Breaking Bad, "Thirty-Eight Snub": One day at a time

My review/recap of last night's episode after I turn into a sleestak.

It looks like Breaking Bad has returned to its Season 1 way of slow storytelling. Honestly, nothing really happens in this episode. Walter buys a gun he plans to use on Gus, Jesse has a party, Mike drinks, Skylar looks to buy the car wash, and Hank and Marie argue more. That's what this episode was in a nutshell.

But of course Breaking Bad isn't a nutshell. We know why all of these characters do what they do. Walt, Jesse, and Mike all react to what happened last week with Gus killing Victor in front of them. Walt buys the gun and tells the seller that it is for defense. But Walt knows that the key to a good defense is a good offense and wants to use the gun to kill Gus, before he kills Walt.

Jesse becomes numb to the world and starts drinking and using drugs hard. He has Badger and Skinny Pete over to show them his new sound system and they have a party for three straight days, and only stopping to cook. When everyone decides to leave, he turns the sound up and just sits in front of the speaker.

Mike is drinking at a bar, when he sees blood on his his shirt and he becomes upset. When Walt comes in to talk to him, he asks Mike where he stands with Gus. Mike tells him that he won and the job is his. Walt wants to know for how long and if Mike is nervous about where he stands with Gus after what happened to Victor. Walt tells him to get Gus in a room and Walt will take care of him. Mike punches Walt and leaves.

Skylar goes to the car wash and talks to the owner about buying it. He tells her it will cost $10 million. She tells him she will give him $875,000 and shows how she came to that price. The owner then says the price for Walter White is $20 million. He is mad that Walt quit the way he did and now won't face him himself. He then tells Skylar to leave.

Hank and Marie argue over his mineral collection again. The next day, Hank fights through and eventually walks to the bedroom during physical therapy. His therapist and Marie are both excited, though Hank doesn't seem all that happy in sharing the moment with his wife. After the therapist leaves Hank tells Marie to leave him alone. Another shipment of minerals come the next day, and again they argue and clearly Marie is getting frustrated.

We see what happened to everyone after the Gus-Victor incident, and how everyone responds to it. Walt wants to kill Gus before he kills Walt, Jesse becomes numb to everything, and Mike doesn't know where he stands with Gus now.

This is an episode without any action, but we see that things are happening. It's very Season 1-style of storytelling. Everything builds to huge moments. Clearly the huge moment this season will be the Walt-Gus showdown, and whether Jesse will be able to wake from his numbness, and what he will do after that. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.