Freed from the confines of the lab for most of this week, Walt and Jesse spend "Abiquiu" embarking on new business ventures, neither of which is as simple as they'd like them to be.
For Walt, that means introducing Skyler to Saul, in what turned out to be one of my favorite Breaking Bad scenes so far.
Saul's sweating out his unctuous brand of charm, jumping from flirting with Skyler to solemnly calling the wounded Hank "an American hero."
Skyler can barely believe her husband trusts this guy, whose long term plan involves Walt laundering his money by investing in a Laser Tag franchise. (His rationale: Lasers = science, and Walt's a scientist, right?)
She's already dubious of Walt's method of funneling his meth money to pay for Hank's therapy. And who wouldn't be? "My guy is a top...guy" isn't the most compelling argument. (Showing up with a check cut by something called "Ice Station Zebra Associates" doesn't help much either.)
Skyler's basically taking the same approach to washing meth money that Walt took when cooking it: If we're going to do this, let's do it right.
That means finding a more plausible story for how Walt came to invest in a local business. Why not the car wash where he used to work?
Saul doesn't like the idea (and Skyler goes from his perfect woman to Walt's "Yoko Ono" in the span of a day or so). His plan involves "Danny," a guy they can trust to run the Laser Tag center and look the other way. The car wash, Saul says, doesn't have such a figure.
Skyler says otherwise: "I'll be the 'Danny,'" she tells Walt, cementing her place in his orbit.
Jesse's business plan is much more shaky. He starts the episode still committed to marketing his stolen blue meth to his fellow Narcotics Anonymous members, a notion that doesn't sit well with sales associates Badger and Skinny Pete.
"Selling to these people is like shooting a baby in the face," Badger confesses. "It's not natural."
Jesse, eager to prove them wrong, storms out after fledgling member Alicia, only to find his sales pitch derailed after learning: 1. He actually likes her 2. she has a kid (Jesse may be a monster in training, but he has some standards) 3. She also has a younger brother, a lost-to-the-streets little drug dealer named Tomas, and once upon a time, Tomas was the scared little boy who gunned down Jesse's friend Combo late last season.
So here we are at the season's home stretch, with Breaking Bad throwing us yet another curve. We spent much of last season thinking some murderous drug cartel was the cause of all the carnage at Walt's house, but it was actually the plane crash. When the cartel did show up -- in the form of the Cousins -- its threat was neutralized half-way through the season.
And just as we began thinking this year's final conflict might stem from Jesse skimming from Gus' supply, the show fakes us out yet again, suggesting he might be in far more danger when and if he tries to avenge Combo's murder. I can't wait to see how it all plays out.
Other thoughts:
- The thing is, New Mexico apparently does still need a Laser Tag facility, assuming the International Laser Tag Association has accurate information.
- Also, my apologies to people who enjoy the game, but every time Skyler or Saul said the words "laser tag," it made me laugh.
- Other things that made me laugh: Skinny Pete and Badger actually getting caught up in the NA process ("I'm on, like, step five!") and Jesse, to Brock: "So...you're a kid."
- Great scene between Walt and Gus at the end of the episode, as Gus gives some advice that sounds a lot like a threat: Never make the same mistake twice. It's no surprise to see Gus living a non-drug lord lifestyle. Instead of a garish Scarface mansion, he lives in a tastefully decorated house, does his own cooking, and listens to jazz. And I love how when Gus talks about how eating the Chilean stew brings back all sorts of memories, Walt reduces it to a simple biochemical process.
- This show loves those "bottom of the bowl" shots, doesn't it? Tonight we got two of them: Jesse cracking and mixing the meth, and Skyler making pasta before her sit down with Walt.
- Breaking Bad rarely gives us glimpes of the people on the lower-end of the drug ladder, but when they actually show up -- like Tomas tonight -- it's pretty chilling. The kid's like a southwestern version of Kenard from The Wire.
- Another great opening scene tonight, explaining the lipstick-stained cigarette from last week, and reminding us how sweet and likable Jane was before Jesse and Walt ruined her.
- So much good stuff from Saul tonight: the law degree from American Samoa, his circle of hell waiting room, and his story-that-deserves-its-own-episode about convincing a woman he was Kevin Costner.
Tom Coombe
Posted by: |