Lurker > SovietOmega

Yeah...now that the show's biggest secret is starting to see the light of day, I bet things are gonna be moving at a frantic pace from here on out.

Walt tries to get to Skyler, but Hank gets to her first, meeting her at a diner. She knows what she's done so is a little reluctant to immediately throw Walt under the bus. I like how Hank's so laser focused on Walt's crimes that the possibility that Skyler might have something to hide is completely outside his considerations.

I was enjoying Marie's little game of 'when did you know' with Skyler as she progressively was moving back through the timeline. Then she went and slapped Skyler and tried to abduct the baby. That Marie, always trying to steal things, am I right?

34, 59, 20, 106, 36, 52 lookie here, numbers! Lat and Long, I'm guessing? Or maybe a smoke monster's gonna appear soon. Walt was dead the whole time!

Thankfully Walt fell down unconscious, or else we might have been forced to see his ding dong. Did he overexert himself, or is this merely the ol' cancer striking out?

Lydia seems to be making some friends too, filling us in on the meth world now that everyone we care about has left it. So these chumps tried Todd for a bit before casting him aside, not caring about quality of product. It seems the golden age of meth is truly at an end...

Hank goes back to work, and idk if this guy's been in a shot before or not but in the scene strolling around his workplace, there's this guy in the foreground with a mustache that looks like it has two mustaches glued to either end as if he were some kind of walrus. What is this guy's story?

I like the rapport these two police goofballs have with each other as they poke at Jesse's actions. Naturally, Hank finds wind of the money situation and finds his way there too, roping them into letting him spend a few minutes alone with Jesse in the interrogation room. The episode comes to an end, but I doubt this will be ending well.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Crystal blue persuasion was neat, but I can't say I'm much of a montage guy.

Mmm...I see we're in futureland again with this new half season's opening scene. It...feels like Walt's been teleported to some kind of post-apocalyptic future version of his house. I find it hard to believe the place would be trashed like that in, what, a year's time?

Back in the past in a very important bathroom....Hank is definitely stunned, and thankfully decides to stow away the book and cut away asap rather than do any kind of confrontation. I imagine once he's got time to collect more dots and build a stronger case the confrontation will happen. I'm gonna hazard a guess that it takes about 40 minutes :p

Absolutely fun little touch with the 'hello carol' at the end of this scene, a nice counterpoint to the opening's greeting.

Lydia at the car wash...she's not having a very A1 day it seems.

Hank's doing well it seems. Quite an interesting loophole he's jumping through here. He's not allowed to work on blue meth cases at work, so instead he's not working and working on blue cases at home. I doubt his superiors would see it this way, but Hank knows he's onto something, just needs to make the right connections to make his stance irrefutable.

That's some Shraderbrau logo he's got going on too. Interestingly enough, apparently last year Dean Norris turned this thing into a legit real thing people can buy. Or could, seems to be out of stock at the place I looked. Still, crazy that it even was made at all.

Huh...I did not expect to see some of the philosophical ramifications of Star Trek style transporters on this, let alone any other, show. Usually this is the kind of things you see on nerdy blogs and forum discussions. I guess these druggie friends of Jesse are good for something after all.

Fuck...I am absolutely loving this stupid pie eating episode discussion. Beaming the food out from Chekov's stomach <3

...and then he has to go a step to far and mess it all up :(

Walt and Jesse sure do love having these moments together where they talk about people dying and how much of a gosh darn shame that is. Walt's doing an inspiring job of pretending he didn't kill Mike. He really needs Jesse to believe him.

This show's not afraid to force the most absurd of circumstances to progress the plot. It was bad enough that Hank juuuust happened upon the book which juuuust happened to have some words in it that set his mind spinning, but here we have Walt juuuust so happening to be sick enough to face the toilet and notice the book being missing. Naturally, now Walt is zeroing in on Hank's zeroing in.

And finds a tracker on his car. The battle has already begun without us even knowing it. I feel like this would have been a perfect episode end, yet this thing keeps trucking along, still got 10 minutes.

Wherein Jesse goes full Santa Claus with his money.

Reeeeally bizarre scene with Walt and Hank in the garage...both of them carrying on a normal conversation, but both of them are also pretty sure that the other person's got secrets they're hiding, so every look they give and action they take has to be taken with this in mind.

...and then Walt walks up to Hank asking about the GPS tracker. Hank closes the garage door. If this were a game, I imagine boss music would start to play.

And then the scene gets a little punchy, but a lot talky, far more talky than I imagined. Different than I imagined it would go down, but no less satisfying. Hank can surely stop Walt, but Walt is out of the game and is not long for this world regardless, so what justice can really be done under these circumstances?

And there are still 7 episodes remaining.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Man, this takes me back.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

So Walt's teaming up with Lydia...it does make a kind of sense, although the web of characters is starting to run mighty thin at this point. There's only so much stretching one can do, and Lydia's surely it.

"Wackin Bin Laden wasn't this complicated" says a guy commenting about how difficult it is to kill all the people within two minutes across three prisons. Of note, the year this episode is supposed to take place in is late 2009/early 2010 wherein Osama was still alive, and would be until May 2011. Admittedly, if I didn't go into the show knowing there were small temporal inconsistencies like this, it would have glided over my head. Also helps that wikis exist to detail what dates all the episodes would roughly take place in. That said, Walt did have a birthday recently and he was 50 in 2008, so even a casual viewer could have reasonably caught it. I'd rather stop rambling about this minor detail and get back to the action though, so I shall.

...and quite a bit of action it is. The stabs-per-episode metric is gonna look like something you could stab someone with after this is all said and done. Classy music choice to boot!

So I'm sitting here watching Hank pour out some drinks, shook up by the recent prison killings no doubt, and it just hits me that the actor is really flippin' amazing at being Hank, as he limps his way over to being in a chair. Even now he's still demonstrating that he is ever so slowly recovering. It boggles my mind how this show can manage to be both real and unreal at the same time.

I feel like part of this conversation between Walt and Jesse about their old RV life is to answer questions uberfans had about why they didn't just buy a better RV since they had money. 'Inertia' apparently. It is a property of matter, and Jesse and Walt are both made of matter, so it checks out.

Oh no...nonono....what are you doing to your audience show. THAT is what you're gonna leave people hanging on?! It is the most absurd of chance happenstance, but the deed has been done. Hank's brain is now spinning and thinking about W.W. as our main guy Walter White. This is where this half of the season ends, and I would have been blissfully unaware of such were it not for people suggesting otherwise XD

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Good to hear they're good, but then I'd expect them to be given they're the what...mid-season finale?

Pitch perfect opening scene right here. "You're Heisenberg" "You're goddamn right!"

Some kooky camera angles with these safety deposit boxes. Scene's nice though. List is no longer much of an issue, and the show is free now to work on other loose ends.

Mike really does seem to be cutting himself out of the picture though...quite the bittersweet moment as he tosses his guns away and parks his car. Though, I admire his balls to be watching some old movie/show on his tv that seems to have involved some kind of cop on cop murder...as a room full of cops scour his abode for contraband.

Jesse and Walt have what seems to be one last quarrel, and against all odds, not that it was hard to see coming, but Jesse is out. Even as far as to let the money go. Walt really isn't much of a people person, so it was only a matter of time before people stopped buying into his reasoning.

Hank gets a slap on the wrist and a warning that if he continues to do the right thing there will be consequences. Naturally, he continues to follow his instincts, which have been solid thus far.

Walt, meanwhile, has found a rebound lov....assistant... and is now training Todd in the ways of meth.

Hah, Gomey's smile looking in the door of that bank room. "Hey"

And pretty much none of that matters once Walt confronts Mike about the 9 names. His own ineptitude bites him as he's forced to grapple with the fact that Lydia had the names as well. Some standout scenery for the final bit at the end too.

RIP Mike, you were too good for this show. :'(

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Ah! Thought I had seen him in something before. Definitely a solid Black Mirror ep that one was, but then I'm also a fan of pretty much anything star trek or star trek adjacent.

But that's all sci-fi stuff, time to get back to our realistic show about ordinary everyday people who forge drug empires and sometimes rob trains when they're bored. They're also really really skilled at getting things to fit into white barrels to make them disappear, they're basically magicians.

