In this one, Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) claims victory in his war with the Cartel in a particularly badass poisoning scene, one that has us all but rooting for the ruthless drug lord. If this were the main storyline, the scene would probably be the season’s defining moment. But on this show, it’s merely a subplot. And it’s still one of the high points of the season. If a subplot’s resolution is this good, you know the main one has something great in store (and it doesn’t disappoint, but we’ll get to that later).
This sequence almost makes me wish it was the main plot, that the show made the Cartel war bigger and devoted more time to it. But the series is above just giving us gangster movie carnage, and it’s the non-Cartel scenes in this episode that remind me they made the right choice in letting it take a backseat to Walt’s (Bryan Cranston) drama and metamorphosis as a character.
Specifically, I’m talking about when Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) visits his father’s apartment, where he finds the senior Walt a wreck physically and mentally after his beating from Jesse (Aaron Paul). He now fully realizes how deep a hole he’s in, and for the first time in a while shows some remorse and regret (he even accidently refers to his son as “Jesse,” which could subtly suggest his remorse is not merely selfish). Like Jesse before his therapy group earlier this season, Walt tearfully lets it out. But not all of it; also like Jesse, he can’t admit the full truth to his son (he explains his situation as a relapse into gambling as per his cover story), which seems to add another element of pain to his state.
In another scene, Walt details in a monologue how the only memory of his father is a dying empty shell. Clearly, Walt is actually talking about himself. He knows that every line he crosses kills a little more of his soul, and that eventually all that will remain of Walter White is a cold shell.
Another fantastic acting job from Bryan Cranston. Even after all the bad the character’s done, he makes us feel some sympathy for him. Notably, this is also probably the last time we’ll sympathize with him. I mean, yeah, we'll still root for him to take down Gus, but his actions and demeanor from here on out will make it hard to feel sorry for him.
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