Breaking Bad: Season 4, Episode 8 “Hermanos” (B+)
It’s startling to see old familiar scenes that seemed like they happened so long ago looked at in a new light, with Mike appearing at the hospital and Gus talking to Tuco’s uncle Hector right after the attempt on Hank’s life. Following last week’s big reveal at the end, things haven’t gotten any less serious, as Gus gets called in to talk to the police, appeasing everyone except for Hank, who seems even more convinced that something is afoot. His theory that such a good friend of the law as Gus would have called the police after hearing that Gale was murdered is rather clever, and unfortunately he’s just digging his own grave since no one appears to be on his side. It’s fascinating to see an unexpected bit of Gus’ past as his younger self makes his extended sales pitch to the head of the cartel. This show is remarkable when it just stands still and features one scene nonstop for ten or fifteen minutes, and this episode was no exception. Don Eladio asking why Gus is needed if his partner is the cook was quite revealing when compared with Walt and Jesse’s predicament, and I knew that they were going to kill his partner rather than him. I suppose that flashback is supposed to serve as a stark reminder that Gus has come a long way and is going to let nothing get in the way of his livelihood. Hank enlisting Walt to help him plant a bug on Gus’ car is an instance of two worlds colliding far too closely, and I’m very worried for both of them. Jesse’s douchebag math is less than inspiring, but Walt’s is devastatingly dead-on: “Hank catching Gus equals Hank catching us.”
