With the obvious caveat of 'this show's so fucked I can't be sure of anything', I'd say there is zero chance Walt poisoned the kid. The thing that made it obvious to me was how Gus' demeanour changed from when Jesse said the kid was sick, to when he said he was posioned. He literally went from 'get back to work' to 'don't worry about this batch, come back when you can'. Gus' track record with kids is far from exemplary, so I doubt he all of a sudden cared about this one in particular, simply because he was poisoned versus being sick. Seems more likely that he wanted to appear sympathetic in order to solidify Jesse's suspicions about Walt doing it, since he's that much of a psychopathic mastermind. Also think Jesse tipped his hat too much by telling Gus he knew the kid was poisoned, and that's why Gus was all suspicious about his car. Still a bit unbelievable he would leave his car unattended in a situation like that, but whatevs. So how about Walt pulling a Fance and just letting what's coming, come? I mean, there's 'taking the consequences that are coming' and then there's 'sitting at home staring at the measly six shooter, even considering offing himself'. Might as well tied his underwear to a stick and waved it around too. 'Over his head' doesn't seem descriptive enough, he seems truly helpless at this point. And aside from being a bit suspicious, staying at home by himself is selfish, too, because what the fuck is his family (ie-Skylar) supposed to do if they were to kill him at home? I know they'd blame the cartel, though Hank doesn't buy that, but what if they were to find the money in the crawl space? And if they killed him but left his pistol, the DEA would probably think twice about why the brother-in-law whose excuse to avoid protection was a car wash was found murdered in his home holding a pistol. Anyways, I'm rambling. I just love how if this were any other show, ending it this week would be stellar, and it seems impossible to make another season, yet they're totally going to. Maybe Hank's baby will get involved somehow? Pull a Maggie from the Simpsons? Eh? Eh?
I never even considered the possibility of Walt poisoning the kid. While the reveal was going on it never crossed my mind that Gus had either. When I figured out what was going on with the kid I'd actually thought he'd stolen the smoke and just smoked it until Jesse said he'd switched it into a new pack that morning. It was the only option that made sense to me. How would Walt or Gus's people poison the kid at all? I guess Gus could've had this brewing even before the DEA incident though. When they drug Walt out to the desert Gus did have that rather ominous "[Jesse]'ll come around." when Walt said Jesse wouldn't let Gus kill him. Couple that with Gus's "You'll have your answer shortly." to Jesse on the phone during the raid and Gus's looking pretty guilty right about now. Walt on the other hand.... how could he even do it? When COULD he do it? We're talking about a really short window for Walt here. Jesse throws him out of his place at night, Gus has Walt drug out into the desert, Walt gets back to Sol's heads home to find the money missing and by the time the DEA shows up to get them to Hanks it's already daytime again. By that night the kid is already sick and in the hospital so I just can't see Walt having the time to somehow poison the kid let alone how he'd get the kid to take it. As for the car bomb I think it'll likely turn out to be Jesse said too much and Gus had a 'better safe than dead' moment when he saw his car sitting in the car park all alone and unattended like everyone else. That being said it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out they have Walt's places bugged and saw what went down and just played it out as a big taunt to Walt. They've bugged his place before and the taunt would fit right into Gus's character. Of course the way this show works it'll turn out to be something completely shocking and unexpected that makes 5 million viewers say "Holy shit" all at the same time. The last 2 episodes could both have been ridiculous high-point cliffhangers to end the season on so I can't wait to see how they actually do leave it. Is next season going to be the rise of Heisenberg or the fall of Walter White? Oh yeah, and that soundtrack they used in the the last 2 episodes for the really intense end scenes haunts my dreams.
This quote is very telling, I think. I think the author is right that Gilligan has decide the central plot is watching a good man become evil. For this reason, I think Walter will kill Gus and take over his business, if not now, then some time next season. Then we will see his reign at the top and eventual downfall.
I'd like to see the extent of the power structure beyond Gus and the Don who was just killed in Mexico. Hank's references to a German conglomerate making equipment purchases via a subsidiary for the lab is pretty intriguing, frankly. Interested to know if there is any formal power left behind the Mexican cartel or if the operation is being partially run from elsewhere, or if it's just all umbrella corps. I'm not shocked at all by Gus' suspicions, and agree with those of you who think Jesse tipped his and Walt's hand. Now the question becomes, can Jesse ever show himself to Gus or the crew or is he on the run? Is Mike still completely out of commission or can Jesse go to him for help given Mike owes him his life? How does Walt get the shit off the car before Gus' crew finds it? I'm really shocked by Walt's intellectual/strategic regression over the past two seasons. I feel like he has been completely neutered since the episode when he ran over the thugs with his Pontiac. Before then, he seemed uncomfortable but at least somewhat stoic. The last time he panicked like he is now (about Gus not going to the car) was when he was tearing through Jessie's apartment looking for the first meth delivery to give to Gus.
