Breaking Bad S2E11: Walt Goes Big-Time, Chooses Drugs Over Family

In S2E11 of Breaking Bad Walt and Jesse are on the rocks. Their effort to set up a rag-tag drug gang with three of Jesse's stoner friends as dealers has collapsed. Badger was arrested in S2E8, Better Call Saul; Combo was killed by rival dealers. Skinny Pete quit, and Jesse is blaming himself for Combo's death. Walt is pissed at Jesse for almost ruining their last drug manufacturing project and is also spinning out of control in his own personal life. But there's still a huge amount of drugs to move... and Walt badly needs the money.

Walt talks to Saul, who now not just a criminal defense lawyer for them but an advisor to their ongoing criminal activities. Saul "knows a guy who knows a guy... who knows a guy" who's a big-time drug dealer. This person could potentially buy the huge amount of drugs and sell it through the cartel he's part of; Walt and Jesse wouldn't have to be involved as dealers. Especially because, as Saul tells Walt in his characteristically blunt style, they suck as drug dealers. 😅

The new big-time dealer is the ostensibly mild-mannered Gus Fring, played by Giancarlo Esposito. I knew Esposito was cast in this season but I didn't recognize him at first. My last exposure to his acting was in The Mandalorian as the swaggering villain Moff Gideon, which I really enjoyed. Based on that I expected to see him snarl and twirl his cape like a classic movie villain. Instead he way underplays the character, Gus. But that's fair because (a) Gus is written as being an extremely careful person and (b) you're not supposed to recognize right away that he's the new Big Bad.

Moff Gi— I mean, Gus— initially rejects Walt from a distance after observing him quietly, then rejects him a second time after Walt figures out who he is. Walt may suck as a drug dealer but he is observant and intelligent. And occasionally determined. Determined, he tries a third time with Gus... and nets an offer for $1.2 million. $1.2 million. Welcome, Walt, to the big-time!

Ah, but there's catch. Not only is Walt taking a plunge ever deeper into crime, but the offer from Gus is on an extremely short time limit. Walt must choose between being at the hospital with his wife for the birth of their daughter, Holly or bring drugs to Gus and collecting $1.2 million. Walt chooses the money and a lame apology to his wife.

Side Effects Mild this Time

Yesterday I got a flu shot and a Covid booster at noon. Thankfully my side effects are mild this time around.

Nothing much happened yesterday. I was tired and went to bed a bit early... but that could also be because I was up at 6:15 to start my workday with a 7am meeting.

This morning I woke up with dull body aches. I tried lying on one side then the other to sleep in. Both hurt so I got up. Through the morning I was feeling lethargic and slightly achy all over. It was no worse than if I done a decent hike the day before. One of my arms was slightly sore at the injection site— meaning, it felt sore when I poked it— but there was no swelling.

I'm now past T+24 hours. The achiness is at bay with the help of Tylenol and ibuprofen. I'm still feeling a bit tired... but honestly I've felt this way most of the past several weekends. Some of it is just me getting older.

Breaking Bad S2E13: That Creepy Explosion Scene at Walt's House, Revealed

Several of the episodes in Breaking Bad's season 2 start with a weird flash-forward scene. It starts with a child's toy, a teddy bear, floating in a pool. The bear is burned, as if from an explosion. And one of its eyeballs is floating nearby.

The scene is revealed bit by bit each episode, starting with the bear in the pool but getting longer each time. Someone fishes the bear out with a net. That person is wearing a "bunny suit", as if they're the police investing a toxic scene. The house and the pool are obviously Walt's. The bear is dropped into a box marked "evidence".

Will there be an explosion at Walt's house? I wondered. And what would cause it? It being from drug making gone bad seems unlikely, as Walt would never bring his operation to his house, where his family lives. Could it be a fire-bomb attack from a rival drug dealer?

As the intro gets longer we see more of the aftermath of some kind of explosion. There are several items being collected by investigators in Walt's back yard, all being tucked into evidence bags/boxes. Out front the windows of Walt's car are all shattered. On the ground next to his car are... body bags.

What's going on here? I wondered. People are dead? Except I know they can't be Walt or his family because they all live for 4 more seasons. Ah, the benefits of watching a show after all the episodes have dropped. 😅

The season 2 finale finally explains where this flash-forward scene comes from.

( Episode Spoiler (click to open) )