'Half Measures' takes the cake as the best episode of this season, knocking 'One Minute' clear off the top spot. The ending was so chilling that I was speechless for a few minutes, too shocked after what I had just witnessed. Yes, it's extremely powerful, and would certainly bring terrible consequences upon all the characters.
The episode begins with Walt teaching his son how to drive. Walter Jr.'s driving skills seems to have improved tremendously since the previous time he crashed into a barrel, albeit the fact that he's still using both feet. He asks Walt if it would be okay to use the car during his provisional licence exam, and Walt agrees. However, what happens later will make this impossible. The windshield above is Walt's third, and he'll be needing a new one again soon.
Back home, Skyler is Wikipedia-ing her new career, money laundering. Looks like she doesn't know much about it, even though she had adamantly insisted to Saul that as a bookeeper, she knew everything about it. I never knew this page existed, well, maybe that's because I never went looking for it before.
When Walt returns, Skyler confronts him again, insisting that she should be the 'danny' of his new business. Walt still disagrees, saying that it would be safer if she wasn't involved. If he was caught, she would not be implicated alongside him. However, being Skyler, she stubbornly refuses, though her arguments do make sense. It was perfectly logical for him to front a car wash business, unlike Laser Tag. When Walt finally gives in, he manages to negotiate a 5-night-dinner-with-family truce with Skyler so that they appear closer as a family, giving a good reason why he would employ his estranged wife to take care of his new business.
Meanwhile, Jesse, who is still intent on revenge against the druggies who killed his friend Combo, came to Walt looking for a certain type of rhizome, which they had planned to use against Tuco back in season 2. The poison would kill them once they consume it and Jesse planned to get it into their food via Wendy, his friendly whore. She delivers food to them in return for a discount on meth. Pretty good business actually. All she has to do is deliver a few burgers and she gets cheaper meth.
Being the sensible partner, Walt of course disagrees with Jesse's extremely dangerous, stupid and pointless plan. "Murder is not a part of your 12-Step Programme... You're not a murderer, and neither am I." This isn't entirely accurate as Walt IS a murderer, back in season 1, he killed Emilio and Krazy-8, and in season 2 he let Jane die without doing anything. However, Jesse insists that he will do it, with or without Walt's help;
Quite a bit of this episode centers on Wendy, with her getting her own song and video about her daily life; providing her services, smoking meth, delivering burgers to drug dealers, etc. Only the creators of Breaking Bad can make something as bleak as this funny, as I find myself giggling alongside The Association's Windy, which provides the background melody of Wendy's life.
Jesse worked hard to convince Wendy to do her part in his plan, insisting that she wouldn't want her kid being used by those drug dealers as a murderer like Tomas. He also managed to get his hands on some slow-acting poison online, because Walt refused to provide him with the rhizome. At first I thought Jesse wanted revenge for Combo's death, but apparently he only wanted the two guys to pay because they manipulated an 11-year-old boy into doing their bidding and thus destroying his life. Looks like Jesse has a soft spot for kids, like back in season 2 when he broke into the 'ATM Skank's' house to threaten her and ended up babysitting her kid. Well, his argument worked, and Wendy agrees to the plan.
Walt, worried about Jesse and his volatility, meets up with Saul and requests that he arrange for Jesse to be locked up for a while until he cools down a little. Saul agrees, and calls Mike to do it. Later that night, Walt receives an unexpected visit from Mike, who clearly disapproves with Walt and Saul's plan, because Gus would not like it. Funny how Saul always thinks that Mike is working for him, but that he is actually getting orders from Saul.
Mike gets his own private moment here, when he explains to Walt the concept of 'half measures'. Back when he was younger, he used to be a cop. There was a man who beat his wife regularly, and Mike would lock him up sometimes, but because the wife refused to talk out of fear, had to be released again and went back to beating his wife. One day, Mike arrested him, brought him to a secluded spot, and stuffed a gun into his mouth. While the man blabbered and wept with fear, Mike threatened that if he ever hurt his wife again, there would be no mercy.
