A plot summary: We start with a flashback to Jesse and Walt's first cook together. Walt calls Skyler and talks about pizza for dinner, possible baby names, and a trip with the family. Slowly, Walt, Jesse, and the RV all vanish to reveal the current landscape. Gunfire is heard. Then it ceases.
We see that Hank has been shot in the leg. And... Gomez is dead. No!!! Jesse is nowhere to be found. Jack and his crew approach Hank and put a gun to his head. Walt, screaming, is let out of the car by Jack's men and tries to put a stop to it. He begs and pleads with Jack to let Hank go. He offers all of his money to save him. Hank refuses to cooperate and fold, even with all of Walt's pleading. Hank tells Walt that Jack "made up his mind ten minutes ago." Their last moment together was really complex and wonderful. Hank tells Walt that he's the smartest guy he ever met. You can see in his eyes all the regret and sadness that he hadn't really let himself feel since he found out about Walt.
And then Jack shoots Hank.
In all honesty, this was one of the most traumatizing things I have ever seen on television. It just cut me wide open and bled me dry. But I'll get to my gushing emotional responses once I finish with the plot.
Jack and his guys dig up Walt's money, but they decide to leave him one of the barrels. (Mostly because of Todd's respect for Walt). Walt notices Jesse hiding beneath the car, and tells Jack to kill him. Todd swoops in, the only slightly sympathetic character in the scene, and convinces Jack not to shoot yet - Jesse was working with the DEA, after all, and they need him to tell them what he said to the police.
Just before Jack's men take Jesse away, Walt tells him that he watched Jane die, and didn't do anything to save her. As if Jesse needed to have his heart ripped any more out of him. Wow.
Walt tries to drive away. The car is out of gas. He rolls the giant barrel of money to the nearest residence and buys a truck off of the man living there. This scene was almost funny, in the darkest, bleakest way imaginable. He drives home and starts frantically packing.
While all of this is happening, Marie shows up at the car wash and tells Skyler that Hank has arrested Walt. Skyler is stunned, but Marie says that she's willing to try and help Skyler, and she's sure that Hank will be too. Marie remembers how upset Skyler had been at Walt, and has faith that whatever he did to her, it can be undone. She has conditions, and one of them is that Skyler tell everything to Walter Jr.
Which she does. This scene was really hard to take. Jr, of course, is in denial at first, and then he's just hurt that his mother never told him anything. He doesn't seem to really believe any of it until they get home... and see Walt there. Walt tries to convince Skyler and Jr. to pack their things and leave with him, but Skyler just keeps asking "where's Hank?"
Unable to avoid the question, Walt says that he tried to save him. Skyler takes a knife and turns it on Walt, telling him to get out. Walt refuses, culminating in the two of them rolling around on the ground, fighting for the knife. This scene was really well done, and my heart was in my throat. I kept waiting for one of them to get seriously injured. Jr. eventually jumps on top of his dad and pulls him away from his mom, shielding her from Walt. He calls 911 to report his father. Heartbreaking, of course, but not as heartbreaking as the realization of what Walt has planned next. When he realizes that he's lost his family for good, he goes to Holly, takes her, and leaves the house.
They call the police, and Marie comes over. The police issue an Amber Alert for Holly, and then the phone rings. It's Walt. They put a trace on the call, and Skyler answers.
This scene was one of the best parts in an already fantastic episode. Walt is acting so cold and strange to Skyler. He's calling her a bitch, telling her that she should know her place... it took a few seconds, but then I realized what was happening. Walt knew that cops would be listening. By very carefully making Skyler seem like even more of a victim than what she was, he shifted all the blame for his actions onto himself. He basically ensured, as his final act for his family, that Skyler would not be blamed for being implicit in his meth empire. The acting was so good in this scene. Walt kept his voice harsh, but in reality he was crying. Skyler was angry at first, but you can see the subtle moment when she picks up on what Walt is doing, and then she starts playing up the victim card, saying that she's sorry, and that she just wants Holly back, even telling him to "come home."
Meanwhile, Jesse has been tortured by Jack and his men, and we see him in a truly desperate and deplorable state. The last we see of him in this episode, Todd took him to the meth lab and wants him to cook for him. After the flashback scene at the start of the episode, where we see Walt carefully and scientifically explaining how to cook to Jesse, it was sort of heartbreaking to see Jesse back in a situation like that. After all, he is the best in the business, other than Walt.
The episode ends with Walt leaving Holly in a fire station and using Saul's contact to disappear and start a new life.
So. What did I love about this episode? Everything. As I mentioned before, I was captivated by every second. The pacing was perfect. The intensity was off the charts. Everything felt so raw and powerful at the same time. I've only recently recovered from the famed Red Wedding from Game of Thrones, and I gotta say, Hank's death is at least on par with the trauma of that for me. I'm not sure if there's been another episode of TV ever, in all of history, that has kept me so truly glued to the screen. The acting was superb. Everything, from the look of defeat on Jesse's face as he looks at Walt and prepares to die, and the look of pure anguish on Marie's face as she learns Hank is dead... from the awkward sympathy offered by Jack and Todd, to the angry denial expressed by Jr. when he learns the truth. I couldn't get over how truly real everything felt.
If I was forced to come up with something negative to say? Well, truthfully the only downside to this would be that I can't imagine how they're going to top it in the final two episodes. I certainly want to see what becomes of Walt and Jesse, but I almost could have seen the end of this episode as the end to the show. The implication being that Skyler, safe with her two children, would tell the police everything about Walt, but Walt would be gone for good... I guess we still need to see how Jesse ends up, and of course I am still excited that we get more.
Here's to an amazing final two episodes!
10/10
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