I'm predicting Jane's dad Donald will be the one who meets Walt at the truck stop. He will be a HUGE player in the final two episodes, and will be really pissed when he finds out his little girl is mainlining the blue meth - the same stuff he just bought off of Heisenberg!

tuttle300 dead on that Gustavo will be the central focus (as Tuco was) for threats and danger. The guy doesn't own 14 franchises and maintained his anonymity for 20 years for nothing.

I felt his last line to Walt "Never trust a drug addict." was a threat and a warning to Walt. Meaning, you choose to keep this drug addict in your life and business, YOU pay the consequences. Not me (Gustavo), not the drug addict, but you (Walt).

Alot of good ideas here, but whatever happens, i am sure it will be spectacular!!! I do think jane will be gone..........no doubt in my mind about it, she is a serious threat....someone is gonna take her out, if its walt, or "gus"......or maybe they will really twist it on us, and jessie will take her out!. or, she may squeek out of existence, and OD........we`ll have to wait and see....

keep it coming AMC!!

I think Jane will probably meet her end at her own hands and will probably be witnessed by Jesse serving as a catalyst for him to clean himself up a little bit. I can't see anyone else taking care of her as it would make them come off too evil and Jesse and Walt are to good on screnn together for that possibility to be written off. It was a little frustrating to see how quickly Jesse and Jane's relapse progressed.
I have no idea how Walt is going to pull off missing the birth of their child and I could do without the whole Ted storyline I would rather see that time go to a Hank storyline.

The blurb for next week shows jane threatening Walt with blackmail?..for sure she is a dead meat. How will Jesse react? We r watching Walt's transformation to a kingpin's mentality..Power is addictive and consuming ..comparable and just as evil as meth addiction. I am continually reminded of the first seasons opening..In underwear, Walt jumps out of the RV chased by police..He calls on the cell phone and says he has something to explain..We know how the series will end. The writers utilize Asian formula story tellig. The story line seems boring even banal.. til the arc coming at the end.. BAM...the watcher 'gets' understanding. I don't look for Gus
to be around very long. I wonder about
Walt's wife's boss as a possible partner? The wife introduced to Walt's other business? Jane's dad will be a problem.

There's a lot of history [baggage] left out and unaccounted in your comments.

1. There's always Hank and the DEA lurking in the background. Two shows back we are left with some sort of unresolved conflict Hank has [is it that he knows all about Walt?]. Could Hank have anything to do with the cartel - probably not - but who knows? What's up with tossing Tuco's encased trophy grill across the Rio Grande?

2. Then there's Tuco's father and family drug cartel who are unlikely to ever give up getttng even with Hisenburg and Jesse.

3. Then you have Gus. Is Gus the front for the Mexican cartel and is the delivery a set up for #2? Here I point out that it is a Hispanic who makes the connection at Gus' Pollos Ristorante and it was a Hispanic gang who killed Combo on the streets of ABQ. Somebody's behind all this.

4. Well then there is Saul. I have to think Saul represented Tuco at some point and maybe represents the cartel. Remember Saul complained that the bribe was untraditionally low. So he's been round this tree before with other characters. If so, Saul is getting his percentage from both sides and if the cartel prevails then its just business as usual for Saul. If so it says a lot about Gus.

Saul has no moral compass and may well await a moment of reprisal for the death threat ala Jesse and Walt.

5. Gus warning "Never trust a drug addict" is a word to the wise. It will (remember it was Crazy 8 who said to Walt I'm not your real problem, your real problem is upstairs {Jesse}.This has tested Walt and Jesse's relationship right from the beginning. In Walt's mind he owes Jesse his start and modest sucess. Not to mention that Jesse is the only person that Walt can now share a real moment with. If Walt is going to be stepped on for higher production Walt will need Jesse and Jane is gone - long gone - Jesse will know this whether he can accept is TBD. His performance in the last episode is a major screwup and Jesse knows it. I agree Jane's father remains a big unknown.

6. Here I would point out that there's two filled body bags and they are setting on the driveway at the Whites. So its fairly certain that the Whites house was blown up and since we sporadically see cleann room suits collecting debris in evidence bags we have to think the DEA is involved. Last I counted there were three Whites at the house. I only guess here but it's either Jesse and Jane or it's Skyler and Walt Jr. As the original commentor states maybe Gus will make Walt's life easy and the business is just that pragmatic.

