Well he's not concerned about much more obvious threats that could come from other drug dealers, powerful drug cartels, or the cops, so I'm sure any danger posed by Skyler isn't even on his radar right now.
Skyler's never made a violent move toward anyone on this show, so why would he expect anything like that from her? Plus, he seems to think he's got her pretty cowed at the moment.
I also disliked Hank in the beginning because he seemed like a typical meathead cop, but it was during the scene when he broke down to Marie and revealed all the baggage he had been carrying since killing Tuco that I realised what a great character he was, and that he was one of my favourites on the show. Just minutes later, I was absolutely dreading that he was about to be taken out by the cousins, so that was perfect timing by the writers, to make me realise just how much I cared about the character before bringing him to the brink of death. Thematically, Jesse killing or somehow bringing down Walt makes the most sense for the show, but I really, really hope that Hank plays an important role in it. That guy deserves a major win after all that shit he has been through thanks to Walt.
I had the same initial impression of Hank, too, but I've really warmed up to him over the course of the show. He seems like one of those guys who wasn't born smart, but instead succeeds through dogged determination. I've always liked that contrast between Hank and Walt. Walt's smart but undone by his own arrogance; Hank is humble and works at what he does, and he does it well. Hank really needs to put it together and figure out Walt is Heisenberg, just so we can see Walt being so viciously galled by it.
Hank's rough around the edges by half, but he's a good person. A better person than Walter, that's for sure. Of course, that's not saying much these days. I, too, had some sympathy for Walt. I really did......and then there was the Lily of the Valley on his patio. Even in this universe of compromised morals in which we judge our characters, that was the lowest of the low. Walt's no different from Todd. Walter was perfectly willing to poison a child, and if that child died so be it. He rationalized his behavior by thinking that he had a right to do it because it would (hopefully) cause Jesse to blame Gus and be angry enough to take him out. Brock posed no immediate threat of discovery to Walt. He was an arbitrary victim who suited Walter's needs. Who cared if it tore Jesse to pieces emotionally? Certainly not Walt. He'd be there to "comfort" him. I wanted to throw a tire iron at Walt's head as he sat there rubbing Jesse's shoulders while "forgiving" him for pointing the gun at him. I wouldn't trade a thing Jesse--us working together, having each others' backs. What a phony. There's still some sick, twisted affection for Jesse in Walt, but he doesn't care about him more than he cares about himself. Walter doesn't care for anyone more than himself. If he did, he'd give up the meth manufacturing and run the car wash with Skyler. He has a source of income. What he wants is power.
I liked Hank about halfway through season one when it became obvious that he cared about Walt despite the fact that Walt was pretty cold to him. He became my favorite character (and still is) when he stood up to Walt when Walt was making Walter Jr drink and drink until he barfed. I love the relationship between Walter Jr and Hank- I wish I had an uncle like that when I was young!
I don't see any way for Hank to get out of this with his career intact. How it looks to his colleagues and superios will be, that he was working together with Walt the entire time, and that's why he knew about Gus before anyone else, and it's probably also how he survived the turtle bomb. Plus, he has plenty of enemies in the DEA anyway.
Hank is an awesome character! You really have to love the guy, and yeah, unfortunately it would seem he's in for some trouble down the road when it comes to dealing with Walt.
That would be sad and ironic, and not out of line with how this show does things. Hank's kinda been the show's punching bag, after all. I mean, no sooner did he finally get out of bed after recovering from being shot, Walt throws him into a car crash and puts him right back.
They were happy because the bridge was within a certain distance from the grade crossing. Apparently they had some idea of the typical train length and a "zone" of where their tank car would be. It was the number of the tank car with the methylamine. What's questionable is how they knew that particular car would be within working distance of the their tank setup. I'm sure train buffs could find more to pick, but like Harvey said those sequences deserve a "too good to check" pass. Justin
Just had a random thought about the tarantula. The show correctly portrayed that tarantulas are harmless as long as they aren't threatened--the boy was easily able to pick it up and move it around without being bitten. And that made me draw a line to Todd: a guy Walt and Jesse probably thought was harmless, too, up to the point a threat emerged, where he reacted with immediate, deadly force. Much like a tarantula. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if that's how they intended it, it was pretty damn clever. I love all those little touches like that they have on this show. The reference to Heat (as pointed out earlier in the thread) was a great example, too.
Well hopefully they don't rush the characters into a confrontation TOO fast. I'd love to see Hank learn the truth but continue to play the clueless brother-in-law around Walt for awhile. And sort of toy with him a little bit, and make him think that maybe he does know something... but Walt can't be totally sure...
That was a nice moment. I also liked the scene of Walt and Jr. watching Scarface this season. "Everyone dies in this movie," points out Walt, oblivious to his own existence. A less subtle moment, to be sure, but still effective. Of course, both those movies feature actors that have guest starred on the show -- Danny Trejo from Heat and Steven Bauer from Scarface.
That doesn't strike me as Hank's style. He doesn't "toy" with people, he carefully gathers information until he's ready to use it. If that happens, Walt won't know what hit him.
I don't think so. I mean this is one way of viewing the situation and if it were you or I, the DEA would likely see it that way, but Hank is too respected by his peers. Besides, it has already been established (by Hank's team member) that even a good cop can have criminal activity going on 'right under his nose' and not know it
I can't believe how good this show is. And it somehow keeps getting better and better. I'll be sad when it's done next year Here's a crazy theory: what if Hank has already pieced it together and is right now playing the clueless brother-in-law and his partner is in on it as well? He could have left the office on purpose in the hope that Walt did plant something. The writers could be screwing with us.
Again, I don't know how popular Hank really is with the DEA, he made a lot of people look foolish, and his stint in wherever-it-was (El Paso?) was a disaster. And there's "under your nose" and then there's "the local DEA boss's brother-in-law is fucking Heisenberg". That's life without parole-territory, not just losing your job in disgrace. That's congressional inquiry and national media frenzy and impeachment territory. Hank has to go down imo, unfair as it is.
Maybe, but from all the recent interviews I've seen (with both Gilligan and Dean Norris), Hank is still very much in the dark. Of course they could be lying to us, but I kinda doubt it.
I also remember the scene with Hank in his boss' office where the guy was telling the story of how Gus Fring was at his party and seemed totally normal. If you watch the scene carefully, you will notice a look on Hank's face where he might be pondering Walter. Also, Hank dropped a line in the most recent episode about "if you have the money."
I hated Hank at first and wanted him to get killed by the cartel. I still don't like him - I don't like the cop personality type in general - but I'm glad they kept him around. He's good tension. As unpredictable as the show is, the season break has got to be the time Hank puts it all together, but I don't think Walt is going to know that he knows yet, because that seems like when Walt will need to go on the run, but its too early for that. We can't have the entire second half being Walt in New Hampshire.