Quick Take: Breaking Bad, "End Times"
"No more prolonging the inevitable." - Walter
Review: Breaking Bad, "End Times"
(S0412) A lot of you probably know this already, but for those readers who might not, sit back, relax and let me learn ya a thing or two about they way the Emmys work. When a show wants an Emmy nomination, they submit to the academy a specific episode for consideration. Of course, in an ideal world you'd like for the academy to watch the entire season of any given show, so they can judge the entire body of work. But unfortunately that just isn't the way it works.
Breaking Bad is having a helluva fourth season, so any number of episodes --"Box Cutter," "Problem Dog," "Hermanos," "Salud," "Crawl Space," just to name a few -- could be deemed worthy of Emmy submission. Last night's "End Times" is another stellar example of an episode featuring Emmy-worthy performances by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. I don't know if the show will decide to submit this particular episode, but "End Times" is arguably the best hour Breaking Bad has produced this season. The truly amazing thing about this show is the fact that for the past three or four weeks I have thought each episode was the best of the season. Somehow, inexplicably, Breaking Bad is able to one-up itself. For at least the past month, one could make the argument that each consecutive episode is the best of the season.
After the epic conclusion to "Salud," I thought to myself, "There is no way they're going to be able to top that." Yet, they did. After a goosebump inducing final shot of "Crawl Space," I thought the same thing. But along comes "End Times." Breaking Bad is like the exact opposite of the "everyday is the worst day of my life" phenomenon from the movie Office Space. Every episode is the best episode of the year.
Enough gushing, let's break down some of the scenes from "End Times" that, if chosen for Emmy submission, could garner Cranston and Paul two more Outstanding Actor in a Drama and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama victories -- or, at the very least, two more nominations.
Chronologically, it makes sense to start this list with the cold open. "End Times" begins with Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Skyler (Anna Gunn) in a panic, scrambling to pack suitcases and duffel bags. Initially, the viewer is sitting wondering whether or not Walt figured out a way to pay for the family to "disappear". A few seconds in, it becomes clear that "disappearing" isn't in the cards for the Whites. They are heading over to Hank (Dean Norris) and Marie's (Betsy Brandt) to wait safely until the anonymous threat on Hank's life can be sorted out. Well, Skyler and the kids are going to the Schrader's, Walt isn't. He astutely points out that his presence would probably exacerbate the danger. "I'm the real target," he tells his wife. The thing that makes this particular scene noteworthy is the moment when Skyler realizes just how deep a hole Walter has dug for himself. "How long until you're safe, until you can work this out?" Walt's response, and Skyler's reaction to it, are heartbreaking. "I have lived under the threat of death for a year now. And because of that I have made choices. I alone should suffer the consequences of those choices. No one else. And those consequences, they're coming. No more prolonging the inevitable."
It doesn't take long before the next amazing moment rolls around. Immediately following the credits, we see Walt alone next to the pool, waiting silently to "suffer the consequences of his choices." A gun sits on the table next to him and he spins the revolver in a circle, as if playing a game of Russian Roulette with the gods. The first two spins result in the barrel of the gun pointing directly at him. Not exactly a good omen. It's an extremely well done scene, and it's quiet moments like this that make Breaking Bad such a spectacular show. Sure, big shoot outs and car chases are exciting, but somehow this show is able to make a simple scene of a man sitting by himself in his backyard just as thrilling. I wonder how many takes Cranston had to do in order to get the gun to spin the precise number of revolutions required to make the scene as poignant as it is?
