The opening paragraph of any Breaking Bad recap is supposed to be used to set up everything that follows: a brief catcher-upper on what happened over the past few weeks, perhaps, or maybe a smarty-pants observation about the underlying message of the episode-in-question. This is how one normally introduces a Breaking Bad recap, but after tonight’s episode, there’s simply no other way to start things off besides a simple, direct, and entirely appropriate “Holy. Shit.” Find out why we’re swearing in the intro after the jump, my fellow Breaking Bad junkies…
I’ve only watched it twice so far, but I’m prepared to declare “Salud” to be the best, ballsiest, most entertaining hour of Breaking Bad’s fourth season since that bloody season premiere, and I’m willing to bet that no one will argue the point with me. Tonight’s installment gave Breaking Bad fans more of what they’ve been clamoring for ever since that season opener: Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) being a complete and total badass. In episodes past, we’ve seen Gus doing ballsy, vicious things…but tonight’s episode gave us Gus Fring at his absolute ballsiest, his most vicious, his most badass. It was a masterful episode, and one that I’m sure we’re all still going to be talking about when Breaking Bad wraps after next year.
Things started off ominously and got progressively more alarming: the episode opened with Jesse, Mike, and Gus—cradling a gift-wrapped box, which lent the sight of the three standing in the desert an even weirder vibe than it would’ve had without it—climbing aboard a small airplane somewhere in the New Mexican desert. We knew from last week’s episode that the three amigos were headed for Mexico, down to Don Julio’s place. After much handwringing and bloodshed between Gus and the Cartel, it was decided that Jesse would travel to the Don’s compound, teach his chemists how to make Walt’s “blue meth”, and then…well, that wasn’t so certain.
Soon enough, however, it became clear that Jesse had been backed into yet another dark and lonely corner: immediately upon completing his first batch of “blue” for the Mexicans, it was announced that he’d be sticking around. As in, permanently. As you might expect, this caused some consternation on Jesse’s part, but Mike was there to (ineffectively) calm him down: “Either we’re all going home…or none of us are.”
Don Julio appeared, making his entrance next to the very same pool that acted as Gus’ brother’s final resting place some twenty years prior. The fact that the scene began with that pool at its center indicated that something terrible was about to occur, but it wasn’t clear what that terrible thing might be until Don Julio opened up Gus’ gift box: inside, he discovered a very pricey bottle of tequila, and when Gus managed to stop Jesse from imbibing from the same bottle that Julio and all of his men (not to mention Gus) were drinking off of, we knew for sure that Gus was about to pull off something legendary.
And legendary it was: shortly after ingesting Gus’ gift-tequila, Don Julio and his capos were facedown on the patio (Julio ended up in the pool, which dovetailed nicely with he and Gus’ history)(side note: pools and their symbolism within the Breaking Bad universe—discuss). Nearby, Gus was politely vomiting into one of Don Julio’s toilets. He’d ingested a bit of that poison, as well, and managed to yak up the majority of the lethal liquid before making an escape with Gus and Mike in tow. But did enough of the poison remain in his bloodstream to take Gus out for good? We’ll have to wait and see in next week’s episode, but I’m guessing that Gus—after a brief hospital stay or a visit with some back-alley, criminal doctor—will be just fine. I mean, without Gus, who’s going to make life hell for Jesse and Walt?
Speaking of Walt, he spent most of the episode in bed. You’ll recall that last week’s episode ended with him and Jesse beating the everloving crap out of each other in the living room of Pinkman Manor, and Walt was surely feeling every one of those punches the morning after: his glasses were shattered, his headwounds were stuck to his pillowcase, and he was so out of it, he missed Walter Junior’s 16th birthday party. Walt Jr. arrived and bullied his way in the door, only to have Walt explain that he’d gotten into a fight while gambling. For his part, Walt Jr. seemed almost as troubled by this as he did with the weak-sauce ride his mother had bought him for his sweet 16th.
And speaking of Skylar, she spent the episode in a battle of wits with “Better Call” Saul Goodman (whenever Bob Oedenkirk shows up in a scene, I’m immediately 200% more entertained) and, moreover, her old boss, Beneke. Saul and Skylar cooked up a little scheme to get the $600,000 Beneke needed into his hands (they told him that his “great aunt” had passed away overseas, leaving him—whattayaknow– $625,000), but rather than put the money towards the IRS, Beneke immediately went out and bought a fancy-pants car with the money.