The man returned, and two weeks later, killed his wife. Because of this incident, Mike regretted his 'half measure' of simply threatening the man. He should have gone all the way and blew his brains out, the 'full measure'. Had he done that, the man's wife would still be alive today. Mike advised Walt to always take the full measure, because half measures are never enough. Locking Jesse up is a half measure, and it would be pointless. He needs the full measure.
The next day, while Jesse and Wendy waited for the two druggies, Mike and another guy appears, telling Wendy to take a walk, and driving Wendy down to Gus's meeting place, where he last met Tuco's uncle and the cousins (where is Tuco's uncle, by the way?). In the room, Jesse meets Gus, Walt, and the two druggies. He immediately launches into a tirade against Walt for ratting him out to Gus. But Gus silently informed him that if it wasn't for Walt, Jesse would be long dead for trying to kill his two men. For the first time, we see true anger in Gus's expression, and it changes him completely.
Jesse argues, insisting that he didn't want the two druggies to manipulate young children into doing their dirty work. Gus compromises, telling his two men "No more children," and insisting that Jesse keep the peace. Unable to do anything surrounded by five men who could kill him easily, Jesse reluctantly agrees. He shakes hand with the two men, and Walt drives him back to where his car was left. He's still angry with Walt for the intervention, and leaves immediately without a word.
At the hospital, Marie tries without succes to convince an increasingly cranky Hank to return home with her. Finally she makes a bet with him while giving hima sponge bath. If she could give him a hard-on in one minute, he would have to return home with her. Since Hank couldn't move anything below his waist, he agrees, feeling pretty sure that Marie would fail. However, she surprisingly succeeds, much to his pleausre and chagrin, and Hanks's expression as he was wheeled out of his room with a box of flowers on his lap, and a triumphant Marie following behind, is totally priceless.
The next day, Jesse didn't turn up for work, even after Walt's repeated calls. He was still angry, and spent the day at Andrea's, at least until she got a shocking call from her grandmother. Tomas is dead, apparently killed in a gang execution. They headed for the crime scene, and watched as Tomas' body was covered with a white cloth. Andrea is inconsolable, and Jesse wants revenge. He knew exactly who had killed Tomas, and they would pay.
At Walt's home, while having dinner with his family, he hears the news. A young boy had been killed in a gang execution. Shocked and knowing immediately what Jesse was about to do, Walt rushes out of his house in the middle of dinner, leaving behind a confused Skyler and Walter Jr. I knew he wanted to stop Jesse from murdering the two druggies, but what never hit me was how he planned to do it.
Jesse stakes out the two guys in his car, taking a whiff of Tomas' meth to calm himself down. Looks like Jesse's back on drugs, after a whole season of going cold turkey. He grabs a gun from nderneath the seat, opens the door, and starts walking towards the men's car. They also appear, and walk towards Jesse. As the three approach, all of them pull out guns. Just before the gunfight began, the screech of tyres is heard in the background, and Walt's Pontiac Aztek appears out of nowhere, running the two druggies down.
One of them is crushed underneath the car's wheels, but the other has been flung behind it and is still alive. Jesse is still looking shocked whe the guy sturggles to get up. Walt exits his car, walks towards the live one, picks up his gun, and shoots him clean through the skull. Then he looks up at Jesse and utters a single, chilling word. "Run." His haunting expression, coupled with a chilling voice, shall remain in my mind forever. In ths moment, we can see that the old Walt is gone, and Heisenberg has returned. With this scene, Bryan Cranston once against proves to us why he deserves his Best Actor Emmy's for the past two years.
Back home, Skyler is Wikipedia-ing her new career, money laundering. Looks like she doesn't know much about it, even though she had adamantly insisted to Saul that as a bookeeper, she knew everything about it. I never knew this page existed, well, maybe that's because I never went looking for it before.