7. The darkest possibilty is that Walt spills the beans with Skyler and she now finds herself caught between two men who are both prime candidates for jail. She may have chosen the lessor of two evils and threatens to turn Walt in. Walt under these circumstances would have a decision to make. It's unlikely how it could be written but amybe it's Jane and Skyler in the body bags.

8. Ther are a number of unaccounted circumstances left that can bite Walt. For example the cell phone ringing in the ceiling during class. The missing chemestry equipment from school no doubt still being tracked. The guy who stored the RV-drug lab while Jesse was in jail who got nearly run over. Way too many loose ends for a solid conclusion. Either way Jane has to go or she ends up in charge of the Walt and Jesse show. Just rooting for Walt & Jesse here - but the old addage 'speed kills" is probably what we are left with at the last episode.

Contrary to what has been said thus far, I don't think Jane is going to get whacked. She is too smart for that. In fact, she figured out Jesse and what he was up to right from the start, when he paid is first and sucessive month's rent in cash. She may have thought all along that she could blackmail him, but fell in love with him instead and so her plan changed. Usually it is the not-so-smart ones that get whacked, whereas the smart ones prevail. See the Godfather for all kinds of examples. Jane will prevail.

My view on Walt: Walt shows up at the truck stop with his product, and is forced to hand it over without getting paid. So Walt ends up holding the empty bag, doesn't know how to get in touch with Gus, and now owes Jesse half the value of the product. Jane then steps in and blackmails him for Jesse's amount ($480,000). Jane knows people who will protect her, possibly her Dad, and so will not be eliminated.

Skyler: In Ep. 11, she finds out that her Benneke has been cooking his books, and so quits. But she loves him, and goes back to work with him illegally. Its anybody's guess what develops then. Maybe a Bonnie and Clyde scenario?

I disagree here. The writers have spent a great deal of time building the relationship between Jesse & Walt. Effectively this show is really the "Walt & Jesse Show" and adding/replacing Jesse with Jane is unlikely. Think what happens if Jane takes over for Jesse its game over for both of them. Walt might need Jesse but he sure has no use for Jane and Gus certainly has no use for Jesse or Jane.

If the preview to next weeks show is accurate and we are always only allowed snips of the future that generally have little to do with current events [last weeks tease from Skyler was "you could go to jail for this" and it left us all thinking she was talking to Walt. But no.

Anyway, if the deal with Gus goes seriously wrong then there would be no share for Jesse to claim. Even though in past episodes Jesse does allow for spoilage and Walt does not accept the concept.

Jane has a dark side yet to be revealed though I think Jesse sees it. He also has to suspect that the black tar herion Jane mixes with the meth came from someone and that has to set off warnings in Jesse's head. He is dumb but not that dumb. He can know that Walt needs him on some level but Jane is just dead weight and dangerous on a number of levels.

For the truck stop deal to go bad has implications on two sides that seem improbable. First is Saul as he would be the first person Jesse and Walt would turn to. Second, Gus would be cutting himself off permanently from his best source of meth. If the meth is truly as good as we are led to believe then Gus isn't about to "kill the goose that laid the golden egg".

Love the show but I'm not commenting on any practicular episode here, just something I wish would be corrected:

The opening credits usually displays the names of the creative team of Breaking Bad with certain letters of the name being highlighted in green if the persons name has two letters beside each other that are also the Atomic Symbol of an element, here I will put the green highlighted letters in quotation marks e.g
Music- David ''Po''rter
''Po'' being the symbol for polonium.

****However,
The Director of Photography- Mi''Ch''ael Slovis.

I noticed this error, ''Ch'' is not an atomic symbol for any element!
What the hell!
Maybe it's an in-joke of some kind?
Anyways keep up the good work!

leidenfrost: I just think they do that for looks.

maredude You're right - where did the heroin come from, and why did Jane have any narcotics at her disposal? Wasn't she 18 months clean? If she had it in her possession, that means she'd either held onto it from the past, recently acquired it or was on the verge of relapse anyway, and Jesse's depression/withdrawal presented the opportunity.

