Last week's slow episode was centered around the hospital and the characters dealing with what happened. "Kafkaesque" was another slow episode with characters scheming and looking for an advantage. It was slow, but the kind of tasty slow where you can suck up every line of dialogue and relish the implications.
Once Walter starts connecting the dots, he realizes Gus is not any regular chicken man. Gus is crafty. very dangerous, and the only one who could have diverted the Cousins toward Hank and call Hank. There's not much Walt can do either. Jesse describes the box that he created for himself, symbolically the drugs he started uses. Walt, however, has been placed in a box by his dealing with a previously unknown entity, Gus, who turned out to be more than he bargained for. Not one to be scared by a schoolteacher, Gus offers him $15 million for a year. What can Walt do? The only solution, which he comes close to doing, is committing suicide, driving into the opposing lane before swerving away.
Jesse is getting himself right back into trouble. First, he crunches the numbers and realizes that Gus will make a whopping $96 million for the 3 months of work, and Gus doesn't do much. OK, he supplies the raw material and distributes the meth, but Walter and Jesse are doing the technical work that allows the operation to succeed. Later, Saul calls Jesse over to a nail salon so Jesse can buy it. He wants Jesse to launder the money and become legit.
But this is Jesse "Hell no, bitch" Pinkman. He's a criminal and that's exactly what he sets off to do. He uses the 12-step group, Badger, and Skinny Pete to lure people back to using this great new product that has come back. Jesse's plan is capped off by skimming a bit of meth off the top. Jesse has escaped death more than once, but when Gus finds out, is there any way Jesse can stay alive?
Marie has trouble dealing with the insurance companies and the possibility that Hank will never walk again. She needs tens of thousands dollars that she doesn't have. Of course, Walt has bundles of money he doesn't use and Skyler knows that.
Skyler pulls out a miraculous story on the spot, describing Walt's gambling problem in detail to Marie. With stunning frankness only matched by Walt, she is able to lie for a whole 5 minutes a the while freeing herself from the constant speculation from Marie for the time being. Part of me doubts that Marie will buy the story forever unless she's really not that bright. If a impenetrable system could be made simply by reading books, there would be a lot more people out there doing it. Skyler seemed convincing, but her story was spotty in some places. In the end, Skyler confronts Walt, telling him she knows he is intertwined with Hank's shooting and she won't forget it.
In the same episode, she tells Ted to leave her house. Ted wants something more, but what about Skyler? We know she hasn't met him in days because of Hank's shooting, but would she want more? I doubt it.
After this episode, there are 4 episodes left! It really feels like the season can go on forever. The pieces are slowly falling in place for the final act of the season and this season is turning out to the best of the series.
Score: 9.2/10
