Episode Summary
While Skyler's past catches up with her, Walt covers his tracks. Jesse continues to struggle with his guilt.
Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 5, Episode 9 of AMC's "Breaking Bad," titled "Blood Money."
And as much as Hank would like to build a legal case against his brother-in-law and observe the letter of the law, what kind of human being wouldn't want to take a swing at someone who'd been so cruelly deceptive for so long? Hank was owed at least that punch, if not more. It was a typically genius move by "Breaking Bad" to have that kid's remote-control car wheeling around in the street as the two men sized each other up; it helped reinforce, through sensory input, the idea that something about Walt had been a buzzing irritation to Hank for years. Hank always knew there was something off about the guy, and he couldn't get rid of that small but insistent sensation that Walt wasn't all that he seemed.
As was the case with the wonderfully still, sad scene with Jesse, the garage scene gave Bryan Cranston another chance to show us Walt switching effortlessly between various con-man modes. (Seen from one angle, Walt is a Willy Loman for a new age; what mattered about the character was not what he was selling but how the constant need to close the sale — and the need to be seen as a good man who was "well liked" — came to define him.)