Cranston and Paul aren't the only actors on Breaking Bad capable of turning in an Emmy-worthy performance. Dean Norris has always been excellent, but especially last season. Jonathon Banks has turned the normally one-dimensional "bodyguard/goon" character-type into the fully formed, fan favorite Mike. Similarly, Bob Odenkirk has succeeded in the herculean task of making a sleazy ambulance chaser one of the most likable characters on the show. His increasingly panicked voicemails to Jesse are a hilarious precursor for the next Emmy-worthy scene on my list. When Jesse arrives, he is brought into Saul's inner-office lair past the receptionist, who Saul refers to as "HT". "HT", come to find out, stands for "honey tits". "I say it's endearing!" Saul tells a confused Jesse, although I doubt the secretary would agree One of the main plot drivers on Breaking Bad, has always been the idea of increasing panic and paranoia (usually, but not always, on the part of Walt) causing people to make rash, sometimes crazy, choices. Saul's paranoia about his involvement in the anonymous tip to the DEA. He calls a meeting with Jesse to hand over the stacks of Jesse's cash stashed in his safe. "You ever hear of a fart in the wind, kid?" Saul says, informing him that he plans to hit the road before the shit with Gus, the cartel and the feds really hits the fan. The scene, aside from being really well executed by Odenkirk and Paul, served the momentum of the episode by hipping Jesse to the fact that Gus took Walt into the desert and threatened to kill Walt's entire family. And what is Saul, if not family
The writers throw the viewers a wicked curve ball midway through the episode when Andrea (Emily Rios) calls Jesse and tells him that her son Brock (Ian Posada) had to be rushed to the hospital with some kind of unknown disease. Paul, as usual, is great in these hospital scenes, and Emily Rios is serviceable, but I hesitate to put any one of them on this list. In fact, the only I mention them is because of their impact on the great scenes to come. I actually have a bit of an issue with this whole plot development. It came off, to me at least, as an easy, convenient way to push the plot forward and in a specific direction. The old "sick kid in the hospital, scared and increasingly disheveled adult sits helplessly in the waiting room" routine has been done time and time again in order to ratchet up the drama, and Breaking Bad, to its credit, has usually avoided these kind of tropes.
So, Brocksomehow ingests the ricin from Jesse's poison cigarette. Initially, the ER docs are unable to diagnose the culprit behind his mysteriously escalating flu-like symptoms. When Jesse is turned away from the ICU because he isn't a relative, he steps outside to have a smoke and realizes the his ricin stick is missing. Jesse charges into the hospital, creating quite a scene, and drags Andrea out to break her the news: her son has been poisoned. He tells Andrea to let the doctors know about the possibility that Brock has ingested ricin in front of a crowded waiting room, then storms out to "go see someone".
Now, we don't actually see Andrea tell the doctors anything, but I made the assumption that she does indeed inform the doctors about the threat of ricin. If that is the case, it makes the rest of the hospital scenes a little absurd. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but, in today's world of a envelopes tainted with white powder, wouldn't you think a potential ricin poisoning would trigger a greater reaction from the hospital staff? Ricin poison probably isn't something that happens everyday like a kid chugging a bottle of Draino from under the sink. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, "It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people." If that's true, wouldn't an occurrence of poisoning, especially in a child, spark an investigation by, at the very least, the police department? If the cops were called, which I assume would be one of the first steps of hospital protocol in a situation like this, they would start to look for suspects. They would look at people closest to the victim. First would be Andrea, then you have to assume they would question Mom's skeevy boyfriend who caused a big scene in the hospital and ran off just before Andrea mentions ricin to the doctors. Jesse wouldn't be able stretch out on a waiting room bench and refuse to go to work because he would be handcuffed to a table at the police station (or FBI field office) waiting to be interrogated.
But there's a silver lining. Regardless of the questionable realism surrounding the situation with Brock at the hospital, those events paved the way plot-wise for the scene that inspired me to make "Emmy-worthy moments" the focus of this review. For those of you that have seen "End Times" (and I assume that's all of you, because otherwise why would you be reading this?), you know what scene I'm talking about.
Jesse knocks on Walt's door (in this situation, Jesse, not Walt, is "the man who knocks"). Walt is barricaded inside, sitting on a recliner, waiting with his gun at his side. Presumably, he has been sitting there all day waiting for the other shoe to drop, ready to attempt to defend himself from Gus' (Giancarlo Esposito) assassins. When Walt lets Jesse inside, what follows is Breaking Bad putting on a display of television at its absolute finest. Walt tells Jesse that everything is over for him, that Gus "is going to make his move", all the while gesticulating wildly with the gun in his hand. At the sound of a car engine outside, he sets the weapon down to check the windows like a paranoid meth-head. Jess picks up the gun, and when Walt turns around he's confronted with the image of Jesse pointing the revolver at him, standing in the same position he was in when he pulled the trigger on Gale. Only this time, with less terror on his face. He's been here before, it must get easier to pull the trigger after a little bit of practice.
Jesse demands to know why Walt poisoned Brock and all a confused, scared Walt can muster is a "Who's Brock?". This, of course, just pisses Jesse off even more. Jesse assumes that because he and Walt were the only people who knew about the ricin cigarette, Walt must be responsible for the poisoning. "Why in God's name would I poison a child?" Walt asks, to which Jesse responds, "To get back at me for helping Gus. And this is your way of ripping my heart out before you're dead and gone." Damn, is that a power line. Aaron Paul delivers this dialog with a twisted look of rage so convincing that I actually thought he might kill Walt. Of course, that's a silly idea. Walt is the main character of the show, it's too soon to kill him off now. But Cranston and Paul do such an incredible job selling the scene that I considered the possibility of the show without Walt for a moment or two.
