Breaking Bad

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Yeah I heard that too, was trying to remember if it was twice before that or something though. Guess not, you are right.

Actually it was Saul who said "this is the second time the DEA has confiscated his bankroll," but he didn't have any way of knowing exactly what the DEA got. I don't think it's really relevant to the plot going forward, but hopefully Walt at least gave the money in Mike's go-bag to the granddaughter. I think that he would now that he's Walt again, based on last night's episode. Heisenberg wouldn't have given Jessie that cash, so I really believe that he thinks he's out for good now.

[corporatejay]

"WW is actually my brother-in-law"

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by gargamel

Actually it was Saul who said "this is the second time the DEA has confiscated his bankroll," but he didn't have any way of knowing exactly what the DEA got. I don't think it's really relevant to the plot going forward, but hopefully Walt at least gave the money in Mike's go-bag to the granddaughter. I think that he would now that he's Walt again, based on last night's episode. Heisenberg wouldn't have given Jessie that cash, so I really believe that he thinks he's out for good now.

Oh, you still think their is redemption to be had.

[BlackRedGold25]

Fantastic episode. So much awesome stuff loaded into one episode.

The fly.
The ricin under the hat.
Mike's 9 getting taken out.
Hank posing for the pic and then getting the news.
Crystal Blue Persuasion.
The purple rug.
Skyler's mood change when Marie brings up the kids going home.
Jesse throwing the gun across the floor.
The build in the final scene when you know something is going to happen to ruin the seemingly happy end.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Oh, you still think their is redemption to be had.

I think it's possible that killing those 9 guys was as bad as he was going to break, and that he really is ok with going out on top, on his own terms, now that he's proven to everyone (especially himself) that he could do it. Hank finding the book shows that Walt was in too deep to ever go back to his old life, but I really do think that Walt was back to being a good guy for the second half of that episode.

[Caged Great]

What I hate about this episode is that it'll take a year to see the next one.

[megatron]

I completely missed that the book Hank was reading was from Gale. I just thought he put together the W.W. initials in the book with the flashback of the evidence with the other W.W. initials, but the handwriting matched and he knew a lot about Gale.

I think Hank definitely knows that Heisenberg is Walt now. Does he bide his time to take him down (with more evidence) or confront him immediately? Also, there's no way Walt is out -- I don't think is ego will let him out, even though that last scene showed his life almost back to "normal". Lastly, I hope Jessie is back in a big way for the last 8 episodes. It seemed like he was shuffled off to the side in the last couple here. I can't wait for next year.

Best. Show. Ever.

[Flash Walken]

Oh Lydia...

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Oh Lydia...

Maybe you're joking, but she actually said "not if you're Madrigal." I thought she said magical at first too though.

[BlackEleven]

Even before this season started, I posted that I thought the season would progress with Walt on a downward spiral into a complete transformation into Heisenberg. And it certainly seemed to be heading that way based on the previous seven episodes. This episode threw a bit of a loop into that though.

I thought the writers were trying to convey a message about how power and ego will corrupt a man and that's why the show would take that arc, but now I'm less sure. Perhaps Walt genuinely has realized the error of his ways and wants to get out, but he'll find he's made too many bad decisions in the past and burned too many bridges so that no matter how hard he tries, he won't be able to find redemption. As a viewer, I'd still be satisfied with this as it shows still conveys the original message but reinforces it with the fact that once you step over the ledge there's no going back. That moment where Walt stepped over the edge, for me, was where Walt wouldn't take the $5M to get out. That's the point where it was absolutely clear that all his original justifications went out the window and he was now only motivated be ego and greed.

If he truly has had an epiphany and reformed, the cancer must be back. That's the only thing I could think of that would make him snap back into reality by remembering how and why he got into the meth business in the first place and how far he'd strayed from those reasons. I think that was also reinforced by his conversation with Jesse when he brought up the old RV and was reminiscing about how things used to be.

Anyway, if I'm wrong it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong about this show. The writers do a good job of holding their cards close to their chest yet letting the show and the characters evolve in believable ways (given the context, of course).

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by gargamel

Maybe you're joking, but she actually said "not if you're Madrigal." I thought she said magical at first too though.

yeah, I'm joking.

I think Lydia is a babe, though.

