Bad Blood

One down, seven to go.  Breaking Bad is back on Sundays and the end is in sight.  Last night's episode, "Blood Money," takes up where the last one left off.  Actually, it starts with a teaser showing the same hairy Walt we saw at the beginning of season five.  He now returns to his old home on his 52nd birthday.  Heisenbeg has been discovered and the place is abandoned.  He returns to pick up the ricin he left behind.  For whom, who knows--though Hank seems as likely as anyone.

Anyway, after that the show starts with Hank coming out of the bathroom, having had the moment we've been waiting for the whole series--he knows (or strongly suspects at this point) Walt is Heisenberg.  Now the question is what sort of cat and mouse game are we playing.  Turns out, by the end of the show, not the one we suspect.

Hank has to get home. He can hardly breathe, or drive.  He claims he's sick, but he needs to know the truth, and stays home looking over the Heisenberg files to figure it all out.  Meanwhile, Walt is now helping out at the car wash, out of the meth biz, and who should show up but Lydia.  He left her the business, but the purity of their product is down to 68% and apparently the customers aren't happy.  I guess Todd is a slow learner.  Walt says it's not his concern and Skyler, once she finds out who this is, kicks her off the lot, but I feel we haven't heard the last of her (especially now that she's a series regular).

At Jesse's place, he's got the $5 million Walt gave him, but it's blood money.  He goes to Saul and wants him to distribute half to Mike's granddaughter and half to the family of the kid they shot in the desert.  Saul has done this gig before, but this is just asking for trouble.  Saul calls Walt who drops by Jesse's place, returns the money and wants to discuss it.  Jesse has figured--correctly--that Walt killed Mike, but Walt tries to reassure him it's not so.  It's doubtful Jesse believes him.  And he sure isn't gonna keep the money. Before too long Jesse is driving around throwing the money out the car like he's on a paper route.  You may be the moral conscience of the show, but not smart, Jesse.

Walt is back on chemo, and at dinner rushes to the bathroom to vomit.  He puts a towel on the floor for his knees.  Not so long ago it was Gus vomiting like this--heavy is the crown.  Walt notices Leaves Of Grass is missing. He can't find it.  Walt figures something's afoot.  He goes to check his car and sure enough Hank has placed a GPS tracker on it, just like he did with Gus.  Gus saw this as an opportunity to mislead Hank, but Walt's already been the Jesse's place.  What to do?

What else?  He goes to Hank's place to confront his brother-in-law.  Walt figures he can talk anybody out of anything.  By this point, Hank has figured out all the damage Walt has done to him, his family and the world at large.   Previously, the Walt/Hank scenes had been fun since Walt knew he was Heisenberg and Hank knew nothing.  During most of this show, we got another layer--Walt knows he knows and doesn't think Hank knows, but Hank knows and also knows that Walt doesn't know he knows.  Now we've got yet another layer--Walt knows that Hank knows, and knows that Hank thinks he doesn't know.  How will Walt play him?

His strategy was the high point of the episode. Walt decides (not sure if it was the plan all along, or he just figured once there it was the best way to go) to show Hank the GPS tracker and let it all hang out.  Wow--that scene might not have happened till the finale.

Hanks punches him, though it's nothing like the workout he gave Jesse for doing a lot less.  Walt has an argument, though. He's dying, and even if Hank could prove anything Walt would be long gone before he's inside a cell--meanwhile Hank would be destroying their family. (He could mention it would also destroy Walt's career, just like his former boss was thrown under the boss for not seeing through Gus.)

So, as Walt eloquently puts it, "What's the point?"  Leave things alone, they'll settle better that way.  Hard to believe a hardnose like Hank would listen, but I've heard worse arguments.  Hanks says have Skyler bring over the kids and they'll talk.  Walt says no what.  Hank responds "I don't even know who I'm talking to" which leads to the final line, and perhaps the best of the night: "If you don't know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly"

That's it Walt.  If appeals to reason don't work, threaten him.  To be continued (as Walt said at the car wash--oh yeah, and someone said "bitch," but it was Skinny Pete).