Jesse pushes Walt onto the ground and while Walt is sitting there on the verge of death you can almost see a light bulb illuminate above his head. "Who would...? Oh my god..." he stammers before realizing that Gus is probably the one responsible for Brock's condition. This realization triggers another bout of maniacal laughter, conjuring memories of the last scene in "Crawl Space". "I have been waiting all day for Gus to send one of his men to kill me, and it's you," Walt says. He lays out the case for Jesse, emphasizing that the one thing Gus needed to get rid of Walt once and for all was Jesse's consent. "Don't you see? You are the last piece of the puzzle."
You can kind of see the gears in Jesse's brain turning as Walt pleads his case. He doesn't want to believe that Gus is the culprit, it would be much simpler if it were Walt. He could just squeeze the trigger and it would be over with. "If you think I'm capable of this, go ahead. Put a bullet in my head," Walt says, grabbing the gun and smashing it into his own face. "Do it," Walt says, but Jesse can't. Deep down, Walt's argument makes sense to him. The image of Walt on his ass and Jesse standing over him, gun pressed to Walt's forehead is both troubling and extraordinarily evocative. I hope the show takes a freeze-frame of this moment and puts it on a poster.
The next we see of the pair, Jesse is at the hospital, refusing to go with Tyrus (Ray Cambell) to the lab, and Walt is in his kitchen cooking up some kind of explosive concoction. The plan is for Jesse to lure Gus to the hospital, allowing Walt the opportunity to rig the I.E.D. to Gus' Volvo. It seems like a pretty good plan to me, but something goes awry. When Gus approaches the car, it's as of he has some kind of kingpin spidey sense that allows him to detect explosives. It's very strange, like Gus has become so much of a bad ass that he has literally turned into a meth-manufacturing super hero.
Was anyone able to make out what it was that aroused Gus' suspicion? I didn't notice anything about the car that was different. Could it have been the way it was parked? I don't know how Walt would have been able to start the car in order to move it, so I doubt it's that. What could it be? Please leave a comment if you have a theory or noticed something I didn't.
Speaking of comments: This list is certainly not definitive. There were at least a couple of great scenes that I had to leave off just to keep this piece under a million words. Please don't hesitate to leave a comment and tell me and the other readers about the other "Emmy-worthy" scenes from "End Times", or any other episode you want to discuss.
Epic breakdown of the episode Lucas !
And agreed that the last run of episodes have taken Breaking Bad to ever new heights -- it's an astonishing feat considering how damned good Season Three was. For my money, "Crawl Space" has been the best yet (and possibly one of the best hours of television I've ever seen) but as you say there are so many extraordinary episodes to choose from.
great review
btw, about the part where gus somehow knows that theres something wrong. I think it has to do with Jesse telling him that brock was poisoned, because like Walt said in the 2nd season. Its almost impossible for someone to know that ricin is the cause of someones death/sickness. So when Jesse tells him that the doctors told him Tomas was 'poisoned', he actually gave up too much information. and while gus walked back to his car, he figured out that it would have been impossible for the docotrs to know he was poisoned so quickly. Instead, he figures that Jesse knows more than he let on, and he knows that they've probably figured out that he had something to do with brocks poisioning. Figuring that while he walks towards his car, he also knows thats his car is in the higher parking lot, where there is no one else, so it would be very easy for anyone to do anything suspicious, whitout being noticied. Knowing this (sorry for the bad grammer) you can figure that a person like gus who is incredibly smart and very perceptive. getting into that car seemed too much of a risk. knowing that he is facing the likes of walt and jesse, who have already proved to be very capable foes (remember full measure)
hope this helps
More than that, he assumedly knows that Walt isn't dead, so Jesse knows about the ricin but hasn't blamed Walt like Gus intended. Which only leaves one possibility: Jesse knows Gus did it. In the parking lot, he had two bodyguards and Walt isn't likely to have or know how to use a sniper rifle, so the only way he might kill Gus is with a car bomb - hardly far fetched, considering he's a chemist. Walt would need to be able to see the car but not be too close to it. So Gus goes to the balcony, peers over and thinks it all through - Jesse's insistence that he won't work, and his near-accusation about the poison... gears turn in his head... he might not be 100% sure, but he has enough of an instinct not to step into his car.
