Why Walter Could NEVER Quit - Overanalyzing Breaking Bad

Ajouté : 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Season 3, episode 4 is titled Green Lights, which has a couple of different but also shared meanings. Throughout this episode, Jesse is getting back into the business, and Walter ends up kind of being cut in. But despite claiming to want out of the whole ordeal, Gus functionally gives him a green light, or the go-ahad, to keep cooking, even if he himself is completely uninvolved. Gus plays on his ego. And so very fittingly when Walter gets his cut of Jesse's money, I guess we focus on a literal green light as Walter is very much contemplating of whether or not to get back into the businesses himself because he must be better. Similarly, the color green in the series represents greed and money. All things that will very much be driving his decision, but it also represents transformation, which is also very fitting considering that he does this whole thing of leaving the business, but then well, he's baited back in. This green light is pretty much a green light for Heisenberg round two.

[00:00:52]And if you really want to put on your over analysis hat, one might also see the title as a reference to the now very explicit race that is starting between Heisenberger and Hank. In this episode, we see Hank completely leave behind El Paso and eventually find the ATM that directly leads him to Jesse and eventually Walter himself. So, in [music] many ways, this whole dual plot of Walter seemingly already going back into the business, but hang coming out of nowhere and getting close to just straight up catching Jesse starts an entirely new sprint between these two signs. They are given the green lights.

[00:01:24]Is it a stretch? Yes, the answer is yes, it is a stretch. But like, do you not know what you're watching? Moving into the episode itself, we open at a gas station in the middle of somewhere that is closer to nowhere. And that may or may not also be why the gas station that is being used for filming here had actually been closed for a long time already. You can even see the traffic con set up to stop people from pulling into the station, thinking that all the filming activity might just be the station working. Also, if this is intentional, I want to give a personal high five to the camera person for noticing this. But the rust on this ATM almost looks like blood spatter, which would perfectly tie back into the peekaboo and the whole spooge headqu incident. In just a minute, we see Jesse become something oh so much worse than the Jesse we've known thus far. So, this small detail connecting us back to that day would truly be a galaxy brain move.

[00:02:14]Obviously a coincidence with it even being at this abandoned gas station, but still even noticing it on set. An absolutely galaxy brain move. But following Jesse's first solo cook, Heisenberg, he pulls into the station to fill up the RV. Unknowingly also posing for the ATM camera. Yeah, I don't have a card.

[00:02:33]>> I'm totally good for it. I'd come back.

[00:02:35]I swear.

[00:02:37]>> Jesse right now is living one of my deepest fears. Genuinely, I quadruple check whether I have seven different payment methods on me whenever I'm about to buy something. Yes, those seven do include bartering with pickles.

[00:02:49]>> Maybe we could um trade.

[00:02:54]>> Yeah, I don't do this kind of trade though. But much like that singular phone call right at the start of season 1 that eventually blew up Walter's entire secret life, this seemingly inconsequential trade will end up cascading into yet another disaster the likes of which we haven't seen before.

[00:03:10]>> But that stuff's really addictive, right?

[00:03:12]>> Not really. It's just a media thing.

[00:03:15]>> This scene right here marks a very chilling turn for Jesse. Thus far in the series, they've obviously been selling meth, which they know to be very bad, but they sold it with the philosophy of there being demand, which they are now filling with a superior product. It's nothing more than a rationalization, sure, but it was this implicit code that they abided by. With this scene, however, Jesse goes from just a drug dealer to a pusher, even going as far as to say that her fears of it being addictive is just a madeup media narrative when he himself has seen what it does to people. This is what I was referring to when I was talking about the ATM. There is knowing that this drug can destroy lives. That is an abstract and sure he knows it. But then there is seeing it like we saw with that little boy. All Jesse wished him was a good life. He condemned his parents for not taking care of him. He even risked getting involved with the police by putting in that anonymous call. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this sure as hell is not just a media narrative. This marks the first ever time in the series where Jesse not only drags people down with him, but much like Walter, is now spreading this corruption. Just like we talked about in episodes prior, for better or worse, he truly does seem like Jesse has been liberated from any and all prior moral beliefs and views himself as the bad guy with nothing more to gain or lose. And with that said, roll intro.

