Kafkaesque (16 May 2010)

Skyler hatches a plan as Hank's hospital bills stack up. Meanwhile, Walt and Gus come to a better understanding as Jesse, looking for more independence, pursues a new opportunity.

Director:

Michael Slovis

Writers:

Vince Gilligan (creator), Peter Gould,

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Cranston	...	Walter White
Anna Gunn	...	Skyler White
Aaron Paul	...	Jesse Pinkman
Dean Norris	...	Hank Schrader
Betsy Brandt	...	Marie Schrader
RJ Mitte	...	Walter White, Jr.
Bob Odenkirk	...	Saul Goodman
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Gustavo 'Gus' Fring
Christopher Cousins	...	Ted Beneke
Steven Michael Quezada	...	Steven Gomez
Matt Jones	...	Badger
Jere Burns	...	Group Leader
Mark Harelik	...	Doctor
Charles Baker	...	Skinny Pete
Jeremiah Bitsui	...	Victor

Storyline

Walt and Jesse are now in full production in the new lab and are easily producing the 200 lbs per week of meth, as agreed. In fact, they're producing a few pounds more than required and Jesse can't quite understand why they're just "giving it away". He decides to take advantage of the situation. Walt's brother-in-law Hank is still recovering in the hospital and Marie is at a loss about what to do when she learns that their health plan will not necessarily provide the quantity and the quality of physical therapy required for Hank to fully recover the use of his legs. Skyler proposes that she and Walt pay the bills and has an interesting story to tell about how they can afford it. As for Walt, he realizes that his life was in danger and that it was only Gus' intervention that saved him.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | industrial laundry | reference to al capone | get well card | black eye | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

High Bridge Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

The crates Jesse is lifting onto the scale read in excess of 200 lbs. However, he is lifting them off the table with relative ease, despite his rather small body build. A person of that size would not likely be able to lift over 150 lbs. The crates likely weigh closer to 50 lbs in actuality. However, the scale measured the weight of all of the crates in aggregate, not that specific crate individually. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to think that Jesse could lift it with the much effort.

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Quotes

Group Leader: Jesse? Jesse? What about you? Face looks better. How's it all going? Anything you wanna tell us about?
Jesse Pinkman: What, like my interesting life? Uh, one day pretty much bleeds into the next. Been working a lot. Got a job.
Group Leader: Job is good.
Jesse Pinkman: It's... it's in a laundromat. It's totally corporate.
Group Leader: Corporate laundromat.
Jesse Pinkman: It's, like, rigid. All kinds of red tape. My boss is a dick. The owner, super dick. I'm not worthy to meet him, but I guess everybody's scared of the dude. The place is full of dead-eyed douche bags...
[...]

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Mr. Money Man"
(uncredited)
Written by Rod Taylor
Performed by Rod Taylor

User Reviews

Jesse gets greedy

With Hank steadily improving Walt has returned to work churning out the famous 'blue meth'; production is going so well they are actually above their quota. Jesse wants to hold some back for the next batch but Walt insists they just send it all. At this point Jesse gets angry; he things they are being ripped off; Gus may be paying them three million dollars for the meth but on the street he figures it is worth ninety six million! Hank isn't worried about that, his sole concern is what will happen at the end of the three months. During a hospital visit he learns that Hank was saved by a mystery phone call; a call he is sure came from Gus. When he puts his concerns to Gus he doesn't deny involving Hank and tells Walt he can continue working for him indefinitely. Jesse continues to get annoyed with the financial situation when Saul tries to set up a business that will enable him to launder his money and pay his taxes... as a criminal Jesse doesn't understand why he should pay taxes! As he and Walt are making more than their quota each week he has an idea to made more money for himself. Meanwhile Marie is worried about Hank's medical bills as their insurance doesn't offer the best cover; Skyler has a solution though... they can use the money Walt earned 'gambling'!

This episode showed that no matter how much money people earn they will always want more; Jesse would rather risk gaol than pay taxes and if he goes ahead and skims off the surplus meth made in the lab he will be crossing some very dangerous people indeed; Gus may appear mild mannered but he clearly isn't the sort of person who would think twice about having anybody who crossed him eliminated. Jesse, Skinny Pete and Badger also show just how low they'll go when they talk about 'blue meth' in the rehab group that was clearly meant to advertise it to the recovering addicts. It was nice to see Skyler get the better of Walt for once as she cleverly gave away a lot of his money without letting on where it really came from; Anna Gunn has done a fine job in this understated role from the beginning of the series but is often forgotten about because her character isn't doing dramatic things like the male protagonists Walt, Jesse and Hank.