# Breaking Bad 5.12 "Rabid Dog" 9/1/13 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725 "2013-09-01T13:17:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/61 "2013-09-02T10:46:47Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > The most chilling scenes for me of the season so far were Skyler advocating for the “rabid dog” treatment of Jesse, and at the end with Walt calling Todd and telling him that he might have another job for Todd’s uncle, seeing him finally decide that his best course of action is to eliminate Jesse. I don’t recall an earlier job for Todd’s uncle …? Three other things that I didn’t follow exactly: 1. Didn’t Hank tell Jessie he was taking him to the DEA? Was that a bluff or did he change his mind… or did I hear it wrong? 2. Isn’t Jessie smart enough not to provide a taped confession without a deal? Drugs I guess. 3. Jessie changing his mind in the plaza?? Because of some scary dude standing in the wide open?? I didn’t see the scary dude’s kid until late in the scene but maybe Jessie did and realized that hitting Walt’s family would hurt more. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/62 "2013-09-02T10:50:30Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I don’t recall an earlier job for Todd’s uncle …? Todd’s uncle and his nazi gang did the prison killings for Walt, using their guys on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/63 "2013-09-02T11:09:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I figured that was a joke because he was using figurative ‘colorful metaphors’ (Belize, Old Yeller) when the show uses metaphors composed of actual colors (Jesse Pinkman, Walter White, Purple, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue etc) pretty extensively. I was actually a little concerned for Jesse in the plaza. First, the reference to “Old Yeller”… then in the plaza there were several yellow objects that stood out in an otherwise drab environment: a yellow flag, a yellow umbrella, several workers wearing yellow. > [@PSXer](#): > > I think Gomie just joined in on Hank’s private investigation because they’re friends I found Gomez’s expression very difficult to read. I couldn’t decide if he was pissed at Jesse, at Hank, or just concerned about the whole situation. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/64 "2013-09-02T11:50:00Z")
Certainly Gomie now knows that Hank has been keeping important secrets, but decided to join in with Hank’s insanity. Because now almost everyone on the show is insane in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/65 "2013-09-02T12:07:22Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > This may be reaching, but Jesse sure seemed interested in that Dutch book, Reagan’s memoirs. Could it be foreshadowing? Reagan survived an assassination attempt. Hmmm I didn’t realize it was a Reagan book at first and it made me think of Dutch Schultz, who it actually might have been meant as a reference to. He, when dying, babbled incoherently rather than give the police any information about who might have shot him. Also, he’s supposed to have buried all his money before he was killed. Of course he didn’t tell people where he’d put it so it’s lost. ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/66 "2013-09-02T12:35:04Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > 1. Didn’t Hank tell Jessie he was taking him to the DEA? Was that a bluff or did he change his mind… or did I hear it wrong? Yes, at one point of the conversation that was mentioned, followed by Jesse referring to Walt’s ability to provide snitches with stitches. > [@](#): > > 1. Isn’t Jessie smart enough not to provide a taped confession without a deal? Drugs I guess. Jesse don’t care. > [@](#): > > 1. Jessie changing his mind in the plaza?? Because of some scary dude standing in the wide open?? I didn’t see the scary dude’s kid until late in the scene but maybe Jessie did and realized that hitting Walt’s family would hurt more. Jesse went into the meeting thinking that Walt was gonna have him killed and the scary looking guy looked exactly the kind of person who might be a hitman. You weren’t supposed to see the kid until when Walt was leaving the scene as a “hey, he wasn’t a hitman after all, Jesse sure done goofed”. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/67 "2013-09-02T12:35:48Z")
Also, I’ll bet Jesse somehow reveals the truth about Drew Sharp just before the Nazi gang kill him…and they take out Todd instead. Or maybe Jesse and Todd get whacked together. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/68 "2013-09-02T12:57:49Z")
I argued previously that Walt’s embrace of Jesse in the desert was not just manipulation but genuine affection, and this episode seems to vindicate that conception. Which is not to say that I believe Walt is a sympathetic character – not at all. But like many evil men, he does have certain people he cares about personally, and Jesse and Hank are within that circle. How could Hank be so stupid as to persuade Jesse of that fact though? He is lucky that didn’t send Jesse back to Walt or at least to a place where he says “fuck it, I don’t need to get Mr. White so bad that I team up with the scumbag who beat me to a pulp”. > [@Turek](#): > > I found Gomez’s expression very difficult to read. I couldn’t decide if he was pissed at Jesse, at Hank, or just concerned about the whole situation. I don’t think it was at Hank. I think it was being concerned about the whole situation, and being a bit disgusted that a junkie murder was having to hide out in Hank’s house, with Marie getting him coffee, instead of being in lock up. ETA: > [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > “When you miss your first chance with my guy, there’s no second.” Walt missed his chance to disappear himself and his family once already, in “Crawl Space”. Does that mean the Hoover guy is no longer an option for him? Well, assuming Saul only knows one guy like that. > > Although, on the other hand, with 80 million in cash, would Walt even really need outside help to disappear? I don’t think the Hoover guy ever got a call for Walt because he did not bring Saul the money. So I think that ticket is still available to be punched, although I could be wrong. As far as whether he needs the guy to disappear, how would money alone keep him from being caught by the police? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/69 "2013-09-02T12:59:58Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > I didn’t realize it was a Reagan book at first and it made me think of Dutch Schultz, who it actually might have been meant as a reference to. He, when dying, babbled incoherently rather than give the police any information about who might have shot him. Also, he’s supposed to have buried all his money before he was killed. Of course he didn’t tell people where he’d put it so it’s lost. This is interesting. I’d never heard of Dutch Schultz, but I just checked him out on Wikipedia. The [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Schultz) includes a [section](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Schultz#.22Mad_Dog.22_Coll) on one of his enforcers, Vincent Coll, nicknamed “Mad Dog” (ahem, see title of this week’s episode, ahem). > [@](#): > > Unique among the major gangs in organized crime, Schultz gang members received a flat salary instead of the customary percentage of the take from any operations in which they were involved. In 1930, one of Schultz’s enforcers, Vincent Coll, decided that this arrangement was unacceptable and demanded to be made a partner instead. When Schultz refused, Coll formed his own crew with the ultimate goal of murdering Schultz and taking over his territory. During the bloody conflict that followed, Coll lost his older brother Pete and earned the nickname “Mad Dog” from the press after **a child was killed during a botched assassination committed by his gang.** (My emphasis.) Hmm… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/70 "2013-09-02T13:16:19Z")
OK, this is getting a teensy bit weird now. Guess who played Dutch Schultz on the series [The Gangster Chronicles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gangster_Chronicles)? Jonathan Banks. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/71 "2013-09-02T13:25:16Z")
Oh, and if you really want to push this… Schultz eventually killed “Mad Dog”, by having him shot dead in [this drug store](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_New_York_City_police_officer_standing_in_front_of_the_drugstore_where_gangster_Vincent_Coll_was_murdered..jpg). Anyone want to play “How many far-fetched Breaking Bad references can you find in that picture”? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/72 "2013-09-02T13:27:03Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > From the title, I’m going to make the incredibly risky prediction that at least one person will die in this episode. Dammit to hell. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/73 "2013-09-02T13:36:41Z")
Anyone else think now that Walt’s reached out to Todd, and Todd’s crew is cooking meth in ABQ, this might get Walt cooking again? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/74 "2013-09-02T13:41:59Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > What’s the significance of Walt insisting that the house have the same locks? How hard is it to give Skyler and Junior new keys? . His initial plan was to fix it as I’d nothing had happened. New keys would have required an explanation for why the locks were changed. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/75 "2013-09-02T14:14:41Z")
Hank’s in “Moby Dick” Skyler’s in “Macbeth” Walter’s in “Richard III” Jessie’s in “Hamlet” Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/76 "2013-09-02T14:59:47Z")
Walt Jr is in, I dunno, a badly-written episode of ER? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/77 "2013-09-02T15:24:08Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > Yes, at the end of season 4, Walt gave Jesse a whole speech on why he got into the trade. I believe it was the “I’m in the EMPIRE business” one, where he went on to explain to Jesse everything that happened with Grey Matter. Thank you. I don’t know if that’s where they are going, but at least it confirms it’s possible. > [@](#): > > My guess is that pretty soon he’ll be making a call about a part for a Hoover vaccum… I think so, too. > [@Mithras](#): > > I didn’t realize it was a Reagan book at first and it made me think of Dutch Schultz, who it actually might have been meant as a reference to. He, when dying, babbled incoherently rather than give the police any information about who might have shot him. Also, he’s supposed to have buried all his money before he was killed. Of course he didn’t tell people where he’d put it so it’s lost. I felt it was a reference to Dutch Schultz. We’ll see. His death sounds pretty awful but there is some unintentionally beautiful poetry in [his last words.](http://www.feastofhateandfear.com/archives/dutch.html) > [@Stephe96](#): > > Also, I’ll bet Jesse somehow reveals the truth about Drew Sharp just before the Nazi gang kill him…and they take out Todd instead. Or maybe Jesse and Todd get whacked together. If you’re thinking the Nazis would care that Todd killed a child… they wouldn’t. Gus wouldn’t have cared about that either. I guess I could see Todd getting whacked if the police were closing in and it would get them out of trouble, but Todd is their cook, so they need him. And to that end he’s sort of the one carrying on the Heisenberg legacy. Could that be Jesse’s target? > [@SlackerInc](#): > > I argued previously that Walt’s embrace of Jesse in the desert was not just manipulation but genuine affection, and this episode seems to vindicate that conception. Yup, you’re right. It’s also true that Walt is unable to accept that he’s failed as a surrogate father to Jesse and that he can’t just make everybody see that he did the right thing. Walt has talked himself out of some tough spots, but the idea that he could convince Jesse that he did the right thing by poisoning Jesse’s girlfriend’s child to manipulate him is particularly insane. > [@Acsenray](#): > > Hank’s in “Moby Dick” > Skyler’s in “Macbeth” > Walter’s in “Richard III” > Jessie’s in “Hamlet” > > Anything else? Walt. Jr. is in “Green Eggs and Ham.” ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/78 "2013-09-02T16:01:33Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > Anyone else think now that Walt’s reached out to Todd, and Todd’s crew is cooking meth in ABQ, this might get Walt cooking again? This. One hand washes the other. Walt/Sklyer/Saul all get Jesse gone, Lydia gets her 99 Fine for Prague, the neo Nazis get more return on their methylamine and Hank/Gomez get to catch Walt in the act. The fly in the ointment is Jesse and his plan to get Walt where he really lives. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/79 "2013-09-02T16:04:12Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If you’re thinking the Nazis would care that Todd killed a child… they wouldn’t. I don’t know how you can be so sure. Wasn’t Hitler himself softhearted about children and animals? I’m not saying that I know they \*would \*care, just that I don’t think we have enough information to state categorically that they would not. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725/80 "2013-09-02T16:04:53Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Hank’s in “Moby Dick” > Skyler’s in “Macbeth” > Walter’s in “Richard III” > Jessie’s in “Hamlet” > > Anything else? > [@Smeghead](#): > > Walt Jr is in, I dunno, a badly-written episode of ER? Breakfast at Tiffany’s, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-12-rabid-dog-9-1-13/667725.md?page=5)