Breaking Bad S5E12: Hank Closes in on Walt. Maybe.
Now that I've vented my frustration about the slow pace of several of the episodes in Breaking Bad season 5 I'll write about what's actually happened. This is a summary across eps. 9-12, the first half of season 5 "B".
Hank is onto Walt. Hank's "OMFG" moment came at the end of S5E8 when he discovered a book of poetry in Walt's house with a note from (murdered drug maker) Gale Boetticher in it. Hank subsequently spent a week or more reviewing DEA case files in his garage to be sure and to see if he could build a case against Walt. Why do it in his garage and not the DEA office? Two things: One, even at the end of his week or two he has no hard evidence, and his superiors have already signaled, strongly, they consider this case closed and object to him dedicating expending agency resources on it. Two, as he explains to Marie, his career would be over 15 minutes after he tells his superiors. A drug kingpin is a relative of a DEA office leader? Not a good look.
So, there's four episodes here of Hank working around the margins trying to build a case against Walt. Walt, for his part, figures out that Hank is onto him. He discovers that the poetry book is missing then finds one of Hank's clumsy GPS trackers attached to his car. He confronts Hank, who punches him when he mostly denies everything. All subsequent scenes with Walt and Hank have Hank wearing a stony face with a look of pure hatred carved into it.
Walt, ever intelligent and now quite a sociopath, records a "confession" video. In it he admits to many of the things he's done, identifying people and places, but weaves it in a narrative that Hank was involved and, at times, threatened and blackmailed him (Walt) to continue. For now Walt hasn't gone public with the video but merely given a copy to Hank and, presumably, store copies in other places for safekeeping, like with Saul, the crooked lawyer.
Walt's "confession" video is itself blackmail against Hank. It threatens to destroy his career and bankrupt him. I figure that even though Hank would eventually prevail against the mostly phony allegations in the video, he'd (a) lose his job, (b) spend a year in legal jeopardy fighting the charges, and (c) be completely bankrupted at the end. Where would a penniless, near-50 completely discredited former government agent who walks with a painful limp find work?
Meanwhile Jesse's spinning out of control. While Walt spent a few months building a mammoth pile of cash, Jesse hid at home feeling sorry for himself and slid back into using drugs. One night he plays "midnight paper boy"- except instead of tossing newspapers into people's yards he tosses stacks of $10,000 cash each. The local cops pick him up after he crashes his car. Hank finds out about it and starts using Jesse to get leverage over Walt.
Walt figures out, too, that Jesse is turning against him. He tries to smooth things over, but Jesse doesn't want to listen. Walt convinces Jesse to go into hiding with the help of a local criminal who specializes in creating false identities. Jesse agrees, reluctantly, then backs out at the last instant when he realizes that Saul's goon, Huell, pulled a pick-pocket trick on him- the same one he used to filch that poisoned cigarette he thought his girlfriend's son accidentally smoked. When Jesse figures out that Walt has tried to destroy even the few things he cares about he turns against Walt.
Hank pulls in one colleague from the DEA, his old pal, "Gomey", to work the angle on Jesse. Together they get Jesse to record a confession in which Jesse spills the beans on everything- including murders. Note, this all happens "off the books". Jesse confesses without any kind of prosecution deal. He's toast after this. Hank acts very emotionally supportive toward Jesse in their interactions, but one scene when Jesse steps out of the room shows Hank turn to Gomey and admit, crassly, that he doesn't care if drug-dealer Jesse gets murdered for his.
And yes, murder is on the table. Saul suggests it. Walt reacts angrily. Though he knows his relationship with Jesse is broken he still regards him as being like a son. Then Skyler suggests it. Yes, Skyler! She's careful not to say "kill" or "murder" but makes clear intimation in a tense, late-night argument with Walt. Episode S5E12 ends with Jesse threatening Walt on a phone call, "I'm going to get you where you really live" and then Walt phoning Todd- whose uncle leads a gang that Walt previously hired to kill 9 witnesses in prison- "I've got another job for your uncle."
Hank is onto Walt. Hank's "OMFG" moment came at the end of S5E8 when he discovered a book of poetry in Walt's house with a note from (murdered drug maker) Gale Boetticher in it. Hank subsequently spent a week or more reviewing DEA case files in his garage to be sure and to see if he could build a case against Walt. Why do it in his garage and not the DEA office? Two things: One, even at the end of his week or two he has no hard evidence, and his superiors have already signaled, strongly, they consider this case closed and object to him dedicating expending agency resources on it. Two, as he explains to Marie, his career would be over 15 minutes after he tells his superiors. A drug kingpin is a relative of a DEA office leader? Not a good look.
So, there's four episodes here of Hank working around the margins trying to build a case against Walt. Walt, for his part, figures out that Hank is onto him. He discovers that the poetry book is missing then finds one of Hank's clumsy GPS trackers attached to his car. He confronts Hank, who punches him when he mostly denies everything. All subsequent scenes with Walt and Hank have Hank wearing a stony face with a look of pure hatred carved into it.
Walt, ever intelligent and now quite a sociopath, records a "confession" video. In it he admits to many of the things he's done, identifying people and places, but weaves it in a narrative that Hank was involved and, at times, threatened and blackmailed him (Walt) to continue. For now Walt hasn't gone public with the video but merely given a copy to Hank and, presumably, store copies in other places for safekeeping, like with Saul, the crooked lawyer.
Walt's "confession" video is itself blackmail against Hank. It threatens to destroy his career and bankrupt him. I figure that even though Hank would eventually prevail against the mostly phony allegations in the video, he'd (a) lose his job, (b) spend a year in legal jeopardy fighting the charges, and (c) be completely bankrupted at the end. Where would a penniless, near-50 completely discredited former government agent who walks with a painful limp find work?
Meanwhile Jesse's spinning out of control. While Walt spent a few months building a mammoth pile of cash, Jesse hid at home feeling sorry for himself and slid back into using drugs. One night he plays "midnight paper boy"- except instead of tossing newspapers into people's yards he tosses stacks of $10,000 cash each. The local cops pick him up after he crashes his car. Hank finds out about it and starts using Jesse to get leverage over Walt.
Walt figures out, too, that Jesse is turning against him. He tries to smooth things over, but Jesse doesn't want to listen. Walt convinces Jesse to go into hiding with the help of a local criminal who specializes in creating false identities. Jesse agrees, reluctantly, then backs out at the last instant when he realizes that Saul's goon, Huell, pulled a pick-pocket trick on him- the same one he used to filch that poisoned cigarette he thought his girlfriend's son accidentally smoked. When Jesse figures out that Walt has tried to destroy even the few things he cares about he turns against Walt.
Hank pulls in one colleague from the DEA, his old pal, "Gomey", to work the angle on Jesse. Together they get Jesse to record a confession in which Jesse spills the beans on everything- including murders. Note, this all happens "off the books". Jesse confesses without any kind of prosecution deal. He's toast after this. Hank acts very emotionally supportive toward Jesse in their interactions, but one scene when Jesse steps out of the room shows Hank turn to Gomey and admit, crassly, that he doesn't care if drug-dealer Jesse gets murdered for his.
And yes, murder is on the table. Saul suggests it. Walt reacts angrily. Though he knows his relationship with Jesse is broken he still regards him as being like a son. Then Skyler suggests it. Yes, Skyler! She's careful not to say "kill" or "murder" but makes clear intimation in a tense, late-night argument with Walt. Episode S5E12 ends with Jesse threatening Walt on a phone call, "I'm going to get you where you really live" and then Walt phoning Todd- whose uncle leads a gang that Walt previously hired to kill 9 witnesses in prison- "I've got another job for your uncle."