He’s been falling apart for a long time, but I agree, he blew his head gasket this time. Jessie is a dangerous, dangerous person right now. He’s going to do something stupid…stupider, even, than usual for him…but I honestly don’t know whether he’s going to throw down on Mike or call the DEA and rat everyone out.
Gus’ killing of Victor was clearly intended to be the climactic moment, and I’m somewhat surprised that there’s some question as to why Gus did it.
The key point is Victor’s decision to start cooking, with the subsequent discussion about the aluminum showing he could at least do it competently. At that point Gus could no longer allow both Walt and Victor to remain in his orgaization; the two were now in direct conflict (for rough comparison, he already tried a mediated solution with Jesse and the two dealers, which only led to more problems).
For as much as he hates Walt, Gus at least respects his abilities as a chemist–the process isn’t just “following a recipe”. So Victor had to go, but Gus also uses it as a warning about how ruthless he can be, a desperate attempt to scare Walt back into line. I say “desperate” because Gus has to know that–despite the horror of seeing a man’s throat cut–Walt is a calculating man who will approach even a horrific situation rationally.
Whatever Walt’s plan to deal with Gus may be, I’m sure it will involve Mike. However I suspect Gus is expecting this and is already setting up a double-cross…
I missed the head floating in the barrel, and was looking pretty intently. That doesn’t mean they didn’t show it, because I was pretty tired and beat up from the weekend. If you could see it, I’d say nice touch of gruesomeness.
No one’s mentioned Saul yet. I liked how he was scanning his office, and then used the payphone outside (with gloves yet!) to hide his tracks. Okay, his scene was small, but I like Saul, and just thought he should get a mention.
What the hell was going on with him anyway? Obviously he was was scanning for bugs, but what makes him think his office is bugged…enough to be closed in the middle of the day to do it. Does he know what’s going on with Walt? Did Walt make a last minute call to him that I don’t remember? Something unrelated that they’re setting up?
We have to remember, the end of last season and the beginning of this season are seamless…it might as well have just been a commercial break as far as time passage was concerned.
Have to agree on Aaron Paul’s acting here. Cold! His development as an actor over these seasons has been phenomenal. This scene was stunning. He has given the writers so much to work with and has helped their vision materialize at least as much as Cranston. The entire cast is great, but Paul is so vital to how the show works.
Not that it matters, but ever since Beverly Hills Cop (1984) when Jonathan Banks was as cold-blooded a hit man as I had seen up until then, every role he has had that I have seen was all you needed for menace. That’s why the humor these writers have given Mike is so fine. Next to Paul, I favor Banks for giving this show its edge.
Whenever I see him I can’t help but think he looks a lot like Ben Kingsley, to the point that at least once per episode I have to remind myself that it’s not him.
Re Saul – if I remember right, Saul didn’t know until late in S3 that Mike also works for Gus. It’s one thing for Saul to lie to Mike about Jesse’s whereabouts, and quite another to lie to Gus. So he’s gonna be scared. Remember that Mike bugged Walt’s house for Saul, so Saul might think Mike bugged his office, on orders from Gus.
Gus killing Victor – I thought it was just Gus showing Walt and Jesse that he was a crazy ass mofo. It worked for me! 
But why is he tearing his office apart right now? Does he know that something is going on with Walt? Also, wouldn’t getting out of town be more important?
Speaking of which, Kingsley does a damn good badass himself!
[QUOTE=Prelude to Fascination]
No one’s mentioned Saul yet. I liked how he was scanning his office, and then used the payphone outside (with gloves yet!) to hide his tracks. Okay, his scene was small, but I like Saul, and just thought he should get a mention.
[/QUOTE]
WHOA! WHOA! You’re breaking up I couldn’t read what you just wrote there.
I love that his headstone would read “Cold blooded hit man, crime scene cleaner, and loving grandpa”.
But “crazy ass mofo” like Tom Hagen, not like Tuko.
“Right now” for Saul is probably just a day or so after learning that Mike isn’t Saul’s man, he’s Gus’s man, and that Jesse and Walt killed two of Gus’s dealers. Saul is helping Jesse hide from Gus. I don’t remember when Saul learned about Mike, if it was before helping Jesse or after. But Saul’s suddenly on the wrong side of Gus, and realizing that he doesn’t know everything.
He should be running, but he won’t until he knows where he stands with Mike and Gus, and how things will shake down.
What’s up with Hank and the crystals? Do you think this is just how a badass cop who’s been paralyzed spends his time or is it somehow part of his investigation?
I loved that shot when Gus first entered the lab on the catwalk above, Victor was cooking and looked up, then grinned that little puppy dog grin at his master, clueless that he had only minutes to live.
How much was he spending on them, I missed that part? If it’s just a few bucks, I think it’s just some stupid hobby to kill some time. If they’re, say, $100+ each, it may be another thing that will put a little bump in their marriage or at least cause some arguments.
I don’t have cats, but I understand that’s the same look they give their owners when they bring freshly killed animals into the house. “Look, I got you a present!!!”
The one he was looking at was $4.99.
That’s what I thought. I think it’s just a way to pass time. To show what he’s turned into. Everything involving those two seemed to revolve around showing what a couple of properly placed bullet holes can do to your life.
Maybe it’s some psychological thing. He’s still pursuing crystals, only it’s now mineral crystals rather than crystal meth.
No, I don’t think so. Victor was killed because he can be linked to Gale’s murder. That was the only reason. He showed up at the crime scene and there were witnesses. The police would have a make on Victor (who has a pretty distinctive look) and that trail can lead back to Gus. Gus is all about details and Victor became a liability that had to be eliminated. Now, for Gus to do the brutal murder in front of Walt and Jesse was perfect since it obviously made a lasting impression about how cold-blooded he can be. If Gale were still alive, there’s no doubt that Walt would’ve been the one in that hazardous barrel. Walt is absolutely right that Gus will still want to eliminate him if there’s a way to do it without jeopardizing the meth operation.
Overall, this episode was good, but I wouldn’t rank it among the great episodes. The pacing was off and a lot of the plot was predictable. Once Gus changed clothes and picked up the box cutter who didn’t think that Victor was going to get it? Victor’s smirky grin telegraphed all that. Gus was going to kill someone. It wasn’t going to be Walt or Jesse. Mike? No way; he did nothing wrong. There were scenes involving Skyler that could’ve been trimmed. Sure, show that she was looking for Walt, but was it really necessary? In the past Walt had been away for a week or more and we didn’t see any scenes of his family’s activities. I think the Skyler scenes were just a way to re-introduce the other characters (Marie, Hank, Saul, Walt Jr.) in the season premier. And I guess that justifies the Skyler scenes, but it bogged down the flow of the episode.
All I can really say about the overall impact of the episode is:
-
I had to go rewatch the last episode of last season (fortunately it was still on On Demand) to see where all the “flashback” and “reorganize” scenes were from and what had been the real cliffhanger.
-
The showdown between Walt and Gus is going to be fun to watch as it escalates.
-
What they are planning for all the other characters, to use Silvio Dante’s ripoff line from GF3: “has yet to reveal itself.”
The episode was a bit clumsy with all the juggling of past scenes to catch us up on the storyline, and the telegraphing of Victor being Gus’s real target made that whole thing mostly high comedy.
Again I say that Aaron Paul showed us some stuff that I expect to see much more of, and if Mike doesn’t figure in more prominently this season then the writers will have missed a key character for pushing things along. I grieve for Hank’s situation and fully expect some payback for all he has been put through, both as a character and as the actor playing him.
Still have Breaking Bad in my Top Five shows in current production!