This past week I saw some mention from PR people involved with Breaking Bad that this episode was going to be a “game changer.” For some reason, the first thing that came to mind when I saw that news was that it had something to do with Skyler. I thought she would somehow approach Walt and say “I’m in.” While that would certainly be a game changer, it’s not exactly what happened. In fact, I’d say what did happen is more of a game changer than Skyler giving in completely.
Skyler seemed to have her story planned out well ahead of time when she spilled her cover story for Walter to Marie. Essentially, this “cleanly” explains where Walter’s money comes from, so Skyler can go about spending it and giving it away without too much question on the matter.
There are two huge consequences here, though. First, Marie is a horrible secret keeper. It’s not going to be long before she slips out the news to someone else, and then that person is begging the Whites for money … rinse, repeat. Walter made a poor move in admitting he was into the millions with how much money he had — he should have simply said he had enough money to help Hank, and left it at that. The decision for the writers to have Walter mention how much money he made tells me there are plans for trouble down the road, like Marie begging for more money or others finding out.
The other big change here — and one I surprisingly hadn’t really considered until now — relates to Hank. He’s no longer a DEA agent, and he’s almost certainly done with any sort of law enforcement for the foreseeable future. So, I say it’s now a matter of “when” Hank finds out about Walter’s secret, not “if.” I can’t even begin to imagine what Hank will do with that information. His hospital bills were paid for by Walter … with money made with the very drugs he was hunting down. Will he go after Walter? Can he? Or will he simply offer his expertise to Walter as far as staying out of trouble when he goes out on his own? It’s exciting to consider the possibilities.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on May 16, 2010 @ 23:32 EST5EDT