The quality of Heisenberg's meth wasn't a big enough draw/concern to prevent Gustov from not walking away from Walt and Jesse at their first arranged meeting.

Even though Heisenberg is a fine cook, I suspect in the overall hierarchy of a national drug organization, the cook would be considered disposable or replaceable. Plenty of people lining up to cook, I would guess - it'd be getting it circulated and sold that matters as BB has shown over and over. Sure they charge more for finer quality, but they can just as easily have crap and sell that, too. The drug addicts aren't going to be choosy and say "this isn't up to my drug use standards" - they're too addicted for that, I'd think. I guess it depends on who their clientele are - the wealthy or street people.

jamm54--
I have to respectfully disagree just a little-

Not that I claim to know anything about street smarts or how the drug trade on the streets works but I think that there are similarities to quality drugs just as it is with the rest of society

And specifically about two factors....

My FIRST POINT---If this pure product is in fact called "blue" on the street, or maybe "Heisenberg pure", the word on the street will spread quickly and everyone will do whatever it takes to have a hit of that stuff. Despite the higher prices.

It's the same peer pressure and acceptance factor that feeds nearly everything in our society
You find out your friends have seen the latest film or they talk about the new TV show so if you want to be accepted you start watching it too.

A certain FAD takes hold and people start wearing a certain style of clothing (just because some famouse designer vreated it) and soon others start wearing it as well despite the cost. (like those special purses all women crave for)

Same thing with this "blue" quality meth
The word is already on the street about it and I think Gus is going to distribute it to make more money for HIS business. In fact, he might even (hell, I would too) cut it down just a bit so that he can "stretch" the product out, which would make him even more money, while still maintaining most of the quality of the purest hit that everyone on the street will crave.
Like maybe the street talk will be...."Yo! I dont want that regular stuff you been sellin' me. I want that new "blue" meth. That's the bomb. You get me that, Yo, and I'll mention it to my home boys too."

Orrrrrr something to that effect.

There is compitition on the street for the best "high" just as there is compitition for the latest, best (name what you wish to here) anything else in all rungs of the ladder of society.

SECOND POINT---
Skills are most definitely an asset, even on the streets. I think Gus will appreciate Walt's cooking talents. And even though he MIGHT decide to force Walt to write down the exact recipe for the Blue and then knock him off, maybe word would get out that Heisenberg got knocked off and the quality of Blue is no longer the way it was....thats just bad business.

No, Walt has a skill that can give him not only street credit but keep him employed by Gus and Gus has been around long enough where he knows this.
Jesse on the other hand, while he may have some street smarts and knew a couple of guys who could distribute the product on a really small scale, some of them are dead now and the rest are splitting...which leave Jesse with nothing. And without a skill of any kind, that makes him worthless on the street.

Now that Gus has Walt by the short hairs, Gus doesn't really need Jesse. And as we have seen in the sneek peek at the next episode- there is a question about if walt is even going to let Jesse continue to think that a stranger took the product.
Maybe Jane is just guessing that it was Walt who took the meth and she is bluffing with her blackmail....time will tell. (and if she is bluffing, thats a dangerous game to play since Heisenberg has been known to kill people.)

But the way it's stacking up, Walt is now in a very good position to double his money by being taken in by Gus. Jesse is in deep deep trouble.

So, just my 2 cents

tuttle300 Thanks for explaining that to me. I guess status consumerism reigns even in the drug world. I didn't know that, so I appreciate your taking the time to explain that point.

I assumed that because Gustavo would walk away from Walt at the first meeting regardless of the quality of his meth, it meant that supply and demand of high quality meth and higher profits didn't hold that high of a premium in the drug world. Gustavo's value system was the deciding factor (security, reliability) over quality, profits and not representative of the value of a quality meth cooker in the drug world.

So, no guesses about Jane's heroin and where she got it to shoot up Jesse?

Speculation thread. Time to throw in my curve ball:

I can't help but notice Jane's overall look is at least partially inspired by Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction.

Perhaps a drug-psychotic Jesse delivers an ODing Jane to the White Household, where a reluctant Walter produces a giant needle to Jesse?

Walt: "Skylar, get me a felt pen, a black magic marker!!! Jesse, you have to come down in a stabbing motion like this..."

Walter makes three stabbing motions.

Jesse: "I, I gotta stab her three times?"