Upon learning that Beneke hadn’t taken the hint, Skylar went to his offices to confront him about the situation. When Beneke finally tired of her harangue, he instructed her to GTFO (no tits necessary, thank you), and that’s when she dropped the bomb: that “great aunt” was actually her, and she had more of a right to poke her nose into Beneke’s spending habits than he’d previously thought. This seemed like a wildly terrible idea (from beginning to end), but as someone else pointed out to me, what else was she gonna do at that point? I’d quibble that point, but that’s probably right: they don’t have time to pull another elaborate trick on Beneke, and even if they had, there’s no guarantee that it would’ve worked. Skylar had to come clean, and we’ll just have to wait and see where those particular chips fall.
These subplots were all perfectly serviceable and suitably entertaining, but that sequence in Mexico was a goddamned powerhouse, all coiled tension and strained smiles and not-so-instant karma. If there was ever a question as to whether or not Gus is “effing around” (as the kids say), that question has been answered for good: dude took out the entire top-shelf of a Cartel’s payroll. No, Gus is certainly not effing around.
Here are this week’s questions:
- Will Gus survive, and if so, how do you think things will turn out with him and what’s left of the Cartel?
- Where do you think this Beneke thing is headed? Will Skylar be able to talk some sense into the dude, or—now that he knows that Skylar’s got a chunk of disposable income to throw around—will he use this newly discovered bit of information to blackmail her into, y’know, murdering him eventually?
- Jesse and Walt: how soon will they make up?
- We’ll hear you out in the comments section. As always, stay tuned for more on Breaking Bad in the weeks ahead (but remember, there’s only three more weeks left, so you may as well start making your season finale predictions now)!
Marvel Shows Us 15 Minutes of IRON MAN 3; Watch a Spoiler Free Video Blog Recap
Robert Downey Jr. Talks IRON MAN 3, Renewing His Marvel Contract, Working with Shane Black, Jon Favreau’s Integral Role in the Film, and More
Shane Black and Kevin Feige Talk IRON MAN 3, Crafting The Mandarin, the Scripting Process, Iron Patriot, the Film’s Connection to THE AVENGERS, More
New Trailer for IRON MAN 3
Joss Whedon Says No to Rumored PLANET HULK Movie
Jesse Pinkman. Hard as f**k.
loved the emotion Walt showed….and they that subtle slip of Jesse instead of walt jr….And wow what a ending…you said it best only can describe it by Holy Shit…this show keeps topping itself everyweek since episode 7..By far best episode yet this season…
What pills were Gus taking beside the pool? An antidote to the poison perhaps?
I agree because otherwise they wouldn’t have wasted time showing it.
More likely they were to absorb the alcohol and in turn the poison. That was probably why he was puking it out later in the bathroom. Unfortunately, it probably couldn’t get all the poison before it entered the bloodstream, that was why he fell ill… so It definitely helped, but not a panacea.
I’m pretty sure it was an emetic pill of some sort to help induce the vomiting he needed to do to expel most of the poison he ingested
Pretty sure the name was Don Eladio, and not Julio, unless I missed something. And it was the bed sheet that stuck to Walt’s head, not the pillow. I don’t mean to nitpick, but you watched the episode twice and you still missed these things.
As I’ve noted on past recaps, sir, we’re always More interested in getting BB writeups completed as soon as possible every Sunday night. Sometimes, in our hurry to get things posted for your reading entertainment, a detail or two will get mixed up. A Challenger becomes a Mustang, a sheet becomes a pillow case, and Don Eladio becomes Don Julio.
As always, these mistakes are regrettable, but hopefully aren’t severe enough to take away from your enjoyment of the write-ups themselves. I mean, they must not be, because you’re always on hand to point out our errors as soon as they’ve occurred.
And so it goes: the online writer on a time crunch makes a few errors, the Internet commenter points out said errors, while no one’s enjoyment of the show or the writeup has been compromised. The writer feels ashamed, stupid, and borderline suicidal, while the Internet commenter proves that HE should be the one writing the recaps. Everybody wins!
Just breakin’ your balls, sir (no pun intended). In the future, we will try and be a little more careful.
Respectfully,
SW
Online commentary sucks huh? Make a couple of mistakes and people can immediately call you out on it.
At least you don’t run a restaurant…where things move at a faster pace, but the same rules apply. You can’t go back and read over or spell check a busy night, though, but an amateur with a lack of tact can put a scathing review online whose star rating merits just as much weight as the foodie with the discerning palate.
You did screw up. The name has been mentioned a number of times this season. It has been said in two languages audibly as well as being printed on screen. I’m sure it had also been printed in the many reviews and episode descriptions that you, as a fact checking writer and commentater on the show, have presumably read.
