Another great episode. Walt really gets told off at the end there.
Even though Jesse didn’t do much this episode, he had one of the most heartbreaking scenes when his girlfriend’s phone was disconnected. Who knew I could be moved so much by watching a guy listening to his dead girlfriend’s answering machine all episode long?
So we now know who the cousins are. The cartel is very serious about killing Walter and the only reason he is living is because of Gus. Yet if Gus can’t get him to cook then their business relationship is over…
Great acting by Skylar this episode. You could really see how disgusted Skylar was with Walt in ever scene she was in. It contrasted nicely with Walt’s attempts to rebuild their relationship. Nice to see the walls of delusion that Walt built around himself come tumbling down with one swift phrase.
That’s a great way to describe what happened. What’s he gonna do now?
Skylar and Ted – I can see why she did that. Not just to get back at Walt and end her marriage but because she needed it, not just the sex but maybe an hour or so of being honest with a man, or being with a man who was honest (even though he’s not honest their relationship is). I’m having a hard time explaining it. I despise cheating, but I was totally in sympathy with her.
Too bad about the lady in the van. For a second, I thought maybe she was Walt’s mother. And I’m a bit confused about where the meeting with Gus took place. He said something about the other guy getting across the border. I thought the cousins were on the US side.
Great episode – went by fast.
ETA: What’s up with Hank? Does he want to get in trouble so he won’t have to go back to El Paso?
Wow I’m always amazed at how good this show is. I can’t get enough of it.
I think you’re right about Hank. One it announced that he was going back to El Paso he started having his panic and anxiety attacks again. He was a loudmouth who lucked out his first time there. It seems like most people in the DEA don’t like him, they certainly didn’t like him in El Paso (although I guess most of those guys are dead now).
There’s a good (longer) preview up on AMCTV.com. We’re DEFINITELY going to be seeing a lot more of Jessie next week. It looks like Jessie cooks up a batch of meth on his own.
I like the back story about how Danny Trejo’s head ended up on the turtle’s back. That dude is so awesome.
The place where the meeting with Gus took place was at one of the Gus’ hen houses. If you listen to the background during those scenes you hear chickens clucking.
This isn’t going to be a one time thing with Sky. She’s going back to that well. What’s it say about me that as soon as she said “I f**ked Ted” I was thinking: “you are so HOT right now.” I think it’s because she finally grew a set of stones.
I wasn’t sympathetic at all. It was petty and cruel. She is put in a hard situation and I can understand the desire to regain some sort of control, but Walter has not intentionally done anything to harm her. Even if she has qualms about his methods, he has sacrificed greatly to try to provide for her and his family. He was never cruel towards her nor negligent.
She isn’t failing to turn him into the police because she’s concerned about him - she’s scared about how it will reflect on her, and affect their family. But she wants to hurt him, so this is how she does it. It’s cruelty in return for no cruelty. I dislike her for it.
I think this is sort of a paralell theme with him trying to regain control. He’s always been a badass alpha male type and he got scared shitless and it’s affecting his psyche. He wanted to prove to himself that he could still be a badass and regain control of himself, I think.
Aside from the cheating, though, Ted is also dishonest, in that he’s engaging in tax fraud to keep his business alive. And he’s doing it for the same reason Walter is; for his family. So is she being hypocritical in accepting Ted’s crime but not Walter’s?
Not necessarily. Differences in the degree of criminality matter. If Ted habitually jaywalked and drove in excess of the speed limit, for example, he’d be engaged in criminal acts - but I don’t think the argument “Skyler should find Ted distasteful because he criminally jaywalks” would carry much weight. Ted’s actual criminal acts are far more serious than jaywalking, of course - but they’re arguably far less serious, and certainly far less dangerous, than manufacturing methamphetamine.
Nah, I think he’s trying to get a “reputation” as a hot head so that El Paso won’t want him anymore. Or even that he’s not as skilled an agent as El Paso thinks he is (as in, misreading the two guys in the bar as drug dealers when they weren’t).
A friend did something similar, which might be one reason I’m sympathizing with Skyler. Friend married almost 20 years wanted a divorce but her husband dug in his heels. He wasn’t happy in the marriage either but he didn’t want people to think he couldn’t keep his woman (and he couldn’t support himself). So my friend told her husband that she had slept with another man, even though she hadn’t. That’s all it took.
That’s why Skyler slept with Ted. I suppose she could have skipped the sex and just lied to Walt, but from what we’ve seen of Skyler, she’s not a good liar. That might be why she hinted to Ted in last week’s episode about what he had to do to get her to sign off on his accounts, because she can’t be openly dishonest.
Walt had other ways to pay for his treatment and provide for his family, but his pride wouldn’t let him take help from his former partner. Then he started getting off on the thrill, and the status, the quality of his product, and he got so far in he couldn’t get out. Look at the danger his family is in. Yeah, he’s sacrificed, but it would have been better for his family to sacrifice his pride rather than his soul. He couldn’t know how bad it would be, but he doesn’t get points from me for not thinking it through.
I expected a wicked little “Fuck you, Walt” smile on Skler’s face when she pulled into the driveway at the end, but in retrospect, I liked the way they played it. I wasn’t sure if she had done what she did or if she had chickened out until she confessed.
Jesse losing Jane for good and Skyler fucking Ted are going to drive both of our guys back into the meth lab.
I found the episode incredibly boring. Walt and Jesse sitting around being pathetic bored me to tears, sure hope the pace picks up a bit and all the family stuff gets pushed into the background.
I agree. Walt didn’t do any of that for himself. I can recall no moment where there was any doubt he was doing it for any other reason but to provide for her and the kids when he’s gone.
I have zero sympathy for her character now. I’d love to see Walt somehow use the money to provide for the kids but cut her out completely.
I think it’s a mark of good drama that viewers can see things so differently. I’ve lost all sympathy for Walt. Not just because he’s responsible for so many deaths, but also because of his passive-aggressive manipulation of Walt Jr. – “Don’t blame your mother”, “It’s not your mother’s fault”. :rolleyes:
But I’ll get some sympathy back when the shit hits the fan and he dies trying to protect his family.
I totally agree. Perhaps it’s even the mark of the successful drama in just how many viewpoints are encouraged and/or not squelched by the writers.
The biggest case I can point to these days would be the thread on what the finale to The Sopranos really says.
It might make for a thread in itself to identify those shows where the most viewpoints are possible without being ridiculous. There is that fine line as well. Too many viewpoints without some clarity can be the sign of a too-ambitious creative staff, or one that’s not minding the details.
I sense that this season’s 24 is written that way. From the hip. Devil take the hindmost!
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