There were a few flaws with this episode. The lack of criminal investigation into Brock's poisoning is one of them. And how did Gus know the ricin was in Jesse's cigarette? Jesse asks Walt this, but Walt doesn't have a satisfactory answer. Yes, if Gus knew, it would have been all to easy to snag it. But he would have needed psychic powers in the first place. The only thing I can think is that at the start of the season, Gus surmised that Jesse might poison his tea in the initial meet-up with the cartel, and had Mike watch him to see if he'd do it. This allowed them to deduce that there was poison in one of Jesse's cigarettes. Who would have knowledge of such poisons? Walt, the super-chemist. But it's still a bit of a stretch, and Gus makes several big assumptions.
An alternate, and highly unlikely idea, is that Walt really did cross the moral event horizon and poison Brock, precisely so he could convince Jesse that Gus had tried to make it look like he'd done it. This doesn't work for several reason: it's even more convoluted, it would have required Saul's assistance and I doubt Saul would kill a child even more than I doubt Walt would, and several things Gus says (e.g. "Appropriate measures will need to be taken") no longer make sense. Gus's goons know that Walt saw Brock at Jesse's house. All signs point to Gus trying to frame Walt. But how?
Well, I thought they wrote themselves into a corner with Crawl Space and nothing short of deus ex machina would get them out. They surprised and impressed me. So I'm gonna keep faith that they have a plausible and powerful resolution to this conundrum as well. I agree this was one of the top episodes of the series, pure awesome. This episode kept me guessing, and I was surprised that most of my guesses turned out to be correct. I guessed it was Andrea calling Jesse and then that Brock had been poisoned with ricin. I guessed that Jesse would blame Walt and, as soon as Walt put the gun down, that Jesse would turn it on him. I guessed that Gus had somehow set Walt up. I incorrectly guessed that Jesse would make it look like he'd killed Walt, to throw Gus off and gain his trust to get close and kill him, similar to the end of of Season 3.
The whole story is reaching crazy proportions that might seem ridiculous from an outside Emmy point of view, but for the most part, it's kept up an element of believability - everyone has their reasons in this complex para-political web. Looking forward to the next episode and the season closer!
I think if you watch the episode from the point of view that Walt is behind the poisoning things make a lot more sense.
1) Gus seems genuinely surprised to hear that Brock was poisoned. When walking to the car it looks as if he was contemplating the situation and concluded that Walt was behind it. He is well aware of Walt's history of poisioning. I don't think Gus suspected a bomb but is going back to talk to Jessee.
2) More importantly, the writers would be undercutting their work too much. Are we supposed to believe that Walt, the "one who knocks" has become a feeble scared victim overnight? The arc of the show has centered on Walt's increasing moral depravity. Walt is being made into s supervillian. I don't think that poisoning Brock is beyond Walt at this point. Walt's story is a story of extreme narcissism taking hold. He can morally justify any act by telling himself it's to save himself and/or his family. He already had Gale killed.
3) From (2), I just don't think they would undo 4 seasons of character development in one fell swoop. Too convenient that Walt has become (somewhat) good again and now the band is back together.
I have been speculating that Walt is headed down the supervillian road for a while now. I've also been speculating that Hank has been on to it for most of this season. This is perhaps a more controversial point, but it would make sense. Hank is good at his job, and for such a spectular show, it used to really bother me that Hank would naive for so long. Granted, Walt is family, so naivete is understandable. But once he, or anybody else, enterained the idea of Walt as Heisenberg, it becomes pretty easy to see. There are too many indicators. Going back to season 1, the missing lab equipment came from Walt's department at the HS, pinkman was his student, etc. Hank already suspects Pinkman. A couple of other points regarding Hank:
1) I think Hank has been in charge of the investigation since he brought the Gus info to the DEA. The whole Hank-gone-rogue narrative is a cover. It has bothered me that Hank, a federal agent with clasified info, would share it with Walt so freely, family or not. Not very believable. Further, to take Walt along on a stakeout or to plant a bug is highly improper. It can only be justified if Hank has gone rogue. But Hank, and the DEA, want to use Walt to get to Gus, and this is the best way of doing so. In the last episode, Hank is hesitant to mention Gus's name in fornt of Skyler, Marie, and Walt Jr. Why so hesitant to share info now, with them, if he's had no compunction about doing so with Walt? He also dresses down Stave in thier presence. I don't think so. He accuses Steve of being inept at knocking on doors. Steve seemed pretty damn good at it when he visited the laundry afterwards. I believe that this was all for the benefit of the family. He and Steve intentionally planned the conversation, down to the hesitance to mention Gus's name, to push teh cover story along. This says to me that he also suspects Skyler.
