If you think about it, not a whole lot happens in this episode. Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) could have taken out Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) and shown he was the boss in a quick scene last episode, ending the third season cleanly instead of on a cliffhanger. Instead, the show plays out this event the slow way, and what could have been a short, quick plot point is instead a masterpiece of dramatic craft.
In the aftermath of Jesse (Aaron Paul) killing Gale (David Costabile) in last season’s finale, he and Walt (Bryan Cranston) are held hostage in the superlab awaiting the repercussions. The audience is already on edge after last season’s turn of events, and waiting just raises the tension even more. Viewers aren’t the only ones on edge, either, as Walt begins to unravel as the episode goes on.
When Gus finally enters, the way he slowly, silently puts on a hazmat suit pushes us more and more to the edge with every excruciating detail, as we wonder what’s about to happen. When he finally opens Victor’s neck with the title instrument, it’s a jarring shock (and very, very bloody, not just for basic cable but by any standard of onscreen violence). And the gory scene still doesn’t release all the tension, as much of it lingers while Gus changes back into his suit and tie, never losing his stone-faced glare through the whole ordeal.
By the time Gus offers a small reprieve with his only line (“Well, get back to work.”), we’ve seen where the characters stand. Gus has proven he’s not just a businessman who lets others do the dirty work for him. Walt, who was talking tough last episode, goes from unconvincingly taunting Victor and Mike (Jonathan Banks) at the beginning of this one to begging like a dog when Gus arrives. As much as Walt has done, he’s still not on Gus’ level of ruthlessness. Jesse, on the other hand, is so traumatized from killing Gale that he barely takes in anything happening around him. It takes another, bloodier death to jostle him out of his near comatose state, but the way he callously helps dispose of Victor's body (once again bringing hydrofluoric acid into play) shows that he has developed a numbness to death.
This episode ties up the loose ends left by last season, yet does nothing to resolve the conflict between the characters. It does, however, make it clear where this season will go. Victor’s violent end tells us people will die, and the way the episode slowly, methodically builds tension is a microcosm of the season as a whole. Eventually, the tension this season will become almost unbearable.
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