Breaking Bad Episode 39: Cornered

Cartel gunmen ambush and hijack a Los Pollos Hermanos truck, killing two guards with carbon monoxide and stealing a bucket of blue meth, while Skyler White confronts Walter White about Gale Boetticher's death, causing her to flee the house with baby Holly before Walt buys his son a new car and Jesse Pinkman proves his value by recovering most of the stolen drugs for Gus Fring.

**The Truck Hijacking** On a remote highway, cartel gunmen led by a man named Gaff force a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerator truck off the road. They shoot the driver in the head, then lock the two guards in the back by barring the rear doors. Using a hose, they redirect the truck's exhaust into the ventilation system and place a brick on the gas pedal to keep the engine running. The gunmen eat the dead driver's lunch while the guards suffocate from carbon monoxide asphyxiation. Once the guards are dead, the gunmen enter the truck and steal a single UV-marked bucket of fry batter containing the blue meth.

**Skyler's Confrontation and Flight** Back at the White residence, Skyler wakes Walt, who is suffering from a hangover after his previous drunken outburst, and demands to know if he knew Gale Boetticher and if he is in danger due to Gale's murder. Walt reacts angrily, boasting about his vital importance to the drug trade and implying that he killed Gale, telling Skyler that people should be afraid of him, not the other way around. This bluntness prompts Skyler to grab baby Holly and flee the house. She drives to the Four Corners Monument, where she flips a coin to decide whether to escape to Colorado, but ultimately rejects the coin's verdict and reconsiders leaving.

**Walt's Actions at the Car Wash and Home** Walt receives the keys to the car wash from Bogdan Wolynetz. In a moment of vengeance for Bogdan's past insults, Walt forces Bogdan to leave behind his framed "first earned dollar," which Walt then uses to buy a soda. Later, to appease Walter Jr.'s anger over his mother leaving and to relieve his own guilt, Walt takes his son on a detour and buys him a brand-new Dodge Challenger.

**Walt and Jesse at the Lab** Walt meets Jesse at the lab and questions Jesse's frequent errands with Mike Ehrmantraut, warning that Gus and Mike may be trying to drive a wedge between them. Jesse angrily defends his new role, accusing Walt of discrediting his accomplishments. When Jesse is called away by Mike for another errand after cooking, leaving Walt to clean alone, Walt becomes enraged. He bribes three laundry workers to help him clean the lab, an unapproved arrangement that Gus later discovers and punishes by ordering the women to be deported.

**Jesse and Mike's Recovery Mission** Jesse and Mike scout a drug house where the stolen blue meth is being sold. Impatient with just watching, Jesse tricks a meth user into letting him inside, knocks out the other addict, and confronts the holed-up users face-to-face. Jesse successfully recovers most of the stolen drugs. During the confrontation, Mike notices a message left by the cartel bosses on the wall: "¿Estás listo para platicar?" (Are you ready to talk?).

**Gus and the Cartel** Gus meets Mike at a diner that night, and they decide to negotiate with the cartel. Outside the diner, Gus compliments Jesse's work on the errand, boosting Jesse's self-esteem and loyalty.

**Skyler's Return** Skyler returns home but tells Walt to return the Dodge Challenger because it contradicts their cover story. She acknowledges that Walter Jr. will resent her decision but states that "someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family".