[00:04:43]Moving into the episode itself, we pick up with Saul, who is doing Saul things and apparently also putting together a class action lawsuit for the 515 plane crash. This becomes a bit of a recurring thing throughout this episode, and Saul is constantly talking to someone about just finding some kind of in with this whole class action lawsuit angle, but it's mostly used as a transitionary scene. So, for the most part, it's just kind of saying that, yeah, Saul is profiting off of a tragedy because it's Saul. One of these days, I'll get around to recreating that GTA character switching thing where Trevor is always doing something insane, but instead of Trevor, it's going to be Saul committing mild forms of fraud instead. But Mike then shows up waving a big red flag.

[00:05:21]>> Is this a good or a bad thing?

[00:05:25]>> You want me to suit myself? I'll suit myself to his face.

[00:05:29]>> It's a bad thing. Mike's asymmetric role between Saul and Gus was always one of those things that I kind of wish we learned more about. With the whole Walter divorce thing, it seems that Gus is only slightly kept in the loop and for the most part is just Saul and Mike doing their magic. On one hand, that makes perfect sense. Like the whole point of having someone like Mike is for him to solve problems without ever involving the head of the organization.

[00:05:51]At the end of the day, this is just a divorce and not, you know, two cartel guys showing up at his house with axes.

[00:05:58]So reporting something like a domestic spat to Gus directly might just seem like a waste of time. But on the other hand, the whole Walter situation is, how do I put this? Insane. And with Gus already making moves to pull him back into the business, I would imagine he also has put out feelers for what he's up to in general. That being said, Gus is getting his medical records and Mike would also mention this whole marriage spat, so he knows all the big story beats. And I admit this might just be me wanting more Breaking Bad lore. Sue me.

[00:06:28]Walter White to see Ted Bencki.

[00:06:30]>> I'm sorry Mr. Bencky's on a conference call.

[00:06:33]>> Okay, I know everybody always focuses on the goofiness to follow, but I also find this right here hilarious. Like, he literally pulls in as if he has an appointment and didn't just randomly stomp into the office and then do this not at all ominous. I have all the time in the world.

[00:06:54]I mean, with this kind of behavior, it's not very hard to clock you, Walter. I guess I'll just let Hank say it for me.

[00:07:00]>> Walt, I don't know, man. You've been seeming sus lately. At this point, Mike must be feeling very, very vindicated about his initial judgments because Walter is straight up just a liability.

[00:07:13]He literally got arrested when he decided to have a random screaming match with the police. And now he's stomping into Ted's office to, and I quote, suit myself at his face, whatever that means.

[00:07:23]The roles have not only flipped between Walter and Jesse, they have swung into the extremes with Jesse being a even more cutthroat businessman, while Walter is just a chaotic downward spiral.

[00:07:36]>> What are you doing?

[00:07:38]>> I'm talking with Ted.

[00:07:40]>> Okay, this scene is objectively funny, though, especially with like that mild voice crack. It's so good. And also know that Walt's windshield is now repaired, setting up a another running gag of sorts with it being broken over and over and over throughout the season. More on that when we get there because it is also used as a symbol of Walter's repeated futile attempts to fix his broken life. And we've already seen that before. So yeah, it's kind of a running gag, but it's also kind of a meaningful symbol. I guess that actually is true for most things in Breaking Bad. A lot of these things seem very comical, but they're also kind of important. But with Walter being Walterp, he of course spins right back around and tries to enter through the side door. Luckily for both him and everyone else involved, babysitter Mike comes to pick up little baby man Walter.

[00:08:19]>> What the hell is wrong with you?