So the issue this time around is that Jesse and Mike wanna make an exit from the meth business, but Walt is being a whiny baby about it, dollar signs in his eyes. Please...if I could make 5 million to not work, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, it solves too many problems and we can't have that in our high stakes drug show.

Jesse tries to talk sense into Walt, but Walt's boldly proclaiming he's in the empire business. He's a lost cause at this point, I think Mike's the only one I'm rooting for now XD

Super awkward dinner with Jesse, Walt, and Skyler, but what else could one expect? Although, once Skyler excuses herself, Walt does offer at least one half-sensible reason for wanting to continue the meth trade, it being all he has left of his shell of a life. It's still a pretty piss poor excuse as $5 million could buy a heck of a lot of new life potential, but it's what he's sticking to, and he's still technically the protagonist of this show so his opinion carries a lot of weight.

Mike you fool...you're better than this! Leaving Walt alone and conscious in a room full of atoms! Don't you know he's a chemistry wizard! I'm a little suspicious as to the plausibility of Walt's escape method, but that's the lesser offense here really...

Saul works the system for Mike, buys him 24 hours which would normally be enough, but Walt has other ideas. It's ok though because Walt's got a Plan. Pretty ominous way to end the episode, it better be a really good plan!


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Bikeriding kid stops to pick up a bigass spider in a jar before riding off. The opening then plays afterward, as if to assure me 'no, you are still watching the right show, this will all make sense later, maybe'.

Walt's turned into quite the master spy, hasn't he. Fools Hank and then bugs the heck out of Hank's new office in record time.

And it all ties into the plan to deal with Lydia. Which the plot conveniently saves so that she can turn our protagonists into train robbers. I am surprisingly down for this turn of events.

Granted, this also means I am forced to acknowledge that Jesse has morphed into some kind of ideas man. Does doing meth make you smarter?

And now that they're talking about their ambitious 'replace macguffin with equal weight in water' plan, my mind is already spinning with potential complications.

"Out burying bodies?" "Robbing a train" The blunt delivery is exceptional!

Front cam of the train approaching reminds me of some relaxing youtube vids I've seen that are like 10 hours long and nothing but the front end footage of a train going about its business. Think they were mostly nordic trains. Good stuff.

There is an impressive amount of gadget porn going on right now, and I could not be more happier about it <3

aaaaaand there's the rub...a Good Samaritan out of the blue. Don't you just hate it when nice people appear in your bad people show?

And then the secondary rub...the robbery goes off, but a nosy kid saw too much and got some lead in return. I was kinda feeling that'd be up this show's sleeve, but the industrial machinery porn and random nice guy threw me off the scent. I imagine Jesse's not gonna be a happy camper since part of his larger motivation in this is that he sided with the people that didn't try to do murders on kids.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I was waiting for S2 of Ascendance of a Bookworn to finish before I dived into the show. I knew it was right up my alley going into it...I'm a sucker for shows/novels that use knowledge from our world to affect other worlds.

That said, I'm on episode 4 now, and just got a glance at the alphabet in full, leading me to realize that her name is not technically Myne, but Main (which definitely better matches better with the letters shown in earlier episodes). Then I read about how this was changed to avoid confusion and had a good chuckle.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Selling a car for $50...I guess considering the 'deer' it hit a few months back and all the other things it's gone through, it's for the best...although suspiciously he makes this call when he puts the hat on. Is that hat some kind of parasite taking over Walt's body?

The show then proceeds to drop some funky beats as Walt and Jr. try out some rides. Breaks my immersion some, as it didn't really seem to jive with the tone the show usually aspires to.

Oh snap, lemon and stevia water lady works at Madrigal.

Oh no...they're offering Hank a promotion. He has so much to live for though :(

And then Skyler goes and turns Walt's birthday bash into a pool party for...reasons? I just don't know about this show sometimes.

"What are you waiting for?" "For the cancer to come back" Now THAT's a prime drama bombshell right there. Would have been happy if the episode ended right there, but there's still a surprising amount of time remaining.

Mike has reservations about working with a lunatic. Mike is blissfully unaware of what show he is a part of.

Walt apparently has some plan to deal with Lydia, but since we are given no details, it will probably function as intended next episode.

Walt gets a watch. I remember once eons ago I owned a watch. Then I got a cell phone.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I really like Mike's stake in this by the way...super plausible that he's need some quick and high profit means of generating cash to pay people who lost their money to the DEA seizing the funds. Walt needs to pay back what he owes Jesse, and Jesse just needs to not fuck everything up somehow.

Shopping around for a meth lab seems like it's pretty hard...all kinds of variables can get in the way like there being food or people or even something as seemingly minor as too much humidity. Walt's bug bomb'd house idea is just crazy enough to have potential, though it doesn't feel particularly long term, as eventually something would have to give. Either a component is left behind or someone sees something or something valuable is broken accidentally. So many ways for things to go wrong...makes me wish I had some popcorn.

It's weeeeeeird seeing Jesse act friendly towards Walt...offering him a beer and letting him stay over along with whatsherface and poisonkid. I get their relation's reset now that the machinations of Gus are done (and by extension, Walt's), but it still feels like I'm glancing at a parallel universe as just episodes ago, Jesse was beating up Walt and had him down the barrel of a gun.

Also love that Jesse remembers his time in Mexico, specifically that clean hospital tent.

So from the RV to Gus' lab to...'Vamanos Pest'. We truly are in a new era. It's...kinda like the merger of the two actually. The cramped space of the RV mixed with some equipment elements from the lab, with plenty of extra considerations on top due to the unique way this is functioning.

Walt giving Jesse life advice about keeping secrets and how they form barriers. I feel like he is simultaneously the most qualified and least qualified to give Jesse this speech given what he did to Brock.

Ooooh...Marie with the date deets. Walt was turing 50 when the cancer bomb hit, and now we hear he's almost 51. So that puts the beginning-of-the-season scene of him turning 52 about a year from the show presently.

"Everyone dies in this movie, don't they?" I'm...hoping this isn't foreshadowing?

Fuck you Walt. Mr. 'we gotta do all of the things to keep the cops from finding out about us' is struggling to accept Mike's legacy pay that will do the thing to keep the cops from finding out about them. He caves eventually, but not without making a stink about it. Whole scene with their money piles being shrunk down by expenses was visually awesome though. Even with their profits there's a great deal of loss.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Quite a lot of discussion about what *is* a season. Didn't realize it had such a gap...I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

This episode is all about Walt getting back into the meth game. We get to see Madrigal in action, and now that a big German corp is involved, I'm expecting some fun times. It's a way to raise the stakes while still keeping things on a more local and manageable level.

Whole lot of Mike in the back half of the episode too...that chick he was in the diner with, not to mention that list of 11 people. The little sit-down he had with Hank was gold.

Lots of wheels starting to spin, I've got high expectations given the seasons that came before.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

In a diner this new season starts, and Walt is 52 and more importantly...with hair.

I guess that's gonna be a future thing then, I just assume he singularly contacted the 'make me disappear' guy and got a new identity and we'd be starting fresh. Guess we gotta work up to that.

So Walt's in panic mode, and not unjustifiably so either. Good on him thinking about the camera footage...definitely wasn't on my mind, but then I also haven't been living under its watchful eye for a year or so.

"What about a magnet" I want to say that's less reliable than people think, or at least not without extra powerful neodymium magnets. Better hope rich man Gus didn't go for an SSD, although even for him the sizes were much smaller back a decade ago.

Still, I'm digging how they've got Mike roped into this whole ordeal. Could see a lot of fun with this dynamic should the show carry it on for a while.

The problem here is that we know the plan they think they have. Because we know this, scene writing dictates that there's going to be some complication introduced because there's a drama quota to keep.

Ahh...the hump...probably gonna impede their escape.

...or getting a bit too greedy with the giant magnet XD

Curious what that new little bit revealed in the damaged frame will lead to. Was that some of Mike/Saul's contacts? I feel like I've seen that before, or something like it. Regardless, it's sure to open up some new leads for the boys to worry about.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Everything's going to heck, but the show still has Walt leave through the glass door...not by opening it, but by the entrance he made.

If you had told me in the beginning how important bell guy was going to turn out to be, I'm not sure I'd have believed it. He was a one note character that got fleshed out and then his arc was supposed to be pretty much concluded with the whole Salud thing. Yet here we have Walt finding out about him and approaching. A plan is being set in motion.

