Let me break down how I watched the last 20 minutes of this episode: in disbelief. Every season has 'that episode' the one you point to and say "yeah, that episode was really good" and nobody really disagrees. 'Problem Dog' is that episode (at least so far). I legitimately could not move for a couple of minutes after it ended, I just could not process what I had seen. Now that i have calmed down a bit I will try to write rationally about my thoughts on this masterpiece of an episode.
We started off with a really dark scene of Jesse playing a zombie killing game, but each time he killed a zombie he just saw Gale's head jerk back. Clearly he is still recovering from the guilt, and we can see this clearly. The scene itself was shot beautifully, it had no talking and minimal movement yet it perfectly conveyed what Jesse was going through still. The expensive car Walter bought for Jr. last episode is quickly burned away... literally. After joy riding in it and getting it stuck on his way to return it, Walter decides just to burn the thing! Not the smartest thinking on his part and Saul managed to get him off free (if free is $52000). Other than a slightly emptier pocket, Walter came to the conclusion that the only person who can get close enough to Gus to kill him is Jesse. Jesse did not need much convincing and agrees to do it with our time tested method (ironically, their go to method, or the 'best way' is 0/2 so far) of poison, which Walter created in the lab in a spot out of the view of the camera. Jesse hides the poison into one of his cigarettes and vows to poison Gus at the first chance he gets. It was kind of nice to see Walter and Jesse scheming together again, but there is some awkwardness to it now that was not there before. Maybe Walt's B.S. has finally caught up to Jesse, maybe Jesse no longer wants to be Walter's hit-man, the truth is we can't know. Skyler's only involvement in this episode was to complain about how they can not launder 7.5mil (Walter's drug salary) in one year, not her brightest episode, but she has had her fair share of screen time this season, any more in this episode, it would have received a lower score from me.
Now that that stuff is out of the way, we can focus on something that I will just describe as greatness. Firstly, the meeting that Gus asked for came right away. I thought it would be a couple of episodes but fortunately we get to see what the cartel wants immediately. From the looks of it, it appears that the blue meth is something that Gus is not willing to give up and it is all the cartel wants so it looks like we are heading to war! Following that scene we get treated to scenes which you can argue are among the best the show has produced, I would even say that they are on par with Mike's 'half measure' speech, and Hank's shooting in 'One Minute'. I wont go into too much detail about them because you really do have to watch for yourself, but as I watched Jesse in the Addicts Anonymous meeting I was captivated. His acting is on a whole other level in the scene. His words are delivered with a perfect mix of fire, hate, and disgust that it made me wonder if there was a point of anyone else competing with Aaron Paul for an Emmy at this point. The only other thing I will say about the scene is that the episode's title comes from it. Saying anything else will ruin it. I had barely picked up my jaw off the floor when I got hit with a scene on par with the Jesse one before it. Who was it? Walt? Gus? Mike? Jesse again? No, no, no and no, it was our boy Hank. Needing very little support to walk now and full of energy he marches to DEA headquarters and meets with his old boss and partner. Now, you know every time you watch a movie, or a mystery show the scenes where things are explained and the process is outlined are entertaining? This was better somehow. Hank solves the entire thing! His speech pattern was well rehearsed and you could tell that Dean Norris spent a little extra time making sure this scene would come out perfect. It's the one we knew was coming and the small reveal that he had Gus's fingerprint results (which he craftily obtained by going to pollos hermanos for a meal with Walt Jr.) to support his theory, followed by the stunned looks on everyone's face really showed what this show is capable of. From start to finish this episode was different, crafted to perfection, and executed perfectly. The filming, scene selection, background, music, and especially the acting (Aaron Paul and Dean Norris...take a bow both of you well done!) made this one of the best episodes I have seen period. I still can't decide whether it's the best of the show, I do have to reflect a bit, but it comes damn close. Excuse me, I think I will go watch that last scene again right now.
Overall score for the episode 10/10 no questions asked.
Best scene: tie: Jesse and Hank's last scenes of the episodes, greatness personified
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