“I’ll send you to Belize”
With only 6 more episodes left of Breaking Bad, it’s a safe guess that many more people will be sent off to “Belize” in the upcoming episodes. With such a limited batch of hours left, all the cards are being played, and it’s resulted in some relentlessly tense television watching that is truly riveting and unforgettable.
“Buried” begins where last week’s episode “Blood Money” left off, with an elderly early-riser discovering the loads of cash that Jesse started throwing out on the streets. The man picks up the cash and soon sees Jesse’s car with all the money, and Jesse looking disgruntled and vacant while laying down, spinning himself around in a merry-go-round. If you think the fact that Jesse is in a children’s park is accidental, you’re underestimating Mr. Gilligan.
I can only imagine how Walt exited Hank’s garage (“Um, can you open the door, Hank?” – “Oh, yeah, sure, buddy, hold on.”). They stared each other down in a cowboy western style, with itchy trigger fingers and all. Walt almost crushes the kids toy car, before realizing he needs to call Skylar now that Hank knows. But Hank beats him to it, and things are not looking good for Walt who is understandably in a worried panic.
Hank meets Skylar at a restaurant, and gives one of the most confused/awkward hello hand signals that I’ve ever seen. In conversation with Skylar, Hank puts together all of the pieces and signs, such as her cry for help in the pool, “You’re done being his victim.”. Only, Hank doesn’t realize the extent of her involvement. Skyler becomes aware of Walt’s cancer through Hank, but still keeps her cool. It’s clear to us and even Skylar that Hank’s only agenda now is to bring Walt down, at all costs. Skylar, despite how you may feel about her, is a smart gal, and realizes her ass is on the line, and doesn’t budge when Hank busts out the tape recorder. She wisely shoots down Hank’s request to speak about Walt, requesting her lawyer. We really see just how far Hank is willingly to go when he tells her she doesn’t need a lawyer, and we are able to see that things aren’t going to be that simple for anyone. Skylar panics and starts shouting “Am I under arrest?” in order to get away, and at this point, it’s clear that things will never be the same for the White family. Anna Gunn gives one of her best performances to date here, hell, it may even be her very best (as of now).
We get a little bit of comic relief through the great scene with Huell and Kuby, who are sent to move Walt’s cash. As any of us would do, they take in the scope of the money by laying on it, despite Kuby’s awesome line , “We’re here to do a job, not channel Scrooge McDuck.” But even better is Walt’s nervous meeting with Saul. Walt panics about Skylar’s meeting with Hank, feeling betrayed and running out of options. So naturally, Saul asks how Walt feels about possibly killing Hank, in a way that only Saul could ask, “Have you given any thought to sending him on a trip to Belize?” / “Yeah you know, where Mike went to. Off on a trip to..uh…Belize…” Classic Saul Goodman. Interestingly enough, Walt says Hank is family, refusing to kill him, even though Hank is ready to do anything to bring Walt down. This is likely going to change over time, but it seems Walt still draws the line somewhere.
We saw how Hank reacted to the news about Walt, but we were still waiting to see how Marie reacted. That was fixed quite quickly, as Marie comes to visit Skylar. She inquires about just how long Skylar had known about Walt’s involvement, naively thinking it was as late as Skylar’s “pool incident.” Soon she does her best Hank and puts the pieces together realizing everything, including the gambling lie and the fact that they used this money to pay for Hanks physical therapy treatments after he got shot, which she realizes was all caused by Walt. BAM. That slap!!! Right there and then in becomes Walt/Skylar vs Hank/Marie. The minute she picks up that baby (her kleptomaniac ways coming back!) we know that there is simply no going back for this family. Then we see Marie and Hank in the car, and Marie delivers the line, “You have to get him.” Chilling. This show has really made the turn.
