Breaking Bad Blog: Open House
By Andrew Voerman
After his beating last week, Walt is being very secretive. He may not be able to hide from Gus, who has installed cameras in the lab, but he managed a pretty good job with Skyler, who is forced to pay him a visit at his apartment. Upon seeing his black eye, and worried that Walt's life in danger, she suggests they go to the police with the whole story. Walt wants none of that, but to keep Skyler happy, he agrees to move forward with the car wash plan.
They have a meeting with Saul, whose ideas of intimidation are a non-starter, and only serve to further dissuade Walt from the idea. Skyler gets him back onside though, by pointing out how Bogdan challenged his manhood when they met last week.
We next see Bogdan being paid a visit by an EPA Agent. The agent informs Bogdan that he needs to upgrade his wastewater treatment system, in order to clear it of contamination. Then we see that Skyler is feeding this 'agent' his lines, in an attempt to make selling-up a more attractive proposition than the expensive upgrade.
When she gets a phone call from Bogdan, it seems her plan has worked, but she can't help trying to drive the price down some more. She tells him that her final offer is now $800,000, in response to which he hangs up, earning Skyler a rebuke from Walt, who thinks she has blown it. A minute later the phone rings - Bogdan will take $800,000 after all. Walt and Skyler now own a car wash.
While all this is happening, we get an extended look at how Walt's life of crime is affecting the Schraders. Frustrated with Hank's situation, Marie has started attending open homes while using a false identity, taking the opportunity to return to her kleptomaniac ways. She is caught out when she runs into the same realtor twice, while telling a different story about who she is. As they argue, the agent finds a stolen picture frame in Marie's bag.
Hank manages to pull in a favour with his old cop buddy Tim, who persuades the homeowners to not press charges. In return, he wants Hank to take a look at some evidence he found recently - a notebook used by a man called Gael. Hank is initially resistant, because he sees it as no more than a token effort to keep him involved, but eventually agrees to take the notebook.
This wasn't the best episode for Jesse. He tries reaching out to Walt, asking if he wants to go go-karting after work. Walt turns him down, and so he goes on his own. Afterwards he returns home, only to find a wild, meth-fuelled party raging around him. This time, he wants no part in it and just sits on his couch, cigarette in hand. At present he's aimless and alone, with nobody looking out for him. Nobody except for Gus's new assistant, who's parked across the road, that is.
We finish up back with Hank, who's found something even more boring than those minerals he's been obsessed with all season - he's watching city council meetings on TV. Luckily, he's able to turn his attention to something a whole lot more interesting - Gael's notebook. Uh oh.