Walter White (Bryan Cranston) waits for another round of chemotherapy on "Breaking Bad." No worries, though. He is still in remission. To borrow an episode title from earlier in the "Breaking Bad" season, Gus is cornered.
Last time, the cartel rejected his bid to sever all ties. They want what he has, be it the recipe for ultra-pure blue crystal meth or Walter White himself.
Hank snags Gus' fingerprints after a visit to Los Pollos Hermanos and links it to the scene of Gale's slaying. This means Walt and Hank are simultaneously targeting the same individual. Jesse, whose new part-time job lands him regular face time with the chicken man, volunteers to make the kill if and when the time is right.
That brings us to "Hermanos," which is a pressure cooker, one of those holds-you-and-won't-let-go episodes. And, with "Scarface" being released on Blu-ray on Sept. 16 just shy of its 30th anniversary, the last 15 minutes feels like something of an homage.
First, we flash back to the aftermath of the shootout between Hank and Tuco's cousins. Gus is hiding in plain sight at the hospital, and offering Walt rare words of comfort, just prior to the second brother's death. In the dark of the nursing home where Hector "Tio" Salamanca (Mark Margolis) resides, Gus updates the sniffling, bell-dependent Mafioso retiree on his nephews and the recent killing of Juan Bolsa.
“This is what comes of blood for blood,” Gus says. Just before the opening titles, we glimpse a ripple of blood, spreading through a jade green swimming pool.
While in remission, Walt goes for a custom chemotherapy scan every few months. In the waiting room this time is a fellow family man fighting cancer and mourning botched plans for a normal life. The guy is visibly shaken compared to Walt whose cynicism has been absorbed by his ego in this advanced stage of bad-breaking.
Walt rudely interrupts him to leave a message on Jesse’s phone wanting a progress report. Then, he says he’s in control until something goes awry.
In light of the fingerprints discovery, Gus is called into police headquarters to meet with the tag team of Tim Roberts, Hank, Merkert and Steve Gomez. He knocks each question out of the park, claiming Gale stopped by his restaurant to catch up one day, and on the night of his death, he was at a hospital fundraiser, according to his daily planner.
Gus says he assumed Gale’s death was a random crime, not a drug-related homicide. Then again, Gale needed cash for one of those pyramid schemes, he claims. Those with badges buy the spiel; Hank doesn’t. I’m surprised they didn’t warn Hank to refrain from a rogue vigilante bender.
Meanwhile, Jesse plays generous, unseen benefactor to Andrea's recovering addict/mother of cute kid with a cool name. He has Saul drop off weekly checks -- "like Ed McMahon" -- for her and her son Brock at a new home in a relatively nice neighborhood. The name "Brock" is actually old English for badger. Is the show inferring he'll grow up like Brandon Mayhew?
Skyler White (Anna Gunn) packs rubber-banded fifties into airtight dry cleaning garment bags to hide them, in the event of a raid. On the White home front, Skyler packs rubber-banded fifties into airtight dry cleaning garment bags and hangs them in the closet just to have the rod loosen and everything fall. No matter how hard she tries, she’s not cut out for this racket. It’s okay. Carmela was antsy in the fourth season, too.
When Hank is asked about the case at a family dinner, he reverts to his old self and buttons his lip. However, Hank is more willing than ever to discuss the case with Walt in private. He tricks him into chauffeuring him to the restaurant instead of a gem and mineral show at the ol' Albuquerque fairgrounds. Hank credits his brother-in-law -- his drunken side, at least -- for the inspiration to see beyond Gale as the endgame.
“That was just speculation,” Walt insists.
Hank says he was amazed by how Gus had an alibi and explanation for everything lobbed his way. Something’s not adding up. He wants Walt to slyly stick a GPS tracking device on Gus’ car, without a warrant. Since the results can’t be viewed live, the tracker would have to be grabbed at a later date. At this time, Walt sees Mike pull up a spot away in his car.
On his task, Walt heads into the restaurant and attempts to placate Gus, whose cashier-like responses are a callback when Walt used to pretend like he wasn’t talking to Pinkman on the phone in Skyler's presence. As Mike and Hank watch from their respective cars, Walt carries out the scheme, untied shoelace and all, in a manner that’s anything but slick. Afterward, Walt rushes to the lab to explain the situation to the camera.
Hank has no concrete evidence and is operating on pure conjecture, he says. But Walt also warns him in a professional, polite manner that harming Hank would merely attract more heat from the feds.
“We have a mutual interest in resolving this without violence,” Walt says. “I will make sure that he discovers nothing.”