We meet back up with Walt who is frantically out in the desert, burying his money deep into the earth. It’s a great scene with some awesome choice music (Jose Larralde’s “Quimey Neuquen.”). Walt is done with the burial, and uses a tracker to map the coordinates, and somehow memorizes them (talk about risky). He then cleverly purchases a lotto ticket with the numbers, which something tells me isn’t to be forgotten.
When he returns home, Skylar has smarted up, instantly realizing he was out hiding the money. In previous seasons she would have been blindly guessing where he went. But this is a new Skylar. Whether she likes it or not, she is on his side now, promising him that she didn’t tell Hank anything. Then Walt just passes out on the floor, almost like he did in the beginning in season 1. For the first time in a long time Walt admits he “screwed up.” Skylar brings up that she knows about his cancer, and Walt asks if the news made her happy, as she said it would earlier in the season. Pretty heartbreaking stuff. Walt thinks she made a deal with Hank, and offers to give himself up as long as she keeps the money, never speaks of it, and never gives it up, passing it on to the children. This is the first time in a while we see Walt really looking out for his family like he set out to do originally when all of this started. Another call back to season 1, of course, while they’re laying on the bathroom floor. Skylar realizes Hank only has suspicions, but nothing solid. So it looks like she’s in this with him. “Maybe our best move her is to stay quiet.” Play defense.
Just when we think things can’t get any wilder this episode, we meet up with Lydia, who meets with Declan to see how things are progressing with their lab. She is unsatisfied with the quality of the product, and the state of the lab. She offers him one chance to do it her way, with Todd, who at least makes a 74% pure product, modeled after sir Heisenberg himself. When Declan refuses to budge, she calls someone setting off a fury of bullets, and it turns out its Todd and his uncle’s crew took care of Declan and all of his people, taking over the operation. It’s a riveting scene as Lydia lives true to the old saying of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”, ducking in the bus while Declan and his men are coldly executed, sending the order via text, and closing her eyes, avoiding any vision of the carnage she unleashed. She killed all this men, just to increase her products purity by 10%. It’s a small difference, and seemingly a cold calculated overreaction. Theories that she is becoming Walt with her actions are looking pretty good, huh?
Our last scene is with Jessie, who is being interrogated by the police for why he has a bag with 2 million is cash. He sits there in that interrogation room with those same two cops from seasons prior. Gomie informs Hank of this little situation, and Hank visits him, seeing an opportunity. Only Jessie is still in a daze, staring at the floor, far removed from anything that’s happening. Only Hank sees a use in him, and something tells me Hank is going to find a way to work with Jesse to bring Walt down. Of course, Gilligan leaves us with Hank entering the room, and we will have to wait another week to find out just what goes down in the B-024 interrogation room, which probably has some meaning, knowing this show.
Random Notes:
- If even Declan doesn’t trust Todd, you know Todd is a problem. This line is important, as we already know Todd’s involvement is not over with, and it looks like Lydia has him in the palm of her hand.
- The cops joking that Jesse won the money in a card game – ironic connection to Walt considering Hank was looking on.
- Walt checking the money – “Close enough”, with Huel and Kuby looking at each other knowing they got caught.
- That look Saul gave Walt after Walt said “I’ll send you to Belize.” Uh oh.
- Imagine if Walt actually won the lotto. How would that be for a bit of irony.
- Just how far is Lydia going to go. If she did that to get Todd, a mediocre cook who started a fire last time around, back in on the cook, what will she do to get Walt back?
- Something tells me that this epic showdown that Walt is preparing for in the future may be connected to Lydia and Todd. Could they threaten his family, and he ironically comes back to defend all of them (including Hank?). Obviously, there are unlimited possibilities, but this has been one floating in my mind. Remember, you can never truly know what Gilligan will pull off. Always expect the unexpected.
- How will this play out with Walt. Jr, who was noticeably and conveniently missing at home during Skylar’s scene with Marie? When will he find out, could it be next week? His reaction is one that’s long overdue, and could be thunderous to the show.
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