[00:08:21]>> I think with repeated washes of Breaking Bad, all of us kind of realize that Walter is Yeah, he's one of the goofiest goobers of all goofy goobers. But now that I'm writing these overanalyzing videos, yeah, Saul, [music] I ask myself that question every single time I write one of these. Unbeknownst to them though, this whole intervention kind of also tips their hand and reveals that they are in fact following him and listening to him.

[00:08:41]>> Where to find me just now? How did you know?

[00:08:45]>> That's just my meticulousness. Don't bog down in detail. On the other hand, >> again, what can I even talk about here?

[00:08:55]Walter's crash house are practically becoming his base form. But do remember that there's a whole another layer of information symmetry here. Saul never learns about the cousins at Walter's house. So when he spins this story about bugging his house, he can only talk about the divorce because, well, he doesn't really know there's anything else. The reality though is a little bit more complicated because Mike was already told to keep an eye on Walter by Gus and just chose to withhold that information from Saul, not to have another wrecking ball of chaos making a mess of things. Even in just Breaking Bad, we already know that Saul has been involved with some cartel dealings. So, if he were to start going out and trying to cut deals with the cartel because, well, there are two very dashing men walking around with axes, that might upset the delicate balance between Gus and the rest of the cartel, which then risked this whole investment in Walter, and basically everything would be bad.

[00:09:41]And so, yes, much like with Walter's personal story of him kind of just bumbling through the world while an axe is dangling over his head, the story at large, including characters like Saul, also pivots into this borderline comical plot, while the drug world looms in the background and only occasionally reminds us that it is actually the thing that is pulling the strings now. And also, Saul mentions that he's going to cut off the moneyaundering zombies. But we already saw that the donations seem to have slowed down drastically, like to the point of basically not coming through.

[00:10:09]So, I'm not too sure what to make of this whole website thing. It seemed to have been going in the background, but we barely saw it after that one episode.

[00:10:17]But in this episode, Walt Junior does mention that it seems like it stopped completely, so who knows?

[00:10:23]>> Sometimes it doesn't hurt to have someone watching your back.

[00:10:28]>> I guess Mike just couldn't resist, but obviously Walter is still mid crash out, so it completely flies over his head and he doesn't register practically anything he is saying. There is a literal scythe drawn on his pavement, but Walter just turns right back around and just like with the shower singing, returns to a state of ignorance. Like he was yelling back at Skyler, he truly believes that he has left the drug world and he can burn all bridges without a care in the world and nothing will ever come back to bite him. And by the end of this episode, Pete, of course, get another reminder that no, it's not that simple.

[00:11:00]That being said, I know the scythe is supposed to be very ominous, but I'm sorry. I also find it kind of hilarious.

[00:11:06]I know I clowned on the cousins making sure that their outfits match every morning, but just imagining the image of these two straight up Terminator looking dudes coming to draw a little picture to scare Walter is so funny to me. Like, just imagine the two of them crouching down and drawing this little drawing to scare him. Like, I think our two bros might have watched a little too much Full Metal Alchemist and forgot that a real axe is ever so slightly more spooky than a literal chalk drawing. And actually taking that even further, what the hell were these two even doing? Just molding out at Walter's house until the rage became too much so they had to convey their emotions in this urban art.

[00:11:43]Bravo, Vince. But I do very much want season 3 from the point of view of the cousins because what the hell were they doing? Were they just like hanging around? We then get to Walter in class where he's completely zoned out with one of the students even going to get Carmen.

[00:11:59]What's up?

[00:12:02]As if Walter's crashouts weren't enough this episode, as Carmen tries to talk to Walter, he suddenly starts making weird advances on her, and naturally things quickly become very, very uncomfortable.

[00:12:12]Obviously, this is just not great regardless of the context, but I think Walter's reasoning, and calling it reasoning is very much a stretch, makes it even worse. I think this is him literally just being so fragile that despite wanting to get back together with Skylar, he has to go tit for tat to retain his vision of himself. I think that's where his thought process starts and ends. It's literally just you did so I will too. Even if it directly contradicts his whole narrative of doing everything for his family and wanting to keep them close. And the thing is I don't even think he wanted to use this as ammunition against Skylar or anything. I think even if something happened here, he wouldn't actually tell her. I mean, if he wanted to hurt her, he could just lie, right? But no, I think this is him just trying to save his own ego purely for himself and no one else. And his reaction after Carmen pushes him away makes it even worse.