At Jesse's pad, Walt speaks on behalf of the writers' room when he says the timetable has advanced. He wants a meeting with Gus immediately so as to make the hit. Jesse continues to lie about not having seen Gus since the diner. Walt sneaks a peek at Jesse's phone and knows he's bluffing. He asks Jesse about the text, and he keeps quiet. Walt worries he can't trust him; Jesse doesn't trust anyone, but at least he has "Rage."
Mike shifts his stance on the cartel. First, he touted preparing for war with an expanded staff of operators. But if the Mexicans make a move as Hank is watching, it could be a disaster, he figures. Thank you, Mike, for setting up the rest of the season in a sentence.
Gus attaches the tracker to the dumper, and visits the nursing home to offer an update on the DEA and the cartel’s ultimatum.
***
The show then takes us to Don Eladio's home circa 1980s Mexico. Gus and his business partner Max, the culinary wizard behind the upstart, meet poolside with the don and his associates. We know Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda, Bryan Cranston's former roommate!) as a high-level cartel member -- the man Tortuga called "el jefe" -- who was gunned down by unseen assailants as smiley Gus listens on the phone in "I See You," the same episode referenced in this episode's opening. We know Hector as the future head of the cartel.
Eladio, played by Steven Bauer of course, made his bones from moving Colombia’s coke product because coca can’t grow in Mexico. Gus and Gus propose the don train his own people to manufacture large quantities of highly pure meth, crystallized like glass, in a factory-grade meth lab that could run on a minimal capital investment.
Then, the kowtowing turns harsh. Gus’ stamina is met with gruff reception. His handing out free meth samples to the don’s employees is perceived as dealing under his nose.
Max sticks up for his friend with a whiny, ill-timed rant that earns him a bullet in the head from erratic Hector. Gus’ life was spared, but he’s subjected to watch his partner’s eyes go dull on the edge of the pool, which was already sullied with Hector’s urine.
The don says Gus is able to live but with a target emblazoned on his back. “I know who you are. But understand. You are not in Chile anymore.”
***
Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), left, Walter White Jr. (RJ Mitte), Skyler, Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) and Walt, at dinner. The flashback is framed within a question. Gus asks him if today is the day. For what? An apology for shooting his best friend? A truce across the border?
The old man replies with nothing but runny mucus.
Here's what we learn about Gus: He is a Chilean national, but there are no records of his residency, which he chalks up the country's poor recordkeeping. He paid for his close friend Max to attend and study biochemistry and chemical engineering at the University of Santiago, rescuing him from the slums. Gus immigrated to Mexico in 1986, and in 1989, was granted an entry visa to the United States. In the mid-'90s, Gus established a chemistry scholarship at University of New Mexico in Max's name. Gale was one of three-dozen recipients when he graduated in 1999.
QUOTES AND NOTES
- “Dark meat and white meat?” – Hector, noting the Los Pollos Hermanos partners look nothing like ‘hermanos’
- “This guy is ‘Terms of Endearment’ convincing.” – Hank to Walt, on Gus
- “Hank catching Gus equals Hank catching us.” – Walt to Jesse
- The exchange between Walt and Jesse was a fascinating comment on their divergent relationship with the boss behind the camera. According to Walt, if Gus considers Jesse to be a liability amid this DEA probe, he would meet with him and maybe give him tips. Jesse says no -- he will dispose of him he's considered a liability. Part of Walt still thinks Gus is a rational, respectable man despite the box-cutter incident. Jesse sees him as ruthless and headed toward death's door just like the rest of us.
- The flashback shows the early seeds of disrespect Hector has harbored for Gus all these years (“Dirty South American!”). It’s especially relevant given those same wounds could spur both sides into battle. Max’s death was a threat to keep Gus out of the drug business, and he clearly didn’t comply. At middle age, Hector was a hotheaded gangster who acted on every impulse that entered his skull and triggered his cojones. (Juan comes off as introverted by comparison.) As an elder, he internalizes the anger. His salivary glands are his most outgoing feature.
- In the interrogation, Gus says his late friend’s full name is Maximino Arciniega, which is, I assume intentionally, also the name of the Chicago-born actor who played now-dead meth distributor Krazy-8 in the first season. In the flashback, James Martinez plays the role of Max.
- The smart, taut writing by staff regulars Sam Catlin and George Mastras in “Hermanos” is the best since the Vince Gilligan-scripted premiere, which seems ever stronger now because of the ground it laid. Front and center, Gus faces battles brewing against the Juarez cartel, the DEA and the Heisenberg Assassin Squad. Each scene addressed the plot at a thrilling pace. Having said that, I’m not totally keen on how the show essentially waited out Hank’s recovery, as if Walt’s brother-in-law is the only impetus for foiling a drug operation that covers as much as a good quarter of the country and butts heads with Mexico.
- Fact learned: Los Pollos Hermanos employees say “…where something delicious is always cooking” when they answer the phone.
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