When Walt returns, Skyler confronts him again, insisting that she should be the 'danny' of his new business. Walt still disagrees, saying that it would be safer if she wasn't involved. If he was caught, she would not be implicated alongside him. However, being Skyler, she stubbornly refuses, though her arguments do make sense. It was perfectly logical for him to front a car wash business, unlike Laser Tag. When Walt finally gives in, he manages to negotiate a 5-night-dinner-with-family truce with Skyler so that they appear closer as a family, giving a good reason why he would employ his estranged wife to take care of his new business.
Meanwhile, Jesse, who is still intent on revenge against the druggies who killed his friend Combo, came to Walt looking for a certain type of rhizome, which they had planned to use against Tuco back in season 2. The poison would kill them once they consume it and Jesse planned to get it into their food via Wendy, his friendly whore. She delivers food to them in return for a discount on meth. Pretty good business actually. All she has to do is deliver a few burgers and she gets cheaper meth.
Being the sensible partner, Walt of course disagrees with Jesse's extremely dangerous, stupid and pointless plan. "Murder is not a part of your 12-Step Programme... You're not a murderer, and neither am I." This isn't entirely accurate as Walt IS a murderer, back in season 1, he killed Emilio and Krazy-8, and in season 2 he let Jane die without doing anything. However, Jesse insists that he will do it, with or without Walt's help;
Quite a bit of this episode centers on Wendy, with her getting her own song and video about her daily life; providing her services, smoking meth, delivering burgers to drug dealers, etc. Only the creators of Breaking Bad can make something as bleak as this funny, as I find myself giggling alongside The Association's Windy, which provides the background melody of Wendy's life.
Jesse worked hard to convince Wendy to do her part in his plan, insisting that she wouldn't want her kid being used by those drug dealers as a murderer like Tomas. He also managed to get his hands on some slow-acting poison online, because Walt refused to provide him with the rhizome. At first I thought Jesse wanted revenge for Combo's death, but apparently he only wanted the two guys to pay because they manipulated an 11-year-old boy into doing their bidding and thus destroying his life. Looks like Jesse has a soft spot for kids, like back in season 2 when he broke into the 'ATM Skank's' house to threaten her and ended up babysitting her kid. Well, his argument worked, and Wendy agrees to the plan.
Walt, worried about Jesse and his volatility, meets up with Saul and requests that he arrange for Jesse to be locked up for a while until he cools down a little. Saul agrees, and calls Mike to do it. Later that night, Walt receives an unexpected visit from Mike, who clearly disapproves with Walt and Saul's plan, because Gus would not like it. Funny how Saul always thinks that Mike is working for him, but that he is actually getting orders from Saul.
Mike gets his own private moment here, when he explains to Walt the concept of 'half measures'. Back when he was younger, he used to be a cop. There was a man who beat his wife regularly, and Mike would lock him up sometimes, but because the wife refused to talk out of fear, had to be released again and went back to beating his wife. One day, Mike arrested him, brought him to a secluded spot, and stuffed a gun into his mouth. While the man blabbered and wept with fear, Mike threatened that if he ever hurt his wife again, there would be no mercy.
The man returned, and two weeks later, killed his wife. Because of this incident, Mike regretted his 'half measure' of simply threatening the man. He should have gone all the way and blew his brains out, the 'full measure'. Had he done that, the man's wife would still be alive today. Mike advised Walt to always take the full measure, because half measures are never enough. Locking Jesse up is a half measure, and it would be pointless. He needs the full measure.
The next day, while Jesse and Wendy waited for the two druggies, Mike and another guy appears, telling Wendy to take a walk, and driving Wendy down to Gus's meeting place, where he last met Tuco's uncle and the cousins (where is Tuco's uncle, by the way?). In the room, Jesse meets Gus, Walt, and the two druggies. He immediately launches into a tirade against Walt for ratting him out to Gus. But Gus silently informed him that if it wasn't for Walt, Jesse would be long dead for trying to kill his two men. For the first time, we see true anger in Gus's expression, and it changes him completely.
