Editor’s Note: It should go without saying, but there are MAJOR spoilers ahead for the mid-season premiere of Breaking Bad, “Blood Money.”
Well, it’s all out on the table.
“Blood Money” picks up the moment “Gliding Over All” ends, with Hank stepping out of the Whites’ bathroom, Leaves of Grass in hand and the knowledge that his brother in law is one of the most prolific meth slingers the Drug Enforcement Administration has ever known. What happens over the next hour is a fast-paced run up to a series of choices both Walter White and Hank Schrader must deal with over the final six episodes of Breaking Bad.
The minute that Hank discovers Gale Boetticher’s handwriting in the Walt Whitman anthology in the final seconds of the mid-season closer, he’s put all the pieces together: The extravagant spending, the gambling winnings, the recent family trouble. And that’s what makes it so easy to sympathize with Hank Schrader: Unlike Dexter’s Deborah, he’s put the pieces of the puzzle together for himself and pulls no punches when it comes time to fulfill his duties as a DEA agent.
The Whites are none the wiser as all this goes down, with Walt suggesting to Skyler that they expand the car wash operation with another location in order to launder that much more money.
But it seems that Walt’s deceptions are catching up to him.
In an effort to convince Jesse to keep the $5 million from the proceeds of selling Blue Sky in the Czech Republic, Walt tells his former partner that Mike made it out of town alive and well. But Jesse’s definitely not having it. Jesse knows that Mike would have been a liability, what with Walt having orchestrated the murder of 10 of his close friends, and that’s something the man known as Heisenberg wouldn’t be comfortable with.
Walt’s interactions with Hank and Jesse set up what looks like the A story for much of the rest of the season.
There’s definitely going to be a few loose ends that need to be tied up, so how’s Walt going to proceed? Hanks gotta be dealt with for obvious reasons, and with Jesse tossing stacks of cash into front yards all over Albuquerque, something’s must be done. And the way Skyler deals with Lydia at the car wash isn’t exactly discreet, not to mention the latter’s penchant for taking things a bit too far in order to get what she wants.
Every main character’s primary motivations are complicated by major dilemmas. Hank needs to catch the monster he’s been chasing for the better part of a year, but what will that mean for the nephew, niece and sister-in-law he sees as innocent casualties? What’s the point if Walt dies before he’s convicted? And as far as Walter goes, how does he deal with two threats he’s gone to great lengths to protect in the past?
All in all, this is another superb episode in a series that’s held consistent quality from the outset. We’ll just have to strap in and prepare for the ride that Vince Gilligan has planned out in the next six weeks. There’s little doubt that it’ll be worth it.
Stray observations:
•You can’t help but love the callbacks to Gus Fring in Walt’s actions throughout the episode — the way he deals with Lydia in the car wash is incredibly reminiscent of Walt’s meetings with Gus in season three. And Walt laying the towel in front of the toilet after he’s about to retch reminds us that, as much as he thinks he’s got everything figured out, Walt’s got nowhere near the same level of chops for the illicit drug trade as his former employer.
•With so many other recurring character and visual cues, was anyone else concerned that Hank’s neighbor would have yet another RC car trampled by a vehicle in the episode’s final minutes?
•As much as I hate doing math, something doesn’t add up here. Episode 5.9 takes place about six weeks after Walt’s 51st birthday. He’s still alive on his 52nd. So was he lying to Hank when he said he had six months to live or did the cancer go back into remission by the time his neighbor drops her groceries in the teaser?
•As another reader has pointed out, the math seems to add up here. It’s been five months or so since Walt’s 51st birthday at this point. That means the M-60 in his trunk might be there as part of a last stand of sorts (a theory that’s been circulating fan communities since “Live Free or Die” premiered.) Still, the power of those flash forward scenes puts immense pressure on the seven remaining episodes. How exactly will we get there?