Tonight's episode of Breaking Bad delivered on its title. "Confessions" certainly did feature more than one intense confession, but could we have anticipated either of them? It's at this point that you want to turn back if you haven't seen the episode yet (spoilers ahead!), and if you have, watch the above video, which takes a look inside "Confessions," including that incredible scene that showed Hank and Marie seeing just how far Walt and Skyler are willing to go to get them to back off on the investigation and stop trying to lure their children away from their home.
Walt has proven to be incredibly, and occasionally disturbingly manipulative. He's a thinker and a plotter, which is what's gotten him through some serious challenges in much better shape than he would be if he were just a man who reacted without considering his options. Case in point, Marie tried to get Walt Jr. to come by the house for dinner and, potentially, a big conversation, and instead of simply outright telling Walt Jr. that he couldn't go, Walt discussed his health with his son, emotionally manipulating him into not wanting to leave. But the bigger twist came a bit later, after an incredibly tense and awkward non-dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Walt delivered a recorded "confession" he and Skyler made.
We might have assumed Walt was giving in, handing over a video confession admitting to everything he did. Ok, maybe no one really assumed that. There had to be a catch, right? And sure enough Walt's confession was really an elaborate but frighteningly believable lie about how Hank was running a secret meth business and basically forcing Walt to be his chemist, taking his family hostage, making him pay his medical bills and essentially doing everything Walt did. The incredible thing is how well it all falls together. Walt paid for Hank's medical bills with so-called gambling money, a fact Hank wasn't even aware of, as a way to secretly make amends for his indirect involvement in Hank's injuries. Walt used that, the ride-along, the Schraders being decent enough to take the kids for a few months, Gus and Hector's involvement and other things to turn Hank into the bad guy.
Now, we could try to argue that Walt wasn't/isn't ever planning on using this "confession" to actually make Hank look like a drug dealer and completely defame him. That's probably true. I at least want to believe that Skyler would never allow that to happen, especially considering what it would do to her sister. I want to believe that the two of them are only using this video as a way to shut Hank up and back him off. But what if the DVD got into the wrong hands? Would they step back and let things play out, even if it meant Hank went to jail? I'm not sure I'd put it past either of them at this point, especially if some heat came down on Walt.
In other confessions, Jesse figured out the ricin situation. It happened while staring at a pack of cigarettes. He made the connection that Saul was involved and forced Saul to confess at gunpoint, his part in Brock's near-death situation. We'll have more to say about that in our full recap of tonight's episode. In the meantime, here's a look at the making of "Confessions," which focuses on that heated scene between Jesse and Saul.
