The episode opens with a music video featuring a mariachi band singing in Spanish about the mysterious Heisenberg and his blue meth. The style of music is called narcocorrido, a real Mexican genre that mythologizes drug lords and gangsters, so directly that many such artists actually are targeted and killed by the criminals they sing about. This musical interlude might seem random and out of place to viewers not familiar with the finer points of the Mexican drug wars, but it’s actually a clever and authentic touch for those in the know. It lets us know that Walt’s (Bryan Cranston) legend has reached across the border, and reminds us the cartel still has him in their sights.
Another reminder is the fate of DEA informant Tortuga (Danny Trejo), part of whom is found strapped with explosives to the animal from where he got his name. Hank (Dean Norris), recently transferred to El Paso, is luckier than his new compadres wounded in the resulting blast, but seeing such brutality firsthand adds to the PTSD he’s been feeling since wasting Tuco. Just as Walt hardens into a full-blown criminal as he gets deeper into the drug underworld, Hank’s harrowing experiences (more will come later) also toughen him up. But in the other direction, into a better, smarter, more daring cop. Hank is a lost soul now, but he’ll soon find his footing as an integral piece of the storyline.
Back in Albuquerque, Jesse’s (Aaron Paul) street cred is at an all-time high after he’s credited with killing a junkie who robbed him (really, an act he witnessed another meth head commit). Walt takes this opportunity to look at expanding their operation, and it’s crystal clear he’s not doing so just to get more money for his cancer. He’s tasted the criminal lifestyle and liked it, even developing an ego after his unlikely success. Previously, you could argue that he was in a moral gray area, despite doing a few terrible things out of necessity. Now, that moral center is getting a bit darker.
Skyler (Anna Gunn) still doesn’t know of Walt's activities, however, and returns to her old job to help with her husband’s cancer bills. Upon meeting her former superior Ted Beneke (Christopher Cousins), we can already tell that the two have a history, and that he’ll fill some emptiness Skyler feels with Walt becoming more distant. Jesse, meanwhile, holes up in his new apartment, alone and distressed after witnessing the ATM killing last episode. With no one else in his life, he starts to bond with his landlady neighbor Jane (Krysten Ritter), who we’ll learn has demons of her own.
Both Skyler and Jesse are reaching out for some human contact that’s missing from their lives. Both of Walt’s partners, at home and in drugs, have something in common. Now that's unexpected.
No comments:
Post a Comment