After last week's super-crazy ending that left virtually everyone watching speechless, Breaking Bad came down to a more manageable level, allowing us to breathe freely for just a while. If there was another episode filled with tension from beginning to end, we might as well wet our pants. "I See You" was muted, nondescript in the direction of the plot, but chock full of character moments as they wait around for word on Hank's condition.
I've been one to question Walt's every move ever since partway through the second season when he turns the corner. He's attentive to his family's needs and for all intents and purposes doesn't do anything to indicate he is being anything other than genuine. However, the result is that he endears himself to his family. Skyler approves of what he is doing and even puts her head on his shoulder in the end. All part of his plan or natural course of events?
We still don't know what Gus is up to or how all the pieces fit together, but he is a very shrewd player and outmaneuvers the Mexican cartel. Whether it be by chance or design, Hank takes out one Cousin, severely injures the other, allowing Gus to easily kill him, and Gus's biggest problem north of the border is solved. At the same time, the guy on the Mexican side of the border he talks to on the phone is taken out. From a quick look, all Gus seems to be doing is gaining power where he can find it. Is there more to him than that?
Jesse starts the episode overjoyed to see Hank being wheeled into the hospital and is ready to cook. Soon, he is left alone in the shiny new laboratory, unable to work because Walt is away. He plays with the equipment, sails across the room on a chair, but can't cook meth and becomes increasingly frustrated with Walt. At least he's not Gale, who gets shafted again by Walt.
The final Cousin meets his fate from Mike, who quickly slinks out of the hospital. After being the supervillains for most of the season, the Cousins, in the blink of an eye, become powerless and then fade away. The renaming Cousin has his leg amputated and has the DEA agents constantly wanting his head. When the agents take Walt to see him, he recognizes Walt and tries getting up. That's where we first see his legs and he replicates the crawl at the beginning of the season, except there is blood dripping from his stumps and he's in a hospital room unable to touch White.
While last week's episode had the height of tension television can offer, "I See You" was the exact opposite, rarely showing any danger or something to be worried about. The slowdown was deliberate, but we could have been offered more than a few hints about Gus.
Score: 8.7/10
