Breaking Bad: "Hermanos"

Season 4, Episode 8

Control, inside and out

 “Never give up control. Live life on your own terms.”

-Walt

The above words, when coming from the lips of Walter White, sound, like most of the man’s utterances, like complete self-serving fabrications, lies that only betray his tenuous grasp on reality. Yet, as it seems to be happening with increasing frequency this season, Walt’s words actually have a kernel of truth – just not for him. Control is an issue for just about everybody in “Hermanos”, but the episode’s spotlight shines down on one character in particular, a man that we know surprisingly little about, given how much of a force he is in term of the show’s narrative: Gustavo Fring (though that’s not his real name).

The idea of control is an interesting one for this episode to focus on, as having it serve as an overt theme ends up highlighting the control that the writers, directors, producers et. al. have on the narrative. It isn’t just that you could feel the writers wresting the focus away from Walt and unto Gus. It’s there in the cold open, which goes from a scene that we last saw in the third season, to a new scene which took place within the third season’s timeline, to a scene with blood in a pool, which appeared to be a flash forward (a la those black-and-white cold opens of season two), but ultimately turns out to be a flashback to events that took place long before Walt decided to start cooking meth. This goes beyond retconning; the controlled narrative ends up being a (probably unintentional) piece of meta-textuality. It may not negatively impact the quality of the episode – in fact, these little touches were probably a boon – but it is hard to ignore.

A far simpler example of this comes in the terms of Gus’ arc, and the parallels that his journey has in relation to Walt’s. As a sidelined yet instrumental character, it was inevitable that we would learn about his past, and since this is Breaking Bad, it was inevitable that the reveal would be fantastic. What wasn’t inevitable was that it would parallel Walt’s journey. Thematic parallels are one of those favorite writer-y tools that tend to make for great arty television, but also tend to draw attention to the fact that you are watching a television show. To what extent that this is bothersome varies from person to person, but it is weird for BB to create something so manufactured for a show that usually feels so organic. Again, I liked the end result, so this isn’t technically complaint, just an observation that the show was operating on a slightly different wavelength tonight.

Luckily the theme of control was able to give us more than just some quibbles of meta-textuality, as it also worked on the less attention grabbing narrative level. As stated above, the main person we saw struggling to stay in control was Gus, which is surprising given that he was treated like such a badass when first introduced (not unlike Walt, to cite just one more parallel between the two men). Though Gus has methodically and mercilessly worked his way up to the position where he now resides, the journey doesn’t end there. He’s made quite a few enemies on his way to the top, and now Walt and the Mexican Cartel, two forces that are easily manageable on their own, are barreling down on Gus at the same time, and it’s got Gus scared. (Mike: “You’ve got the makings of a perfect storm.”)

Likewise, Hank’s own investigation is also causing trouble for Gus, even if Hank himself lacks any real control. Without the backing of any official police force, Hank is forced to go the investigation alone, and even manages to drag Walt into the case. Gus may manage to laugh Hank’s vigilante justice off, but it’s clear that he also recognizes that this could come back to hurt him later if he just lets it go without a second thought. Gus may have a lie up his sleeve for every occasion, but that doesn’t stop him from letting out the smallest hand twitch in fear. Walt, meanwhile, is even more scared of the investigation, convinced that Hank will go after Gus, and that would ultimately mean that he and Jesse would get caught as well. Walt may never be truly in control, but it’s not something he’s willing to admit, and he doesn’t take well to any threat to his perceived power.

Gus’ flashback, however, reveals that the second half of Walt’s weirdly prophetic words (“Live life by your own terms”) hold just as much weight when it comes to Gus’ actions. Deeply affected by Max’s death, it’s obvious that a lot of Gus’ business practice, both legal and non, a means of him paying respects to his friend’s memory, including hiring a cook who makes pure meth, regardless of the fact that he causes so much trouble. Additionally, his sense of revenge drives another set of his actions, as we learned tonight that his actions against The Cousins last season, a move that brought the wrath of The Cartel down upon him, was all part of a long con to get back at Hector for executing Max. As much as Gus and the audience may like to pretend that he’s far superior to Walter White, he suffers at the hand of his base impulses, and even as he does so in a much more calm and collected manner, it still manages to cause him trouble.

Quotes and Other Thoughts:

Speaking of things that draw attention to television’s manufactured nature, Walt says early in the episode that he was diagnosed with cancer “one year ago”, something which doesn’t seems to sit well. Sure, season one was short, and the seasons have generally rolled into one another without any time taken off by the characters between them, but it still isn’t exactly believable that Walt managed to get such a choice gig and fuck it up in such a short amount of time. (Plus, how old is Holly supposed to be?)

Apparently certain sectors of the internet believe that the issue of Walt’s latest scan has been treated ambiguously, so that it opens up to the show the potential to have Walt’s cancer come back. I didn’t catch this while watching the episode, and while I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt’s cancer did come back (I’ve more or less been counting on since he first went into remission), given where the show and Walt are now, I think it could end of being a disservice to the character if he did end up sick again. This show has more or less painted Walt as an anti-hero, cancer or no, and for the show to bring it back so that Walt could grow even more despicable kind of undermines that.  

Speaking of potentially developing plotlines, where’s this whole thing with Andrea going? I appreciate these further insights into Jesse’s new nihilistic-yet-moral approach to life post-Gale-shooting, but this plotline feels like it’s going to develop into something major, and it’s weird that the show is taking it so slowly.

Apparently Pollos Hermanos slogan is “Where something delicious is always cooking.” Ain’t that the truth.

Gus was so good in his interviews, Hanks claims he’s “Terms of Endearment convincing.”

“Oh hey, don’t wait to be, like, invited.”

“What if this is math? You add plus douchebag to minus douchebag, and you get like, zero douchebags.”

Mike on Hank: “He’s Miss Daisy with binoculars.”

“Dark meat and white meat? Don’t look like not brothers to me.”

Meth: the poor man’s cocaine.