Show even pulls the ol 'no way you're doing this' next scene person is doing it bit with Hank and going to the office. Stakes have never been higher and the show finds time to literally go loony tunes. I love it.

The bomb. Followed immediately by the show trying to fake us out riiiight at the end. Hah. Somehow, Walt managed to pull it off. Poor Gus, his only crime was hogging every scene he was in. He'll probably still manage to do so in death.

Boom goes the lab. Guess now that they've done broke bad they can go clean and have a happy ending now. Yup.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

There was no stopping the episode this time. Jeeze...all kinds of happenings. Jesse finally possibly helping Walt for realsies. Walt cooking up some explosives to finally once and for all deal with Gus. Gus revealing that he's actually got spidey senses and they went all tingly in the car park. A kid was poisoned. A laundry was inspected. Even Saul got pretty spooked.

And this is just the penultimate episode of the season. I was worried 'End Times' was going to be a pretentious title, but it did kinda live up to the name...there's really no going back after this, although there kinda has to be some kind of reset to permit a season 5 to happen, but I can't see how that will happen from here.

Next episode is 'Face Off' so I expect this to be some showdown between Walt and Gus, but the former is in desperation mode while the latter has pretty much held all the cards up to this point...how the devil is Gus expected to be beaten by these chuckleheads?

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Cartel healthcare at work in this episode's opening. Alas, Mike does not pay the doc's salary, so who cares about him, right? One of these weird times when Jesse is definitely in the right by most folk's standards. Though I get the doc's position too...if Gus bites it, they all bite it, so it behooves them to prioritize. Still, surely one of those half dozen medical professionals can spare some moments to set Mike up with basic care.

Which they do, and as the doc talks with Jesse I can't help but warm up to him some as he's well informed as to his potential patient's medical details. I also enjoy the contrast between the absolute slum of a location and the clean white tent set up inside. Exactly what you'd expect to see when hospital care would draw too much attention, but the juxtaposition still amuses me.

Man, Ted keeps being a thing. Just go to prison already dude, I'm trying to watch a drug show here, I don't need your petty sob story here mucking things up! Ok, I admit he's selling himself and his situation well, and if we didn't know how much bs his words were it would be tempting to believe him, but there's only so much smooth talking will do before one has to face the music, and I'm patiently waiting to hear the IRS start the beats flowing.

Haaaaank...stop being such a good cop...I'm getting worried! He's gonna die soon, isn't he. :(

...or Walt could postpone things with some traffic hi-jinks. Not that this will stop Hank one bit, but it does let some more plot happen as we draw closer to the end of the season.

Dang...they properly foreshadowed the tripping on the rug thing too. I just assumed it to be a cute little detail for extra realism, but here we are, poor Ted's gone and added an extra wrinkle in everyone's plans.

Jesse and Walt continue to have beef with each other. All I can think of is the sonic game Jesse and the kid were playing and how it doesn't seem to jive with the words they were saying. 101 backflips? Winning as if it is a competitive game? It was one of the 3D sonics too, so is quite the perfect metaphor for the situation the characters of this show are in as both are hot messes in their own way.

Speaking of hot messes, everything is starting to happen at once and it's as amazing as it is silly.

...it gets sillier.

I...think this show just became a horror story.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

There's been a disturbing lack of Saul recently, and it is a void I only realized was there when I listened to Ted talk with Saul about this curious inheritance with its on-the-dot figure equivalent to how much Ted owes. Both the audience and most of the parties involved in setting this scene up knowing how and why it has to happen make it that much more rewarding.

Meanwhile, Jesse seems to be shining a bit in Mexico. Hope his meth comes out right, although if it even gets to that point there are a thousand complaints he could levy should he choose.

The thought juuuust hit me with Jr. driving to Walt's place that...he just got wheels. Hank needs wheels. Hank knows Jr. is not a great choice but is eager enough to let details like that slide. That's...probably gonna end ok, but will sure drive Walt batty.

Speaking of Walt, it's a bit awkward having him sit here in his underwear talking to his son. Although with Walt calling Jr. Jesse, who knows what kind of conversation he thinks he was having.

Ted thing's getting a bit silly now. He accepts the money...then goes and buys a car. Wut.

Don Eladio's place doesn't seem like it's changed much in the last, what...20 years or so? Dude knows how to throw a party though, once business is done. Second I saw that bottle, I figured Gus was doing that thing Walt and Jesse have been continually failing to do to him, except this time successfully. Was worried when he drank it, but bathroom scene made it clear that he accounted for that. At least, mostly accounted for...he's definitely seen better days. Hilariously Jesse is now in a position to keep his life safe. This might be the best chance Jesse has of taking them out and assuming control. He'd just need to figure out some way to get back home.

But man, it got real real fast there. The Don is dead, now the cartel won't be much of an influence anymore...which just leaves Hank as the primary threat left.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

There wasn't much to say about this next episode...whole lot of little issues like the Ted tax audit thing or the Cartel making yet another statement or the looming threat of Hank zeroing in more on Gus' operation. All good stuff in how it played out, but none of it was particularly exceptional (excepting Gus' badass walk towards the gunman).

Then the last few minutes happened and Walt and Jesse got into a marital dispute. Weird situation where they're both kinda in the wrong and kinda in the right with their actions. Situations remain tense and I'm not really sure what to expect from them going forward. So much on again off again with those two, but they truly do deserve each other.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

If I were making a serious attempt to analyze Walt's character, his speech here at the hospital to the newbie cancer patient about always being in charge is likely a prime motivator behind a lot of his oddball actions, misguided though a lot of them may be.

Loved the cop meeting with Gus...such a smooth way Gus glides through the questions, even Hank's curveball. All sounds pretty plausible, and Gus is wealthy enough to earn a measure of implicit trust, not to mention all the charitable acts he does for the department and misc places.

Hank trying to get Walt to put a GPS tracker on Gus' vehicle. Then Mike just casually rolls up, just that extra bit of spice that turns this situation from awkward to hilarious and suspenseful at the same time. Gus continues to be one step of the game though, and I appreciate him all the more for it. It will make his eventual downfall that much more rewarding.

Some interesting machinations in the works as Mike is briefing Gus on the situation. You got the Hank side of things and the Cartel side of things, either one alone is no big deal, but put together and magic is likely to happen. Since that is clearly the most interesting result, I'm eagerly anticipating this perfect storm.

Gus meets with Hector and we're treated to a scene in the past and in Mexico, if I'm reading the situation and the lens film right.

...and then that whole scene plays out. Damn, that was some lovely backstory. It makes learning about the 'chicken brothers' story about the restaurant that much more chilling. I get the feeling that if bombshells like this are dropping, some huge upheaval can't be too far off.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Yeah, it let Jesse shine, not gonna take that away from him, Tucker digging was great.

Meanwhile, here in episode 7, Walt is joyriding in his son's formerly gifted car and trying to hire a hitman. I want Walt to do rational things, but I've a feeling that ship has sailed and what we'll be getting these days will be irrational anger and frustration with a thin rational coat of paint.

I appreciate how Gus let's Jesse's memory work for him. Gus said that he 'likes to think he sees things in people' which was a very nice nonanswer to Jesse's question. Here, we see Jesse say that 'he says he sees something in me'. I mean, sure, that was the implication...but that was definitely not what was actually said. Admittedly, Jesse's no lawyer or particularly given to logic, so I'm not gonna grill him too hard, but moments like these exemplify what his character is.

This show sure likes to do slightly unconventional shots. I've seen some fun car angles in some scenes, and here in the lab is no different with a camera stuck up in a plastic tube connected to some metal nozzle doohickey that kickstarts the scene so that we see Walt's face as he works the machine. Just a little touch that helps make the show what it is.

So Gus is having something of an important meeting with a representative of the cartel. It's fun how much mileage the show gets out of this chicken coop pavilion.

Hah. Such a long winding tale Hank gets to tell, and the natural reaction was to dismiss it as reaching, but then he goes the extra miile and magic's up a fingerprint. Remind me never to do any crimes in his vicinity. Also, gotta mention that Hank's actor does a killer job pretending to struggle to walk.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Truck robber people are learning from their mistakes?

Can't say I care much for Skyler as a character, but she is quick to pick up on Walt's answering machine message and dinner-at-Hank's conversation being related.

"I am the danger" Walt's so cute when he's trying to be badass.