Walt: "No you don't have to stab her three times. There's a breastplate, you have to punch through that."

Jesse: "So what's supposed to happen?"

Walt: "I'm curious about that myself."

Jesse stabs Jane in the chest with the needle, Jane comes out of her coma, screaming.

Walter: "If you're okay, say something."

Jane: "Something."

Walter Jr: "Heh, heh, that was TRIPPY!"

I speak here from the very old days in which certain drugs were vended by a particular lable, vintage and dealer. When the Beatles came to the US everyone wanted to get their hands on 'strawberry fields' LSD or later on in the summer when Hendrix hit the charts it was 'purple haze' that was popular. Supposedly 'strawberry fields' was made by the Beatlles own cook in advance of the concerts.

With speed you have seen the variety that was available at the start of the show. It was that variablitly and the crudeness of the lab that got Walt thinking he could do way better and capture market with a quality product. Thus quality was the subject/point of at least two episodes - remember when Jesse tossed a batch out of the RV saying it wasn't up to the quality that their customer demanded and Badger jumped at it saying it was good enough? Here you have to ask yourself how many failed well creditialed chemists turn to illicit drug production to suppliment income?

Back in the day there were a number of graduate students majoring in chemistry who were always trying to cook up a street legal version of a hallucinogen. Meth production has always been a simple first year lab exercise if you can lay your hands on the ingredients. However, a scale up and the knowledge of the right equipment to match production requirements would demand a more sophisticated chemist. Here is where Walt may have the corner on the market as he seems to have a manufacturing analytical chemist's background which would be somewhat more difficult to recruit for Gus.

On another point, I am having trouble recalling if Jesse was the only one that got the 'special K'. I know Jane cooked her portion but it seems to me that Jane is never really pictured shooting up and we never see the two joined together floating in nirvana - it's just Jesse that we see floating about. I'm thinking here that Jane didn't shoot up and only got Jesse high for some ulterior moment - probably a set up.

But then I really don't have a clear recollection of exactly all what Jane does in that scene. We just see the two later together the next day with Walt busting in on the two of them in bed with Jesse semi concious barely able to talk. Here we are only left to presume what state Jane is in.

After Jesse's float ascent, when the camera pulls all the way up for a complete view of both of them on the bed, just before the scene breaks, Jane injects herself in the foot or close to her ankle before falling back on the bed.

Interesting, maredude - thanks for sharing about my era, relatively.

Hey maredude, I thought I saw Jane shoot into her ankle and slump on her side while Jesse was floating. I'll have to go back and look again...

And I almost hate watching the previews. Three possibilities exist for Jane's blackmail attempt.

1. Walt wants to keep all the money and Jane/Jesse just want thier share.

2. Walt gives Jesse his half, but now Jane wants Walters half too!

3. Walt got ripped off by Gus and Jane wants something from Walt.

I'm thinking somehow, the blackmail is going to set up the body bag scene, but not sure how and I can't really see the show without the Jesse/Walt conflict and interaction. No matter how low Jesse has gotten he has always bounced back. Now I know he looks like his plane is on fire and his wheels are up, but somehow he will pull up out of the dive without completely carshing and burning - even if it means rehab.

Maybe I'm putting too fine a point on this but there's a big diference between mainlining into your arm and an intramuscular injection into your foot or ankle. It is, I believe, the instant high that one obtains from injecting directly into the bloodstream [mainlining] that junkies are all about.

Also, why is it that it is only Jesse we see floating. I did see Jane doing something but I never saw her tie off an artery - just a distant arial view of her actions. The scene is never fully completed by what you would expect - the Romeo and Juliet scene where both are blissfully floating together like the tragic lovers they should have come to be. Here we just get an abrupt cut to tomorrow. Jesse probably doesn't - can't - even remember what happened the night before. All he's got is just the instant rush before he loses all consciousness.

I'm going to revise a few predictions, if I may?

