Waiting For Gus

It's been over a year, but the best show on TV is finally back. It's weird--I've been watching a ton of Breaking Bad reruns lately, and now I'm watching an episode where I don't know what will happen next.

The fourth-season starts with "Box Cutter"--a deservedly ominous title.  We last left our hero Walter about to be killed by Mike, on Gus's orders.  But Walt called Jesse who got to Gale's apartment and shot him before Victor could do anything about it.  So where do we stand?

We start the episode like we started so many in season three--a blast from the past.  Dead characters come back to life, and we're filled in on earlier details.  Here we see Gale setting up Gus's lab.  Gale is a great chemist, and Gus is glad to have him.  But Gale's seen Walter's product and admits it's far purer than even his own.  He's not just talking himself out of a job, he's talking himself into being murdered.  Gus, who's paid millions for the lab, has already seen Walter--he hang out with a junkie, so he can't be trusted.  But with Gale so impressed, it appears Gus is willing to give Walt a chance. (Not sure if I like this story.  It's certainly not how I imagined it. But then, my guesses often go against Vince Gilligan's.  I didn't like it when Jesse blew the $7000 Walt gave him to by a lab on wheels, and only got hooked up by Combo at the last second, but hey, that's apparently how it worked.)

Anyway, we cut from Gale's enthusiasm to the results--Gale is shot in the head by Jesse.  Jesse has been able to avoid killing anyone up to this point (Walt sure hasn't).  He leaves and the neighbors later call the cops. Victor runs in, looks around, sees the damage, and leaves.  He goes outside and there's still Jesse, sitting in his car, thinking about it all.  Jesse is very much wanted by Gus and the gang, and he can always be counted on to fail in a crisis, so there you have it.  Victor gets in the car with Jesse, points a gun at him, and they drive over to the laundromat.

Meanwhile, Walt and Mike are waiting in the lab for the results.  Here comes Victor--with Jesse.  Did he catch him in time?  Nope.  In fact, as Victor notes, he was seen at the scene. (Victor, a dead-eyed killer who doesn't talk much, is pretty chatty this episode.) Mike isn't happy, and makes the call to Gus.

Here we cut to Skyler.  For a second, we wonder if Mike was calling her.  We also wonder if she's safe.  Generally families are protected, but who knows what Gus is capable of?  It's early in the morning and Sky answers the doorbell. Marie with newer, bigger bills. (No time has elapsed since the end of last season, but Skyler seems to have aged a bit.) Marie also notes Walt's car in the driveway. He was on his way somewhere when Victor picked him up for a little drive, but Marie assumes Walt is back with Skyler.  So Sky moves the car far enough away so Junior won't see it.  She knows how to take care of things.

Back at the lab, it's a room of bad-asses and Jesse.  Walt suggests it's time to start cooking.  Gus may be mad, but no production would make him even madder.  Considering Walt's position, he's almost cocky, and it doesn't just seem to be bluster. But Victor has a surprise in store--he's been watching, and he's ready to start cooking.  They don't need Walt, as far as he's concerned. (Jesse made his own stuff too last season.  It was even blue.  We never quite found out how good his product was, though presumably it wasn't Walt's 99 and 44/100 pure.)

Meanwhile, Saul is closed for business.  He's been scared over this whole Walt/Gus fight, and is frightened (quite rationally) he's been bugged, if nothing else. (I wasn't thrilled how Mike was more Gus's man than Saul's man, but I guess you go where the money is.) Skyler calls Saul and Saul returns it on a pay phone.  Skyler wants to know Walt's whereabouts, and Saul does a weak job reassuring her.  Saul himself is too busy wondering if he'll have to flee.

Skyler goes to Walter's place.  She lies and cries convincingly enough get a locksmith to let her in. (She said to Walt last season she learned from the best, but she isn't giving herself enough credit.  In season one, remember how well she got herself out of trouble after Marie put her in a tight spot.) She investigates, either for Walt or evidence.  She doesn't find anything except the stuffed animal's eyeball, which has been around since season 2, and rarely presages anything good.

Marie returns home, steels herself, and goes in to see Hank, who's still bitter and depressed (no time has passed, after all).  He can walk sixteen feet, though it takes twenty minutes.  And he still has to defecate from his bed.  How would he feel if he knew Walt's responsible?

Marie tries to be optimistic, but there's only so much she can do.  Hank is buying minerals on-line--not sure why he's into it. (Also don't necessarily like the new Hank, but it's hard to blame him.) Anyway, a common plot in the past was Hank on the trail, but that looks like it won't be a threat for a while.

At the lab, Victor is still cooking.  Walt watches, not impressed.  It's not clear to us how good Victor is.  Certainly he can't be as good as Walt, but a recipe is a recipe.  Then, finally, the moment we've been waiting for.  Gus arrives. He doesn't say anything as he puts on his lab clothes.  Walter launches into a monologue explaining why he had to kill Gale and now Gus needs him. He also challenges Victor's expertise, though Victor isn't impressed. (But lets face it, Gale was a master and wasn't anywhere near Walt.) Gus gets out a box cutter and walks around.  Then he slashes Victor's throat. Is he making it clear how mad he is, but knows he can't kill Walt (or Jesse, whom Walter protects)?  Is it a case of "this is what I did to Victor, and I liked him"?  Does he understand that he can't keep both Walt and Victor alive or there'll be trouble?  Is he angry because Victor showed his face at the scene of the crime, and failed to prevent the murder?  Is he mad because Victor didn't know his place and started cooking?  Gus prefers to motivate through trust, but I guess that's out the window.

Anyway, we knew Gus was ruthless, but we've only seen him order others dead.  We've never seen him in action before.  You'd figure he just runs chicken joints, he doesn't get his hands dirty. But he came up the hard way.  Everyone is shocked, and suitably impressed.  Just before Gus leaves, he finally speaks: "Well?  Get back to work." Just so long as they know who they're working for, as Tuco's assistant once said.  A few seconds before Tuco beat him to death.  It's a tough racket.

The boys clean up the lab.  Part of the job.  And they've cleaned up before, but this time they make sure to put the body in the proper container before adding the acid.  Mike asks if it works. "Trust us" says Jesse, in one of the few laughs of the night.

We cut from a mop swirling in blood to a french fry swirling in ketchup at a local Denny's (or a local spot just outside Denny's).  Walt and Jesse are decompressing.  Jesse cuts into his Grand Slam pretty calmly. He seems to have gotten over Gale, or at least resigned himself to his new life. Walt wonders about their next move, believing Gus will kill them when he can.  Jesse feels Gus won't easily find another chemist he can trust.  In any case, it looks like Walt versus Gus may be a theme this season.  Gus is a businessman first, but his patience won't last forever.

Jesse seems glad it's all out in the open.  As he puts it, "we're all on the same page...the one that says if I can't kill you you'll sure as shit wish you were dead." So that's where they stand.

Walt finally returns home via cab.  Skyler meets him in the driveway.  He tells her everything is fine, and this time she doesn't ask any questions.  She explains about the car and tells him to go get it.  She's gonna be a tougher boss than Gus.

So everyone's cooking, everyone's making millions and everyone feels lousy.

Oh, and the kicker--at the murder scene, Gale left lab notes.  As scary as Tio's bell.