>I mean I get it, Jesse is Walt's weakness but given how smart
>Walt he is...and under the circumstances of being monitored by
>Hank (and possibly the rest of the DEA) wouldn't Walt know not
>to talk business, murder plots and confessions and what have
>you on the phone?

>>At this crisis point, Walt's not in the state of mind to be thinking about incriminating >>confessions.

Yes, that I can see this despite the fact that Walt has always been cool under pressure. He was off his ass and felt like his world was crumbling so I could understand a major slip up in driving out to the desert in a rage. But I didn't love the throw-in triple murder confessional...it felt a bit forced but whatever.

But I wasn't only referencing that specific boiling point in the episode. Walt's been doing a lot of talking on the phone since he knew Hank was on to him. Ie., he put the hit out on Jesse over the phone.

All of this was so out of character for Walt that the writers made a point of showing him ignoring warnings from Saul and Jack that Jesse was a rat. It's like the writers were pre-emptively answering the viewer's cries of 'How could shrewd Walt become so stupid?" They were definitely trying to get across the idea that Walt was blinded by his feelings for Jesse.


>In the desert when Walt was on the phone with Jack and told
>him to call his posse off...I interpreted that more as Walt
>saving their ass from jail and not necessarily saving the
>lives of Hank and Gomez.

>>This... no. What reason does he have to save Jack and the crew?

Professional courtesy? lol. Walt hasn't shown to be the type to fuck someone over just because he can. Jack has been a helpful ally to Walt. There would be no reason to send him into a DEA birds nest (Walt not knowing that it was only Hank and Gomez at the time). There is also the possibility that Jack and his crew could kill Walt's family if he decided to do them dirty. Not that Walt had the time to contemplate all of this...but just saying. Honestly, at that moment I thought Walt just felt an incredible level of embarrassment that he walked right into the trap and was outsmarted by Hank and Jesse.

>And I'm pretty sure that part of him still believes that he can get Jesse to "flip" back to "his >side" again, a thought that literally gets spit back in his face by Jesse.

I think once Walt put the hit out on Jesse he crossed a point of no return. Walt showed up in the desert with gun in hand and was ready to take Jesse's life. And this was all BEFORE he found out that Jesse served his head on a platter to Hank and then spat in his face. How could seeing such betrayal/disrespect have changed Walt's stance on Jesse?

>And I've seen this mentioned more than a few times...can
>someone explain to me why Walt or the Aryans have any interest
>in keeping Jesse alive? Walt ordered a hit Jesse. The Aryans
>showed up to do a hit on Jesse. Now they know Jesse is a rat,
>hellbent on destroying them in any way possible. They don't
>need Jesse to cook. What has changed to make either of the
>parties want to keep Jesse around? When the smoke clears you
>really don't think Walt is going to change the order for that
>"quick and painless" death to slow torture? The kid is
>straight fucked unless he manages to bail out of the desert.

>>Where are you getting the idea that the Nazis want to keep Jesse alive?

Not my idea. But it was mentioned a few times on the previous thread as a possible "final reunion cook" or whatever so that's what I brought it up cause it made no sense to me.


>>I also think you're also assuming that they know that Jesse's there with Hank and Gomez >>and Walt in the desert.

I was indeed assuming this. When Walt called Jack and gave him the coordinates...didn't he tell Jack that he had Jesse in the desert or made some sort of implication that he had his target? I deleted the episode so I can't go back and check. Jesse was really the only guy on Walt's radar at the time.


>And Walt wants to keep Jesse alive, not because he's being "weak and emotional," although >that's a part of it, but again, it's also because a small part of Walt still believes that Jesse can >be "flipped" again so he can do Walt's bidding.

See above. We may have to agree to disagree on this (or wait until Sunday when it probably gets resolved) but Walt wants Jesse dead. There's not much bidding to be done for Walt anyway...other than keeping quiet and moving to Africa.

>I'm now thinking of a scenario next week (which I'm sure will be called "easy and not really >original" by certain readers here) where Hank and Gomey bite it, and the Nazis grab Walt but >also discover Jesse, and right when they're about to kill him, Walt tells them to spare his life >so he can help Walt with this "last cook," saying that he will keep up his end of the deal that >he made with them but only if they don't kill Jesse...

This scenario makes sense (and seems probable to me) but your proposed ending doesn't. Jessie is dead weight to all. He's a loose end and an unstable addict. He has incriminating info on everyone and is a proven rat who almost sunk Walt and the Aryan operation. He is witness to the murdering of federal agents.

If for some weird reason Walt does a 180 on his current feelings for Jesse (Walt would've chewed through those shackles and ripped Jesse's face off if he could have) the Aryans will overrule Walt's pleas. The balance of power has shifted to the Aryan's. Jesse is of no use to them. Walt doesn't need Jesse to cook. And truthfully, after Walt's final cook...he's not of much use to the Aryan's either.