A wrong guess on a car model that recently came out is understandable. You’re a writer, after all, and not one that writes about auto trends. A pivotal person’s name in a show you review on a regular basis is some heavy lifting you should be able to handle. Although, this is not the reason I have been motivated to comment.
Did you have to write a passive-aggressive, excuse laden reply? Did this person also turn you down when you asked them to go to the prom? We, as fans, read these articles to gain someone else’s insight. We are hoping that the professionals caught something we didn’t…the way Tim Goodman does every single week. Yes, it does take us out of the review when someone gets a name wrong. I would rather hear one of the idiots on the message boards talk about how Walter Jr is gonna get hooked on meth, Skyler is gaining weight, and Walt needs to throw fulminated mercury on her because she’s an annoying b****.
However, I did think the pill bottle looked empty and had the lid back on it next to Walt’s repaired glasses. Maybe Wjr is on his way…
I completely agree with DHolt. As someone who has written recaps for a fairly large Web site, as well as someone who enjoys reading recaps of my favorite shows, I can say that Wampler’s “response” was a complete cop out. There’s a tight deadline, so mistakes get made? That’s it? That’s unacceptable in any form of journalism, and writing TV recaps falls under that umbrella. I’d honestly rather the recap come out a bit later with the facts correct than rushed out with errors that distract from the content. I can understand if a mistake gets made on a minor detail like the sheet/pillow case thing. But Don Eladio is an important character who is the nemesis of one of the major characters on the show. “Julio” isn’t even close to “Eladio.” And most damningly, the name has been DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN multiple times in the English translation subtitles. Come on. And if a mistake does get made, just own it and do better in the future. Don’t write a defensive, excuse-laden response in which you come off as the kind of “whiny little b—h” that Jesse was talking about when he was berating the chemist.
Looks like you took almost as much time to address criticism of your sloppy writing as you did to write the actual article
^yeah I love Collider’s reviews for Breaking Bad, but they often get small facts wrong. His name is Don Eladio not Julio. Same with the episode when Walt blows up Junior’s car. It was a Challenger, not a Mustang like the reviewer said. Also the guy the cartel killed was not Gus’ actual brother, but a friend who was like a brother (it’s also hinted that Gus might be gay. With Hector saying they like what they see when he pisses into the Don’s pool.)
Best episode of the season thus far. For me I had the same feeling I got after the episode Half Measures from last season. Jesse establishing his superiority over the chemists was great, and obviously Gus with that brilliant mind of his. Honestly, without that Hermanos episode I wouldn’t be cheering for Gus here, but that’s what’s so great about Breaking Bad, character development makes you cheer for everyone despite how bad they break. I think Skyler should just have her old boss killed, but that’s just me. Boy is that guy annoying.
A huevo!! i was clapping at the end of the episode, the moment when Mike pull the cable was cathartic (i hated the guy with the beard) and the way he does it got cool all over. For me is annoying to watch the parts in spanish because they speak it very poorly and twist the meaning of the words i guess they couldn’t find a good spanish coach or good Mexican actors in the US. Saul Goodman is my second favorite character in the show that guy delivers every time, him should have his own show! Breaking Weird or Breaking Legal.
The exact translation of what you typed is “I’m healthy, and money who wants that?”. I would recommend saying La salud es mejor que la riquesa.
http://mixle.com/purebiotix-hcg-review.html
Unbelievable episode. Something that nobody has spoke about on this page though…
Just before Mike gets shot he raises his gun to shoot Jesse.
yeah he was going to kill him. that part was pretty interesting i wonder how it would have played out if mike hadnt gotten shot
Wow, I didn’t catch that Mike was about to shoot Jesse before Mike himself got shot … I love these recaps and the readers’ comments; I always find out things that I hadn’t noticed or get a new perspective on the episode.
A powerhouse hour of TV.
Love this episode and the comments.
Gus undercover CIA or DEA agent (hence why they couldn’t find any records of him in Chile) was the original breaking bad when his buddy got killed by Don Eladio.
Walt’s going to become Gus, unless Jesse does it first.
But seems to me by the end of series that either Jesse or Walt will die.
I don’t think that Mike was about to shoot Jessie. I think he just has his gun up out of habit before he gets in the car. They do not want Jessie dead.
in the end of the episode when mike and jesse were helping gus get into the car, it looked like mike was about to shoot jesse when his head was turned but before mike could he got shot by a cartel and jesse killed him and they took off.. i might be wrong but that what it looked like to me..
I don’t think so, before that Gus said Jesse was an addict and he didn’t get to drink any of the kool-aid. They wanted him alive, he impressed them during this trip.
