Last week, we learned two things about Mike (Jonathan Banks): He's an ex-cop from Philly with a past and when given a list of 11 folks to "retire" he doesn't want to just kill them. With the remaining nine left Mike travels to county jails to make sure no one is talking. Posing as the thuggiest paralegal ever, he speaks of the importance of Hazard Pay (the name of the episode) and legacy costs.
Even cooler, with the newly formed partners—Walt (Bryan Cranston), Jesse (Aaron Paul), and Mike—in agreement the cooking can begin. Viva Vamanos Pest! Surely, Gus would have approved of the name.
WHAT WE LEARNED
A New Place to Cook: After Saul takes the trio to potential new venues (a box factory, a tortilla assembly line) Walt realizes the best new base is no place. Discovering a carnival-sized tent left by a pest control company, the answer is obvious: Use Vamanos Pest as the front. That way they can always be mobile (cooking from suburban home to home) with no one questioning all the chemical waste. Brilliant. Friday Night Lights fans rejoice, one of the bug employees is played by Jesse Plemons as Todd. Todd makes quick friends of his new bosses warning them to watch out for nanny cams.
Skyler Finally Loses It: When Marie (Betsy Brandt) complains about the quality of Skyler's (Anna Gunn) car wash a major meltdown occurs. We lost count on just how many times Sklyer told Marie to "Just Shut Up." Walt comes home (yes, he's finally back now) to find a very worried sister-in-law. But Walt being Walt, he fiendishly explains away his wife's breakdown as guilt over her affair with Ted (Christopher Cousins). After a sympathy hug from Marie, Walt chomps on an apple. Ah, the delicious spoils of war.
Like A Boss: Shocked (and a bit whiny) is the best way to describe Walt's reaction to Mike taking much of their million dollar haul for expenses. Mike is in charge of the business end and has the authority. Or as Walt sees it, "He handles the business. And I handle him." Especially annoying to Walt is the legacy cost Mike says is needed to keep the nine from Gus' laundry front quiet. Walt sees this as blackmail, but with Jesse happy to just fork over his share Walt gives in. Afterward, Jesse explains to Walt that being the owner means they now get a bigger take—they produced way less than when they worked for Chicken Man.
ONE-LINERS
"Mike threatened Jesse, he threatened me, he probably threatened somebody before breakfast the morning. It's what he does." – Walt
"It's time to tell me the truth Walt. All of it." – Marie
"Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make ya Jesse James." – Mike