Who Do You Trust?

Pretty exciting episode of Breaking Bad this week. "Salud" had three separate storylines, one low on action, one medium, and one big, all dealing with trust issues, and all interesting.

When we last left Gus, he was giving in to the Cartel.  Well, now he, Mike and Jesse await the small plane that'll fly them over the border.  Jesse gets in last, looking doubtful.  He may be on the outs with Mr. White, and thrown in his lot with Gus, but that still doesn't mean he's ready to handle what lies ahead.

At Walt's place, Skyler calls but no pick up.  Last we saw Walt he was beat up by Jesse (and beating up Jesse).  Who knows where he is now.  Skyler wants to talk to him because he's missing Junior's 16th birthday party.  She shows him the new, sensible car in the driveway.  If dad hasn't bought him a much cooler car then had it returned against his will a little while back, he'd probably be a lot more excited.  Right now he'd rather have pancakes.

Over at Saul's--and it's always great to see Saul--he awaits his next appointment, bemoaning some bad idea he's got to deal with.  We guess it's Walt, but no, it's Ted Beneke!  At the urging (and payment) of Skyler, he's pulling the old unknown relative with a ton of money that Walter rejected a long time ago when they started figuring out what to do with extra dough.  He's getting a bit over $621,000--just enough to pay off the IRS with a little extra so it's not suspicious.  But how can it not be?  Okay, he won't look a gift horse in the mouth, and the IRS won't ask where the money came from if he pays, but we don't need Saul to tell us this is a bad idea.  (Forget about that much less money for Skyler--I suppose she considers it the cost of doing business to keep the IRS off her trail.)

In Mexico the Cartel has Gus and the boys blindfolded as they drive them to their own lab.  It's big, and there are a lot of workers there--not a two-man operation.  The boys arrive and Gus wants to see Don Eladio, the Cartel chief he's got history with.  But not so fast--you don't just waltz in and talk to the head guy without you cook some of the blue stuff first.

The head chemist there is not impressed with this kid, Jesse.  Jesse's not sure what to do, especially since they don't have their own barrels of the acid he cooks with.  Jesse may be the second best meth cook in the world, but his knowledge is an inch deep, and the chemist knows it.  But Jesse, smartly (he learns fast) starts calling the lab guy names and insisting they do it his way.  He doesn't have Walt's chemical chops, but he understands there are other ways.  So go get some barrels of phenylacetic acid and while we're waiting, clean up this damn dirty lab!  Gus is proud.  He bet on the right guy.

Junior drives up to dad's place.  He rings and calls.  Dad is in bed, nursing his pain.  Which raises the question--who's minding the meth lab?  Finally he lets Junior in, and his kid looks at the damage.  Walt sinks lower than usual and lies to his kid.  He's kept stuff from his kid before, but that was to protect him.  Now he's lying to gain advantage (though perhaps some of what he says has some deeper truth underneath).  Walt says he got into a fight gambling, please don't tell mom.  Walt even cries.  He screwed up.  It's a lot to lay on your kid.  But who is Walt really apologizing too?  Is he actually reaching out to Jesse, who's no longer there?

His son puts him back to bed and decides to stick around.  Dad is pathetic, and presumably under the influence of painkillers.  He asks his son if he likes his car and Junior says yes.  Walt, drifting off, says "that's good, Jesse." We've seen this before.  Walt tends to blurt out incriminating things when he's high and falling asleep.  Will Junior figure unweave his lies like Skyler did?

At the Mex-Meth lab their first batch is ready.  If it's no good, that may be the end of this mission.  Like Andrei Rublev, they test it.  96%+ purity.  Gale good if not Walt good.  (And I bet it's better than anything Victor could do.)   A roaring success.  And there'll be many more, Jesse is assured, by I think the sniper who almost killed him last week.  What?  Yep, you're staying, you belong to the Cartel now. Gus's deal?  Tuco's revenge?

Saul pays a visit to the car wash, to the displeasure of Skyler, who'd rather not be seen with him.  He's disbursed the funds, and on one asked any questions, but he checked Beneke's accounts and noted the first thing he did after banking the cash, he leased a Mercedes.  We saw his crappy car last week, but shouldn't be first pay off that debt?

