I knew things were going to be getting bad for Hank, and I knew he was a bit of a bad ass. Put those two together and it made for one hell of an ending for this episode.
I think most people could tell from the moment Hank was told that Jesse wasn’t pressing charges that he was SO dead. We knew the Salamanca brothers were polishing their chrome ax all shiny-like for Hank, so there was no way things were going to be rosy for him for very long. That one minute after the mysterious phone call Hank received had to be the most tense 60 seconds this show has ever had. Hell, it’s the most tense minute of any show in recent memory. Now the question is: who made that phone call?
I’d say Saul is a pretty good bet for the person behind the phone call to Hank. It could have been Gus Fring, but the distorted voice didn’t come off sounding like broken English. Even if Saul was behind the warning, why would he bother? Is he more of a decent human being than we thought? And why would Gus care? Either he cares about Hank or at least Walter’s family, or it was a strategic move — if he gave Hank the heads-up, just in time to have one up on the two brothers, there was a chance he’d take them out or at least hurt them. And, if he did that, Walter is of little or no concern to the Salamancas anymore.
If Hank isn’t dead — and I’m near certain he’s not — it’s unlikely the Salamancas will stop coming after him. Remember the “family is all” speech/drowning lesson given at the start of the episode? I’m pretty sure that hasn’t changed.
I liked using the title “family is all” for this post because Walter followed that bit as well, in looking out for Hank. Come on, there’s no way in hell he really has a bond with Jesse; he did it all for the sake of Hank, or at least for the sake of his ex-wife. Jesse showed now, more than ever, that he’s a scumbag. He blames his current loser-of-a-life situation on Walt, taking no responsibility himself. Jesse’s family already had nothing to do with him before Walter came along, remember?
The fact is, Jesse would have been killed in any other big drug business the second he made that threat of taking Walt down with him, if not sooner (I’d say sooner). I’m sort of wondering when Saul will wind up taking a hit out on Jesse, because it’s clear he’s not going to be any good for anyone. How the hell long can he last with that attitude? If he comes around, that will be some miraculous writing to see put to screen, my friends.
What’s equally as shocking as Jesse coming back to help Walt is that Gale is out of the picture. It’s possible he’s not entirely gone yet, but it sure seems to dismiss the theory that his purpose was to steal Walt’s formula and process. It could be that he still did steal it, and that’s how he’ll come back into the picture.
So, we’re left with these questions:
By the way, the Salamanca cousins reminded me more of The Terminator than ever before in this episode, especially during the scene in the back of that weapon truck. And then, when one of them utters “terminado” (finish him) to the other? Come on, like those guys weren’t complete shout-outs to Terminator.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on May 02, 2010 @ 23:36 EST5EDT
while i agree with a lot of what you have said, i’m going to 100% disagree that “walt has no bond with jessie”.
yes, i believe he hired jessie to make sure he doesn’t press charges, but over the past 2 1/2 seasons there have been NUMEROUS occasions & examples of walt caring for jessie. the biggest one that stands out, is when walt returned to talk with jessie the night he killed jane. there was genuine love and concern for his well being that brought him to that doorstep. granted, he killed jane to help both of them – mainly himself – but that is who walt is. he looks out for him and his own, but he most certainly does care for jessie.
i’m a little too tired to list all of the examples of this bond, but there are many of them if you review the show.
*POST AUTHOR*
I guess I should say instead that Walt “no longer” has a bond with Jesse, or at least he shouldn’t have one. You’d have thought Jesse would be cleaned up from the experience he had in rehab, but other than staying clean, it appears he hasn’t done anything else to change.
Something else I meant to mention in my post was the flashback scene with the cousins. It’s clear Salamanca’s past with Gus goes back quite some time, so there’s definitely something there that we’ll want to keep mindful of when considering Gus’s intentions.
I think Gus was likely the caller. After all, he’s pretty much the only one who knew, no? The motivation would be in taking these loose cannon, demanding twins out of the game with almost no risk to himself – he wasn’t offering up a DEA agent as a sign of respect, but rather as a trap that had a good chance of ensnaring them (and in fact, did). If Salamanca can’t keep his men in line, he’s of no use to Gus anymore and it’s time to put the feds on him. Gus is nothing if not careful.
Walt is such a jerk. Gale deserved to be treated better; I was looking forward to more lighthearted scenes between those two. As far as Jesse goes, I don’t think he’s that out of line in saying Walt has ruined everything he’s cared about. A bit dramatic, sure, but Walt is so caustic and makes so many bad decisions that I’m empathizing more with Jesse at this point. Don’t take that as a knock on the show; I don’t mind an unsympathetic main character as long as there’s a good story, which there is.
*POST AUTHOR*
The thing about Gus being the caller: why disguise his voice so much? I get that it works for us, to keep us guessing and wondering who it was, but what are the odds Hank would recognize the voice coming from some chicken restaurant manager?
He didn’t want to be identified by Hank later, just in case. Again, he’s a man who takes many precautions – remember how hard it was for Walt to even meet with him? Gus speaks in a pretty particular way, so it makes sense to disguise that if he’s the paranoid sort.
Also, Hank and Gus met had a face-to-face meeting – with a formal introduction, no less – in the final episode of Season Two. So there’s that.
Whoops, double post. Please delete.
I think it was Mike who called Hank to warn him about the cousins. Remember, Mike has been watching Walt’s back and since Gus gave Hank up to the cousins, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that he has been watching Hank’s back too. I don’t think Saul really knows about Hank, but Gus would have a vested interest in having Hank’s back because Gus knows the connection between Hank and Walt and also knows that it’s in his best interest to take the cousins out without drawing suspicion on himself. As to who killed the cousins boss in Mexico, maybe it was revenge for the attack on Hank. Of course, it could have been Gus, cleaning house nw that he has his own meth lab to provide top grade meth.
I wonder if Hank’s medical bills will be paid for by Walt’s ill gotten gains…