[d_phaneuf]

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I might have missed something in that earlier episode. Is that a slam dunk for Hank, or just observing a coincidence of the initials. Obviously W.W. is Walt, but aside from assuming G.B is Gale, what does Hank know? I thought it was Walt that suggested that W.W. was for Walt Whitman just to throw Hank off when going through Gale's notebook.

If you go to the website, you can listen to Vince Gillian talk about the episode. He flat out says that Hank knows who Walt is now, so as far as the story goes, there is no question to Hank now.

For Hank, it has to be personal now. He was almost killed and completely made a fool of by Walt. I wouldn't be surprised if Hank's response is outside of the bounds that his job requires (ie. he won't arrest Walt, he'll try to get revenge).

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Daradon

It looked like they had way more money than I would have guessed. I guess he was getting Jesse's share for the last 3 months after he left though. Still, I want to do the math on that one, it looked like a pile that was far too big. (Not suggesting anything plot wise, just upset with a possible lack of continuity)

It's a combination of factors:

1. He's been getting all the money without needing to split it with Jesse or Mike
2. He doesn't need to pay off Mike's guys or Lydia
3. The Phoenix crew is taking care of distribution
4. They have the new money coming in from the Czech Republic
5. They've increased the frequency of their cooks

After the first cook this season, Mike, Jesse, and Walt started with a split of $367,000 each before Mike started taking out the various cuts. With the new agreement with the Czechs, that total take per cook is presumably significantly higher, even if we assume he isn't making quite as much from Phoenix.


In the recap video on AMC's website, they show the pile of money a few times. It's hard to get an accurate count because it's not stacked perfectly. From a rough count: Each level of the pile is about 15 bundles by 12 bundles, and there are at least 40 levels in the pile. That's at least 7,200 bundles. The pile is a mix of bundles of $20s, $50s, and $100s, with 100 bills in each bundle ($2,000, $5,000, or $10,000 per bundle).

If it was only bundles of $20s, it would be more than $14 million. If it was an even distribution of $20s, $50s, and $100s, it would be over $40 million.

If Walt's average take was $1.5 million per cook, 30 cooks would put them at $45 million.

[d_phaneuf]

saw a picture of this

the image within is what 100m looks like in 100's

[Flash Walken]

Walt said he could cook that methylamine into 300 million.

[Mike F]

Great episode overall.

The Crystal Blue Persuasion sequence was pure Goodfellas.

Trying to wrap my head around how the story arc final 8 will involve both Hank coming after Walt and Walt buying the heavy duty gun.

And if you're Hank, does everything you've gone through give you enough motivation to seek only to bring Walt to justice, destroying his family in the process, or do you just try to get him out?

[Pizza]

Originally Posted by getbak

It's a combination of factors:

1. He's been getting all the money without needing to split it with Jesse or Mike
2. He doesn't need to pay off Mike's guys or Lydia
3. The Phoenix crew is taking care of distribution
4. They have the new money coming in from the Czech Republic
5. They've increased the frequency of their cooks

After the first cook this season, Mike, Jesse, and Walt started with a split of $367,000 each before Mike started taking out the various cuts. With the new agreement with the Czechs, that total take per cook is presumably significantly higher, even if we assume he isn't making quite as much from Phoenix.


In the recap video on AMC's website, they show the pile of money a few times. It's hard to get an accurate count because it's not stacked perfectly. From a rough count: Each level of the pile is about 15 bundles by 12 bundles, and there are at least 40 levels in the pile. That's at least 7,200 bundles. The pile is a mix of bundles of $20s, $50s, and $100s, with 100 bills in each bundle ($2,000, $5,000, or $10,000 per bundle).

If it was only bundles of $20s, it would be more than $14 million. If it was an even distribution of $20s, $50s, and $100s, it would be over $40 million.

If Walt's average take was $1.5 million per cook, 30 cooks would put them at $45 million.

Didnt Lydia say she was taking 30%?

[Mike F]

Virtually all of this series has been from improbable to fantastical, so it was nice to see it really grounded in reality by having Hank's revelation hit him while he's sitting on the crapper.

[trackercowe]

Is Jesse aware that Walt killed Mike? Saul did tell him Walt was behind all the deaths of the potential witnesses, but I don't think he was made aware of Mike's execution.