Ahh...and here we go, Jr.'s been bought a car, a fancy pants car too. How deep will the money river flow?

"This whole thing, all of this, it's all about me!" Very true, but disturbing all the same the way Walt's brain is working. Then 'drama minute' ends and they walk to work like every other normal schlub.

...and afterward Walt bribes some spanish speaking ladies to clean his lab for him. The list of his sins grows longer each day.

Wacky little game Skyler plays with a coin at that four corners monument. Bet that got some traffic after this.

Methhead house with Tucker was nice...while I'm annoyed at Jesse's impatience, it is part of his character and it works to good effect here. Time after time he gets in over his head and only just barely squeaks by.

Skyler and Walt end the episode with a chat about protecting the family. Makes sense that a flashy car goes against The Story (tm), but Walt's money's gotta be spent somehow right? Can't have a downfall if you don't fall down.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

just gonna give this a little bump, been busy this weekend and havent been able to spare much time to sit down and give this show the attention it deserves.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I feel sorry for Mike having to endure Jesse like that for a day. Thankfully he's a tough enough character to not let that get to his professionalism too much. Some interesting filming of the scenery here. Interesting to note that not even Mike knows why Jesse is there. It seems like insurance against desperate Walt actions, but it is hard to nail that as a definitive reason.

That's some PG sex that Walt and Skyler have after she plays back his frantic car drive 'probably gonna die today, better tell my family I love them' message. Right after Skyler was talking about no more secrets. Seems Walt somehow manages to squeak by this time...and that's not the only thing that was squeaking *wink*.

Ah...Gus did a clever thing. Thought when it went down it was a 'these goons gonna off Jesse' kind of thing, but it was rather quite the opposite. Interesting that Gus is going for a carrot and not a stick, but it does make sense.

Skyler with the Encyclopedia Brown name drop...now that's a book series I haven't thought of in a long long while. Used to love those as a kid. Damn, I'm getting old. :(

What are you doing Walt....stop suggesting the great Heisenberg that Hank thinks Gale to be is actually some other mysterious unknown actor! Is the start of your downfall really going to be one-too-many glasses of wine? Well...ok, the start of your downfall was 'hey Jesse, let's go cook meth in an RV, it'll be fun!', but still.

"Since when do vegans eat fried chicken?" Dun dun duuuuuuuun!


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

The past few years I've had some pals who have talked about new webtoon chapters. I tended to zone what they said out, or temporarily deafened myself so as not to be spoiled, as it did seem like something I'd be interested in checking out.

The style webtoons are presented in is a bit off-putting to me though. Same issue I have with a fair number of manga. I much rather prefer animation on a screen.

That said, I also know this thing has a considerable amount of material to work with, so will have to wait approximately one One Piece series to get the full meal deal. Apparently this anime is currently an appetizer at best.

My plan has been to wait for this season to finish before consuming it.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

This story thing with Walt and Skyler....love how she's trying to micro every tiny detail, and that Walt is understandably putting up resistance. And it is impossible to forget that this lighthearted moment has Walt's work environment lurking just out of sight, always ready to introduce new complications. So of course Walt is annoyed at this, he's kind of got bigger chicken to fry.

...although even the darker half of this show isn't afraid to get silly like this Gale music video, wtf XD

Lovin' his notebook too. What a nerd. I bet there's all kinds of goodies here for people who pause and examine everything frame by frame. Just poking at it I saw support for Ron Paul and a fun Far Side comic. Brilliant how they handle the notice of W. W. dedication in the notes too.

Jesse's been on a rollercoaster of a ride as to his character's worth....here we take a new dip as he essentially shoves Walt away for daring to try and help him escape punishment. He's quite content to live a fantasy life wherein his consequences will not come back to bite him. I mean, so is Walt when you get down to it, but at least Walt has the decency to be grumpy and concerned about it. Walt ultimately knows he's on borrowed time thanks to the cancer, what's Jesse's excuse?

Stuff happens...at this rate, Walt breaking into Jesse's home is gonna be a running gag.

Episode just kinda....ends. Where Jesse is going is certainly an unknown, but that's quite the abrupt stopping point. No resolution to much of anything, just more questions. Which is fine, this show by no means has to adhere to neat and tidy episode formats. I wish I cared more what happened to Jesse, but at this point he doesn't seem to care much what happens to himself, and it's quite hard to feel sorry for that kind of character.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Now there's a camera. Walt's been planning a revolution too. He just needs to get in contact with the resistance and surely then Big Brother can be toppled. Or maybe this is still a story about an illegal meth lab and not a cautionary tale about an oppressive government.

You know, this Marie scene with her in full lie mode while viewing this spacious house has me realizing that I think this is the first time she's been in a scene by herself. Every other scene I can think of has always been in relation to another character, usually Hank or Skyler.

Seems Walt and Skyler really are going to pursue this car wash purchase, although I'm with Saul on this one...how ya gonna do it without someone getting the short end of the stick?

Marie continues to do the lying thing. How the devil did Hank marry this crazy person? Or was this a post-marriage development?

Back on the other married couple, they did it. Celebrate with $320 champagne. Feels a little silly for Skyler to complain about how they're supposed to be broke and they just...bought a car wash. I severely doubt a little bit of money is gonna turn heads, especially when it can easily be rationalized by the anticipation of future profits. Not that car washes are known to be exceptionally lucrative, but point is they should be not broke very quick.

Episode ends with Hank doing some light bedtime reading. I guess he's gonna have to be roped back in to antagonizing Walt now that the Gus situation has reached a stable point for now.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

That scene and the resulting new normal was definitely like a gut punch that I was feeling for hours after viewing it. Not many shows get to me like that. Just them casually sweeping the blood away knowing that every move they take now is done with a guillotine above their heads just begging for any tiny reason to drop. They made a power play, and even in victory, they still lost.

Walt buys a gun 'for defense'. I doubt it will be the winning move, but it might help along the way, probably a good buy. Really, it is only because this is Walt we're talking about here that I have some reservations.

Hah, the stoners are talking video games, and not in the dumb way you usually see video games represented in tv shows. I mean, it's mostly just zombie talk, but I'm willing to bet that the writers have played the games mentioned or at the very least did enough research to back up stoner talk about them.

Yeah, here's that pizza conversation 'justifying' the pizza being left uncut. Honestly? I kind of like the idea of you cutting out the slices you want, as pizza places often are super sloppy with their cutting.

Little chat with Andrea...might or might not see her character again here now that the loose ends around her have been resolved.

A little curious what Hank wants with all these mineral rocks. Show's been teasing them for a while now. Just a passive interest, or something more?

$20 million for the car wash. Maybe laser tag isn't so bad now. Amusing to see a S1 action come back to haunt Walt...without him even knowing it even. No amount of Skyler machinations will fix this.

Anyone else pause to read the fast scrolling crawl on the Saul ad that plays here? Turned out to be what you'd expect it to be, no hidden messages here, but it's cute knowing that Saul's still doing his scummy lawyer antics.

Walt tries to turn Mike to his cause, to no avail. Mike is Mike...he makes it plenty clear he's not Walt's pal and in a heartbeat would take Walt out if needed. Not so antagonistic that he wouldn't offer some casual advice, but Walt's not getting a quick fix out of this pickle he's dug himself into.

Looks like we're in for a "Jesse's gone deaf" arc with how this episode ends. Just hire some cleaners or something dude, you got the money! Buy some more friends too. C'mon, money can buy anything!

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I too played when younger, though never with any particular skill. I knew some of the basic openings and some of the things to avoid though. I've thought about diving back in, but while I admire chess and the skill one can have with it, I'm content to stay largely on the sidelines.

As far as seeing more, I imagine chess puzzles might help train your brain to consider a broader assortment of options more quickly. I imagine reviewing some classic games move by move might help too, although high level play might not suit whatever tier you're currently in.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Ooh...Gale and meth lab origin story. Even see him vouching for Walt without knowing the guy. Have I mentioned how great Gale is? His cadence reminds me of Dr. Phlox from Star Trek Enterprise. I just love listening to him talk, you know?

But none of that matters anymore unless Gale had a master tier slap-on wound to fool people with. Show did go out of its way to tease the heck out of the 'is he really dead' moment, but it does seem that he is dead for good. Surprisingly, the situation back at the lab remains as tense as it did before Walt's backup plan sprang into action. Heck, might be even more tense now since they've gone and shaken the hornet's nest.