3) As the reviewer suggested, the idea that Jessee was not immediately detained, if not detained when he cmae back to visit is highly implausible. Ricin would trigger a federal response from the FBI, Homeland, etc. No way he'd be allowed to walk out of there. My thinking is that the DEA, a federal agency, and federal agenices now share information, flagged both Jessee and Walt. Once their names are punched in, the DEA (and/or FBI) is contacted, and a "do not apprehend" order comes up. They are under investigation by the DEA, and almost certainly the FBI and Homeland. No doubt that there are terrorism charges awaiting the cartels, Gus, etc. Further, Gus clearly has a history with Pinochet and could very well be under investigation already, if not working for the CIA (though not cooperatively.)
I also think that there is a VERY slight chance that Skyler was involved with the posioning. Remember, she and Saul have been tight of late.
mab, excellent! I have questions - elaborate on the whole Hank/Steve cover thing. Do you think Steve is trustworthy? You seem right on it about their conversation being set-up - I had wondered about that sly smile we saw Hank give Steve. Good call. I'm confused about when Hank was hesitant to name Gus - do you mean in this week's episode only? I'm a bit confused.
Thanks for all of the great comments, everyone. A lot to digest, but let me try to put my 2 cents in.
MAB, I agree that Gus wasn't neccessarily the one responsible for the poisoning. I have a tough time believing that he would kill a child, but I guess I wouldn't completely put it past him.
If Walt was behing the poisoning, is it possible that Andrea was the target, not Brock? Killing a kid would be one thing, but killing one of Jesse's girlfriends is something Walt could do in his sleep.
I know the show went out of its way to have Jesse tells us that he saw the ricin cig that morning, but is it at all possible that Brock ingested the poison accidentally?
Terry,
I think Steve is trustworthy. I think that the DEA ABQ put Hank in charge and dissemintated disinformation, namely that Hank is flying solo and that if the DEA catches wind of it "his career is over," (as I believe was said a few episodes ago when Hank first brought Walt along to Pollos Hermanos.) In a sense, Hank is undercover in plain sight. As long as Gus and Walt think Hank is rogue and that the DEA isn't pursuing the case, then they can use Walt. Notice that when the DEA interviewed Gus, after discussing it, seemingly decided to stop looking at Gus. However, it was never shown that they warned Hank not to pursue it or anything like that. In fact, we never see the DEA discuss it again. Also, why does Hank only fill Walt in as to there destinations at the last moment? Take the laundry for example. He is monitoring Walt's responses. When Walt causes an accident that almost kills him, all Hank has to say to Walt is, in effect, "hey, no problem"? I don't think so. In the very least he would be pissed that Walt was so reckless. Also, notice when Hank says to Walt (when asking about his black eye), "Don't you think I'm the guy you should come to with this kind of problem." It's made to seem like he is referring to the gambiling problem, but maybe not.
As far as the hesitation, watch the scene again and you'll notice that Hank is uncomfortable saying Gus' name to Steve in front of Skyler, Marie, and Walt Jr. It's always troubled me that Hank, a decorated agent, recklessly, and illegally, freely disseminates information pertaining to a federal case. Also, why exactly is the DEA protecting Walt? Hank is the target. Marie asked if they could protect Walt and his family? Is this standard? I don't know.
Lucas,
It's possible that Walt was trying to kill Andrea. However, given Jesse's past response to the murder of a child, a homicidal response, it would be well-played by Walt to frame Gus this way. The only way to get to Gus is through Jesse, and he knows Jesse will no longer voluntarily help him as he did with Gale. I don't put it past Walt to kill a child at this point. He is an extreme narcissist. I don't think this is new either. We've yet to get the full story behind why and how he came to be a HS teacher and not a famed chemist. We might see a flashback episode next season designed to reveal how Walt has always been a narcissist, though not a homicidal one at that point. From the pilot onwards, Walt has been condescending to everyone around him. He is obsessed with his own agency and is naricssistic enough to self-legitimate any act, no matter how abhorrent.
I don't think Brock did it accidentally. He'd have to take it out of the cigarette, open the vile and ingest it. I've thought about it though, and it's possible in a Greek tragedy sort of way. Look at the Ted scenario: accidental death means that Walt can't get the money back, so no escape.
