Consider the beginning of this review an open letter of sorts to Walter White regarding his chances against coming out on top in his war between himself and his employer, Gustavo Fring. I understand that you’ve had quite a lot to deal with this past year what with your relationship with Jesse Pinkman falling into bloody violence last week, your worries about keeping your wife and son away from the dangerous people you work for, as well as constant concern for your own state of health. You spent the majority of your scenes in this episode in a state of drugged-up convalescence and it is understandable that you’d need to take some time for yourself to regroup and figure out where it all went wrong.
Certainly pushing your partner to be so isolated away from you that he’d start to find value, as the audience has as well, in being on Gus’s side didn’t help you in any way. But allow me to say that as things currently stand–you’re not going to beat Gus. At least that’s the thought that went through my mind as the entire upper level members of the big bad Mexican cartel of Don Eladio fell to their knees gasping for breath after a particularly deadly tangle with toxic tequila.
I mean seriously Walt, Gus is willing to poison himself to take out his enemies. You have never gone up against someone like him before. Unless you come back from your simultaneously bruised ego and body better than ever, or at least luckier than ever, you won’t win. At this point, your best option is showing up for work in the lab with the hope that you can keep from Gus exacting revenge on you for even trying to go against him.
Sincerely, the person who just watched Gus walk into Mexico and solve his cartel problem, get revenge on the man who ordered the death of his first cook, and be more supportive of Jesse’s capabilities in one hour of TV than you have in nearly four whole years.
That all being said, Walt did have a fantastic scene at home with Walt Jr, who is currently just about the only person left who is totally separate from all of the shady dealings on this show. Cranston brought tears to my eyes with his line reading about how Walt truly last remembers his deceased father. I also really liked Jr.’s reaction about which Walt he’d rather remember when everything is said and done. I completely agreed with him that seeing the raw emotion of a Walt who admits to making mistakes and gets emotional about his failures was refreshing after weeks of stern stubborn Heisenberg posturing. Let’s be honest, things haven’t at all gone well for Walt this year so it was about damn time he came to realize what his bad decisions have brought him. It’s very telling that he’s only capable of doing so when he’s under the influence–typically of alcohol since he is so guarded with everyone now for the sake of maintaining an image of strength. And saying ‘Jesse’ before he passed out again following a tear-filled apology? You can be as sorry as you want to be Walt but I doubt that Jesse would even believe it at this point.
Skylar White was busy trying to keep Ted Beneke’s financial problems from being everyone’s problem as she enlisted Saul to try to fix it. Exchanging money between friends or former co-workers never ends well, and I hope I wasn’t the only one who knew that Ted would take the money that could have bailed him out from IRS woes and use it in a completely irresponsible way. My respect for Skylar is going up by the week with how she’s handling her business in this storyline, especially when she straight-up told Ted where that money really came from. It’s really interesting to think that at this point Walt’s entire world can come crashing down and he doesn’t even have to leave his bed for it to happen. Ted’s becoming an outside of the drug fold problem that is just as bad as the possibility of Hank catching another break in the Gale Boetticher case–it’s a testament to strong writing that characters and threads from past seasons can find ways to affect everything in a positive or negative way later on.
Meanwhile, as promised Jesse, Mike, and Gus traveled down to Mexico so they could inform the lab techs down there on how to create the blue meth. It was so much more than just ‘the student has become the teacher’ as Jesse successfully cooked his own batch of blue that was nearly as perfect as Walt’s own batches are known to be. Seeing him take charge, show confidence, and yes have tangible guilt for saying Walt’s words in addition to using the man’s original recipe was a great way of showing the audience how much Jesse has grown in this last season especially. Aaron Paul continues to shine with the darker material he’s been given this season as Jesse Pinkman finally becomes a man in the eyes of the Breaking Bad world and this is in no small part due to the support he’s gotten from both Mike and Gus. When Gus told Jesse he could do this on the plane down to Mexico–it’s much more believable as a statement than when Walt would say it in the past.
Typically Walt would only ever encourage Jesse that he could do something difficult when their lives were on the line and his success was the only thing keeping them both alive. So, of course he would want Jesse to feel encouraged in that moment. But Gus says it in a way that, even though it’s going to be dangerous in Mexico and much rides on Jesse not messing up in front of the cartel, it’s clear that he genuinely believes in Jesse’s capability to succeed. He wouldn’t have allowed Jesse to be in the situation where the results of his actions matter so greatly if he didn’t. And as we saw, Jesse having a good cook was merely the means to the end of Gus’ gift of poisoned tequila which was the real problem-solver.
From the moment Gus stared down into the swimming pool from his back-story flashback there was this feeling of mortal dread for the next ten minutes or so. For one thing, swimming pools tend to equal some form of death on this show. First there was the eerie series of cold opens that turned out to equal the fallout from the plane collision that happened at the end of the season. Then Gustavo’s first partner was murdered poolside and now Don Eladio’s body floats in that very same pool. In fact, this show needs to be given credit for doing some very interesting things with their cold open sequences. In this season there was an opening that showed Jesse playing a first-person shooter video game called Rage. He spent the entirety of the scene firing away without a hint of remorse even as images of Gale’s very real face flashed in his mind while he shot at the screen. And that would sure enough be a hint that when needed, Jesse can now pick up a gun and defend himself and others even if that includes killing someone.