I think I could have lived a good life not having seen the bedpan scene with Hank. At least they've got the decency to go to a new scene quickly rather than linger. It's a great scene for establishing his condition, but like...did I really need to see them go as far as they did with it? I miss Action Hank. Mopey Disabled Hank just isn't the same.

Oh heck, the cake wasn't a gut thing, THIS is what it was. The separation of his top and bottom through this paralysis. Going back and looking at an image of that cake, it looks suspiciously like a parking lot too. The only flaw is that Cake Hank has a gun whereas Real Hank didn't.

Gus scene. I mean, I could say words, but Gus said it best: "Well, get back to work". chills go down spine

I'm...still watching the same show right? The characters are looking the same, but wtf is going on? It's like the show's flipped a switch in my gut. I suppose it's the looming threat of Gus and doom hovering over Walt and Jesse with all sorts of red imagery and zero humor all of a sudden. Shit just got real. If the season continues like this, sign me up!


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Heleon for Flying for either helium or helicopter, whatever works best
Molteon for bug regardless of the fact that not all bugs molt and not all things that molt are bugs. I say it works because come on, Jolteon exists let me have this.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Younger Walt and Skyler house buying scene. Nowhere to go but up. The writer's irony game is on point.

Jeeze...I try to hold off on commenting while watching for maximum viewing impact, but then whatshisname has to go and be all badass with some balloons and a gun. Screw Walt and Saul, THIS is the guy we need a show about!

Mike, his name is Mike.

Pretty obvious the second Gale existed what his true purpose was, but watching Team Walt realize what needs to be done and hide away from Team Gus is great entertainment. Even Saul gets some fun with a false address.

Watching the scene with Walt spending time with his daughter is a treat. It's just a normal moment, but you further know all the events surrounding said moment and what is moments from coming to pass. The calm before the storm.

In a twist that caught me off guard...right before Walt could enact his plan to kill Gale, he's taken out behind the barn to be shot. Amazingly, he's got a counterplan ready to go without hesitation. Jesse's gonna be the one that needs to kill Gale.

Yet, we know that compared to Walt, Jesse will hesitate. Season ends with him angling the gun away a bit and firing. I honestly don't know how this will turn out and I bet people were raging at having to wait more than a day to see what nonsense results.

Definitely a high octane episode. Very little about the cooking of the meth, all about the business model and the machinations of key players. Beautiful stuff. I guess when you take Hank out of the picture, it naturally leads to in-fighting among the criminal elements.

I wonder how it would have ended if it had not been renewed for a new season. Would Walt have died here and the Gus empire rise to higher highs? In this regard, viewing late sucks some of the tension away as I know there will be two more seasons remaining, and Jesse sure as heck can't carry them himself. Still, the events were highly entertaining regardless.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

With the next two episodes being called 'Half Measure' and 'Full Measure', I gather this is a two-parter, or at the very least thematically connected. Probably best if I plow through them one after another then.

Interesting how Jesse's murder plan to get back at the murder of one of his druggie family members is essentially the same kind of plan the Mexican cartel used to try and get vengeance for Tuco. Violence breeds violence, and Walt has enough sense to see that it is wrong when Jesse tries to sell him on it. I'm tentatively on Walt's side here as self defense is a legitimate claim that can be made, but I've also seen enough of this show to know everyone is basically some breed of scum and all of their sides are colored by their biases. Still, murder is generally bad, so Walt is less wrong here.

So the plan looks like it's to get Jesse arrested, but just for a bit. A month in jail to stop him from being a whiny baby. I...can't see this going well for any party involved. Not even with the great wizard Saul backing Walt up. I foresee a huge stack of dominoes falling in the next hour or two of viewing time.

Interesting scene with Jesse and Wendy, it's a lovely shade of green they have filtering into the room. Dunno what that signifies, if anything, but it certainly feels like a meaningful cinematic choice.

"I chose a half measure when I should have gone all the way" well that explains the titles, welp.

Even when you're dealing in illegal goods, especially when you're dealing in illegal goods, diplomacy is a highly desirable art and Gus seems to have a commanding personality for it. For now, the Jesse/kid-users situation seems to be resolved, but invariably something is gonna happen regardless, I can feel it. Even with Gus' presence, there's only so much give to a situation before it breaks.

...ok, so called it on that. Death of the kid drove sent Jesse into motion. Didn't expect Walt to suddenly go Full Measure on the two punks though. WHAM came out of nowhere XD

And now I have no idea wtf is even gonna happen with this show, and there's still an episode left of the season. What normal can they possibly hope to return to?


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Speaking of Jane, we get a little past scene with her and Jesse visiting that art gallery that was hyped up last season. The reality was several flavors of door and a hammering home of how thick Jesse can be regarding other people's worldviews.

He's further convinced that it is just a lack of his friend's skills that are stopping them from selling meth. Obviously Jesse can do much better...dude's got a bad case of the Dunning Kruger effect.

Meanwhile, on the Walt side of the story, Skyler is getting roped deeper into the fold. Makes sense with how number smart she is, although perhaps questionable given the amount of drama that has recently gone on between them. The family chat about Walt Jr.'s car choice was cute...just a normal average family on the surface, but we've seen so much far below this surface that this quaint normalcy can only be seen as a pale imitation. Heck, Walt is earning so much now that he probably will be able to provide the 'stang on top of continuing Hank's bills and anything else, really.

Skyler brings up a supremely valid point. Rather than laser tag...Walt should buy that car wash. Not only is it justifiable to friends and family, it can give some catharsis to us the audience as we remember how Walt was treated by the folks here way back in S1.

Saul also brings up some valid points. Says there's no 'Danny' working at this car wash. No guy willing to trade legality for keeping their business alive. I guess that's valid, but...c'mon Saul, let Walt have this!

Ahahah....Jesse....the girl you're with. Tomas....niiice. Way too coincidental, but that's just how this show rolls.

You know, maybe I'm looking at this Laser Tag/Car Wash thing all wrong. Maybe the solution is 'why not both?'. Laser Tag Car Wash. The Danny can be preserved and we can still get proper closure! How would it work as a business model? Who cares?! Laser. Tag. Car. Wash. Make it happen, show!

Or Skyler could be the Danny and also they're still married. Lawl.

Dunno where this Jesse/Tomas situation will end up, but it's certainly dramatic.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

It took me a little while before I realized what exactly I was going to be in store for. One thing I didn't mention is how sure I felt that Walt was gonna drowsily mention how he was feeling watching Jane die. Except, should that have happened, Jesse would have murdered him in his sleep.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I'm rolling sadly. Why did the DM not give me advantage after my ironclad irrefutable argument?!

Apparently in these crazy modern English times, dice can function both as singular and plural according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Perhaps it is us gfaqs users who need to get with the times.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Leave it to a chemist like Walt to know pretty much every mol of product he's working with and putting out. 0.14% isn't much, but for a small time man like Jesse it's ample profit. I'm more surprised he actually came up with a plausible enough explanation for the missing portion that sent Walt back to calculations.

We've seen Walt face tough gangsters and imminent death by dehydration and all sorts of tense situations, but they all might get beat out by this fly buzzing around his lab. One after another silly decisions are made, resulting in some Tome and Jerry shenanigans.

"So you're chasing a fly, and in your world, I'm the idiot" I mean, when you put it like thaaat...

I can kind of relate to this episode. A year or so back my bedroom got infested with a type of fly. Was in other areas of the house too, but it lingered in my bedroom. Hanging those sticky traps like what Walt and Jesse are doing here as Jesse drugs Walt's coffee with sleeping pills, these sticky traps are one thing that really helped me out big time. That and mesh masks to stop them going up my nose and such when sleeping.

Walt gets a touch philosophical about how the universe is just random chaos. What does it mean for something so coincidental to happen such as meeting the man whose daughter would die the same day? Means the show has writers Walt, sorry, you live in a TV show. But even tossing that aside, every event that ever happens is technically similarly improbable as the particular ones we decide to take special notice of. There is no intrinsic meaning in it, it just is. Humans have been scientifically proven to have a hard time determining what true randomness looks like. To the extent that video games and music shuffle algorithms have to be adjusted to account for our human biases.