He didn’t kill him because they needed him to shoot the way through eladios house, after they got in the car he was useless to them. Great luck.
I dunno….
I could kind of see Gilligan and co. killing off Gus and Mike. And the final season will deal with Walt and Jesse inheriting the empire and finally completing their journey to becoming meth overlords.
It’d be a fitting, final ascent up the criminal ladder and rich territory for the last season to explore.
If you notice prior to drinking the shot, Gus swallows some pills which may have acted in counteracting the speed of the poison in his system.
I could not agree more that ‘Salud’ was S4′s “best, ballsiest, most entertaining hour”. Spectacular episode. However, I do disagree with the point that the non-Gus subplots were merely “perfectly serviceable”. Walt’s conversation with his son was seriously telling about the differences between them and may end up creating an even greater rift, while both in that story and the one with Skylar, there were some serious loose threads being created that would well wrap themselves around Walt’s vulnerable neck. Which is to say nothing of Gus having now found a new chemist…
Here’s my own analysis (http://xandermarkham.blogspot.com/2011/09/business-is-business-breaking-bad.html), which is in my opinion the best one I’ve written to date. Would be awesome to hear what thoughts are on the areas I agree and disagree with Scott’s assessment. Thanks!
A lot of different subplots were uncovered in this episode. Walt reveals to Jr. his childhood, (maybe giving an indication as to why Sr. turned to a criminal lifestyle to finance his family’s needs), Jesse gains some self-assurance when he successfully re-creates the formula (and when he stands up to the guy about the state of the lab), Skyler’s path to becoming a criminal, etc.
Prediction: Gus survives, but becomes incapacitated briefly due to the after-effects from the poison that was left in his system; Jesse takes over the business operations, at Gus’s discretion (but maybe not his careful discretion due to his limited capabilities due to said incapacitation) so Jesse hires one of his goon friends to be his assistant. He convinces Walt that he needs him back only to get more help from him, in which case he will plan on “doing away” with Walt completely after he gets Walt’s assistance. As Walt is already planning his “escape” from the meth business while he is helping Jesse (reluctantly), he is also scheming to take him out so Hank doesn’t catch him first, thereby enabling Jesse to spill the beans about Walt. Jesse, in the back of his mind, is planning reciprocal revenge toward Walt.
Meanwhile, Walt Jr. embraces his new car and decides to soup it up and go into off-road racing.
Great review as always sir. we thank you for your speediness not the minor mistakes we get it.
I did not catch mike trying to kill Jessie that would be fucked up. I felt his bad ass chemist routine wasn’t his best performance, when things like that happen on bb i usually get a hard on. not even a twitch this time.
At least he took care of that sniper asshole at the end where did he come from anyway?
Mike was not going to shoot Jesse before he got shot…? I dont know where that came from…jus walked it back..yeah, his gun is slightly pointed towards him but thats just because he was opening the door..definitely was not doing that…re watch, ull see
I think we’ve missed something big here. Or, more likely, it’s just me who missed something, but was that poison the same one Jesse had? If so, why would he give it to Gus and what kind of suspicions does that bring? On the other hand, if Gus made it/had it made then that might hint he could use it on Walt at will expecting he lives through the poisoning. Let me know what you think. I probably just missed something or I’m thinking far too into it.
We know that it is not the same poison Jesse had because Walt told Jesse that it would take a couple days to kick in. That way you can poison the person and still avoid suspicion it was you. Gus wants EVERYONE to know who killed Don Eladio.
I remembered Walt saying that the poison would take a while which is why I was confused with everyone dying almost immediately. I don’t know, it crossed my mind after the show. Just a dumb idea that I wanted to get off my chest. Thanks for the reply, man.
“I suggest you stop acting like a little bitch and do what I say.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I gave out a little squeal of joy hearing that line.
It took a couple of weeks for me to solidify my opinion on this matter, but I think I’ve got Gus figured out. I came to this conclusion from the “Hermanos” episode: I think Gus is an former or active CIA operator.
My rationale is as follows: I’m trying to get into a guy like Gus’s head. Here is a competent, cool as ice business man. If he were just in it for the money, why not just stick with the business side of things and make his money legitimately? This has been the thought that has bothered me for so long: why would a guy like Gus, who is obviously successful in his own right, get involved with drugs in the first place? A guy like Gus is beyond money, his motivation is for something greater than that. He believes in something to the point that he will pursue it with ruthless, unforgiving efficiency. This is the behavior and mentality of a soldier, not a crime lord, and much less a drug dealer.
This would explain Gus’s connection to Mike. This would explain why Mike, when suggesting to Gus a retaliation against the cartel, used the word “operators” when talking about hiring guns.
