Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | 5 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT .38 Special
By Couch Baron | Season 4 | Episode 2 | Aired on 07.24.2011
Skyler is sticking a bottle in baby Holly's mouth while writing down research observations about the car wash from nearby, and seriously, maybe the way for Walt to mend fences with Gus is for him to offer to have Skyler do his books from now on.
With his trainer exhorting him, a sweaty Hank grits his teeth and uses his walker to get all the way back to his bed from... wherever he started from. The point is, he seems to have completed the task before him, and even he takes a moment to enjoy the accomplishment as he slaps hands with his trainer. Unfortunately, he's visibly less enthusiastic about celebrating with Marie, but I might as well not get ahead of myself. Marie walks the attractive trainer (I think Hank said his name was Chuck?), to the door, singing his praises all the while. She even invites him to go full-time, adding that they've got a spare bedroom, but the dude just laughs and says he'll see her the next day. Well, she may be giving you a harder pitch tomorrow...
...Because when she returns upstairs, it's obvious that whatever euphoria Hank felt about his accomplishment was extremely temporary. Marie tries to plow through this clear development, but she doesn't even get to tell him her idea for dinner before he woodenly and without eye contact orders her out of the room. Marie tries to smile through her onslaught of tears, and I'd say that's definitely the saddest face we'll see in the episode if I hadn't already seen the closing shot.
The party is raging again, with much pizza to boot, but the fly in the ointment is that the stuff isn't sliced -- as Badger "explains," the place doesn't cut their pizza as a matter of policy "so they can pass the savings on to you." Hee. Pete offers to find some scissors and "cut this bitch up good," and then when he goes to get the door, Badger offers an off-the-cuff analysis of the no-cutting business model that, among other hilarities, is based on them making "ten million pizzas a year." I don't know if I could deal with Badger being around all the time, but if someone wanted to sell a talking doll that spouted a Badger-ism whenever I pulled its string, I have some ideas on the price point. Jesse and the coke and pot combination currently working its magic on him are understandably amused, but get less so when they observe Andrea at the door. The good news is that the raised eyebrow Jesse gives in response would make any Vulcan jealous.
Outside, they exchange an awkward greeting, although Jesse is doing a good job of at least not seeming strung out. When he asks after Brock -- as of course he would, given his much-demonstrated love for kids -- Andrea breaks into a smile and points him out in her nearby car. Brock starts to get out, no doubt ready to run straight into Jesse's arms LIKE CAN YOU BLAME HIM, but Andrea tells him to wait in the car while the grown-ups talk. Once he's closed the door, Andrea lets us know that she's been calling Jesse, and Jesse tells her he's been really busy at work, what with catching up on cooking after murders, some committed by him, threw off his schedule and all. She tells him it's fine, she's not there to make him feel guilty, but, as she pulls out an envelope that looks like it contains what I would call a "brick" of cash, she says there's one thing they need to discuss: After Tomas was killed, a couple "bangers" he used to hang with in turn dispatched, and the same night, she got that money in her mailbox. Jeez, I hope he kept watch until he saw her take it, otherwise it could just have been an awesome day for a lucky member of the Postal Service. Jesse's face does not hide anything, so Andrea goes on that she doesn't want to know what he had to do with Tomas's killers, but she would like him to tell her if anyone is going to come looking for the money. Practical girl. I like that. He assures her that no one will, and when she asks what she's supposed to do with the gift, he suggests that she use it to get her and Brock out of her neighborhood. "Or you can go out and spend it on glass and I'd have no way of stopping you. But I gotta believe you won't do that." That's not just an expression, either -- he really needs to believe that right now. After several emotions flicker across her face, Andrea puts the money back in her pocket and wordlessly heads to the car, and despite his earlier enthusiasm, Brock seems to sense that now is not the time to go running over to his friend, although he does wave to him as they drive off, which Jesse reciprocates. You guys remember that Jesse has a little brother, right? Sigh. He takes a moment to exhale, and then heads back inside.