* Walt gets the big bucks from Gus for that 38 lbs. of meth - makes the mistake of telling Jesse that he was the one that broke his door down to get in to get it. Jane is drawn into the money thing because she's pissed off because since she's the apt. manager, she has to explain to her Dad how the door got busted, and somebody has to pay to fix it, mainly Walt. Walt would like to withold giving Jesse any of his cut because he now considers him a worthless junkie that can no longer be trusted, but will end up doing so, because after re-thinking, he''ll realize it's the right thing to do since they had a 50/50 agreement. Trouble is that now Jane see all this cash and not only does she want paid for the door, the money grubbing bitch wants some extra for her trouble, hence the blackmailing attempt. The big thing she doesn't realize is she's pissing off HEISENBERG, who is not going to stand for it.

* Gus is gonna get busted by the DEA with that 38lbs. of blue meth in his possession after he gets it from the deal with Walt. Hank will safely assume this is INDEED Heisenberg since he fits Badgers description as an " like 50 or 70 year old bald guy". Gus will then assume that he was set up by Walt when he finds out that Walt's brother-in-law is the top investigating DEA agent in charge. Gus will then unleash his unbridled fury towards Walt in a big way.

* Something will be wrong with Walt and Skyler's new baby, like maybe a birth defect from her smoking while pregnant, or something else from her having a "low end of normal fluid level" such as the Baby Doctor stated. This could mean a new need for more money Walt would have to earn next season for the baby's treatment and such.

I may think up more along the way!

Don't think the cost of repairing the busted door is a big deal for Jesse - he should still be holding several hundred grand. He is more concerned with the whereabouts of the 38 lbs. that he was responsible for carrying. Walt probably does tell Jesse that he is the one who broke in and took the stash setting up conflict over Jesse's responsible nature and whether he deserves any share of the truck stop deal. I think bigfreakinnaz is right about the Heisenberg character surfacing to deal with Jane.

Jane's dark side remains yet unexplained. Jane is extra baggage for Jesse, Walt and Gus. For her to remain in the show there has to be a yet to be revealed relationship/dimension unless you really believe in true love between junkies.

Personally I think she knew who Jesse Pinkman was before he ever rented the apartment. If she is an ex junkie she very likely knows or knows someone who knows of Jesse. Here is where I think she is part of a set-up and is part of a plot that involves getting Jesse hooked.

Maybe its the cartel. Here I have to wonder if Gus and the cartel are one and the same as it's highly unlikely that you would have two large dealers with a geographic range from Nevada to NM co-existing peacefully. If there are two large dealers active in the southwest we should already know something about this via Hank and the DEA. So far the ABQ DEA seems concentrated on the Mexican cartel and is unaware of Gus unless as I propose they are one and the same.

Body bag guesses. One theory could be that Walt's water heater installation wasn't up to code or that he conceived of a way to conveniently simplfy life by having a "coincidental" explosion. This could involve the presence of Jane & Skyler, Skyler & Walt, Jr., Jane & Jesse. The fact that the DEA is there retrieving evidence points to some situation that brings the drug dealing all home to the Whites and I'm back to the cartel on this one -Skyler & the new baby. Season 3 payback time.

Bigfreakinnaz

The more I read other peoples post as well as yours I am thinking that everyone is correct about one thing--Gus might get busted.
Maybe whoever makes up those sneek peeks at next week-- ("This is Aaron paul, here are some scenes from the next episode of Breaking Bad") is just as careful not to reveal certain plot points as they are careful to REVEAL certain things--such as Jane's blackmail towards Walt.

So maybe what they AREN'T showing us is maybe the DEA DOES grab Gus (if in fact he did buy the 38 pounds from walt)

Anyone one no matter where you are in the world can order a hit on anyone, anytime (parphrasing Godfather II)
So even though Gus may be in jail he may just order a hit on Walt's family (which would explain Aaron Pauls frightful teaser statement (in this weeks TV Guide) where he said that people will be very angry about the cliffhanger

You only get angry when something bad happens to people (or, in this case, characters) who are innocent and someone you like (very much like walt JR and Skyler)

There is probably much more we don't know about Gus, let alone the infamous Saul.
When push comes to shove, the whole friendly lawyer knows a guy who knows a drug kingpin could quite easily turn tide AGAINST Walt.

The next two episodes are gonna probably be excruciating to watch

I truly hope they don't kill off Jesse Pinkman. I just don't think it would be the same watching Walt White without his partner.

I thought i saw MONOPOLY money in the bag that Walt was paid in for his 'rush order'...it was a very short shot..did anyone else see? It was in the previews for next episode or at the very end of episode 12....

