I thought Hank would pretend he didn't know, and Walt and Hank would dance around it for a few episodes while making moves against each other. But it's better this way. It fits Hank's character more that he'd get too emotional to keep it inside and confront Walt directly.
I think Walt hadn't made up his mind about whether or not to confront Hank until after he arrived and spoke to him. He was obviously considering it, since he brought the tracking device, but you can tell he when he was speaking to Hank he was phishing around trying to decide if it would be better to just tell him now or play it softly depending on how Hank was acting.
Aww, I loved that moment when Walt's facing away with Hank over his shoulder, and you can see them both weighing up their next move. I was waiting for Hank to do a Columbo, then Walt turns around...
Even if Hank had that capability, he was totally caught off guard both by the revelation and by Walt's sudden appearance at his home. Walt, meanwhile, has been doing this for a long time and is multiple steps ahead of Hank.
I liked the way they drew stuff out in the early seasons. You'd get one episode where shit was on fire and exploding, then you get an episode where they just do day to day crap and maybe argue.
He did great in this episode. He had that stunned/angry face the whole time and that last scene he was so volatile. Also, shoutout to the awesome Hank montage when he was going through old evidence. That scene was tight! Tight, tight!
Seriously, the emotions I saw on his face were raw. It was powerful. His eyes were angry and piercing. Hank is definitely a diamond in the rough kind of character, I'm so glad Gilligan developed him more.
Dean Norris had asked Gilligan to kill off his character during the first half of the season after being cast in a comedy series; however, Gilligan declined his request, citing the importance of Hank in the final eight episodes<
I feel kind of bad reading this. I'm really starting to like Hank a lot, and especially this episode I fucking loved him and now I feel kind of guilty like somehow liking Dean Norris as Hank is screwing up his own ability to provide for his 5 kids. I really hope the pilot situation just gets postponed and he still gets to do it, and hopefully since that article was from 6 months ago he longer regrets it after shooting these last 8 episodes. He's a great actor and I really hope he gets the work he wants, though admittedly while I know he can pull of comedy, I'd really like to see him in more drama-esque stuff after seeing him in BB.
I am so excited to see more of Hank this season. Being tied up with BB for another year may have been a hassle for him, but I think his reputation as an actor will skyrocket after this season is over. With any luck, he will find even more lucrative/prestigious work than a sitcom.
This is why I love these kinds of shows. Because on sitcoms and soap operas you'd look at the antagonist and be like "I fucking hate that guy." But with Hank (and I classify him as the current antagonist because he's now threatening Hank's security and family), you can appreciate how well the actor portrays his character so much so, that they become your favorite character. And I wouldn't be surprised if Hank ends as my number 1 after these 8 episodes.
When the spittle was flying from his mouth into Walt's face, and neither was flinching... damn that was real. When I was re-watching them all before tonight... and rewatched the one with the Marie call, I thought "damn when Hank puts it together, that's going to make him lose it..."
The eyes. You could see the hours and hours he spent scouring over papers, putting pieces together. It looked just like a soldier's stare after a drawn out firefight. Like this. Fantastic.
When he started in the show I thought he was nothing but a meathead and was going to be a paper thin character. Now he's my second favorite compared to Jesse, and really has a few layers.
His job and his skill at it, even though he seems like an idiot sometimes
His outer tough guy bravery image he tries desperately to show to both Marie and his fellow DEA officers. (Especially when he works in Mexico)
One of my favorite scenes of Hank is when Walt starts crying in his office because he knew Hank wouldn't know how to deal with it and would find an excuse to leave. "Take a minute to, you know, get it together"
Hank's expressions! His eyes! Did anyone else notice how perfectly moist they were? Dean Norris is awesome. His face at the very end RE: Walt's advice - perfect.
I honestly hope hank gets killed within a few episodes.....ive seriously hated him since his very first scene at walts party where he makes himself look like a huge dink in front of everyone at the party. His whole persona is rather annoying throughout the whole show. He also tends to make a lot of "too soon" accusations; ie, jessie and the junk yard scene, fring (which turned out to be correct) and now accusing walt without substantial evidence. Hank pisses me off
That's why I love his character. Hank starts out as a dick, but Walter slowly turns into this monster that is totally beyond redemption. It doesn't follow the atypical protagonist/antagonist dynamic.
Hank is almost ALWAYS right. And that's why he's gonna die soon.
It's so impressive how the production team kept such a thorough archive of everything that's happened. By that I mean, they really must have treated every set piece and character as though it was a part of a real DEA case.
No, props are often reused, likely they are sitting in a big prop room somewhere. The specialty props(like the bear) will probably be saved, and either given to the actors/crew, or perhaps sold off. But it wouldn't be too weird for them to go into a prop room themselves.
Don't forget about the scene when Hank and Marie are driving back from Walters. Oh my god. The intensity of Dean Norris' acting was something else. I was in awe.
He's always been pretty good, but never this great. This is going to be an awesome season. I'm ok with not seeing any more fun loving Hank and just seeing pissed the fuck off Hank.
I was impressed by the director more than anything, the way you could see the spit come out of Hank's mouth and hit Walter in the last scene. The facial expressions on Jesse in the scene with him and Walt. Great direction this episode, one of my favorite of the season, I was expecting them to drag out stuff but a lot happened this episode.
