Walt starts undermining Gale when he comes in and finds Gale had done most of the work without him. The look on Walt's face was not one of happiness. It ties back to his reaction when Jesse cooked without him.
If he was enjoying himself so much, why did he get all pissy then yell at Gale for having the wrong temp? (Which I interpreted as being either an intentional incorrect temperature given, or an outright lie.) It wasn't genuinely angry Walt there, it was fake angry Walt with ulterior motives. Or at least that's how I saw it.
Uh, yes. Walt wasn't genuinely angry as you write, but needed some trumped up reasons to be unhappy with Gale's work. Walt was enjoying working with Gale right up to the time that he realized he would have to get rid of Gale in order to give Jesse his job.
This show maybe does more than any show I can remember with the actor's faces and their expressions. Additionally, this is a great ensemble group of actors all perfect for their roles and who do a great job acting with their eyes. But the characters' motivations are still more clearly defined by their actual words and actions. The "looks" on their faces can be easily misinterpreted especially if the interpretation of the "looks" goes against what the character is saying or doing.
Actually, the "three months, three million dollars" specification was given to Walt by Gus. Gus never gave the cartel or the Tucco cousins a time-frame (at least, not on-screen). Gus just said they could have Walt when Gus was done with him. The bigger point, though: you still haven't given a good reason why Walt would need to get rid of Gale to work with Jesse again. It's absolutely relevant. If Walt can have more than one assistant then Walt must have other motivations for getting rid of Gale. What in-show evidence do you have to back up that claim?
Yesterday I caught up on the last 3 episodes in one viewing -- and holy godz that was mind blowing stuff!! Started getting super nervous with Jesse rolling around alone in the lab; for awhile I thought that place was going up in a cataclysmic blast I liked Gale and I think Walter did too. IMO, he wanted Jesse in after Skyler's plea and that was that -- he tossed Gale even though he admired him.
Man, Jesse just can't stop himself from being a moron. Saul brings him a money laundering scheme on a silver platter that'll keep him out of jail and even make some legit cash and Jesse has a fit about it. Then to top it all off he hatches a plan to steal from Gus. That's the sort of thing drug cartels get very, very nasty about and something tells me Los Pollos is no exception.
Yeah, Jesse's a real idiot. I know they have to keep the drama up, but this thing they're developing seems a little too stupid and forced. They're taking Jesse in a direction he doesn't he doesn't need to go. Still a great hour once again though. - I figured that Hank would end up in a wheelchair. - Skyler's story about Walt's gambling was impressive, but it did feel like she was laying it on too thick. I was like... Okay, you made your point. You can stop now. When I think about it though, I realize that part of her rant was a need to vent out of anger. - Loved the intro with the chicken ad. - During Walt's meeting, Gus looked pretty stoic and creepy. One last thing... Those meth crystals look like candy I want to take and suck on. I can't help but think that every time I see them.
The narrative is in full spate. There is one false note, though. It was Jesse who recruited Saul, because he understood the importance of legal cover. Making Jesse suddenly forget wasn't really necessary for the plot in my opinion. Whatever happens to drug addicts and alcoholics when the chemicals have been working on their brains, they do not get into drugs because they're stupid, trashy people. Smart or shrewd people, people with manners get into drugs too. And addicts act different when they are off the drugs or alcohol. Jesse stealing from Gustavo is amply explained by his self destructive feelings of guilt, pain and anger. It doesn't have to be explained because he too stupid to think straight. The rehab puts Hank out of the plot as an actor, while the stealing puts Jesse in the crosshairs.
This weeks' ep was a little slow. Next week looks great - too bad it's up against the Lost series finale, the most important event in television history!
It seemed at first that after the rehab Jesse was getting his wits about him and I was liking that. I was looking forward to him turning into some kind of burgeoning criminal mastermind. Unfortunately, he is turning back into dumbass Jesse. Which is kinda boring IMO.
Yeah, he did. He stated and it's supported in the show that Walt got rid of Gale to work with Jesse again to get Jesse to drop the charges against Hank.
Uh, you can like someone as a person and still hate them for being competition. Walt liked Gale, but was still threatened by him. We've also discovered that he was able to puzzle out Gus' entire plan, which emphasized the threatened feel. Keeping Jesse under control was a perk, allowing him to pick up an assistant that he could trust to not be a serious threat. It wasn't Walt's driving motivation for getting rid of Gale, only a trigger.
Walt didn't need to get rid of Gale to work with Jesse. He can have two assistants. There was never any reason given why he couldn't have two assistants. Therefore, there must be another reason why he got rid of Gale.
I think the overall point we're getting into here is that Walt & Jesse are beginning to diverge. Walt has it set in his mind that he is not bad, just criminal & Jesse has it into his mind that he is nothing but bad. This is the direction they seem to be heading, for now. Jesse has decided to be as bad as he can be. This is why he turns down the tax shelter, & begins stealing meth, & undermining his rehab group to build a customer base. The motivation does play soundly. It's the continually degrading stupidity that doesn't pass. It's almost like he was smarter when he was an addict Walt took on Jesse as a partner, over Gale, for a multitude of reasons. The threat of Jesse turning informer, the threat of Jesse destroying Hank's life, the threat of Gale replacing him as Gus's manufacturer, & I believe there was a moral issue at stake for Walt too. Walt, for some reason, has taken pity on Jesse, right after Jesse's rant about all the terrible things in his life beginning to happen when he partnered up with Walt. Walt is the catalyst for a great many horrible things occurring in the lives of those he is involved with, & he realizes it, & is guilty about it. Add to that the fact that the only other viable option for Walt is to have Jesse killed, to prevent the possibility of him turning informer. I just think Walt is not ready to commit to that level of villainy, & being partners is the only other option The only question I have is, did I miss something in the math? Did Jesse actually steal meth from their quota, or did he just steal the excess meth that he had been bitching about earlier? Because it would be unbelievably stupid to jeopardize their million dollar deal & their lives by stealing from Gus, but if he just stole the excess, then it won't be a problem, until that meth begins surfacing on the street, being pushed by people who aren't with Gus' outfit. I was thinking it would be that discovery which would be the betrayal that causes trouble
Jesus, that is such a well thought out analysis that it sounds like you write for the show. As for taking the excess. Yes, that would definitely be thought of as thievery. Period. Full stop. There are no extracurricular activities in large drug operations.
Thanks. I'm starting to think this is my new favorite show, because of all these layers. So then it was the excess that was stolen? That makes a bit more sense. Granted, it's still pretty stupid, but not nearly as stupid as stealing from their quota. They walk a fine line with Jesse's stupidity. I just get a little bugged when they cross into complete stupidity. It defeats the point of having Jesse be a lead character Actually, if I were writing for the show, I'd turn the tables, over the course of the next season or so, & show just how weak Jesse is at being a badass, by having Walt finally turn bad, similar to the way Gus is, ice cold bad. If Walt is truly breaking bad, then the ultimate evolution of that would be to become threatening. Jesse needs some of that kind of fear in his life, & Walt has the potential There's two problems with that though. Even though the show is called Breaking Bad, it's hard to transform your protagonist, Walt, into cold blooded villainy, because viewers have to identify with him. Two, for Walt to become that, it would pretty much mean Jesse's execution