Walt wakes up.  He discovers his son is sleeping on his couch.  He told mom he was staying over his friend's house.  Walt has one of those monologues they do so well on this show.  He talks about how his dad died when he was young and he has a bad memory of seeing him in the hospital, ready to go.  Walt doesn't want his own son to remember him as he was the night before, weak and crying.  Junior has a telling response. It wouldn't be the worst way to remember him--at least he was honest (well, as far as Junior knows), not like the last year when everything has been different.  That's right, Walt, all your lies that you told yourself were to help your family aren't appreciated the same way simple honesty is.  Also an interesting scene in that we're not seeing so much Heisenberg here--we remember what Walt once was, even if he wants to be Heisenberg.

His son drives away in his new car and up pulls Tyrus.  "Somewhere you should be?"  Exactly.

We're at Beneke's old place of business.  He's starting the company again and Skyler just drops in.  He  talks about the good news, and he's spending money to start the business, get his contracts back, etc.  Had to get the Mercedes to look good to clients.  Skyler tries to explain to him he has to pay the IRS bill or he'll go to jail. He thinks he'll hire a lawyer to get a better deal.  There is no better deal.  He wants to know who Skyler (who left him) thinks she is? It's his money to do what he wants with, and there's the door.  She gets up to go and has to return.  To tell him off?  To try to explain it to him again?  To have sex and convince him that way?  Nope, she spills it.  (Walt was much better at keeping this secret.) She got the money to him, so spend it how I say.

This isn't good.  Now he's got some evidence on her, or at least a lot of questions.  Maybe the IRS would cut him a deal if he turns in a bigger crook?  Anyway, the cats out of the bag, though the bag isn't quite in the river yet.  I don't see this ending well. Will someone have to teach Ted a lesson?

Back to the main plot.  Gus stands in front of a pool.  The same pool where he saw his first chemist die so many years ago.  He eats some sort of mint--hmm--and waiting for Don Eladio to come back to the scene of the crime. Jesse and Mike are there, too, of course.  Jesse wants to know what's happening, and Mike tells him either we're all going home or none of us are.  Looks like the fatherly side has been transferred from Walt to Mike.

Don Eladio comes in with his capos and you know this won't be pretty.  At first, as always in these scenes, everyone happy.  The Don seems happy to see Gustavo, and why not?  He's given in, and taught his lab people how to cook the donuts.  Looks like they can do business, and Gus is once again in line.  Gus introduces to his latest cook.  The Don can tell he's not a chemist, but that's okay, he's a street cook, that's even better.

Gus has brought a gift, a very fancy drink.  The boss wants everyone to have a drink right away.  He and Gus will toast their new friendship (thus the title).  He offers a drink to Jesse, but Gus says he's an addict and must be sober to work.  Okay, I'll take the drink back.  But before they down it, The Don watches Gus to make sure he drinks first.

A bit later, the party is in full swing, and the girls are brought in.  Gus sits, a little tense.  The boss reminds Gus he forgot his place, but everything is okay now that he's knuckled under.  Gus excues himself to go to the bathroom.  Why, we wonder? To vomit, maybe, and rid himself of the poison he drank?

Yep.  While he's in the bano, he gently removes his coat and turns on the water to cover the sound of his retching. Back at the party, they're dropping like flies.  Gus returns and Mike is taking care of, once again, I think, the sniper (who I guess didn't get to drink--and now we know this poison acts a lot faster than ricin). Gus gets back long enough for the Don to see him.  Then he's in the pool, dead.  Jesse gets a gun, at Mike's behest (still doesn't think fast enough in these situations), while Gus shouts at the guards alive in the house that their boss and his captains are dead.  Nothing left to fight for.  Take whatever you can and leave.  Meanwhile, Gus is getting mighty ill.  Can't vomit out all that poison.  Jesse finds a car in the driveway with key while Mike puts his sick boss in the back seat.

Before Mike gets in the driver's seat, he's shot by some guy who didn't get the message.  Looks bad.  Is Mike wearing kevlar?  Anyway, Jesse shoots the guy--not his first kill, as we know--and drives them away.

So that's where we leave them,still in Mexico. Presumably Jesse (or Mike, who's still conscious) knows the rendezvous.  Gus is sick, but did he get enough out of his system? Is Mike bleeding to death?  The Cartel has been upended (for now), but how is Gus's organization gonna take this.  If he doesn't make it, I don't think Tyrus is ready to take over.