Jesse argues, insisting that he didn't want the two druggies to manipulate young children into doing their dirty work. Gus compromises, telling his two men "No more children," and insisting that Jesse keep the peace. Unable to do anything surrounded by five men who could kill him easily, Jesse reluctantly agrees. He shakes hand with the two men, and Walt drives him back to where his car was left. He's still angry with Walt for the intervention, and leaves immediately without a word.
At the hospital, Marie tries without succes to convince an increasingly cranky Hank to return home with her. Finally she makes a bet with him while giving hima sponge bath. If she could give him a hard-on in one minute, he would have to return home with her. Since Hank couldn't move anything below his waist, he agrees, feeling pretty sure that Marie would fail. However, she surprisingly succeeds, much to his pleausre and chagrin, and Hanks's expression as he was wheeled out of his room with a box of flowers on his lap, and a triumphant Marie following behind, is totally priceless.
The next day, Jesse didn't turn up for work, even after Walt's repeated calls. He was still angry, and spent the day at Andrea's, at least until she got a shocking call from her grandmother. Tomas is dead, apparently killed in a gang execution. They headed for the crime scene, and watched as Tomas' body was covered with a white cloth. Andrea is inconsolable, and Jesse wants revenge. He knew exactly who had killed Tomas, and they would pay.
At Walt's home, while having dinner with his family, he hears the news. A young boy had been killed in a gang execution. Shocked and knowing immediately what Jesse was about to do, Walt rushes out of his house in the middle of dinner, leaving behind a confused Skyler and Walter Jr. I knew he wanted to stop Jesse from murdering the two druggies, but what never hit me was how he planned to do it.
Jesse stakes out the two guys in his car, taking a whiff of Tomas' meth to calm himself down. Looks like Jesse's back on drugs, after a whole season of going cold turkey. He grabs a gun from nderneath the seat, opens the door, and starts walking towards the men's car. They also appear, and walk towards Jesse. As the three approach, all of them pull out guns. Just before the gunfight began, the screech of tyres is heard in the background, and Walt's Pontiac Aztek appears out of nowhere, running the two druggies down.
One of them is crushed underneath the car's wheels, but the other has been flung behind it and is still alive. Jesse is still looking shocked whe the guy sturggles to get up. Walt exits his car, walks towards the live one, picks up his gun, and shoots him clean through the skull. Then he looks up at Jesse and utters a single, chilling word. "Run." His haunting expression, coupled with a chilling voice, shall remain in my mind forever. In ths moment, we can see that the old Walt is gone, and Heisenberg has returned. With this scene, Bryan Cranston once against proves to us why he deserves his Best Actor Emmy's for the past two years.
If you'd like to watch that final scene again, click here. I did, and it still shocked me as much as the first time I saw it. I expected Walt to save Jesse again, but not in this way. What transpired during those last few minutes left me shocked and speechless for a few minutes. Never did I imagine it would end this way. This shows how good a writer Vince Gilligan is, creating absolutely unpredictable and explosive scenes.
Full Measure, the season finale, is up next week and I can't wait to see the consequences of Walt's action! It's going to be hell for him and his family, as well as Jesse because you can be sure that Gus knows eactly what happened that night. Will he let them go so easily, or will he want revenge? To be fair, his two guys did kill Tomas, though Gus' order of "No more children." could be an order for them to take him out.
But being a businessman, Gus wouldn't kill the boy so violently and obviously, would he? It looks more like something Tuco would do, dumb and dangerous. Up to now, I'm still wondering who actually killed Tomas, until I settled on one person. Jesse. In some sort of twisted way, Jesse got his revenge for Combo's death, because his actions ultimately lead to the violent murder of Tomas. Is he happy? No, definitely not.
Another thing. Walt either loves Jesse as much as his own family that he is willing to sacrifice everything for him, or he is still feeling guilty over Jane's death. During 'Fly', an episode in which the cracked bond between Walt and Jesse is healed, we are shown how sorry Walt is about Jane's death. Is Walt looking for redemption, by saving Jesse from the two drug dealers? For Jesse would definitely have died that night, if it wasn't for Walt. However, by killing them, he ultimately exposes himself as the new target, diverting attention from Jesse.
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