Didn't Walt state in a previous episode that it takes 3 days for it to take effect? Or was it 3 days for it to finally kill the victim? I know it's a little far fetched to think the kid wasn't poisoned, especially since the last few minutes seem to revolve around it. It just seems weird coming from a show that pays so much attention to detail. Now that I think of it, I guess you could just say it works faster on children.
Except the part where he built a remotely detonated car bomb from scratch, or developed the poison...
The only thing that Gus has on Walt is cold detachment and experience. Except for that, Walt has done almost exactly the same kinds of things as Gus only to a lesser degree. He could very well turn things around and give Gus a run for his money. In a way, Skylar and his family are holding him back.
I don't think Gus poisoning the kid makes much sense. It seems like a really stupid plan and Gus is clearly the smartest guy around. There is no way that he could be sure that Jesse would blame Walt for it. And it easily could backfire (ie what happened assuming it was Gus). There is no way that the potential upside is worth the risk. I also don't think that Walt poisoning the kid makes much sense. I don't think that this is something that Walt would do although others may disagree. Either way how could Walt have actually done it? The only way that seems even possible is to have Saul's giant black gon switch Jesse's pack with another one. But that brings up a bunch of other questions. How did this giant black guy even manage it? How did they know how many ciggs were in the original pack? If they didn't, how would they know that Jesse wouldn't smoke a cigg right after he left the office and notice there were more/less than he should have and that the "lucky" ricin cigg is gone? And how would he get Saul to go along with this? Saul is a greedy slimebag but I don't think he would go along with poisoning a kid, especially because Walt doesn't have enough money to pay him much. And he seems absolutely terified of Gus. Another theory is that the kid poisoned himself by accident. He found the vial in the cigg thinking it was coke or meth or whatever. I would find this to be the most creidble except for that Jesse said he had the ricin cigg in the morning when he switched it to a new pack. I dunno, the only thing that I can think of that makes sense is that the kid is sick for another reason and that Jesse some how lost the ricin cigg. I would have been ok with never finding out but Gilligan says we will. It better be good.
I don't see why the kid couldn't have taken the cigarette and then flipped another one wrong side up. Jesse says he had the ricin cigarette, but how does he usually check the pack? By opening it to see that one is the wrong way, not by physically squishing it. Could just be a terrible accident.
Re: Re: Breaking Bad Season 4 That makes sense except for that Jesse said he had the ricin cigg in the morning when he changed packs. And there was no "lucky" (upside down) cigg when he went outside to smoke at the hospital.
Re: Re: Breaking Bad Season 4 Those could be the words of a man who deep down knows he fucked up by leaving ricin in a house with a child and is desperately trying to prove to himself it wasn't his fault.
The first minute of the next episode. Nothing spoilerish about it in my opinion but you've been warned. Spoiler Embedding isn't working so: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/hitfix-first-look-walt-cleans-up-a-mess-on-sundays-breaking-bad-finale" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan- ... bad-finale</a>
I hope next season delves a little deeper into Gus' past. There were a lot of questions raised when Hank was questioning him about his past in Chile and the name change and such.
Hell, there were questions raised last season when Tio said to somebody on the phone ~20 years ago that he doesn't care who he (Gus) knows. Also, this season when ~20 years ago Tio whacks Gus's partner and Don Eladio says the only reason Gus wasn't also dead is because Eladio knows who Gus is. On a totally unrelated subject, does anybody else think that Walt should have gone to the DEA back when he figured out that Gus was going to whack him at the end of last season? I am pretty positive that he would be able to get full immunity for everything that he did (including killing those drug dealers) in exchange for his testimony.
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. MORE LATER! I felt the anxiety in the room, the tension from this show is unbelievable.
Spoiler Wow. What a show. Absolutely unbelievable. That was one of the best hours of television I have ever seen. So, did Walt ever put the boy in real danger with the Lily of the Valley poisoning?
Walt is one evil motherfucker, and I loved it. Now that's a season finale. Spoiler Anyone else hear someone breathing in the parking garage? After all, Mike is still alive...
Spoiler I don't think we have to worry about Mike, or anyone for that matter, going after Walt. He destroyed the entire organization, just as Gus did to Don Eladio. Fill your pockets and leave. I know it sounds retarded afterwards, but I saw the assassination plot coming a mile away once Walt went to the nursing home the first time. Brilliant. I take back everything I said about Walt regressing on his strategic play. What on earth could next season be about? DEA investigation?