Now the reason for the CIA’s involvement could be one of two things: One, it’s a known fact that the CIA was involved with distributing cocaine and crack to poor neighborhoods for a profit in the past. Meth could be the CIA’s new product. Two, and probably the more likely plot wise, is that this is the CIA’s way of waging a covert war against the Cartel. Tonight’s episode messed with this logic a bit because he showed how revenge played such a strong part in Gus’s motivation. Bottom line though, Gus has become one of my favorite characters!
That’s my thoughts on the matter. What do you all think?
The last 10 minutes of this episode was cinematic genius. The rest of the episode was just alright.
Tbh they just need to focus on Jesse from now on, his story has becoming WAY more interesting. Walter’s kind of pettered out after it turned out he wasn’t going to be dieing.
I have to comment on the overwhelming adulation for SALUD (and the last 2 or 3 episodes this season) as being the “best episode ever.” This last few episodes has really strayed from the main story of the show, this Walt character, a man who has gone from good to bad, also from being timid to being ballsy, from economically emasculated to ass-kicking entrepreneur. This season is slowly becoming the story of Gus.
Though I love a good ole fashioned genre exercise about drug lords scheming to one-up each other with DEAs & psycho assassins used as pawns (and I love the way this larger background story evolves methodically), it kinda takes away the human story at the center. Walter White. How would Walt escape this new “prison?” Has he had any regrets over the trail of corpses he left behind? Is he still a good father, a relevant provider of the family? There is that little scene in the previous season when Walt sees his new competition (an amateur redneck type shopping for ingredients) and growls: “Get out of my territory!” I was expecting the writer to take this reinvigorated Walt to the next level. Can Walt become Gus?
Back to the last few “Drug War” episodes: I am telling myself that one of these characters are playing for the other team: Mike (CIA informant?), Gus (cartel turncoat & DEA undercover?), or both! You know how the Feds like to keep the small fish (Gus) in order to get the big fish (Cartel).
Great episode and great review.
I don’t think Gus wanted Mike to kill Jesse at the car, if he did he’d just let him drink the tequila… I don’t think they would’ve needed Jesse’s help to shoot their way out of there…
But Jesse Pinkman – you DA man, first he makes the Chemist his little bitch and then he blasts them the hell of there in a hail of bullets. Guess all those zombie video games got him ready for some real bad ass action.
Love the thoughts on where it’s going, here’s my 2 cents.
Season End – Gus doesn’t make it, the poison got into his bloodstream and it looks like Jesse and Walt will takeover the empire. We find out that Gus wasn’t always bad, he was the original breaking bad – as an undercover agent or whatever and when his buddy got taken out by Don Eladio he turned bad.
Series End – Either Walt or Jesse dies, not because of a direct action against each other but more so something indirect that happens as their involvement in the empire becomes bigger
is it just me, or does anyone else think asac merkert, the gray-headed dea big man (one in photo shaking hands with gus), is gus’ boss?
Hey Dani, you got it. Someone in that scene where Hank was relieved of his gun and badge, had to have tipped off the two cousins that an unarmed agent was stopping by for some flowers to take home to mama. It sure wasn’t the boys from D.C., now was it? Some lawyers in Texas are also covering for the pieces of the super Meth Lab, that Hank got a bead on. This whole game seems to be to draw the Cartel North of the Border, where they can be eliminated. Hank is just a bit too much for things to work out that way, so he’s become the major “fly in the Ointment”. When the DEA hears of all those cartel amigos being poisoned, and ol’ Gus drags himself back to ALB., in a bad way, Hank will be all over it. Somewhere, Mike and the “old ranger” will have to sanitize this super lab and the resultant mess. But Walt and Jesse could be let go to return to the small scale Meth Business. But now the secret of the Blue is out, south of the border. So with a little prodding, all those Mexicans can be irritated into blowing each other away, something like Chuko’s demise. Think about it. If the old ranger hadn’t been in bed with Gus, how would he know that Gus had only just green lighted the two cousins for killing Hank? They had indeed come up to El Norte’ to wipe out Walter White, and his family. So before Gus green lighted the two cousins to kill Hank, the old ranger had green lighted Hank’s murder to Gus. And with fact following fiction, the U.S. Border Patrol agent murdered with “Fast and Furious” black guns turned loose by the ATF and the Justice Dept., are almost a mirror image of the Federal Gov’t's malfeasance, in Gilligan’s plots.
Thank you for every other wonderful post. Where else may just anyone get that type of info in such a perfect manner of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I’m on the search for such information.