Gyroscopic Investing

Reub wrote: I liked the scene where Hank and his wife Marie are watching Walt's "confession" in disbelief.

Great scene.  And I loved the awkward tension of the meeting at the Mexican restaurant where Walt delivered the DVD.  I always underestimate how clever and nasty Walt can be, even after all this time.

As for what goes wrong for Walt and gets  him outed, I wonder this as well.  Now that Jesse knows this much about what Walt's done (particularly about the poisoning), we may be seeing only the beginning of how he could turn against him.

And Walt will likely have to deal with Todd and his uncle's gang at some point.  My guess is that's who the M60 is meant to be used on.

It's been a while and I don't remember, but my folks insist we've been to that taqueria shown in the most recent episode to date (#5.11).
I love the scene.
Wish I could quiet down overzealous waiters as quickly as those four frowning faces did.

I don't see how all of these loose ends can be tied up in five episodes.

MediumTex wrote: I don't see how all of these loose ends can be tied up in five episodes.

Are there that many loose ends, MT?

Highlight of the week, when Jesse tells Hank:

"But Mr. White... he's the devil!"

And Skyler puts out her first hit.

I'm lovin' these final episodes even though they can never match the science-rich early ones.
It was a little frustrating that Jesse -- he's not my favorite anyway -- has mostly been relegated to a nonverbal emotional wreck. Good to see him back in action and I'm spending way too much time trying to figure out his counterplot against Walt.

Just a few thoughts..

I am anticipating the Jesse/Walt showdown but hope Jesse's involvement will be as more than just a DEA rat. It's too personal, and I doubt freedom from the law or seeing Walt behind bars is Jesse's primary motivator at this point.

Last episode was all Walter White and no Heisenberg. How did he not pick up on the possibility that Jesse went to Hank? This is not the same guy that carefully plotted business deals, poisonings, and murders along with all the other clever super villain exploits. I do hope that Heisenberg makes one last stand before the end.

On that same note, the park bench/scary bald man scene felt anticlimactic after Jesse's "Mr. White is the devil...the exact opposite of what you expect will happen" speech.

Part of being a super villain involves knowing your strengths and weaknesses, so calling in Todd's uncle to do some dirty work makes sense, but hopefully it won't be so cut and dry this time around. The coordinated prison killings was one of my favorite scenes, but besides Walter getting the names and giving the order, his involvement and Todd's uncle's resistance was nonexistent.

MT, I'm also curious what loose ends you believe still need resolution.

Reub wrote: Highlight of the week, when Jesse tells Hank:

"But Mr. White, he's the devil!"

That was a great scene.

I also liked when Saul said that what they had was an "Old Yeller situation."

AdamA wrote:

Reub wrote: Highlight of the week, when Jesse tells Hank:

"But Mr. White, he's the devil!"

That was a great scene.

I also liked when Saul said that what they had was an "Old Yeller situation."

The scene back in season one or two where Saul was actually standing in his grave waiting to be shot by Jesse and Walt was pretty amazing.

Saul has really come a long way from that low point (pardon the pun).

iwealth wrote: I am anticipating the Jesse/Walt showdown but hope Jesse's involvement will be as more than just a DEA rat. It's too personal, and I doubt freedom from the law or seeing Walt behind bars is Jesse's primary motivator at this point.

Great post, iwealth.

I completely agree with the above, which of course was written before the most recent episode. There has been a lot of talk on other forums about Jesse ratting out Walt. You have to ask yourself not what is the most logical thing that would happen but instead, would that be fun for the audience to watch?

P.S. Now that Hank has brought Gomie into the fold, I think it would be cool if he saved Hank's life at the end.

dualstow wrote: P.S. Now that Hank has brought Gomie into the fold, I think it would be cool if he saved Hank's life at the end.

That's not really a fold you want to be brought into.  He'll probably wind up dead!

AdamA wrote:

dualstow wrote: P.S. Now that Hank has brought Gomie into the fold, I think it would be cool if he saved Hank's life at the end.

That's not really a fold you want to be brought into.  He'll probably wind up dead!

Definitely possible. The character seems like a good guy who would sacrifice himself for his buddy. (In real life, the actor is a good guy who is running for some school board in the state of NM, or so I heard. Have not fact-checked that).

I've read some interesting predictions & possibilities on other forums:

_ We may find out something interesting about Jane. (I won't post the specifics here and spoil it because it's more than just a random prediction). Remember Jane? Pretty gf of Jesse, black hair? Walt let her choke to death.

_Junior finds Walt's "confession" DVD and takes it at face value. That would be interesting!

_Various theories about Todd and the Aryan Bros (I don't buy them).

_Walt fakes his own death, and this is the job he wants from Uncle Jack and the Aryans.

The only time in the whole series that Walt has seemed happy has been when he was cooking meth.

It has never seemed like the money or the violence had much appeal for him compared to being in the lab cooking meth.  He has always killed people so that they wouldn't get in the way of him cooking his special blue meth, and while he enjoyed the money at first, his financial needs have been met for a LONG time.

Maybe part of the reason that Walt is protective of Jesse is that he believes they will one day be reunited in another meth lab where Walt can once again be happy.  if anything happens to Jesse, that meth cooking dream of Walt's will also die (since we know that Walt doesn't like cooking with anyone but Jesse).

MediumTex wrote: The only time in the whole series that Walt has seemed happy has been when he was cooking meth.

It has never seemed like the money or the violence had much appeal for him compared to being in the lab cooking meth.  He has always killed people so that they wouldn't get in the way of him cooking his special blue meth, and while he enjoyed the money at first, his financial needs have been met for a LONG time.
...