If the show has flirted with the idea of Jesse firmly being a member of Gus’ ranks for the last handful of episodes, then it has definitely committed to the reality of Jesse being with them now as he drove them all off to seek the medical attention a wounded Mike and still-poisoned Gus desperately need. Mike probably had the line of the episode as he explained to Jesse who worried openly that they would really leave him in Mexico to cook for the cartel, “I promise you this. Either we’re all going home, or none of us are.” The trio all looked out for each other in different ways as Gus even risked his own neck to prevent Jesse from drinking poison even when it was the only exit strategy they had. But in solving their cartel problem, Gus very well may have wound up signing his own death warrant by ingesting the poison himself.
Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but the previews showed Walt getting back into the game so to speak. Jesse is a more dangerous adversary to have now than ever before if he manages to cross the border again all in one piece. He holds the lives of men that he once wanted to see dead in his hands now, and the show could still toy with Jesse making the choice of what the fates of Mike and Gus will be. The possibilities of how this season will end have only managed to grow as the finale gets closer. If anyone stands near a swimming pool though I’m going to make a guess that they may not live to see another day at this point.
I'm not sure about Jessie being in Gus and Mike's camp for the rest of the season. The last scene is so quick and violent it's hard to tell if Mike aimed his gun at the back of Jessie's head (right after he tells Jessie to "Go" and he begins to walk around the front of the car…it sure looked like it to me). If so, did Jessie *see* Mike aiming his gun in his direction after he quickly spun around? There was nothing else to shoot in that direction.
Moschops makes me wish I could watch that last scene again. I didn't catch that. But, if Mike shot Jesse, who have driven the car? Wouldn't serve any point to kill Jesse then and there. They can always kill him later. or vice-versa.
Mike got shot because he took a half-measure and didn't kill Gaff.
"I understand that you've had quite a lot to deal with this past year"
"be more supportive of Jesse's capabilities in one hour of TV than you have in nearly four whole years."
That's a common problem I see in criticism of serial dramas, especially those with such huge gaps between seasons. Viewers often forget the timeline of the characters, not them.
In defense of Walt – in the show's real time, this has transpired over the course of hours/days/weeks, not years. Not much time has transpired between "Box Cutter" and "Salud" or even the past 4 episodes of Season 3. So he's still new to the game.
As Jesse pointed out last week, Gus was willing to kill them less than a month ago (last season's cliff-hanger for us). In their timeline, Hank and the Twins were offed less than 6 weeks ago, Gale a month ago and Jesse yanked into Mike/Gus' service in the past two weeks. Who wouldn't be stretched to the limit?
Walt was trying to arrange Gus' death – he was willing to do it himself, with Mike's help and got the crap beaten out of him for trying. His attempts are actually very admirable. Gus probably had a more time to plot his revenge (as indicated in the flashback with Tuco and the Twins' uncle) than Walt did. The Cartel's latest demands just gave him a stage to carry it out.
Walt only has himself and Jesse against Gus, the Cartel and the DEA. And he's only beginning to realize the stakes. I'm surprised he hasn't committed suicide.
Mike was planning on driving the car. He was getting into the driver's seat when he got shot.
Someone posted this series of images.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/63652874@N07/sets/7…
Sure looks like he was going to shoot Jessie.
I meant to say Hank was shot and the twins offed.
"Sure looks like he was going to shoot Jessie." Nope. Just watched the end again. It was just the camera angles I think. That would make no sense anyway as Gus had just saved Jesse's life (and risked his entire plan) by preventing him from having a shot of the tequila…
Makes perfect sense. There's no doubt that Gus is going to kill Jessie and Walt as soon as he can, and that was the perfect opportunity. They only needed Jessie until the instant they walked out of the front door, and killing him there would have allowed them to blame the cartel *and* give the Federales and DEA their "Heisenberg".
If not aiming at Jessie, who or what was Mike aiming at? The shooter was on Mike's left, and no trained shooter swings an extended arm 90 + degrees over an open car door to make a shot. How else did the sharp-eyed Mike, who never seems to miss a detail, miss the shooter unless he was focused on ending Jessie.
I don't see how people are thinking that Gus and Mike are somehow being genuine with Jessie. Gus always intended for Gale to replace Walter, and always treated Jessie with contempt.
That was the perfect time to get rid of Jessie, and the look on Mike's face after he gets shot says it all, at least to me.
If Mike and Gus wanted to kill Jessie at that party, he would be dead. Mike wouldn't have encouraged Jessie to grab a gun, etc. Even if he's a pawn, he's a strategic pawn they've grown to respect. Now that he's proven his worth as a cook, he's worth more to them alive than dead. Worth more than Walt in some ways because he's proven his loyalty.