[00:13:02]There is absolutely no hint of, "Oh, I misread the situation." Or, "I'm sorry."

[00:13:06]or quite literally anything. He just pulls back with a smug smile as if asking, "Huh? What's the problem?" In his mind, it's almost like he is entitled to whatever this jab at Skyler was supposed to be. And whatever happens in between, he's just kind of whatever.

[00:13:21]I've said this before and I'll say it again. I will never not be shocked by how insanely w this transition in Walter has written and just how quickly he slips into this nonchalant weirdo who is just kind of being weird to literally everyone else around him. Throughout season 1 and two, he did have many old crash out, some of which were definitely self-sabotage. But after he learns that the cancer is in remission, and especially after the plane crash, Walter's spiral is just absurd. I do think a big part of that is the pivot in writing style that we've talked about before and prioritizing direct character consequences over this big picture plot.

[00:13:54]But whatever the reason, I absolutely love all of these completely random encounters to now show just how far Walter has fallen. When we were dealing with all the drug business stuff, sure we could see that Walter was slipping and again there were many crashs, but the contrast just wasn't really there.

[00:14:10]He was surrounded by mildly insane people. So him being mildly insane was just kind of whatever. But now when he is bouncing off of completely ordinary people and well doing at this point typical Walter things, yeah, we see that transition very very clearly. We then cut to Hank and Marie sharing a very awkward car ride to the airport. Of course implying that even with the whole bar incident, Hank is still going to El Paso. But the thing is, after what happened last time and Hank just straight up breaking down, Murray obviously doesn't want him to go and Hank himself is also still dealing with the trauma and attempted self-sabotage to lose the promotion. And so we have this very odd scene of the both of them Nas wanting him to go, but Hank having to somehow convince both himself and Marie that he wants to go.

[00:14:56]>> What about last time?

[00:14:58]>> What about last time?

[00:15:00]>> And that right there is the saddest part. As with pretty much any Breaking Bad character, and I suppose any person in general, Hank has these preconceived ideals of who he is. And when reality doesn't align with that perfect vision, he just starts spinning out. In his mind, he is the macho man, completely unaffected by anything. He will joyfully take pictures of a mutilated body and clown on how they died. He'll do some mad flexing about all the drug busts they've done. And generally, he always puts out this unshakable confidence. But after the isolation he felt in El Paso and especially the Tortuga incidents, reality just doesn't match that vision anymore. But instead of seeking help, he devolves to all kinds of self-destructive things to somehow brute force that confidence back. He might be the clear antagonist to Walter throughout the story, but in many ways, they're exactly alike with this self-destructive and toxic pride definitely being one of them.

[00:15:52]>> Blue, huh? Things I'm supposed to get on a plane right now. The stuff this guy had was blue. You sure about that?

[00:15:58]I guess that's one more thing they have in common. Going to the airport and never flying anywhere. Because yes, the lore of Heisenberg remains too strong for Hank. At this point, whoever this mastermind is has been outmaneuvering them at every single turn and is dropping in and out of the map almost as if they were taunting him. The reality is, of course, very, very different. And this latest instance isn't even Heisenberg. It is his protege, Captain Cook, which if you told about this to Hank, I don't think he'd believe you that Jesse cooked up anything like that.

[00:16:26]But for Hank, this is one last big mystery that he just has to crack and just about the only thing that is actually keeping him grounded. And speaking of all Heisenberg's protege, as Walter goes on his quote unquote indefinite leave, Jesse waits for him in the parking lot. Somewhat paradoxically, the whole Walter Jesse dynamic has suddenly become infinitely calmer. Not only does Walter not crash out about Jesse being here, when Jesse himself says that, "Hey, maybe we should, you know, meet up somewhere else," he says, "Nah, this is fine." And Jesse is also here just to get Walter's blessing.

