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| Skyler White (Anna Gunn) in 5.12 "Rabid Dog" |
So I think I called it last week when I said I thought Walt wouldn't be the person to walk in on Jesse before he could set fire to the White house. Hank was my first choice, but I have to admit, I really wasn't too confident, because this show so rarely goes where I expect it to. Still, score 1 for me (which makes a total of 2 for those who're interested).
For me, the two biggest character moments last night belong to Skyler and Hank. Both moments are profoundly disturbing, and more than a little terrifying in terms of the final episodes. First, Skyler has undergone a profound change of perspective from the desperate woman of 5.04 "Fifty-One" when she informed Walt in no uncertain terms that "I will not have my children living in a house where dealing drugs, and hurting people, and killing people is shrugged off as ‘shit happens’," to the woman who last night urged Walt to kill Jesse with a weary "What's one more?" The effect of Walt's falsified confession, which Skyler helped him produce, has been enormous. For Skyler, that DVD marked the inescapable betrayal of everything she ever thought was true about herself. She knows that her relationship with Marie, the only blood-family she has in her life (besides her kids), is utterly destroyed, and unlike Marie's steely determination to see Walt ended, Skyler has no one she can blame, no one she can hate for what she;s done but herself. Be aware that right now Skyler may be the most dangerous person on the show, because, in a way, she has nothing left to lose.
Speaking of Marie, I admit to pumping my fist in the air and hooting aloud when the following went down:
Marie: "Will this hurt Walt?"
Hank: "Yes."
Marie: "Good." [Turns and begins to walk away] "I'm staying." [Jesse's phone rings] "Phone's ringing."
God I love that woman! And she's almost as dangerous as Skyler at this point.
Which brings me to Hank's equally chilling change. Throughout the series, all the way back to the pilot episode when he made damn sure the school bus was out of the way before ordering his men to take down the meth house, Hank's concern has always been with the safety of others, particularly the innocent. Notice how, when he puts Jesse in his car at Walt's house, he very gently takes the time to make sure he's buckled in. Yet after Jesse's confession (and it appears that Jesse told ALL), when Gomez raises the possibility of there being a real danger to Jesse's life in Hank's plan to send him to talk to Walt while wearing a wire, Hank reacts with disdainful and sarcastic unconcern: "You mean that junkie murder that's dribbling all over my guest bathroom floor?" Gomez's eyes say it all - this isn't the Hank he knows. Hank's bone-deep fury and drive to bring Walt down has pushed him beyond his usual morality, and that's not only scary, but deeply sad.
As for Jesse himself, his sudden confidence at the end of the episode is strange, and I have absolutely no idea what his plan may be, or how he intends to "hit [Walt] where it hurts." Jesse's angry, but he's not quite truly dangerous yet. If, however, Walt's episode-ending call to Todd is truly to put a hit on Jesse, Things may be about to get truly ugly. After all, I doubt Walt has told Todd or uncle Jack that Hank is DEA, and if they track Jesse to Hank's house, then Hank and Marie may well become "collateral" damage.
And that, Reader's Mine, is when Skyler will snap. We'll see.
So I hope everyone here in the US had a happy, lazy Labor Day, and I'll see all of you next week. In the meantime, fell free to follow me here, there, and everywhere - the links are above and to the right. Until next week --
Be well!
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