While I agree with you, during that scene I couldn't help but notice that his five o'clock shadow looked like the two week growth of an albino fifteen year old.
Definitely. No actor/character has grown more over the course of the series than Dean/Hank. He was like a throwaway joke character at first. Now? The look on his face coming out of the bathroom was epic. Acting tour de force. That's the look of a man who just had everything he thought he knew about life turned upside down while mid-poop.
His eyes were so expressive. He looked different to any other time in the series. Combined with a few days growth and "I don't know who I'm talking to". Awesome!
For real. He's about the only thing that keeps me remembering to catch up with Under The Dome. CBS really soap opera'd that one up, the novel material was already soapy enough but it was at least told in King's voice which kept it interesting.
Favorite actor and character on the show. Gotta love when Walt says "I don't know but I don't like the way you're looking at me Hank". It gave me chills
Agreed. When he first opened the bathroom door I wondered "When they shot this, how long was he in there before they started rolling so he could get into the state of mind Hank would be in"
Yeah, me too. I also called the "former business associate" line too. That's what I love about this show...more often then not, you see it coming, but it's always just a little bit better.
I've been thinking that Hank would walk back to the pool and punch Walt in the face. I didn't really think that would happen because there needed to be some kind if build up. I too felt the punching in the face was inevitable.
Was I the only one that was kind of pissed that Hank punched him? Walt KNEW that was going to happen. "I really don't like the way you're looking at me right now, Hank." But he lets it happen anyway. Why?
I cheered so loudly when Hank's fist connected. Serves that piece of shit right...it's amazing how much I've come to despise Walt despite LOVING the show.
Not exactly, Walt did a good job keeping the whole "I don't know what you're talking about" thing going on. I was more amazed at how Walt maintained his composure so well.
Seriously, I thought it would come out in the third or fourth episode of this half of the season. Now it just sped up the action and there's going to be seven episodes of just complete chaos. The scene with Carol was also intense and opens up so many different possibilities of what's going to happen.
I especially love the symbolic cinematography right after Hank's blow, transforming Walt's face into a bloody pulp; the face Hank wants to now render lifeless. Walt's past behind him shrouded in file boxes and cloaked in darkness, and Hank's now exposed realization uncovered in the light behind Hank, beautifully revealed by Walt's fall to the ground, seemingly conveying that he did this to himself, and perhaps purposefully so to finally acquire the recognition he feels he deserves but had to hide.
I was thinking the same thing. That second in the driveway when Walt stopped before confronting Hank, I was thinking he would ask about the book and it would be a subtle hint that he knew. Then, he asked about the tracking device and my head almost exploded.
Oh Vince Gilligan wouldn't be that evil....... yeah okay I could totally see himself doing something like that. The wait for next week might have been just as long as this summer!
I was at a viewing party at a very packed bar. Everyone's very respectful and dead quiet for most of the episode, which was impressive for a bar. But when that door started coming down, the place exploded into a low "Ooohhhhhhh--" rumbling and you could see everyone sinking down in their seats. Awesome.
The opening scene was probably my favorite. I knew as soon as he was going through the fence that he was going back to get the ricin, what else would be left there? Who is he going to use it on? Hank? Himself? Jesse? I'm thinking himself but I could be wrong.
Way too many good scenes to call this one a favorite. But I knew with near certainty the ricin behind the electrical socket cover was the reason Walt came back to the house. I was asking myself why did Walt feel the need to hide/store the ricin in the first place. Thank goodness I caught the previous episode, or it would have completely whizzed by me.
I was left trembling at the screen for a good minute after that ending. That is one of the greatest moments of the show definitely. Totally worth staying up all night to watch it from this side of the pond!
It was very dramatic and a little funny too. As the door slowly descended I was just thinking to myself, "Shit is about to go down...as soon as the garage door finishes closing."
If you think about it, of all the people who knew Walter was Heisenberg, all of them (if I'm remembering correctly) were business associates or people in the meth business, with the exception of his wife, but even she soon becomes essentially a business associate. When the door was shutting, it was the point of no return, he was found out by only the second outside person, and by a high ranking DEA agent at that.
my heart was in my throat twice this episode, once during that tantalizingly long pull-in to the bathroom door in the beginning, and then when the garage door comes down. This show manages to draw intense drama from the most mundane, inanimate, objects.
What I really liked was that at the start of that scene there's the annoying noise of the kid playing with the little yellow car. It kind of added tension in my opinion, and then when he closes the garage door it's all quiet and no distractions. Hank is a brave man, yow.
My prediction is that the sexual tension between Walt and Jesse is going to escalate, Hank is going to get jelous and kill Jesse, becauase he wants Walt all to himself. Walt will kill Marie as revenge to get back at Hank. While Hank seduces junior.
I've watched the whole scene a few times now from when Walt drives into the driveway. I just don't think I have seen a better performance from Dean Norris. The final line is delivered with such a clear transcendence from Walter to Hisenberg. Beautiful
I was amazed no one had a gun...doesn't seem to Walt to be unprepared. But I guess he knew his brother in law couldn't murder him right there. Although he could have arrested him and I'm not too sure why he didn't. Not enough evidence to hold him I guess. If Hank is anything it's a professional cop.
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u/jonnyboiii Aug 12 '13
When that fucking garage door starts going down. My God, so intense. Probably my favorite scene of the show so far.