Breaking Bad 3x08

Jesse, still battered and bruised after Hank beat the crap out of him, is leaving the hospital. Just when he’s waiting to be picked up, an ambulance drives Hank in, barely alive after the shootout with the Cousins. It makes Jesse’s day. He then visits the new underground super-lab, an Jesse realizes Walt still has no idea what happened to his brother-in-law Hank. Walt rushes to the hospital to be with his family, leaving Jesse in the lab bored out of his wits. Although Hank survives the emergency surgery, he remains too weak to receive visitors. His colleagues in the hospital lobby take Walt to see the sole surviving Cousin, whose legs had to be amputated below the knee. Meanwhile, Mexican cartel lord Bolsa accuses our secretive Gus of ordering the hit on Hank. With no meth coming from south of the border and Hank in the hospital, Gus worries about his business. Community sponsor as he is, Gus personally delivers the officers free food from Los Pollos Hermanos, and offers a $10,000 reward for any information about the shooting, but also uses the opportunity to compel Walt to return to the lab. Walt promises to manufacture 400 pounds by the end of next week. Soon after Gus leaves, the Cousin flatlines – and goon Mike slips out unnoticed. Outside his restaurant, Gus gets a call from Bolsa that the U.S. government is putting pressure on Mexico to crack down the cartel – and while Bolsa’s still on the phone with Gus, an assassination team crashes into his headquarters killing him and his bodyguards.

The episode has several scenes that are beyond believe. All the tense moments of Walt and his family sitting in the waiting room anxiously hoping for some news about Hank. Hank’s wife Marie is desperate to blame someone, the DEA for confiscating his gun, Walt for knowing Jesse. Absolutely captivating, too, is when the surviving Cousin recognizes “Heisenberg.” He pushes himself off the hospital bed and crawls towards the door before he is subdued. Walt realizes the would-be assassins must be Tuco’s cousins, but doesn’t tell anyone. The show certainly knows how to set us up for drama. The combination of tense action and human depth makes for thought provoking entertainment. The criminal world of drugs is never glorified or glamorized. Instead we’re shown the horrible damage it does to those involved – dealers and users as well as law enforcement, their family and friends alike. The main characters are all fascinating and the writing is stellar. It is easy to sympathize with Walt and Jesse, as well as with Hank. We gradually come to appreciate Skyler, we feel for Marie now that her husband has nearly lost his life, and obviously we adore Walter Jr. Personally, I found the Cousins a little cartoonish and out of sync with the tone of the show. But they’re done away with now. It remains to be seen, though, where the story arc is taking us on the last third of the series. Will Jesse do right this time? What are Gus’ plans for Walt after the three months are over? Will Walt’s cancer return?