Though I can't remember the exact words, Walt has said as much. Something to Skyler about his empire. It may have been the "I am the one who knocks speech." I think it was also around the time Walt gave advice to the tweeker & would-be chef in Home Depot, but then angrily told him in the parking lot  that this was *his* territory.

Well, what a way to end tonight's show! In the middle of a wild shootout in the desert. Who lives and who dies? Gomie, Hank, Jesse, Walt? All of the above?

And my favorite line from tonight's show:
As Walt puts the hit out on Jesse he tells the killers that "Jesse's like family to me." 

Priceless!

Crazy thoughts are running through my mind after this episode!  Gomie could possibly die, but it feels too soon for Hank or Jesse to die.  I don't know!  Hanks call with Marie could be seen as a tragic goodbye message, "I'll be home a little late."  If Hank does die, maybe Walt will feel responsible and poison Todd's whole gang with the ricin including himself a la Gus style (Walt's time is limited anyway).  Maybe Walt will sacrifice himself as an act of contrition.

Wow.

I don't see how Hank gets out of that alive.

The shooters aren't there to protect Walt.  They're there to protect their cook.

Things are starting to clear up a bit. Here's my guess:

Gomie is dead. I don't see much more use for his character in the narrative. Hank is either dead or comatose. That call to Marie telegraphed Hank's demise. Hopefully that call wasn't written just to throw us off. Much like Gus' last walk into the nursing home, I don't mind the telegraphed demise of these amazing characters. Personally, it forces me to engage very deeply in those last moments.

Todd may be dead. That will heighten the Neo-Nazis' urgency to bring Walt into the fold. Either way, they need Walt (or Jesse) to assist with the cook. We know it's not Walt. Jesse must become their and Lydia's meth slave. Somehow this series is going to end with Walt coming back to rescue Jesse and likely dying somewhere in the process. I'm just not sure how Walt's family comes into play.

I just watched. Was careful to avoid this thread until now. Spoilers aplenty.

iwealth wrote: Todd may be dead. That will heighten the Neo-Nazis' urgency to bring Walt into the fold. Either way, they need Walt (or Jesse) to assist with the cook. We know it's not Walt. Jesse must become their and Lydia's meth slave. Somehow this series is going to end with Walt coming back to rescue Jesse and likely dying somewhere in the process. I'm just not sure how Walt's family comes into play.

Very interesting observation. Yes, we know Walt doesn't die yet, and Hank & Gomie are well outgunned w/ no DEA backup. (Call in the cavalry, Marie! Do it! ) It would be great if Jesse also surved the next episode. They are like the R2-D2 and C3P0 of this show, or the two guys from 'Hidden Fortress', with everyone around them dropping like flies.

We know Walt can be danerous to his overseers when he cooks, if they're ignorant. Todd is the wildcard. If something's fishy during the cook, Todd will know.

Poor Hank. Hasn't he been through enough? :-)
EDIT:

That call to Marie telegraphed Hank's demise.

That's definitely the feeling we had over here at chez dualstow, but then the episode ended. Maybe this is more wishful thinking than scriptwriting logic, but since Hank was alive at the end of the episode, I feel he has a fighting chance.

Trivial note: people think it's funny the way Todd fired his handgun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mDnG1dA948
Everyone else seemed to be making use of the sights.

I got a kick out of Todd's phone playing the Thomas Dolby song "She Blinded Me With Science" when he got the call from Walt.

Tortoise wrote: I got a kick out of Todd's phone playing the Thomas Dolby song "She Blinded Me With Science" when he got the call from Walt.

And before that, Steve Perry's "Oh Sherry" was playing in the background.

"Oh Sherry" is the kind of song I might play in a terrorist's prison cell to try to break him down quickly.

***

Marie looking down into the trash can at what was supposed to be Jesse's brains as she talked to Hank on the phone was pretty unsettling.

The interesting thing here is that Hank has once again underestimated Walt.  He could have easily gone in there with a lot of backup, but decided not to because he still just doesn't seem to take Walt seriously as a threat.

It does surprise me a bit that the shooters are getting so close to Walt with their fire.  If they are there to make sure that nothing happens to their cook, it seems like they wouldn't want to lose him to a friendly fire incident.

Also, what's up with missing Hank and Gomie with the first barrage of fire?  Where did those guys learn to shoot, the police academy?

MediumTex wrote:
The interesting thing here is that Hank has once again underestimated Walt.  He could have easily gone in there with a lot of backup, but decided not to because he still just doesn't seem to take Walt seriously as a threat.

It's a great example of what Jesse said to Hank and Gomie in the last episode, when he was ranting about Walt being the Devil, and how he was smarter and luckier than everyone else.  Something like, "...whatever you think is going to happen, the exact opposite happens."

As awful as it sounds, I was actually happy when those thugs pulled up.  No matter how bad Walt is, I always root for him, especially when it comes to Hank.

MediumTex wrote: The interesting thing here is that Hank has once again underestimated Walt.  He could have easily gone in there with a lot of backup, but decided not to because he still just doesn't seem to take Walt seriously as a threat.

Well don't forget, Hank is still doing this on the down low. Gomie trusts him, and they found a trusty third man to watch Huell, but in general the DEA knows nothing about this.

If Lydia splashes chemicals in Todd's eyes during Walt's escape, that would be a weird callback to the Thomas Dolby song.
I just think it's sweet that the psycho killer has a crush on someone.