I really, really liked this episode. The whole Badger selling to a cop scene, perfect. When Jesse and Walt couldn’t get the passenger door unlocked - a nice little realistic touch that makes me love this show so much. And the fact that when the vans came to bust “Heisenberg” they were the same vans!
But considering Walt’s motivational speech to Hank about kicking your fear in the teeth… I now doubt my previous theory about Walt’s Shakespearean narcissism being his sole motivation. Just when he starts to become a little one-dimensional, they throw that at you. It’s interesting that he was his honest self momentarily with Hank, of all people. Although he’s still so arrogant, assuming no one knows as much as he does. Assume an ambulance chaser can’t possibly outwit you? Not a good idea.
I know they’ve filmed at the strip mall where Taco Sal is, was that the same strip mall where they put Saul’s office? Is his name an homage to Taco Sal? Damn, now I want some Taco Sal…
The actor who plays Hank was good in that scene too (Walt’s pep talk). He raised up just slightly, like he was taking a deep breath.
I like Saul, but he’s taking Walt and Jesse (especially Walt) too lightly.
One thing I found hard to believe was how quickly Saul’s PI found Walt. He had nothing to go on except a physical description. Albuquerque’s a big place. It shouldn’t have been that easy.
For a show that makes an effort to flesh out its characters into real people, Saul is pretty over-the-top. I’ll be interested to see how the writers fit him into the show, and whether they’ll make the character seem more realistic than he did in this episode.
If Saul’s PI could find Walt so quickly, I’m surprised the cops haven’t found him yet. I got the sense when he was talking with Saul, that Walt was finally starting to think that maybe he’s not as on top of things as he thought he was.
I really like the Saul character, a “criminal” lawyer, not a criminal lawyer. Just when I thought the show can’t be any better they add a character like Saul to spice things up. You can also tell in the bust that Hank isn’t quite buying that they’ve busted the real Heisenberg.
“So you really are a chemistry teacher” is what Saul says when he walks in. So Walt told him he was a chemistry teacher. Really easy find after that, just look at yearbooks.
No, Walt never told him about his job. Saul’s PI must have told him that. What’s so hard about Saul hiring a PI to follow Walt after their meeting in his office? Easy peasy.
Just because it didn’t happen on screen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen off screen. There was a meeting shown of Saul, Jesse and Walt all in Saul’s office and we saw none of what happened at that meeting, just them sitting there.
Actually, I thought Hank suspected his brother-in-law (i.e., Walt) at that point. But yes, he clearly didn’t buy that this was the famous and elusive Heisenberg.
And I thought the beginning was funny. Badger was clever enough to spot the police vans but stupid enough to still make the deal.
The most likely explanation is that Saul had a PI follow Walt back to his home, or back to the school. Saul’s exclamation: “So you really are a chemistry teacher” was spoken in surprise - the PI told him that Walt was a chemistry teacher, and it was so hard for him to believe that he checked it out himself.
I remember two meetings in Saul’s office, one with Saul and just Walt, and one with all three. In the first meeting, Walt gave Saul his fee, the check for $4650. In another meeting, the three of them discussed shanking Badger. (Didn’t they? Memory fades when you’re old.)
In the first meeting, Walt was posing as Badger’s uncle, last name Mayhew. I don’t remember him saying anything about being a teacher, even when he gave up the ruse.
Maybe Walt signed his real name to the money order, but I doubt he’d have done that either, since you can put any name you want on a money order.
The PI tailing Walt – that makes the most sense, assuming Saul had the PI ready to go, so he could follow him after Walt’s second visit to the office.
Well, all right, I’ll be the ignoramus to ask the question that I was sure somebody would have asked by now: how was the beginning not entrapment? Or is the entire concept of “entrapment” just a Hollywood conceit?
Saul was over-the-top, but I loved every minute he was on screen. This was a sweet episode.
quixotic78, for one thing, merely possessing meth is a crime. Even if the deal was induced by the narc, Badger was already committing a crime throughout the meeting. The buy just brought the meth out in the open. And the actual deal, in fact, was initiated by Badger after he was assured of the other guy not being a cop.
For the same reason that sending cops to pose as Johns to catch hookers isn’t entrapment, if the cop wasn’t there, it’s not that these people wouldn’t have committed the crimes. I usually think of entrapment more along the lines of an undercover cop handing a kid a bottle of spray paint and telling him he’ll give him $20 to go paint his name on that fence and then arresting him for doing it. The kid, if not for the cop, wouldn’t have done that. Yeah, I’m probably wrong on this, but I think I’m right on the first part.
That lawyer might actually be able to help them. He was certainly right about everything he said. Like when he asked why there were attacking HIM, even if they kill him, Badger’s the one that’s gonna talk.
I think the lawyer’s angle is going to be that if they put him on retainer, they can increase their force and have him for protection against the added screw ups of a bigger force. Also, he can train the new people on what to do if they do find themselves under arrest. Also, he can give Walt some advice on how to keep him self a little more mysterious. Saul seems like a smart guy.
Lying about being a cop is not entrapment. Entrapment is forcing a guy to commit a crime he otherwise would not commit. A cop telling someone to buy him drugs would be an example.