It boggles me how even Jesse could possibly conceive of that ladder being safe, even for a moment. Maybe one or two rungs I could buy. But the dude goes and stands on the top. Knowing his only support is Walt who he knows is also going to take a nap any second. If this were done in a non-looney tunes episode, I wouldn't let it slide, but it somehow fits the whole vibe of this episode.

The fly getting got has got to be one of the best fly swats I have ever seen on TV. This whole episode it has been a menace, and there it is, falling down dead in slow motion. Simply marvelous!

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Frick...I want some Los Pollos Hermanos chicken now. They've teased it being good before with characters describing their meal, but now we get an ad for them. Also technically a meth ad by the end there. Is meth really all that bad?

Jesse's understandably upset given the fraction of pay he's getting compared to total profit. However, he does not seem to grasp that what he is getting is better than nothing and this method moves far more than he could hope to achieve normally, with less risk.

What is more important than money Jesse? Family, naturally. It's been an interesting experience watching Jesse drift away from his, while Walt has tried to do the opposite.

Life lessons from Saul...you wanna stay a criminal and not become a convict, launder your money. Seems reasonable to me, but Jesse just doesn't seem to understand. Thinks the whole gosh darn world is unfair and out to get him personally. I almost feel silly for feeling a bit sorry for him just the other episode.

Oh cool, Walt's on the same page as my thoughts as to the true game being played. Gus standing to gain the most from recent events and all. So, only question is how much does Gus feel this information Walt knows is worth?

Or Walt could agree to a yearly salary because he further knows that Gus saved his life so they're on somewhat even terms in that regard.

That does not excuse his sudden decision to play peekaboo with traffic though. Wtf? Even more future money and family security. Let's potentially throw that away by getting in a wreck. I don't follow his logic, if the thoughts running through his head here can even be called such.

This conversation between Skyler and Marie is making me think Skyler's gonna start swiping some of that money for Hank bills. Good thing Walt's gonna be earning a lot more, right?

Oh that's rich XD. Jesse is roping his boys into turning his support group into methheads. While skimming just a small bit from the batches he and Walt make.

Ah...not skimming the money then, that's afterschool special levels of drama, no, she's directly saying they can do it to Marie's face while Walt is present. Makes up some bullshit story about Walt winning money by gambling. Hah!

"It's into seven figures" "Holy mother of God" "What can I say, I did very well" Loving this yarn full of almost truths that are so close yet so far.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Walt's reaching awfully hard to try and spell out why he doesn't want Gale around anymore. Only Jesse will do, who has just been released from the hospital and very conveniently witnessed Hank's admittance to the ER.

Exceptional irony here with Marie blaming Walt and Skyler stating that she's just looking for someone to blame and that it isn't Walt's fault. What isn't Walt's fault in this series? XD

Definitely speaks to Walt's character that when Jesse is just a tiny bit reluctant to start instantly it's all 'we got responsibilities to meet a quota' but when Walt needs family time suddenly that quota can wait.

Surprisingly emotional speech Walt gives Marie and his family about an otherwise normal occurrence. Green lights while going to the hospital. Just the tones and cadence that Walt's actor is able to speak will sells it far more than it has any right to be sold.

I've a hard time buying that a cop will just casually let a civilian go see a murderer like that, inviting them to do so like an excited child no less. It turns into one bigass cop conga line too, lol. Naturally, he's awake enough and crazy enough to spot Walt and crawl towards him with bleeding leg stubs. What could he possibly hope to accomplish with that?

Jesse is perhaps the last person I want in a lab...yet another poor decision brought to you by Walt's brain. I'm so sorry Gale, you really were too perfect for this show. Got a weekly quota of drama to meet and all.

The way this show puts characters together never fails to impress. Not long after a phone call between Walt and Gus, Gus shows up in person at the hospital in the role of food delivery for the cops because he also wears the hat of supporting the DEA. It all logically tracks, but we know what his true motivations are...to let Walt see that he sees Walt. Or perhaps...to deal with that lingering assassin. Dude's quite the multitasker.

Ahh, the plot thickens. Now that Gus feels he has a reliable producer he can cut ties with his Mexican pals and forge his own path. Unfortunately for him, the team he has signed on is Walt and Jesse who produce more pounds of drama than they do meth.

Episode ends with a family meeting around what we can only presume is Hank, the camerawork conspicuously avoids full shots of his head and body, preferring the edges. For all we know the actors were staring at a pineapple.

Quite the emotional rollercoaster, it was all the fallout I was expecting and then some.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Gypsy is a slur? That's a shame. It sounds exotic, whereas Romani just sounds like discount Roman.

Regarding mtg...eh. Pretty sure these were all older cards that aren't legal in any modern format, certainly nothing competitive. If you're playing casually around the table with some friends, it should also be a minor issue at worst. "Check out this card, haha white power" cue a moment or two of banter, then play resumes as usual.

It seems to me like it is only an issue by the type of people who like to make issues out of things.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

"Family" really is a recurring theme on this show. It's Walt's motivation, Jesse's reason for being in his situation, what prompts Tuco's cousins into action, and what drives Hank here to beat the snot out of Jesse.

When confronted about Hank, I like how Walt can legitimately claim that Hank is 'not currently' family. It is technically true, but even still you can see that Walt is still feeling the familial ties, regardless of what he might otherwise say.

Fun little meeting with the two Tuco boys and the pee fetish armsdealer. The vests do indeed work. Thought for a moment they might aim for his head, but then that'd splatter all over the goods and wouldn't be a legitimate test of the vest. They really do like injuring people in trucks, don't they?

One small little number error later and Walt's ready to replace Gale with Jesse. Next he'll be insisting that the lab is too big and start demanding RV sized workspaces. Really, it is a silly situation to begin with...just a touch more communication between Walt and Gale and the situation would resolve itself. Meth can't be that exacting to make, methheads make it all the time! Heck, if Walt were to codify his recipe down, he'd not be needed at all. Admittedly, he probably knows that, but still...there's a clear formulaic way to produce the stuff that could be back-engineered given enough time. Perhaps even...three months time?

Man...the me of like 10 posts ago talking about how he isn't likely to sympathize with ol' druggie Jesse...jeeze. Think I have to revise that with this speech he's giving Walt. Not even 1.5 million dollars is tempting him to have anything to do with Walt because Walt is the primary reason Jesse's life went to pot. Stirring stuff, but Jesse...1.5 million could buy a looot of psychiatric help!

But yeah, Walt's actions coming back to bite him here. Hard to cross bridges when you burn them and all.

Or maybe not that hard...guess all it takes to win back Jesse is to validate his existence a little, huh.

Neat little camera shot suggesting Jesse is at pain level 10. Maybe not physically, but it's gotta be up there mentally/emotionally.

Then the rest of the episode happens. Wasn't gonna be no pausing there. Knew once the badge and gun went away that things weren't gonna look great for Hank. But he did it! Got them both, just barely! He might even live too!

Man...what a great buildup and execution of it all though. The way this show lets a threat like that linger all season and ever so gently pushes them into the sights of their prey is not something many other shows could accomplish. Fantastic through and through, and I bet next episode's gonna be filled with all the fallout this situation causes. Worried family, opponent's next move, etc.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Humanity is my country's biggest threat.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Interesting to see Walt's decision making process at work. He decides flat out that he wants to buy the prototype home rather than look at others. I want to say realistically these aren't put together with the same rigor as a real home would be, although I suppose given Walt's circumstances built-to-last isn't a top priority.

Walt's new lab assistant is an ok sort of bloke. He seems tailor made not to stand out much. Aside from his superb coffee experiment. Leave it to a chemist to make a better brew. "Why the hell are we making meth" truer words...

Some bonding time with him and White too...they seem to get along reasonably well, certainly more than Jesse and Walt ever did. Still waiting for that other shoe to drop.

Hank moving in on the RV situation....knows Jesse has it. Walt leans of this realizing he needs to tell Jesse, but that Jesse's lines might be bugged. Goes through Saul instead. Good thinking on Walt's part, although how he'll dispose of the RV is a mystery. Perhaps he could make use of more thermite? It's what the mythbusters would do.

And heeeere we go. Been waiting a while for these pieces to fall in place together. Wish I had some popcorn. This probably won't be the final showdown, but definitely a prelude of things to come.

Buildup and execution of the scene is fantastic and really makes you wonder how Walt and Jesse will get out of this pickle.

They've got one option...call Saul. The most beautiful aspect of this solution is that causing a wreck is entirely within the scope of what the show's done prior, but it ends up being just a fun little scam.