[00:16:58]There is no conflict, no nothing. He just wants to show him what he's doing and get a deal in with Gus and that's it. Obviously, this is not going to last. But still, Walter trying to save face, not with his family or his loved ones or generally people he quote unquote respects, but someone else from the drug world is certainly one hell of an inversion. with how he frames this whole indefinite leave and more of a sbatical. It's almost like he's talking to his gray matter friends and not Jesse, but that is what their dynamic has become. And he is one of the people that Walter kind of wants the respect of >> like a sbatical indefinite.

[00:17:35]>> Jesse goes on to ask for an introduction with Gus, saying that cooking is the one thing that he's good at. But just like with 4 Days Out, a very rare Papa Walter shines through and he tries to talk Jesse out of going back into the business.

[00:17:48]>> Now that is just not true. You're good at a lot of things, son.

[00:17:54]>> Quite literally calling him son, I think, speaks for itself. I think this is one of those rare moments in the series where there really is no ulterior motive. And when Walter tries to talk Jesse out of doing literally anything to do with drugs whatsoever, I think that is just him protecting him. Despite all of his rationalizations and even blaming the big boogeyman, the government, Walter clearly feels guilty about a lot of the things that have happened. So when it comes to Jesse even raising the possibility of going back into the business that killed Jane and then caused the plane crash and all these other things, yeah, I think Papa Walter just doesn't want any more blood on his hands. But the thing is, this is Walter.

[00:18:31]So when Jesse proceeds to show him the results of his first cook, >> what in the hell is this? This is my product. This is my formula. This is mine.

[00:18:44]>> And just like that, the spiral continues. All of that worry and all of that care vanishes in an instance. And the only thing Walshshire can think of is his apparently trademark products. He is never worried about Jesse getting involved with something messy and then that having blowback on him. He never mentions wanting money or literally anything else practical. There is no concern for Jesse dying, Jesse getting involved with anything. Nope. The only thing he does is take these awkward jabs at Jesse where he fails spectacularly.

[00:19:14]What did you use for reduction? Platinum dioxide.

[00:19:18]>> No, mercury aluminum amalgam. The dioxide's too hard to keep wet.

[00:19:23]>> All right. Well, you must have done it wrong then. Admittedly, the whole, "Well, then you didn't do it right." is very, very funny. But yeah, this is yet again 100% pride and that is all there is to it. Which, by the way, is even crazier considering that number one, he never reached a 737,000 goal. Number two, if all he cares about are legitimate trademarks of my product, well, then outsourcing and franchising would be the big legitimate businessman move, right? And most of all, three, in his mind, Gus is still the no strings attached, perfect businessman. So, he is currently turning down free passive income from a completely trusted source, likely ending up in the millions just because he didn't want to give away a secret Krabby Patty formula. Frankly, at this point, I'm kind of surprised that Walter can even keep any kind of logical consistency in his own brain. Because when we would hear about gray matter and the billions he lost out there, the whole thing was that he sold his share, right? So his work ended up profiting someone that is not him. But here his work would also still be profiting him.

[00:20:24]Yeah, it's not just him, but that's what building out this grand business would be like, right? It is his genius that is now being used by someone else to make him money, but he turns it down. His most recent head cannon is that he can be a criminal and that this is not what he does anymore. But literally in a couple episodes, he'd be back to it. So like, how does he even like make sense of it in his own brain? Cuz obviously we know that Walter is just all about pride, right? Like we know this from the outside looking in. But what is going on in his noodle? How does he come up with these rationalizations? It's fascinating to me. And as Jesse pulls away, we get this absolutely beautiful shot of Walter's belongings scattering across the ground. This is his life now. The picture of his family is shattered. His professional life is in scrambles. And now even the thing that made him unique is being replicated by Jesse. And the thing is, once the whole hang thing goes haywire, Walter does compliment Jesse's cooking. And even though there I think is leaning on the side of manipulation, I think there was pretty clearly a kernel of honesty in what he's saying.

