket pockets, can’t tell. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/92 "2011-10-03T23:24:35Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My issues with that would be that A)Why would Saul want to get mixed up in that kind of drama this is between Walt/Jesse/Gus, Saul has no dog in that fight, and B)as far as Saul knows Walt is about to disappear himself, what gain would there be in killing Brock? The problem (as far as Saul knows) has already resolved itself. > > ETA, I’ve got that scene up now and it’s tough to tell what’s going on. Do we know which pocket Jesse keeps his cigarettes in? Most smokers keep them in the same pocket all the time. If Walt or Gus arranged this they would have let Gus know which pocket to grab them from. IIRC, the last time we saw Jesse grab his pack was when they were outside the laundry when Walt asked for one…except maybe outside the hospital…let me check that…Nope, they don’t show it or it’s in one of his lower jacket pockets, can’t tell. I think Saul only provided the information, and Walt did the leg work. As for Walt disappearing, I think Walt went to Saul after the gun spinning scene and somehow tricked him into stealing the poison away from Jesse without telling him what the poison was for. If you’re a skillful pick pocket artist, then it wouldn’t be hard to figure out the right pocket. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/93 "2011-10-03T23:28:17Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > As usual, you guys really know how to over-analyze the shit out of this show (and form some pretty ridiculous conclusions in the process). Gus didn’t see any “reflection from Walt’s glasses/binoculars”. If he did the audience would have seen some indication: when a person notices something from afar, their natural reaction is to focus their attention on it and squint. Not to quietly contemplate to themselves, then gaze out on the horizon in a vague direction as he did. Except that’s not really what he did. Having watched the scene twice, it seems pretty obvious that Gus is looking for something. He moves his head slowly, scanning all the way from one direction to the other, then back, and then back again. Then there’s a nice close shot of his face where you can see his eyes looking in both directions and down. He doesn’t appear to actually see anything, but I guess by that time he was sufficiently spooked. I didn’t realize there was anything ambiguous about the chapel and parking garage scene, until I came here. Jesse did everything but flat-out say: “I think you poisoned that kid”. Gus walked into the parking garage with that in mind. He knew Jesse was still loyal to Walt, and Walt likely want him dead. He put the pieces together. He didn’t “know” his car was rigged, but he had a strong enough suspicion to head back. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > Sorry for the triple post, but I have insomnia and I can’t keep BB out of my head. 🙂 > > Just to further reinforce my case that Gus didn’t see anything outside (if anyone still has any doubt after reading my post above), consider the following evidence: first we must accept that Walt, paranoid though he may be, correctly surmised that Gus poisoned Brock hoping that Jesse would blame Walt for it and that would drive the final wedge between them. Second, at the point of Gus’ meeting with Jesse, he knows that Jesse will have noticed the missing ricin cigarette by now (Jesse is a smoker, after all). Now when Jesse mentions that Brock was poisoned, he asks Jesse one, and only one question: > > “How did this happen?” > > Jesse’s response, “they don’t know”, tells Gus all he needs to know. Because if Jesse had fallen into his plan by blaming Walt, he would have immediately spilled that to Gus (and of course, Gus would have then either egged him on to kill Walt or asked if he would “sign off” on him killing Walt now). But instead, Jesse offers none of his own theories, despite the fact that he is missing his poisonous cigarette and he knows Brock didn’t take it on his own. That means that if Jesse **isn’t** blaming Walt, it leaves very, very few options for who he thinks _did_ poison Brock. And when Gus realizes that Jesse knows he did it, coupled with the fact that he also knows Walt has been actively trying to murder him for some time, that raises an **enormous red flag** on the whole situation. And that’s what I submit that Gus was contemplating in the garage and why he had more than ample reason to stay away from the car without the need to see a “reflection in Walt’s glasses” or some other such nonsense (looking out on the horizon was just a way of sizing up the situation and realizing that if he was about to get car-bombed, this would be a really great place to do it). Except all this assumes that the convoluted nonsense story that Walt gave about Gus poisoning Brock turns out to be true. Which, I guess is possible, but would amount to some unbelievably bad writing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/94 "2011-10-03T23:29:44Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > My theory is that Huell switched Jesse’s cigarette packs, and then Walt somehow gave Brock enough poison to get him sick, but not enough to kill him. > > There is a picture floating around the internet of Huell putting something in his [pocket](http://imgur.com/bUOc9) after frisking Jesse. > > While Walt has never heard of Brock, Saul has. If Walt teamed up with Saul, then Saul would have told him everything he needs to know about Brock and Jesse. It seems unlikely to me for several reasons that Walt poisoned Brock. [ul] [li]Walt had the door barricaded, all the curtains drawn, he had his gun by his side, and he seemed to be waiting for Gus’s goons to show up at any moment. I’m guessing his plan for survival at the moment would be his usual trying to talk his way out of trouble, or shooting if necessary. I don’t think Jesse came into his plan for the moment.