But booooy do I feel sorry for whoever ends up on the other side of Hank's wrath...superb scene of him busting onto the hospital scene and then Marie calling and him connecting the dots. Intense!

RIP RV Season 1-Season 3 You will be missed. I guess Gus' lab is the way forward after all.

Ahh...Gus you magnificent bastard, getting these two elite goons to go after Hank instead. Neat and tidy and solves most of the problems everyone has that is on the criminal end of the spectrum. I bet he takes one out, but the other gets him.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

It's great that this doesn't even feel like a slump. A bit of a return to normalcy after what last season ramped up to, but a higher high than what season's 2 stretch of blah was.

So the RV was stolen all along eh? That does explain why there was no talk about further payments.

And Gomey is now the one going to Texas. Actions have consequences, sorry Hank.

I really enjoy watching Walt be in his conversationally angry mode. Not hotly raging, but cool and well reasoned, as if all that he says makes sense and all that say otherwise are just not thinking right. Also enjoy any scene Gus is in, so this is particularly satisfying.

This is like Christmas come early for our beloved chemistry nerd. However, he's still reluctant. Gus proceeds to give Walt the ol' "What is a man" speech. A miserable little pile of providing for one's family, apparently. I think it's a neat offer by Gus, but it also feels so very sterile and corporate. Not like the home grown RV cooking that put Walt and his pal on the map. There's no way this actually goes through as intended.

Gomey's cake is cut through the flag. Allusion that he will betray his pals at the DEA? Granted, Hank's cake has so far failed to manifest so who knows. Cake can still just be cake. I wish I had some cake. :(

I find it weird that Skyler is confiding so much to this divorce lady. Not that it is so unfathomable for her character to do it, just that it....it's just weird. Who does this? Does nobody in this town know that the more people know about a secret, the harder that secret is to keep? Hell, Skyler herself knows a thing or two about uncovering secrets. It's rather amusing, and probably something that will come back to bite Walt.

Speaking of coming back, Walt's apparently decided to agree to the Gus lab proposal. Watching him spout off about his formula to Jesse is so silly to watch, it's adorable how possessive he is about his illegal drug formula.

At the end of it all, Hank gets yet another piece of the puzzle needed to solve his case. Suspiciously, what he finds is something that couldn't have existed until this episode which goes out of its way to throw back a sequence of events that Hank could then uncover. Maybe Saul's gonna have to do some legit lawyering soon, that'll be interesting to watch.


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Well, here's the 'getting gas for the RV' scene I wanted, although sans noticing bullet holes. Instead, Jesse's bribing the cashier with meth. Of course a cop happens to walk in for extra tension. Deal is accepted regardless. I bet she gets busted later or OD's.

Walt's not having a good day either with this IFT thing. Just wants to talk to Ted. Yup. Good thing that fixer bald guy shows up to kidnap Walt to help him come to his senses. Really, this guy's one of the most reliable characters. I get in a bind, that's the guy I want at my back!

Saul using colorful euphemisms to describe what Skyler did? Better maul Saul! Geeze, Walt is a very angry guy when he wants to be.

I felt sorry for that box of chemistry stuff the second Walt set it on top of Jesse's car. Destiny slowly conspires to rope them back into the game, but there are some bumps along the way apparently.

Hank seems to think Heisenberg's back, thanks to Mjesse's new batch. Gomey rightly tries to confront Hank about this using logic and reason, but Hank has his mind made up and is having none of it.

Ahh, so Matt was indeed the name and somehow Hank works his police magic to connect this back to the gas station. Poor Cara though, getting grilled like this. She's obviously feeling worked up about the ordeal, Hank could probably use some sensitivity training, would probably help cox out details from people better than his 'Tell me all the things I NEED TO KNOW THEM" approach.

Still, he makes tangible progress, but his boss, who might very well have some turtle dna in him, really wants Hank in El Paso. Ultimately Hank holds firm, forcing turtle boss to let him pursue this blue meth case.

At episode's end, Walt gets a payday. Even doing nothing is something it seems, which will undoubtedly force Walt to get in touch with people who will then be able to cast their nets around him.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I want to say grilled cheese. Technically the cheese is not specified so that can add some variety to spice things up. Knowing it will be perfect is really the selling point here. Anyone can slap together a grilled cheese, sure, but will it be a perfect one?

Besides, nowhere in the rules is it stated that you have to be the one to eat this sandwich. The grilled cheese will have more universal appeal than the other options here, letting you impress gals/friends/your kids/potential employers/secret government research facilities.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Ah, I think I remember the pizza thing I was thinking of. Some years back the current owners of that house were complaining about breaking bad fans throwing pizza on it to imitate the scene. Apparently the owners put up an iron fence to detract would-be tossers.

And yeah, the sliced bit was where the impossibility I was thinking of came into the picture. Has to be a whole pizza which is naturally pretty weird for a pizza place to do.

Heey...it's Danny Trejo...who I did not recognize as Tortuga the first go around. Man, I've really got to get my head in the game.

Back in Waltville, Walt is being such a child going 'nyah nyah nyah you can't make me leave' and is even ok with Skyler calling the police and threatening to tell everything. There is probably some hidden meaning in Walt's address being Negra Arroyo Lane. Black stream...Walter White. Eh...black and white are obvious opposites but that's about the extent I see, or care to see at this time.

Really bizarre scene playing out, I literally don't know what to say. XD

Cartel meeting with Gus at Chicken HQ demonstrated some interesting conflict of interests. Cartel wants vengeance for Tuco, while Gus wants sweet sweet profits.

Jesse continuing to call Jane's voicemail is pretty sad, but I get it. It is the last connection he has with her, the only way to hear her voice again. Hey, remember when we all used to have flip phones like that? Different times, those were.

Getting a little worried about Hank here....what's he trying to prove in this bar? That he's still a tough macho guy?

So...let me get this straight. After Walt goes on about how he didn't steal his money, Skyler decides to get in bed with the guy who is literally stealing money. Her sister steals things, so I guess that's just how her family rolls?

And then she tells Walt about it. I guess now he'll want a divorce and everything will go according to plan for Skyler. Or maybe the beast inside him will finally awaken and he will start earning mad money with Gus.

edit: The episode title is 'I.F.T.' and damned if that doesn't make sense now XD

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Walt's having a fun little drive when a cop pulls him over because that darn windshield is unsafe. Using the flight as an excuse is no excuse. All perfectly reasonable of the cop until Walt decides to escalate things. It goes exactly as you would expect.

As Walt falls, Jesse rises and he seems to be starting down a path of mending some fences with his parents. Heck, one more good drug run and he might just buy the place and surprise them.

Saul has no limits to his scumtastic worldview. Just get a new wife from Thailand or Czech Republic Walt, lawl. Also get back to cooking meth. As part of the viewing audience, I agree with Saul. Didn't start watching this show to watch a middle aged man go through a divorce after all, the viewing public demand meth! Give us meth! We want the meth!

Ok, so, why is there an N64 next to Flynn's monitor that has no controllers or anything identifying it as a nintendo console? More disturbing, why is his computer open on one side? That doesn't seem very safe, especially with it resting on the side of a box. At least his monitor is on fullscreen now, but even that is wrong because it's like suuuuper fullscreen. He's not playing a game, it's just a website. I just want some consistent internet using habits from you show! Is that too much to ask?!

Finally, Flynn has decided he wants to be called Walt Jr. again. Even after he was all 'dad is my hero' he persisted with Flynn. But only juuust now has he decided Walt's a fine name again. It's fine, more of a nitpic than anything, but it just feels a smidge delayed to me.

Great...now Marie is catching a case of the suspicions. This will end well.

The two Mexicans enter an old folks home. Look at bell guy like they know him. I guess these are of a relation to Tuco then? Looking to settle a score with Heisenberg, I wager? But how did they cross from the other universe into this one? Joking aside, they know how to work with this old man, I love it. Now they know his name.

Never cared for Ted, but Skyler connecting the dots between his actions and Walt's is a fun little mental exercise.

Ah, so Jesse is using Saul as a proxy to buy the house. Smart? Nice to be back to some comedy after all the drama going around. "You're not that lawyer on late night television are you?" "Better call Saul! I get it all the time!" Excellent technically true answer.