[00:21:23]And I think that in and of itself is also making him crash out because he's realizing that he's not unique. If he is truly the science man that he says he is, he knows perfectly well that there is no magic sauce in science. That's what makes it science. Jesse being able to replicate his formula doesn't take anything away from his work. If anything, it means that his methods are perfectly replicable, which is good science. But still, his ego is just too strong, and he can't allow anyone to take away that spotlight. Even if once upon a time that was a supposedly one and only goal for him. It is this crushing realization that even when he built this seeming empire, even in that he is not one of a kind. There is nothing special about him. He is just a single bumbling bozo that again is actually being governed by completely external forces. We then cut to Skyler where she tries making some small talk with the secretary, but with the whole Walter thing and likely rumors about Ted also swinging around, she isn't exactly the most popular person in the office.

[00:22:22]And of course, also note that she is in full black, the color of corruption, with us then quickly cutting to Ted's house and excitement noises. Obviously, this is no longer just a singular strike at Walter's ego, and she is starting to enjoy whatever this slightly odd relationship is becoming. We already seen Skylar fall back on smoking as a crutch for all the stress. So, I think this is basically replacing that. She likes having this sense of autonomy, and every single time they're together, she can feel like that she is clawing her way further and further from Walter. But because this is Vince, that naturally means that there won't be a happily ever after, and she is actually crawling toward another pit of despair and a massive financial fraud. They briefly talk about going through their respective divorces, and naturally, Ted eventually asks, >> "Where'd it go wrong exactly with you and Walt?"

[00:23:08]>> Skyler dodges the question, saying it makes her uncomfortable. But when Ted says that, he just wants to make sure he doesn't make the same mistake.

[00:23:14]>> Got to make sure I don't make the same mistake.

[00:23:17]>> I would be amazed. I have no idea if this is meant to be very deliberate foreshadowing or it just kind of happens to work out, but despite Skylar's assurances that he could never become someone like Walter, he literally does.

[00:23:29]It's not about the actual criminality or the fraud or anything. It's about the completely self-absorbed thinking that we would see from him with him eventually becoming just as self-destructive as Walter. As of now, I think it's more so meant to draw a clear line between the truly unhinged Heisenberger and Ted's white collar crime. But soon enough it does very much become a absolute power corrupts absolutely type of deal. So I think that also works out as kind of foreshadowing.

[00:23:54]That's your brain working at maximum capacity.

[00:23:58]>> Hello.

[00:24:00]>> It was definitely him name.

[00:24:02]>> Yeah, it's gone.

[00:24:06]>> Absolutely glorious performance from Russell played by Mark Hansen here. Wish we got to see more of this goofball. All of this is just meant to show that Hank seems to be back in his elements and locked in on Heisenberger.

[00:24:18]>> Don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful. Gome, just apologize and buy me a beer.

[00:24:23]>> And I say seems to be back in his elements because clearly it's a mirage.

[00:24:28]As soon as Gomez tries engaging in their usual, haha, you're wrong banter or even just trying to act like a partner, Hank goes completely off the rails and practically just tells him to get lost.

[00:24:38]Similar to what we talked about with Walter and his lunacy now being on full display as he interacts with just ordinary people around him. I think we are seeing something very similar with Hank. We saw how his PTSD was completely absorbing his life and we saw just how distant he became. But whenever it came to other people, whether that be Gomez or Marie or Walter or whoever else, he'd instantly put back on a happy face and that was a shield. Now though, that mask is barely even on and is becoming blatantly clear to everyone that he is struggling. But again, because of this whole idea that he is the manly man who can never ask for help, Gomez asking whether he's just all right is almost seen as an insult. Truly excellent human drama. And I love how all those parallels to Walter actually work out.