[/li][li]He and Jesse haven’t exactly been close lately. I don’t know if he knew who Brock was, much less how much Brock means to Jesse.[/li][li]And even if he did know who Brock was, I don’t think Walt could or would have killed him. Walt is more of a bad guy than he used to be, but I don’t think he’s so far gone that he would kill any innocent child, especially a child his surrogate child Jesse cares about. I realize that Walt let Jane die, but I think he would see a difference between letting an adult junkie die and purposely killing a child. And Walt felt seriously guilty after letting Jane die (as shown in Fly) and seems to feel guilty lately about how he’s treated Jesse in general. [/li][li]Even if he did decide to kill Brock with ricin, it would seem it would be easier to make it rather than take back Jesse’s ricin. I don’t know how easy it is to make, but it would be difficult to get Jesse’s back without Jesse or one of Gus’s guys seeing.[/li][li]And while Saul is a morally grey character, I’m pretty sure that helping Walt get back the ricin to kill a child would be too far for him to go. Also while Jesse might not be the best client Saul has, I’m pretty sure Saul would stay away from anything like this situation that could anger Jesse so much.[/li][/ul] I don’t know if I’m clear or not, but it seems like there are many reasons that it couldn’t have been Walt that poisoned Brock. I couldn’t say for sure if it was Gus or an accidental poisoning or some other illness, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Walt. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/95 "2011-10-03T23:39:48Z")
On reflection, an accidental poisoning strikes me as more likely (though even then, not _very_ likely) than some excessively complex plot by Gus. Though truth be told, the whole _idea_ is so out-of-left-field and seemingly contrived that it feels akin to what’s-his-face tripping on his own throw rug and bashing his skull. I’m a little concerned that there won’t _be_ a good explanation, but the writers will try to distract us with a shootout or some naked chicks, which will earn my grudging approval, I admit. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/96 "2011-10-03T23:56:33Z")
Walt saying “do it” to Jesse wow. Also a bit of a callback to Gus telling Walt to “do it” (put the bug on his car). I think everyone’s been expecting Walt to end up dead (whether cancer coming back or shot or whatever else) or maybe in witness protection at the end of the series, but now I’m wondering if things don’t end with him replacing Gus as druglord of the southwest. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/97 "2011-10-04T00:00:06Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Along those lines, if someone else managed to get a hold of it, they could have done it somewhere else too. Don’t forget, Brock and Andrea don’t know Mike so he could have done it at a gas station or the grocery store etc. It’s not impossible but…I have a really hard time imagining Mike poisoning an innocent child. Partly because of his granddaughter but also his story about the domestic violence victim when he was a cop. Maybe he is more hard hearted now but I don’t see it. I certainly hope it wasn’t him. I am also not sure how well you could target one person in a public area unless you could get to his food. If it were released in the air it could make a lot of people sick. > [@](#): > > I wonder, just out of curiosity, if the authorities would get involved just from someone suggesting it? If I bring my child to the hospital and say that I think he has anthrax poisoning would they run some tests and say “Nope, just the flu, you can go home” or would they say “Nope, just the flu, but this officer would like to have a word with you as to why you had that idea” Of course, assuming you were wrong you could probably get away with claiming that your a hypochondriac and you thought the symptoms matched anthrax poisoning…but other then that no reason. Other then some minor black marks on his record, Jesse wouldn’t have anything that would make the FBI or Homeland Security think he was some sort of terrorist. I wondered about that too but doctors must have people coming in all day convinced they have something incredibly rare and unlikely because they read about some where. I can’t seem to find out though if there is a quick and simple test for ricin exposure. Would the doctors know for sure? I also wonder if people at homeland security go into alert mode when due to a TV show there is a spike in people googling about ricin. On another topic, I loved the shot of the car and the truck set against the row of phone wires. It amazes me all the little details that come together to make this such a great show. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/98 "2011-10-04T00:00:22Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > It seems unlikely to me for several reasons that Walt poisoned Brock. > > Walt had the door barricaded, all the curtains drawn, he had his gun by his side, and he seemed to be waiting for Gus’s goons to show up at any moment. I’m guessing his plan for survival at the moment would be his usual trying to talk his way out of trouble, or shooting if necessary. I don’t think Jesse came into his plan for the moment. Walt was actually sitting casually by the pool in the beginning of the episode. I think the barricaded house was an act for Jesse. > [@](#): > > He and Jesse haven’t exactly been close lately. I don’t know if he knew who Brock was, much less how much Brock means to Jesse. I think Walt asked Saul about the family he saw at Jesse’s house and Saul told him how much they meant to Jesse. > [@](#): > > And even if he did know who Brock was, I don’t think Walt could or would have killed him. Walt is more of a bad guy than he used to be, but I don’t think he’s so far gone that he would kill any innocent child, especially a child his surrogate child Jesse cares about. I realize that Walt let Jane die, but I think he would see a difference between letting an adult junkie die and purposely killing a child. And Walt felt seriously guilty after letting Jane die (as shown in Fly) and seems to feel guilty lately about how he’s treated Jesse in general. I think Walt poisoned him just enough to get him sick. He probably did not use ricin, as that would alert the FBI. Walt might have used a weaker poison. > [@](#): > > Even if he did decide to kill Brock with ricin, it would seem it would be easier to make it rather than take back Jesse’s ricin. I don’t know how easy it is to make, but it would be difficult to get Jesse’s back without Jesse or one of Gus’s guys seeing. The reason for stealing Jesse’s ricin was so that Jesse would think Gus used it to trick Jesse into killing Walt. If Jesse’s ricin was never stolen then he wouldn’t think that Brock was poisoned. > [@](#): > > And while Saul is a morally grey character, I’m pretty sure that helping Walt get back the ricin to kill a child would be too far for him to go. Also while Jesse might not be the best client Saul has, I’m pretty sure Saul would stay away from anything like this situation that could anger Jesse so much. I think Saul only helped Walt steal the ricin and told him where to find Brock. He did not know what Walt was up to. > [@](#): > > I don’t know if I’m clear or not, but it seems like there are many reasons that it couldn’t have been Walt that poisoned Brock. I couldn’t say for sure if it was Gus or an accidental poisoning or some other illness, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Walt. I think Walt poisoning Brock is the most probable out of all the possible theories. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/99 "2011-10-04T00:04:16Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Walt was actually sitting casually by the pool in the beginning of the episode. I think the barricaded house was an act for Jesse. I think Walt asked Saul about the family he saw at Jesse’s house and Saul told him how much they meant to Jesse. Walt kept spinning that gun and the third time it pointed away, was it a cut scene to his barricaded house later or did he walk in and start setting it up then? Smells like foreshadowing. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400/100 "2011-10-04T00:17:21Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > …I wonder, just out of curiosity, if the authorities would get involved just from someone suggesting it? If I bring my child to the hospital and say that I think he has anthrax poisoning would they run some tests and say “Nope, just the flu, you can go home” or would they say “Nope, just the flu, but this officer would like to have a word with you as to why you had that idea” Of course, assuming you were wrong you could probably get away with claiming that your a hypochondriac and you thought the symptoms matched anthrax poisoning…but other then that no reason. Other then some minor black marks on his record, Jesse wouldn’t have anything that would make the FBI or Homeland Security think he was some sort of terrorist. My point was that if Brock had been poisoned with ricin and they had tested and found it, _then_ DHS would be swarming all over the place. The fact that this doesn’t appear to be happening means that either they didn’t test him (figuring his mother was just hysterical), they tested him and didn’t find ricin, or the writers either made a big mistake or are trying to put one over on us. I think the second choice (tested negative) is the most likely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-10-02-11-end-times/598400.md?page=6)