Kudos to Munch for seeing this coming back 7 episodes ago…
I highly highly doubt Todd decides not to kill Skyler because of any soft spot for a mother and her kid. He shot the kid on the bike with nary a second thought, and has no qualms about popping Andrea - a young single mother - later in the episode. No, the reason he doesn’t is primarily because he still respects Skyler’s husband. I think he even says as much to Skyler. I suppose another reason could be that why give Walt a good reason to really come after them?
When Walt agreed to have Jesse turned over to the AB, the stated purpose (by Todd) was for some ‘hard questioning’ about what Jesse told the DEA before offing him. Walt is probably smart enough to know they’ll get Jesse to cook for them a few times to help Todd get up to speed especially since that was the original deal (One cook for killing Jesse).
But that was at least *two months *or so ago, right? So I don’t see how Walt can think that Jesse is still alive; surely Walt would assume Jesse is dead, and Todd just got better at cooking. (Actually Todd must be a really slow learner if they still have Jesse around). For that matter - why do they still need him around? Why go through the bother and risk of shooting someone outside, on her porch. I can almost kinda see leaving Skyler alive, I don’t quite buy that Jesse is still alive (although I’m glad he is; I’ve always said the final showdown would be Jesse and Walt).
I don’t quite get why Walt would now be upset at Blue Sky being on the market - the agreement with AB for killing Jesse was specifically to help Todd cook to recreate Blue Sky. He cooked with Todd in the past, he knows Todd and Lydia etc. are still in business - it shouldn’t be a surprise at all that Blue Sky is still around; hell it’s been around ever since Walt ‘retired’.
The money doesn’t matter any more; his son won’t take it, Skyler can’t take it; he can’t even use / get rid of the $11 million he has, let alone another $70 million. The ‘meth empire’ really shouldn’t mean anything any more; he retired. But I guess the Gray Matter blurb on the TV (‘he only contributed to the company name’) stings his pride enough to push him back to ABQ. Seems like rather weak tea if they are a major plot point; Gretchen and Elliot haven’t been involved in the plot in like forever. Would the show throw them up as a critical plot point in the last episode, out of the blue?
Seems unlikely. But I suppose we’ll get the obligatory flash back to the 4th of July weekend when Walt walked out. BTW - I can’t be the only one to think that ‘Gretchen’ has not aged well; she looked old and frumpy on that TV interview.
I guess the one plausible scenario is Walt convincing them to help funnel money to Skyler and the kids in return for…(not publicizing his involvement with the company’s founding? I don’t know).
Finally - damn, you have to feel sorry for Jesse - His parents disown him, the two women he cares about die, including one shot right in front of him, his mentor first agrees to shooting him, then to having him be tortured first, then shot, even Skyler pretty much tells Walt to just kill him, he gets the snot beaten out of him at least three times, and now he’s spent the last two months or so as The Gimp as a slave in a meth lab. He’s an emotional wreck. At this point wouldn’t death be sweet, sweet release?