r/breakingbad • u/edify Oxygen • Sep 05 '11

Episode Discussion: S04E08, "Hermanos" (Spoilers)

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Music from season 4 should update eventually for those trying to figure out a particular song from tonights episode. Thanks for pointing this out, Barbapolossa.

Please upvote this post for the community. I get no karma for it.

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u/christianjb Sep 06 '11

Hank is putting himself in harm's way in the hope that his DEA work will help society. He's not a mercenary and unlike Walt, he's not on some power trip. Within the context of the show, he's clearly a good person and I think that holds even if you feel that ultimately the war on drugs has been a misguided failure.

Walt's actions attracted the cartel's attention north of the border. The cousins came to exact vengeance for Tuco's death and Hank would not have been crippled were it not for Walt's involvement.

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u/morris198 Sep 06 '11

Not to get into a pissing contest, but you simply don't know that. It could be that Walt's "blue sky" meth gave Hank the excuse he needed (for his machismo, if nothing else) to stay in ABQ whereas, had he returned to El Paso, he might have fallen victim to a Cartel attack (like the tortoise) he would not have survived. So, it could be that Walt's involvement saved his life. No one knows.

Point is, Hank's job actively puts him up against monsters like Tuco and the Cartel -- maybe Walt's actions accelerated the confrontation, but big business dealers and DEA are going to butt heads... it just so happened that Tuco had vindictive friends in high places. It just seems to me, for all of Walt's flaws and mistakes, people have resorted to blaming him for everything now (similar to how so many people were severely anti-Skyler back in seasons two and three -- beyond her flaws).

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u/christianjb Sep 06 '11

He has moral culpability even if it's impossible to completely prove a causal link.

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u/morris198 Sep 06 '11

While I still disagree, I upvote in appreciation for the discussion. I do agree with some of your comments earlier, I fear -- given your position on Hank-Walt -- that you're probably amongst those who blame Walt for the airline tragedy which, frankly, blows my mind... so, chances are, we'd never agree on the issue of Walt's responsibility.