S04E08: The thing I’m really trying to get past in this new Breaking Bad arc is the leap they seem to be taking with allowing Hank to be “onto” Gus. I didn’t buy that last week, but I gave the show the benefit of the doubt. They don’t stock up the veritability any further behind the story this week, which is somewhat of a disappointment. It doesn’t distract beyond the initial scenes, though. This is, after all, Breaking Bad.
The episode opens with a rare Fourth Season cancer-centric scene. Walt is at the doctor’s office, waiting in his hospital gown beside another patient. The man expresses nervousness about his disease, and reaches out to Walt for comfort. Walt is anything but comforting. He gives a heavy-handed (both for Walt, and a little bit for the show) speech about controlling your own life, which does not put the man at ease.
Hank is hot on the trail of Gustavo Fring. The entrepreneur is brought in for questioning with the DEA and the police covering the murder of Gale to discover why Gus’ fingerprints were all over Gale’s stuff. Gus conjures up a story about Gale being a recipient of his scholarship, the two reconnecting after several years, blah blah blah… the cops eat it up. The one loose end (that still does not bother them, save for Hank) is the fact that there is no record of Gus existing before 1986, when he emigrated from Chile to Mexico. Gus explains, Chile is bad at keeping records. The police think that’s a fine enough excuse.
Hank doesn’t. So, he get’s Walt to (unknowingly) drive him to Los Pollos Hermanos to put a tracking device on Gus’ car. Walt manages to speak with Gus inside the restaurant beforehand, and alerts him to the deed. Walt explains later on, via Gus’ security camera, that he was only acting under Hank’s guidance, and that Hank tracking Gus down is completely against Walt’s own interests. This episode was the first in a while to have Walt show a little bit of humility… he seemed to be pleading with Gus somewhat. He has taken a step down from his high horse and is admitting that he is not entirely in control. Of course, he’s still trying to kill Gus.
So, he visits Jesse. Jesse, by the way, is having Saul deliver money to his ex-girlfriend and her son Brock every week. Jesse is also holding out on Walt. We (and by the end of the episode, after Walt reads Jesse’s text messages when he’s in the bathroom) know that Jesse has seen Gus, but has not killed him like he promised he would. Walt’s relationship with Jesse seems to be treading further away from “partners” every episode this season.
“Why should I negotiate with someone who doesn’t respect me? Who insults me by dealing under my nose without my permission? Who manipulates me into a meeting in front of my own men? What do I need you for?” – Don Eladio
The best part of the episode had to have been Gus’ backstory, revealed at the end after some Season 2-esque framing. Gus and his partner in Los Pollos Hermanos, apparent pioneers in the dealing of “respectable” meth, met with the cartel many years ago, when Hector was still mobile (but quite irreverent and alcoholic), to discuss a partnership. Back then, the cartel only dealt cocaine and did not have much interest in meth. But Gus and his partner, the cook, pushed heavily to join forces with the cartel. Instead of accepting this deal, the cartel (Hector, specifically) kills Gus’ partner (and best friend; practically his brother, as a matter of fact) right in front of him. Don Eladio, the head of the cartel foreshadows further backstory to Gus. A paraphrasing: “The only reason we aren’t killing you is because we know who you are in Chile.” Finally, a cliffhanger that doesn’t involve Hank saying something about the murder case (although I was fine with those).
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