[00:25:23]After a brief check-in with Saul and Jesse, who now want to establish their own business with Gus, we got to Mike meeting [music] with the man himself. He recaps all the ongoings with Walter and says that he doesn't think he's coming back on his own. Before we talk about that though, I obviously had to look at Walter's blood tests and the only notable deviation is a slightly elevated MCV and a lowered white blood cell counts, which I think is in line with what you would expect from a patient in remission. Obviously, I'm a goofy goober, so take all of this with not a grain of salt, but like a handful of salt. But based on my understanding, some chemo drugs can cause red blood cells to become larger than normal even after treatment is done. It doesn't affect health much, but it will show up as elevated MCV pretty much in all blood tests. And the lowered white blood cell counts is just a direct outcome of treating the cancer. So very very big thumbs up because as a simple prop seems very accurate. The only thing that had me raise an eyebrow was that is baso or baso. I've got no idea what it actually is differential is actually just straight up zero. I went to look through all of my blood tests and yeah, my lab's reference range is actually the same as Walters, but still seeing a zero there just feels wrong somehow. Like this is not one of those autoimmunity indicators or anything like that. So seeing a zero on just a regular differential feels weird to me. Even though it's supposed to be right, it still feels wrong to me.

[00:26:36]I've never had it be zero. Zero is very spooky. I just looked it up and actually I think it makes sense for Walter because like they're supposed to be the quote unquote alarm system of the immune system and then if his white blood cells are lowered as well and his immune system is weakened I suppose that makes sense still though a zero spooky. Back to more sensible matters. Gus makes it clear that he's trying to play the puppet master and he's trying to make Walter want this for [music] himself which yeah that seems part for the course for him.

[00:27:02]>> He will live for the foreseeable future.

[00:27:04]Yes.

[00:27:05]>> Boring acts of God and men with axes.

[00:27:08]But upon hearing of the whole Walter Jesse split, Gus quickly comes up with a plan to weaponize said split to pull Waltberger back in. We of course just saw exactly what to expect from this kind of plan. So yeah, it is going to work. But Gus obviously didn't see that crash out. So I think this is just meant to be another scene to build up his constantly five moves ahead type vibe.

[00:27:27]He has correctly profiled Walter as not careful and very emotional. So weaponizing this kind of thing, I mean, it just makes sense. Returning to Hank, his higher-ups finally start tracking him down since, you know, he just randomly disappeared and never got on the plane. He ignores the phone call and we see his notepad with just a list of sound.

[00:27:46]>> Despite Russell not exactly being the most reliable narrator, Hank is so desperate for this one in a 100 chance that he is quite literally following up on every single possible option solo with just a m sound. In hindsight, we know that this pays off. But in terms of here and now, this isn't exactly healthy for his career or even personal life.

[00:28:08]Obsessing over a unsolvable case, and ghosting literally everyone in the process isn't really the best way to deal with stress, you know. But that then takes us full circle with Hank swinging by the gas station.

[00:28:19]>> You're a bad liar. Ter need to tell me where this came from right now.

[00:28:24]She tries recalling details about Jesse, but by season 3, he has lost his signature juvenile clothing style. So, there's not really anything specific she can pull on. He just kind of looked like a dude. Ditto for hair and tattoos.

[00:28:37]Jesse has tattoos, but nothing that would really stick in your memory. But, she does remember one very, very important detail.

[00:28:45]>> He drove an RV.

[00:28:47]>> Okay. The goof about Hank asking whether the camera works and then just smash cutting to him getting in the car is a gradea goof. But a short moment later, Hank spots the ATM. And just like that, he has the absolute clearest link to Walter since the gas mask in season 1. I will never forget watching this for the first time because, well, this really does take Hank from something that can barely even be called evidence to the jackpot in a single scene. And with Walter now being infinitely more nonchalant about meeting up with Jesse and whatnot. I mean, again, they just kind of met up in the parking lot, I think you could already see about a dozen different ways this might go very, very poorly. Jumping back to Walter, we get yet another breakfast scene where, let's just say there's not a lot of whimsy.

