The Glade 4.0

Hank's phone call to Marie was a little too "two days away from retirement" for him to limp away from this.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE KILL LYDIA RODARTE-QUAYLE? I hate her so much. Though she was (marginally!) better in this episode.

If Hank hadn't had to call and brag to Marie about beating Walt, he and Walt would've been gone by the time the calvary had shown up. Pride appears to run in the family. I'm not expecting him to survive the gunfight.

Honestly, after Walt made the call to the Aryans (and especially after the call to Marie) I was shocked he was still alive as the credits rolled.

Beautiful acting on Cranston's part during that phone call. Completely menacing and evil to give his family the ultimate out, while being completely heartbroken and sorry in silence on the other end. That... that should win something. I don't know what, but... but something.

Part of me is sad he isn't as evil as we were promised he was going to be at this point. That was the whole purpose of the show's concept in Gilligan's mind at the outset. But, it's a good enough story, storytelling, and acting at this point that I think I can overlook it.

Edit: Although, thinking about it, with him giving the full go ahead to kill Jesse right then and there, I suppose that solidifies his full embracing of the Dark Side and that regardless of his level of evil his family will always be immune from it. Brilliant indeed.

I wouldn't call that going "full evil." I mean, Jessie is the reason for Hank's death. I would have told them to kill Jessie too.

What really signified it for me was not the fact that he told them to kill Jesse, that was out of necessity. What signified him going "full evil" to me was him finally telling Jesse that he watched Jane die. It served no purpose other than to have his revenge and twist the knife; because Jesse had hurt him, he had to break him. Man, did he break him. Another excellent performance in the show, watching Jesse's face as Walt revealed that information. Jesse already knows he's done, he's about to be tortured and murdered, and Walt just had to take everything. "He's the **** devil!"

As well, Walter Jr. finally got to be a hero. No hesitation, no moment where he questions his father's actions, he just put himself between the man with the knife and his mother. Go Walter Jr.

I think the fact that Walt left Holly in the truck shows that he still wants to be redeemed, but we all know that's over. He's done, and he's destroyed any remaining bonds that he could've salvaged through Hank, and taking Holly in the first place. Now it's just time to watch Walt lose it all, and see if any of the family he's worked so hard to protect even makes it out alive.

The entire phone call and Holly kidnapping was a quickly-devised plan. He took Holly knowing that Skyler would call the police, and he spoke to Skyler knowing the police were listening, saying everything that he did to absolve her of any guilt. You could see on her face that she realizes what he's doing halfway into the call. The last good thing he could do for his family. What a great scene that was, Heisenberg's voice and Walter's tears.

Interesting that you see it as premeditated. I thought that he grabbed Holly because she was the very last family member that he had left that he could control and would still love him...I thought it was only after she started vocalizing her missing her momma that he realized he couldn't keep her and then devised his plot?

Walt knows that he wont be alive long enough to care for Holly. I think it was an off-the-cuff plan devised during his blank stare as Walt Jr. called the cops. I guess we'll never know for sure.

Honestly, I think the Walt telling Jesse the detail about Jane was also a final ditch act to save Jesse. He knows Jesse has already checked out on life and has nothing to live for, or anything worth to fight for to keep on living. Him telling that he watched Jane did serve a purpose. It reignited Jesse's will to live, if only to see Walt destroyed with a fire stronger than ever. And that would keep him going through anything they put him through.

I felt like taking holly was entirely off the cuff. He took her because he still (in his twisted world view) needed a connection to his family. However, I also agree that the scene when Holly was crying for mommy in the bathroom drove home the point that he wasn't going to be able to care for her. The phone call was a nice final moment of genius from Walt, attempting to save Skylar (which is why as others have said, such a great scene, his crying and covering as he growls out his crimes). Just a brilliant episode end to end, and I won't be surprised if it goes down as the best of the entire series.