My overall feeling about this show is that the good guys will make a stand, show that they're not morons. However, I don't buy that Walt necessarily dies or is even imprisoned in the end. Maybe he wins? I do believe that he is beyond the pale morally speaking and won't be redeemed. I certainly don't buy that a guy who has been quite literally willing to die than to give up control would passively await his death. Everyone is thinking the other is a pawn: Walt is playing Gus and Jesse, Gus is playing Jesse, Hank is playing Walt, Skyler is playing...? Oddly, my biggest problem is believing Saul would sign off on murdering a child.
In all, if my theories are at all correct (and probably not) there is certainly plenty of material for a final season. This show keeps getting bigger, more complex, and intricate. I think it will go that way until the end.
Oh yeah, where's Mike? And I'm still thinking there's something to Skyler's involvment. That standing on the balcony and smoking a cigarette scene seemed symbolic.
Of note: ricin poisoning is treatable if it is identified as such. Walt would know this. He would also know that Jesse would realize, rather quickly, that it was ricin, so perhaps Walt was willing to gamble that the boy wouldn't die? This would mitigate Walt's evil (but not much), if he was in fact behind it. It would at least be something Walt could tell himself to justify the deed.
Lucas: Gus wouldn't kill a child? Watch the end of Episode 11 again; he threatens to kill Walt's infant daughter. And it's a safe bet that he ordered the hit on Tomas.
Walt might have had Saul aim to poison Audrey, reasoning she'd survive, but it's still highly unlikely, an enormous gamble and way too convoluted. And Saul wouldn't do it. He's a criminal lawyer with a PI and a couple of bruisers, not a mafia kingpin. There's no WAY Skyler would do it, and kids do stupid stuff sometimes, but I doubt Brock would've stolen Jesse's only poison cigarette and eaten it. All signs point to Gus.
I think all evidence points to Gus poisoning Brock, and furthermore, he may have wired Walt's glasses while he was passed out on painkillers and alcohol a couple of episodes back. Notice how it went from broken to fixed while he was asleep? We're supposed to assume Walt Jr did that, but he wouldn't have the money or means. Plus there are at least two significant shots of the glasses: at the end of that episode, and at the end of this latest one. I bet that's how Gus knew about the ricin and the assassination attempt. (Not originally my idea, though I did notice the close-ups on the glasses both times they happened).
I doubt Hank suspects Walt at this point, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's a big part of Season 5.
I think you guys are reading into it to much. What has always made Breaking Bad great is it's simplicity and its random acts.
1. The reason the whole DEA and Hank knowing about Walt is bs is one reason. Hank thinks Walt is milquetoast. This is why he is able to get away with all of this under Hanks nose. Now will this change in the future? Of course with the gambling, showing up with black eyes etc will make Hank see Walt in a different light just hasnt happened yet we will know when it does. Need more proof on suspecting Walt? Look at the episode when Hank closed the book on Heinsberg when he assumed Gayle was the mastermind. Also keep in mind Hank is bragging how much better his life is then Walts when he shows him pics(think Tuco's henchman crushed by the car), has him drive him around and do espionage work. Hank has an image he keeps around his family.
2.Hank is rogue. No question about it. Next point.
3. More then likely Brock poisoned himself. Once again its simple and random. More likely then Walt poisoning him is Gus poisoning him. I read a review where they said "watch how Huell pats down Jesse." Its been provwen Huell is not a criminal genius and shows lack of caring. The reason I think Brock poisoned himself is he hasnt grown up in the best of situations. He saw Jesse's smokes grabed one out and tried to smoke it. How strong could that vial be? That's the first thing I thought happened when Jesse realized the ricin was gone.
4. Lucas you asked a question about Gus realizing it was a trap. Simple answer. Jesse said Brock was posioned. Its how he said Brock was posioned. Calm, relaxed. When has Jesse ever been calm and relaxed when someone harms someone he loves/knows. Gus knows this. If Gus did posion Brock to make it look like Walt did it and Walt is still alive well Gus knows 2+2=4. As much as Gus thinks he controls Jesse he knows Walt still controls Jesse. Probably the main reason he wants Walt dead.
These are just my opinion. I've watched Breaking Bad since day 1(I'm proud to say over 3 years I have directly and indirectly got 100+ people to watch the show with more each day) 1 thing that seems to remain constant is the simplicity. Yeah the storylines can be complex but if you break it down its a simple story line.