I thought i saw MONOPOLY money in the bag that Walt was paid in for his 'rush order'...it was a very short shot..did anyone else see? It was in the previews for next episode or at the very end of episode 12....

Uh, yeah. I'm gonna have to assume from the Episode 13 description on tv.msn.com that Jane has a life expectancy of less than two episodes.

Skyler's frustration with Walt's secrecy finally comes to a head; Jesse self-destructs after a personal blow; Donald's grief leads to tragedy.

I haven't seen the last part regarding "Donald's grief" in any other description. It does add clarity to what Jesse's "personal blow" might be. Sorry Jane, we hardly knew ye.

Walt has to survive. There is no breaking bad without Bryan Cranston.

I'm pretty sure Jesse has to survive and is still the partner for season 3: he's the guy with the methylamine and the RV parked at Clovis' place. Walt doesn't know where it is. I'm pretty sure this is a bargaining tool Jesse uses to make sure he gets his share of the loot.

Well, sure Walt and Jesse will survive! They are the main characters, and there will not be a season 3 without them!

It was posted by somebody a few weeks ago that Jane's character will only be on till maybe the end of this season, maybe because of her "untimely" death caused by overdose or by Heisenberg. I'm sort of leaning towards the latter. But then whatever happens to Jane will force her Daddy into action, and in adding to my above predictions, THAT guy is gonna cause ALL kinds of trouble for Walt and Jesse. And rightfully so. Wouldn't YOU if your child died or was killed by drugs or a dealer? Especially if he was really a "Bad ass" like Jane always keeps saying? Daddy Donald could very well be a "body bag" candidate if he decides to confront Walt at his home to take matters into his own hands.

Walt White will probably be thinking "All I wanted to do was make a few extra bucks to support my family after I kick it! That's all I wanted to do1 I didn't ask for all this other shit to happen!"

Ted goes to the Whites home with a pink bear as a gift for the baby...while talking to Skyler in the kitchen there will be an explosion caused by the new gas hot water system that Walt installed himself...Skyler and Ted will be killed...the pink bear will be blown out through a window and wind up in the pool...Walt will be a widower next season...only now he will be looking at leaving behind two children without any parents if his cancer takes him...this is the certainly the worst thing that could possibly happen in Walts mind...making him more focused and determined than ever to make as much money as he can before he checks out...

I think that part of the reason that Walt doesn't want to give Jesse the money is because he still has some fatherly feelings for Jesse and knows that Jesse will blow it all on stupid shit. I do think Walt is being stupid again by hanging up on the frantic Jesse in the preview. Walt's forgetting the bathtub incident, mostly his fault by not explaining to Jesse that just about everything disolves in the acid except that particular type of plastic. Disaster! Hilarious disaster, but disaster non the less. I agree with Sully that Ted has something to with the body bags. He's got to be an desperate addict of some sort, I'm thinking gambling. I think that Jane is falling deeper into the rabbit hole than she was before her rehab. Also I'm wondering if her father has sexually abused her and has her on a very short leash financially. Getting Jesse's money would make her free of her fathers money for a little while. I think the idea of Gus being mistaken for Heisenburg is a good one. Walt and he are alike.

to Jamm54: just random tidbit to support the other guy's point about consumerism, and product value in the drug business...in 1988 and 89 there was such a large wave of the highest quality cocaine, extasy, and pcp that was distributed on a worldwide scale from London to Eastern Europe/Russia all the way across the Atlantic to the US east coast and even California. Police were getting murdered left and right (as seen in the great, realistic film "We Own the Night"). So that kind of backs up the notion that Walt's high quality product will likely prevail as far as Gus's interest in it goes...but with the trend of things with the Mexican cartels, it seems like they are gaining enough power to influence things, even across the border. It was most likely the "Eme", otherwise known as the Mexican Mafia who had Combo killed, knowing that he is connected with "Heisenberg", who is reaping all the cartel's profits without sharing a dime of his operation with them. Keeping in mind the nature of the "Eme" and the cartels in Mexico, their bloodshed will not end with the killing of Combo. They will use all their power to find out who the "kingpin" Heisenberg is, keeping in mind that he is totally disrespecting the cartel, and completely disregarding the fact that he is upsetting the nature balance of things in the streets. So with all that being said, the product value will definitely help Walt, but the overwhelming influence of the cartels may surpass any influence Walt could gain through Gus...or maybe Gus is connected to the cartels, and Walt mistakingly overlooked that possibility...guess we will all have to find out either this sunday or next!

aasmallz thank you for that great information! That's what so cool about the forum, you learn things you'd NEVER know about, and there's a lot of experience, background and knowledge running through the forum from every perspective.

