Last Sunday's Breaking Bad lacked the tension of
the previous week’s “I.F.T.” and the shock value of the beginning of Season 3.
This week's episode, “Green Light,” might have been called "Crystal
Ball" for all the (apparent) foreshadowing it set up for the rest of the
season. Chip, you know from our Mad Men discussions that I'm a conspiracy
theorist extraordinaire with a recessive Chicken Little trait. Here are a
few of my thoughts on where the Breaking Bad train, er, make that Winnebago, is
headed:
Chip, you and I had a brief non-blogosphere discussion about my Conspiracy Theory #1, that someone in the DEA is dirty.
I am suspicious about the reason and/or motivation behind Hank's
being recalled to El Paso. The timing seems fishy. I see a few
possibilities here. One is that Gus has a mole with Albuquerque law
enforcement who knows that Hank's hot on Heisenberg's trail and wants to get
Hank out of town before Walt/Heisenberg starts cooking Blue Sky again.
Another possibility is that Tuco's cousins realize they're going to get
more than they bargained for if they kill Walt on Gus's turf (and time).
However, all bets are off if they could lure Walt to their territory.
Hank may be a pawn in that game. A third possibility involves the
cousins exacting revenge on Hank (who was the one who actually fired the fatal
shot at Tuco) with a turtle, a bomb, and, oh never mind. I don't see AMC allowing a retread of
that old trick. Let's not forget, AMC brought us not only death by turtle
and decapitation by ATM, but also amputation by lawnmower. They aren't
going to rest on their laurels now..... Chip, you were astute enough to
remember that the sheriff was being cagey about Hank not going to El Paso,
which you noted was odd given that Hank was the local go-to guy for all things
Heisenberg. Good eye, my friend.
The title of this episode, "Green Light,"
brings me to theory #2. It's obvious Walt's about to get back in the drug
manufacturing biz. Gus's unsolicited delivery to Walt of half the drug
money for Jesse's cook was some serious head-gamesmanship. The traffic light
cash toss-in was a nice touch. The title of this week's episode, coupled
with the title of next week's "Mas," and considered with the red light/not
cooking meth, green light/cooking metaphor makes Walt's reentry in the game all
but a foregone conclusion.
Which brings me to plot musing #3. I thought it was
interesting that Gus told Mike he doesn't find fear to be an effective
motivator. That one had me scratching my head a bit, but when it became
apparent that Gus was a grand master of mental chess, I had to marvel at the
sociopath inside this seemingly mild druglord. Walt has done pretty well
against thugs like Crazy 8 and Tuco. He's even holding his own
against the cousins on a mission, albeit by the intervention of Gus, Saul, and
Mike, of which he’s blissfully oblivious. But how will Walt fare against the
worthy mental opponent he's facing in Gus?
Theory #4, a/k/a the out of left field theory with
no basis in this week's episode....how long till Walt Jr. decides to smoke his
problems away? The Whites aren't exactly putting the fun in dysfunctional
lately. Poor kid.
Theory #5 - It was obvious from the chilly breakroom reception Skyler
got from one of her Beneke coworkers that the office knows Ted's been cooking
more than the books. And Skyler is clearly an outcast from the cool kids
at the watercooler. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the office mean girls
decides to do some whistleblowing? Especially if it led to Skyler being charged
criminally for the numbers game Ted is running. She'd hardly be able to claim
the moral high ground with Walt (or Marie) if she was just another criminal.
Have any theories of your own, Chip? Or just want to take shots at mine?
Peace, Holly
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