Where does the notion that Gus and Mike somehow respect Jessie? Gus made it clear many times: he doesn't like addicts and won't work with them. Mike clearly wanted to dispose of him rather than set him up to be the hero with the fake ambush a few episodes ago.
Gus and Mike's obvious pleasure at Jessie's conduct seems, at least to me, to be the pleasure one takes when you know the rube has fallen for the scam.
They don't need Jessie or Walt to cook for them anymore; they've been recording Walt's cook for weeks and no doubt plan on handing it over to someone else.
Gus waited 20 years or so to extract revenge on Don Eladio and his cartel ilk, but he never forgot being wronged…and he's going to let Jessie live after all the problems he's caused?
You may be right; my wife didn't even see Mike point his gun at Jessie, but it seemed *very* obvious to me. Nothing in this show happened by accident.
Jesse is most certainly a strategic pawn. That's exactly why Gus didn't let him drink the poison at the party. Gus knew that he and Mike could use an extra loyal gun in their attempt to fight their way out of Eladio's home. Once they made it to the car, they thought that there was no further reason to keep Jesse around. That's why Mike tried to shoot Jesse in the back. And then, ironically, Jesse saved their lives.
I don't know how much more clear it could be…Gus and Mike like Jesse, and they don't want or need him dead. This has been obvious since a few episodes ago.
Mike was going to kill Jesse. They didnt let Jesse drink the poison because Gus needed as many friends there as possible when the poison took effect. Once Gus was in the car and Mike was about to drive there was no need for Jesse. Mike can be clearly seen aiming his pistol at Jesse. They could have came back and easily told Walt the cartel shot Jesse. Jesse was never meant to come back alive but now both Gus and Mike are depending on Jesse to get them help. Anyone who thinks they wouldnt kill Jesse is simply wrong. The ONLY thing keeping Walt and Jesse alive for the past 2 seasons was Gus's need of them for business reasons. Once Gus doesnt need them, of course he would kill them. The idea that Gus would kill an entire cartel and not try to kill Jesse is laughable.
Mike was NOT aiming at Jesse. He was simply in the process of raising his gun to provide cover for him as Jesse made his way from the drivers side to the passengers side. Jesse also had his gun raised as both him and Mike were being cautious regarding any additional henchmen of Don Eladio's.
If you pay attention carefully you will see Mike is aiming his gun at the Hacienda's entrance.
There is no sense in killing Jesse. Walt yes but Jesse no. Jesse is Gus' future cook. Having Jesse in his corner allows Gus to get rid of both Walt and Hank. Gus has worked all season to earn Jesse's loyalty for that specific purpose.
I think both Esposito and Banks are top tier actors. Of course no one can know their true intent except for the creators of the show — but as the great actors that they are, they appear to be performing as men that are developing an admiration for Jesse, and are starting to see him as an asset — not as men who are trying to make him think they need him, so they can fiund the right moment to kill him. Actually, the latter makes no sense at all. What are they gaining by killing him. Jesse was "one of the team" while in Mexico.
1. Mike will die in Mexico, and the necklace will some how be traced back to the don.
2. Jesse will see how cold Gus is when they leave Mikes body behind on their way back. This will play into Jesse's choice in killing Gus at some point in the future.
3. Don't know if this as be mentioned I haven't read every comment, but to me it looked like Mike may have been about to shoot Jesse as he was getting in the car right before he got shot. The way he swung around after Jesse turned his back looked a bit out of place to me. Perhaps Mike will tell Jesse on their return trip before he dies from the gunshot, leading Jesse to kill Gus.
4. Far out idea… Gus and Mike both die, Jesse will be stuck in Mexico for a while and thus Walt will regain importance.
I honestly think that Gus and Mike are starting to respect Jesse. Mike's line to him said it all: "I promise you this. Either we're all going home, or none of us are." If that's not a solid statement of Mike and Gus' want and need for Jesse, I don't know what is. And my wife had wondered why Jesse just didn't kill Mike and Gus while in the car, it would have been easy: Mike was shot a number of times and Gus was too weak from the poison to fight back. I honestly think that Jesse is happy being part of the gang, because at least they show him the respect that Walt, and practically ever other character on this show has never shown him, not even Jesse's own family. Jesse has proven his worth, and the scene where they are at the cartel's lab, Gus had the look of a proud father on his face when Jesse took charge. Gus has proven that he is not the type of man to keep dead weight around just to tie a few loose ends. Look at how he killed Victor just for showing his face, no rhyme, no reason, just offed him. It even surprised Mike and Victor himself, because during that scene, I thought Gus was ready to kill Walt or Jesse. Jesse has proven his worth, and Gus knows how valuable he is.
Yeah, this episode really showed just how far Gus is willing to go and how calm he can be while doing it. Excellent review. You picked up on so many of the nuances of the show.