[00:29:34]>> Yeah. Well, also note that Walt Junior and Skyler both have actually cooked meals, while Walter is the only one eating cereal.

[00:29:42]The implication being that she only made breakfast for the two of them and simply ignored Walter's presence. And also know that Skylar left her tea bag in the tea.

[00:29:49]Don't do that. It gets nasty. But man, is this scene rough to watch. Walter and Skyler being miserable is just kind of whatever. Boohoo. But while Junior obviously seeing that things are not whimsy, is just constantly asking questions to try to spur on at least some kind of normaly, but he gets nothing back. It's just this weird unspoken chess game between the two. and Junior gets caught in the middle. The complete opposite of what the both of them have been striving for. That's where we leave them for now. It's just another small breakfast scene to sort of show us just how dysfunctional their family is now. But we then return to Hank meeting up with his chief.

[00:30:24]>> Are you going to El Paso, Hank?

[00:30:26]>> With pointy boots and bells on just I got this break in the Heisenberg case.

[00:30:31]>> Hank presents his findings, which all make sense and everything, but as he joyfully says that there are only 29 of them, things take a bit of a turn. only 29.

[00:30:40]>> So, I got to go uh, you know, knock on some doors.

[00:30:43]>> They need you in El Paso, Hank.

[00:30:45]>> 29 different things might sound good on the surface, but sending one of your agents to spend days chasing down random 29 RVs is not a good allocation of resources to say the least. And so Hank is presented with an ultimatum.

[00:31:00]>> Are you going to El Paso now? It's a simple yes or no.

[00:31:05]>> No.

[00:31:08]I can't.

[00:31:10]>> As far as we know, George doesn't know anything about Hank's mental health struggles or really much else of what's going on with him. But judging by this scene in isolation, I think it's pretty clear that he picks up on something being off with him. Gomez might just think that Hank is being a little wacky, goofy, but as the chief, I think George would have seen dozens of cases like him. So this whole hyperfixation and weird avoidance must tip him off that Hank can't go if he wishes to survive. I almost see him presenting Hank with this very explicit choice as more so for Hank than even for him as in allowing him to accept the reality of not wanting to go rather than constantly doing this weird roundabout dance of crafting rationalizations for himself. It is much better to accept the disappointing reality of not being good enough rather than living your whole life in fear of an imagined future. Right? There is chasing Heisenberg and then there is running from something else. These are two very different things. And by presenting him with this choice, he effectively allows him to say, "No, I am actually chasing Heisenberg and not just running from this thing." We never really learned for sure what he did or did not know. But letting Hank just go chase around 29 RVs. I mean, that's not a choice you make when you're worried about filling quotas or trying to minmax some funding politics. This is something that he very much does for the health of his agents. The final scenes of the episode take us back to Walter and a very special news broadcast.

[00:32:36]>> Donald Margolus, the air traffic controller criticized for his role in the recent air disaster, apparently the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. And right on the heels of Walter's indirect involvement in another almost death, >> I think the connection there is very clear. This is how that money is made.

[00:32:58][music] Death and suffering is what brings him these cutesy little bags of money. And changing the channel won't undo or change any of that. And with us then focusing on the title green light.

[00:33:09]Gus's plan is a go. And Walter is about to be baited back into that very business. Absolute cinema. And with that, that is green light. This marks the end of what I kind of view as the first major block of the season. And from this point onward, yeah, the drug story is going back into play. And now we're going to be seeing less of Walter's crashs and more of Walter scheming because of Walter's crashs. So swings and roundabouts. That being said, I know I already said this, but the cyclicality in this episode so good. And you know what else is so good? Yep, that's right. Our YouTube members and patrons who I want to give a massive thank you to. And let's also give a warm welcome to the newest members of the team. Wing lurk, I think. Better watch TV and Ash Nas or Nolies. Without you, there be a whole lot at least my rambling. So, seriously, thank you.

[00:33:56]Thank you. Other than that, I want to say thank you very much for watching. I hope you have a great day and hopefully I'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye.

[00:34:03]Hey.