I don't think Jesse is out of the story so early, but who knows? I think it's more likely he'll play a part in the endgame.

People hated Skyler when she was against Walt and now that she's with him they're saying "See?  Told ya!" which is really bizarre. But I'm surprised you were defending her even last week. She made her final decision to side with Walt then. She's going to go down just as he will. There's no other option.

I guess I haven't seen anyone defend Skyler this season, so I don't know what you're going on about. In other words, what @avclub-d0cf409eb912cc0cc950b41b6d892d07:disqus said.

Um…yeah, sure. No one is defending Walt or Skyler's choices at this point. That's not really related to the whole Skyler-hate stuff of earlier seasons, though. Or related to anything I just said, actually.

I didn't like the Brock thing the first time around. This time around it seems completely plausible, even likely that Jesse would figure it out. He already had the idea that Huell pick-pocketed him back in S4. He knows now what Walt is capable of and how manipulative he can be. It's a very simple equation.

Seriously, the younger generation is going to be very puzzled by our references to "tapes" and phones "ringing" and the like.

Walt does give a damn about Jesse. He almost got himself killed in S3 helping Jesse. He could've killed Jesse tonight. He loves Jesse, just like he loves the rest of his family. Unfortunately, he's also a narcissist who is willing to put his family in harm's way if it benefits him.

He still shouldn't have written it down at all. Just memorize it and tell Skyler to memorize it. Pretty simple.

Why do people think the house is going to be burned down? We see it in the flash forward.

A sociopath would've just put a bullet in Jesse out in the desert, problem solved. Walt is selfish and narcissistic, but he has a heart.

Absolutely. Walt loves Jesse in his own fucked up way. He could have easily killed him by now. The hug was sincere and if it also helped him accomplish his goal, all the better.

You make great points, especially the first one. I doubt very much Walt ever told Saul that Jesse had first suspected Huell of pick pocketing him back in S4. Why would he?

Because it dragged a bit and didn't really have any emotionally cathartic scenes like the first two episodes did, in my opinion. It was mostly a set-up episode.

I think a lot of nonsense in Season 5A (the magnets, the train robbery) would've been truncated or dropped altogether, and the later episodes would've been pretty much what we're getting now.

She's a really smooth cat to hear that and not even break a sweat. I doubt that's it.

I think it was just to let us know that Meth Damon and company are local now and will soon be another thorn in Walt's side. It wasn't the best of cold openings, though.

This makes sense. Thanks.

The house is clearly not burned in the flash forward. Also, Junior's car wasn't in the driveway. He's "having breakfast" with Louis.

I suspect he's going to disappear from the story for a little bit after he tells Junior everything. Then he'll be a wild card in the last couple episodes.

You're making a lot of assumptions that frankly are only that. If you're Hank, do you risk your reputation and freedom that no one will believe Walt's "confession"? I don't think so.