In some ways, what you've explained about Walt's high quality meth puts him in worse danger than if he just had some ordinary batch of meth. The rarity of his pure meth makes him a standout out target - I think.

This season has been an incredible powder keg slowly waiting to explode. I love the little snippets of whats to come in the finale. I really feel that someone in walts family is going to die. This would cause alot of explaining and resoulution to come in season 3

I was going to attempt a tally of all the "baggage" Walt & Jesse have accumulated since episode 1 but that's a lengthy task and can wait for another day.

But I think the distinction between black tar heroin and crank needs to be understood by everyone in no uncertain terms. H is an international product with a international manufacturing and distribution system that starts in the far/mid east and works its way to the West. On the other hand the manufacture and distribution of meth is almost always a comparitively local operation. The fact that Jane has brought H into the mix has raised the stakes of the game for all involved. Historically In the old days meth was made and distributed by biker gangs the Hells Angles being the first to market. To my knowledge biker gangs never got involved with heroin as it is a major depressant and what biker gangs liked was the apparent enchanced perception, abililty to talk for hours and generally feel good with the group - not to mention that you could build and rebuild a bike twice over in a day on the good stuff. So from that point of view H is the antithesis of meth and generally has a a diferent clientle.

Historically, I believe the Japanese developed meth first as a poison to kill rodents as it causes rapid premature aging generally death before a female could bear offspring. The use in human populations began in Japan after WWII and spread West to the US after the war. It was not unusual for military personel to leave the service withsome dependance on meth/speed as it was routinely given to troops prior to demanding operations that required being awake and on top of things in peak performance for long hours, sometimes days.

The title "Breaking Bad" is telling on a number of fronts as it not only belies the story line but makes a judgement call as well. So I think from the title we can safely assume that there is no good to come from any of the main characters though we root for Walt and Jesse as they seem to have their hearts in the right place. In other words don't expect anyone to come out better than they were before the show started.

One thought on Jesse. Afer the phone call to Walt informing Walt of Combo's murder and Walt could not even remember Combo, Walt must have lost all credibilty with Jesse. Recall that Jesse says "please don't tell me you just said that" and hangs up. Jesse must have felt completely betrayed by Walt and that Walt will or has lumped Jesse into the same faceless catagory despite Jesse's pledge to honor Walt's share of the profits to his family should he predecease his ability to personally share in the deal - remember that warm moment?. If I were Jesse I would be having second thoughts about Walt at this point. Having Jane around will only exacerbate Jesse's paronoia/insecurity.

A couple other things.

Does anyone really believe that Gus is going to actually be transacting the deal at the truck stop?

I doubt it. Gus doesn't get close enough to get tagged in any transactions - his boys do all the heavy lifting. So I don't think it will be Gus that gets busted if anyone.

BTW did anyone count the bags that Walt scooped up during the break in? He was in such a hurry and wasn't counting I have to wonder if he actually got all 38 lbs. or maybe there wasn't the entire 38 lbs. to be had if Jesse was dipping into the stash or had a pound or part outstanding in distribution. If so Walt may come up a bag short on the deal while taking 1.2M for 38 and so inadvertently shorts Gus? Gus probably doesn't take kindly to minor screw ups and is far less forgiving than Walt would be in the same situation? Remember Skinny losing an ounce and Walt's reaction with Jesse which nearly got Jesse killed.

We'll see just some twists I hadn't heard of yet that may pan out.

I have to wonder if the entire show doen't end up as a training lesson for Jesse who ends up knowing how to run a drug cartel top to bottom just by surviving and dumb luck.

why is it that it is only Jesse we see floating. I did see Jane doing something but I never saw her tie off an artery

It was Jesse's first time, not Janes.. and she no doubt mainlined her also ...a experienced junkie doesn't need to tie off..it wasn't here first time around the block