Jesse has claimed that he is capable of cooking the methamphetamine without Walt; now it is time for him to prove it. Not only that; he will have to do it in an unfamiliar lab in Mexico while being watched by many cartel employees. Things don't get off to a good start when they don't have a key ingredient and claim any chemist should be able to make it himself. He manages to assert himself and when his first batch is finished its purity impresses the cartel... so much so that they decide he now belongs to them! Back in Arizona Walt is in a bad way after his fight with Jesse and misses his son's birthday; then when Junior comes round he has a bit of a break down. Skyler's plan to sort out Ted Beneke's finances doesn't work out as planned; she arranges for him to 'inherit' a large sum from an unknown distant relation but rather than pay off his taxes he buys a new car! For most of the episode it looks as if there will be no real action; then when Gus, Jesse and Mike meet with cartel leader Don Eladio a friendly drink turns into a massacre!
This was a top quality episode; Aaron Paul did a great job as Jesse in the scene where he has to confront the cartel chemist... he knows the man knows more chemistry but he also knows that he can make the better product and that gives him the confidence he needs. Bryan Cranston also did a great job as Walt in the scenes where he breaks down in front of his son and later talks to him about how that isn't the way he wants to be remembered. For the most part this looked like it was going to be a strictly character based episode as we see them reacting to the situations they are in; then the action kicks in; in a way I did not see coming. It may require a little suspension of disbelief to accept what happened but it was great drama and ultimately that is what matters most.
This was a top quality episode; Aaron Paul did a great job as Jesse in the scene where he has to confront the cartel chemist... he knows the man knows more chemistry but he also knows that he can make the better product and that gives him the confidence he needs. Bryan Cranston also did a great job as Walt in the scenes where he breaks down in front of his son and later talks to him about how that isn't the way he wants to be remembered. For the most part this looked like it was going to be a strictly character based episode as we see them reacting to the situations they are in; then the action kicks in; in a way I did not see coming. It may require a little suspension of disbelief to accept what happened but it was great drama and ultimately that is what matters most.