Oh hey! I've heard about this bit! Throwing the pizza onto the roof. Wasn't there something on how that was physically impossible or something given the angles involved? Or some story about that house being sold and a pizza put on it? Regardless, I remember this being an iconic moment for fans of the show. What a waste of good pizza.

A whole mess of bald people all converge on each other at Walt's place. You can't make this stuff up. Thankfully the bald guy called a bald guy who talked to the just-a-few-millimeteres-from-being-bald guy which lead to the two other bald guys leaving before the main bald guy was done with his shower. The only tell that they were there at all was the plastic eye slightly moved from where Walt had left it.

I bet this will be something that drags Walt back into the meth game.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Season 3 seems to open in a parallel dimension where Earth's sun is more yellow and gravity is so intense people have to crawl around to move anywhere.

I quite like how we the viewer are painfully aware of the sequence of events that lead to that plane crash, how everyone is ultimately connected to everything else.

Walt's feeling some guilt...almost burns the money too before deciding not to be an idiot.

You know, this whole 'Walt moves out' thing might be for the best for him, as that means he's more free to cook without suspicion. It also kinda hilariously parallels Jesse's situation as drugs are ultimately the reason both of them are being kicked away.

Notable that S1 Walt was like "What's the matter, you don't like the crust?" to basement boy, but now here he is obsessively removing the crust. Quite a fine little detail that again underscores the guilt he's feeling.

One history lesson of a speech later and we're back in bizarro world where the Car Tribe who have made Heisenberg their new god (as signified by the opening scene and their ritualistically shaven heads) have donated some of their worldly goods to some local peasants before strolling out to train in 10x Earth gravity for the next martial arts tournament (presumably).

Haven't talked about it yet, but I'm taking a shine to this drug rehabilitation clinic place that Jesse is attending. Great for the character, and it's just got some cool aesthetic design going on too. Really hope it helps Jesse out. Someone needs to make some positive progress on this show.

Beautiful seeing Jesse go the 'what make's you an expert' route not expecting anything substantial and then getting 'I killed my daughter' as an answer. Remember when this was a goofball show about bumbling idiots pretending they could be tough guy drug dealers?

Holy shit...Skyler coming to Walt with divorce papers and then fishing for truth goes "you're a drug dealer" and even more crazy, Walt starts correcting her and admits its meth. Buuut, rather than caring about the truth she decides to use it as leverage to force the divorce. Whew, for a second I thought she was gonna become a good character and I'd have to start paying more attention to her or something.

Meanwhile, Jesse's now back from rehab, possibly even fixed. He's spouting off crazy about how he accepts he's the bad guy. I'm curious to see where this new outlook takes him. The Jesse-Walt pair might just have gotten a new pair of pants.

Walt cutely tries to pretend he is not a bad guy to Gus, who honestly is probably in the running for one of the best characters on this show despite me knowing precious little about him other than his extreme work ethic and professionalism and general disposition. Faced with a 3 million deal, Walt still manages to turn it down. He just wants his family. A laudable goal, but with the kid being clueless and the wife unwilling to listen, idk how he's gonna manage that without some extreme outside assistance.

Back on alternate Earth: "Yo dude, think we should walk faster away from this exploding truck?" "Nah bruh, pretend there's a camera focusing on us all dramatic-like. Besides, this is literally as fast as we can move on this planet until we train more."


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I find it amusing so many of you are envying me as a first time watcher. The show is definitely solid, and there have been hints that it will remain or exceed its current status. I'm definitely interested in how the larger story develops.

So...maybe now we will solve the mystery of this furry animal in the pool. If I had to speculate, I'd say it is something Walt and Jesse did because that thing probably has one of those baby camera things in an eye socket that saw something it shouldn't have and they needed a plausible way to dispose of it. Dunno who would be in the bags though. Definitely not Walt and Jesse, but what side characters are disposable enough to fit?

"I know just who to call" Got a body you need to dispose of so that nosy cops don't destroy your budding meth trade? Better call Saul!

This dude who shows up to the house to wipe it clean is alright. They really do have to be getting bald people on purpose, it isn't enough to qualify as a running gag yet, but I'm pretty sure I see what they're doing. At this rate, all bald people will be suspect. One day you will tell me your story, bald person who was just helping Walt choose a water heater!

Hello there Windows XP. Shame on you Flynn for using such a goofy non-maximized browser aspect ratio. Probably some agreement with Microsoft to get enough of the iconic rolling hills background shown, which means I also can't give Flynn too much flack for not changing his background. But cool. operation funnel money into donations is off to a good start. Extra hilarious watching this in the future before gofundme or kickstarter were much of a thing. I wonder how high it will get before the family get suspicious.

Next scene...Jane's dad comes over to visit. He knows she's got drug issues too, so that's gonna be a fun problem for Jesse and Saul to tackle. Superb acting from de Lancie. No anger to Jesse, just complete shock at his misfortune.

Super cool watching Hank demonstrate how 'Heisenberg' has gone regional. Some fun callbacks to that likes-to-be-in-prison guy and Hank's beer too.

Ahh...show is smart. Getting a news story about Flynn will 'naturally' increase donations. It isn't half-a-million plausible, but it isn't too far off.

Oooh. Gus is financially supporting the Fun Run, whatever that is. Pretty ballsy considering his careful disposition, though not out of line for such a demeanor. Interesting way for him to discover his new partner in crime has lung cancer.

And now the news story is TV. Well played show, that'd do it. Heck, probably a significant amount of legitimate donations too. "My dad is my hero" D'aww...it's hard not to at least like Flynn as a character when he goes and says stuff like this.

Like 15 minutes to go, and still no pool or furry action....instead we're heading into surgery territory. "Which one" yeah, that'll be a future conversation full of TV logic. No, it can't be that the drugged brain mishears or misthinks about earlier cell phone related conversations, no, it's gotta be that he definitely has more than one cell phone.

Oooh, I love the use of the baby as a means of keeping track of time in this show. How old is the baby now? 7 weeks. Nice.

And heeere's the cell phone convo. Sigh. Well, at least they've got the sense to give Skyler more ammo here with the Gretchen angle. Walt's mom too. I thought the confrontation was gonna be less extreme, but Skyler's selling it here.

.....oh. What a tease the show is. Last minute. WHAM. XD

Still a number of unanswered questions, but what a way to end season 2!


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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

Forceful_Dragon posted...

This was a powerful moment and it always feels like a significant and calculated decision made by Walt.

Absolutely. He had time to save her, and seemed to weigh the pros and cons a bit before settling on being passive. If I had to guess the primary thoughts would have been along the lines of 'she's too far gone already' and 'if she dies, Jesse will be able to become a better person'.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out

I'm not sure I identify with anyone in this show, they're all walking breathing piles of secrets and some degree of scummy behavior. Sympathy-wise, I think it naturally falls on Walt more than anyone because of the cancer as well as his falling out with essentially Bill Gates. He had a solid middleclass lifestyle going on but is now trading it for a criminal lifestyle.

Jesse I might have felt more sympathetic to in my younger years, but from an adult perspective he's an irresponsible mess who contributes almost nothing but still manages to just barely squeak by in narrative necessity. He's a good foil to Walt, but I grow weary of his outlook. If he changes for the better and sticks with it, maybe I'll like him more.

Skyler and Flynn...I don't really care what happens to either of them, though they're not bad characters by any stretch...they just don't really excite me in any way. I like that Skyler is starting this story already mostly through a pregnancy and that Flynn is not just a normal teenager. Different than the usual it might be, but it's ultimately just background stuff for Walt to manage.

Hank...I do quite like Hank as a character, although I can't say I sympathize with him. He's pretty blunt by design, very much an average joe sort but no dummy either, particularly when it comes to anything DEA related. Marie's barely a blip on the radar. The shoplifting thing has come to a close after she finally apologized, but it's not a very endearing personality trait to have.

Jane's dad, whatever his name was, now him, I can sympathize with. Dude just wants his daughter to grow up well and is now gonna have to grapple with losing her thanks to some jerkface who waltzed into her life and messed everything up. He's probably got secrets and other nonsense too, but at this point in time with one episode to go in season 2, he's been a reasonable character and will likely remain so as long as he's not given enough screen time to prove otherwise.

Saul I love, but he's less a character and more a solution to problems. I can neither relate nor sympathize with him, but I doubt many can or would want to. He's great though.

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There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out