This week on Meth Lab Hunters Albuquerque, our prospective business partners are searching for a new location for their little meth boutique. I’ll be honest, if one of the apartments I looked at had all-you-can-eat tortillas as a feature, I’d have moved there in a heartbeat. The last place they look at is basically a pest control company’s garage, which would never work as a lab. But while the guys don’t find a kitchen to their liking, Walt decides they can pop a (fumigating) tent and work under the guise of fumigating. So, Los Pollos Hermanos is replaced by Vamonos Pest.
Before the little real estate trip, Mike makes like a paralegal and visits some loose ends behind bars to make sure mouths are being shut. The man he visits stresses his lack of funds due to government intervention on his hazard pay. He promises to keep his mouth shut and serve his time, but his people need help!
At the White House, Walt is putting his moldy old books in the nightstand as he moves back in, which Skyler doesn’t seem too keen on. Probably because he’s an evil genius. But maybe she just really likes starfishing on the bed.
In a scene that basically made my life, Saul refers to Jesse, Walt, and himself as the “Three Amigos”, which a certain Breaking Bad recapper did last week. Though Jesse and Walt want there to be a fourth in Mike. Mike makes clear the division of labor, he’s the businessman, and they’re the lab rats. After Mike leaves the room, Saul questions the setup and we see Walt’s Jay-Zness come out, cause he’s not a businessman he’s a BUSINESS . . . man, and he’ll handle Mike.
Badger and Skinny Pete make their first appearance of the season picking up some roadie cases for the new mobile lab. After they ask to get in on the action upon delivery, Jesse shoots them down after Mike darkens the doorway.
The first meeting of Vamonos Pest and Meth is a quiet one save for Mike’s voice. Luckily, Landry from Friday Night Lights has found work as a pest technician and he’s smart enough to know that the pest side business of stealing and fuming is a no-no due to their new business venture.
Walt and Jesse talk shop and you can really see the genuine emotion that they share for each other having been through so much. Jesse is almost bursting with pride when Andrea and Brock return and Andrea invites Walt to stay hand hang. Walt consents for a beer and takes his place on the couch next to Brock making for one of the more menacingly creepy moments in the show’s run.
And then it’s back to the cook. There is honestly something soothing about seeing these two men at work; the choreography of the cook has a certain balletic quality. Of course, Walt has to ruin it almost immediately by manipulating the crap out of Jesse, preying on his weaknesses and setting up Andrea for the fall. I pure hate Walt for the way he played that and soon after Jesse drops the hammer on the relationship, ending the only true positive force in his life.
Marie’s here! I guess not here, per se, but at the car wash visiting Skyler. She reports that Hank’s made it back to work. She’s got a little bitter taste in her mouth since Hank basically solved Fring and they laughed at him. Marie thanks them Sklyer for helping with Hank’s physical therapy and then Skyler blows her top.
Walt returns home to a frazzled Marie, who relays the breakdown. Walt is visibly distraught and Marie demands answers for Skyler’s hissy fit. You can almost see the wheels in Walt’s head turning and they manufactured a heck of an out as he lets the affair cat out of the bag and pins the issue on Skyler’s affair with Ted. How can Walt continually manipulate everyone!? Guys, he scares me.
Skyler wakes up- in starfish mode on the bed by the way- to gunshots and finds the rest of her brood taking in that classic family flick, Scarface. Clearly, Walt thinks, the family that is in the drug trade together stays together. And I couldn’t help but think Walt was getting enjoyment out of the fact that Walt Jr. though Scarface was so cool and that he fancies himself something of a Scarface. Of course, Skyler was super freaked out.
Finally, it’s payday! Mike, Jesse, and Walt meet to divvy up their profits. Not surprisingly, the money raises tensions. As Mike takes chunk after chunk away from their cash stacks, Walt grows impatient. And when Mike refers to the aforementioned loose ends getting “legacy pay”, Walt takes serious exception. Jesse plays arbitrator and Walt agrees to pay his share. When it’s all said and done, they’re left with less than when they were working for Gus. And here Mike delivers the LINE OF THE SEASON (So far!): “Just because you shot Jesse James don’t make you Jesse James.” I’m glad someone is checking Walt, because his head is on a fast track to blimp size.
As they begin to part from the split, Walt asks Jesse how he feels. Jesse starts to tell him about breaking it off with Andrea until Walt clarifies that he doesn’t care about Jesse’s life, he’s talking about the money. Jesse reassures Walt that they’re getting a bigger piece of the overall pie. They make less product and get a bigger chunk. Seems to make sense. And then the menace returns as Walt reminisces about Victor and the box cutter. I think Mike and Jesse need to watch their backs and or necks. More than anything this episode continued to show how Walt continues to go dark as Jesse tries to see the light and those two opposite directions can only end darkly.
Thoughts on this week’s episode? What is Walt’s intent bringing up Victor/Icarus? Will the Vamonos partnership work out? Seems dodgy to me, but let me know what you think!
Here’s the teaser for next week:
