27 replies to this topic

[SultanOfSurreal]

Hank's quickly become one of my favorite characters on the show. In season one, he was sort of an oaf, and most of the interest I had in his character was in wondering how close he was to Walt's secret. But since the shootout with Tuco, he's really come into his own. I never imagined he could be so complex and compelling.

To cover a little bit of new ground... one of the things I don't see mentioned a lot is how casually racist he is. The most obvious examples would be his rather off-color remarks to Gomez. Maybe it's "all in good fun" or whatever, but I have to wonder how Gomez really feels when Hank makes yet another crack about wetbacks or beanspeak. Those comments certainly seem to indicate an inherent distrust of hispanics -- perhaps bred by the job, or perhaps always present in Hank in some form.

Another example is Hank's reaction to the revelation that Walter bought marijuana (supposedly at least) from Jesse, versus his reaction to the mexican janitor he busted at Walt's school. Hank seemed pretty lenient about Walt's dope-smoking, but when quizzed about the janitor (who you'll remember was only found to have pot in his possession), Hank said something like "he'll be fired -- as he should be!" Maybe this double standard is because Hank knows Walt personally, but then again maybe not.

Like the rest of you, it seems to me that one of the major themes on Breaking Bad is that everyone has a dark side. To that extent, Hank has come out looking like one of the most moral characters thus far. But I do think there's at least a little racism in him if nothing else.

Edited by SultanOfSurreal, Apr 20, 2010 @ 11:19 PM.

[freespeech]

Another example is Hank's reaction to the revelation that Walter bought marijuana (supposedly at least) from Jesse, versus his reaction to the mexican janitor he busted at Walt's school. Hank seemed pretty lenient about Walt's dope-smoking, but when quizzed about the janitor (who you'll remember was only found to have pot in his possession), Hank said something like "he'll be fired -- as he should be!" Maybe this double standard is because Hank knows Walt personally, but then again maybe not.

Another storyline they had (and seemed to drop) was Marie's shoplifting. I haven't rewatched the episodes, but Hank didn't seem that perturbed to me - something like 'we're working on it'? Anyway, that is another example of him seeing illegal behavior in the family and not coming down hard on it. Admittedly Marie is his wife.

I think you're on to something though, and if they'd kept that storyline, we might have seen more of Hank's shades-of-gray about the law.

So, he may be more inclined to cut Walt a break if he finds out he is close to Heisenberg's organization. (I have no idea how he'd react if he found Walt WAS Heisenberg.) My guess is that Gus will be seen as either Heisenberg or a Heisenberg replacement by Hank, some way, somehow, and it will be to Walt's gain.

[ReadIshmael]

I was really touched to see his reaction to the news about Marie. His reaction to hearing her voice on the phone after his panic was very sweet.

Don't get killed, Hank!

[LethalCandy]

I seriously thought Hank was going to have a heart attack in the hospital. I really feel like it's coming at any minute now.

I wonder what's up with the preview showing Marie comforting Hank; Is he finally going to admit to her what he's been going through? I hope so. He's on the verge of completely losing his mind.

I certainly do not want to see Hank get killed, but I was glad to finally hear an explanation as to why the Cousins hadn't been tailing him all along. I was sure they must have known Hank was really the one responsible for killing Tuco and didn't understand why Walt was their main priority.

Edited by LethalCandy, Apr 25, 2010 @ 11:24 PM.

[QueenofCups]

From "Open House" thread:

It felt like a set-up to me for 'Hank needs a career change but he's big macho agent dude, where can he go from there?' I think 'big macho legal consultant/mastermind to the new white collar drug cartel' might suit his ego.

Sort of the only way I could see Hank getting involved in Walt's business is 1) if somehow Skylar,Holly or Walt Jr. were put in danger and/or 2) if he found out about it and realized that if the brother in law of a DEA agent was found to be a major drug producer enough of the dirt from it would end up on Hank to kill his career (to the point where he would have to cover it up to keep Walt from getting arrested).

I can't see Hank making an abrupt change of allegience to the forces of darkness. His entire identity is in being a DEA agent. It's his purpose, and he feels useless without it. It's the prospect of being useful in that capacity, rather than his undoubted love for Marie which brings him out of his depression.

If Hank is to be corrupted , it would be through a series of compromises, each well-interntioned and meant to protect his family. Unwittingly, the whole string would look damning from the outside, as if Hank had known all along. (This would be supported by Hank using drug money to fund his rehab.) We've seen Hank cross the line before - protecting Marie from the consequences of her crimes, beating Jesse - but his transgressions have always been about family. I think Hank is much more of a family guy at heart than Walt is, and if he joins Walt's hell-bound troupe, it will be because of his love for his wife and family.

Edited by QueenofCups, Aug 4, 2011 @ 2:03 PM.

[Kel Varnsen]

His position at the end would look so damning that he would be forced to cover up for Walt because the alternative would be to destroy himself and Marie. It would be a case of the road to Hell being paved with good intentions, rather than a moral about-face.

I think Hank might already be in that position without knowing it. I mean he is supposed to be some expert drug investigator but he hasn't realized that his own brother in law is a major player in the ABQ meth world. On top of that his medical care is now being paid for by drug money. If the DEA were to find out about that I am not sure he would be able to explain away either of those things to his superiors with a simple "I didn't know".

[AuroraAustralis]

Great points all around.

but his transgressions have always been about family. I think Hank is much more of a family guy at heart than Walt is, and if he joins Walt's hell-bound troupe, it will be because of his love for his wife and family.

I think Walt's activities started out as all about family, well, helped along by his oversized pride. Then he was in it more for his ego and validation. Hank's a good family man, too, but also not without some hot button character flaws that could help him get in over his head.

Interesting that Skyler was only in it for her family's welfare, too. But she's gotten a little power issue now, what with feeling she needs to better Saul and then Bogdon. It's a slippery slope.

[bbobby]

I think Hank is much more of a family guy at heart than Walt is, and if he joins Walt's hell-bound troupe, it will be because of his love for his wife and family.

Yep. And pride.

I just came to the realization that the overarching theme of this show is the sin of pride. Walt started out to save his family but soon became Heisenberg because of his pride. Skyler started to Break Bad, again for her family's safety, but just this last episode has shown that she wanted that particular car wash simply due to pride. Gus killed Victor to set an example for Walt and Jesse, but also because his pride as the boss who was completely in control had been threatened. Mike kicked the shit out of Walt at the bar because his pride as the "fixer" was wounded. Marie started to steal again because her pride as a wife, as the one in her relationship who took care of everything was no longer there.

I think that once Hank figures out just what is going on (and I think that he's a good enough detective that he will), his pride may just take over. Hank is considered the top dog in the ABQ DEA office, both in terms of muscle, and in terms of his skills. Once he figures out that his own brother-in-law is Heisenberg and that it all went down right under his nose, I think his pride may take over and he will do whatever he can to keep that fact from coming out. Will he join Walt or will he just stonewall the investigation? Will he become a major player or will he just steer the investigation enough that Walt's (and his) involvement will never be found out?

I don't know, but I do know that it will be a fascinating storyline to watch!

[thatguy01]

Hank was pretty thoroughly tested when he beat Jesse. He might be more willing to save family from their sins than save himself from his own, but Hank didn't shade the truth then.

[annalisa]

I started doing Breaking Bad marathons on Netflix. I am about halfway through season 2.

I absolutely love Hank. I think the actor's comic timing is superb. The scene during Walt's intervention when they were urging him to seek treatment and when Walt kept giving his son tequila at the party and Hank tried to stop him by not making a scene. Not to mention the PTSD and the turtle explosion. He's goofy, clueless, around the edges, intuitive and sweet all at the same time.

All the performance are great. I am also really impressed with Aaron/Jesse.

I am growing to really hate Walt. From what I've read, it seems that the feeling will continue.

[PhinallyPhamous]

Two of my favorite Hank scenes that came early on in the series:


Hank: So who's your chief, little Injun?
Jesse: What? What does that even mean?
Hank: It means I think your story's bullshit. I think you know who Tuco Salamanca was. I think your car was there because you were there. Tuco had a bullet in him when I got there and I think you know something about that, too.
Jesse: So what're you saying? Like, I shot someone with, like, a gun?
Hank: You? No. Only shooting that you do is into a Kleenex.

And another moment from Season 2 when Walt gives his toast and Hank goes "wow, inspirational".

[Chained Melody]

Dean Norris is so great! I have really come to love and respect Hank, even when he was being a total jerk to Marie because it was such a nice change to see a disabled character who wasn't all about noble suffering. His was the most humanly realistic reaction to a traumatic injury I've seen portrayed on TV in a long time.

I think the writers have done a great job at showing Hank to be an excellent investigator despite his blindness to Walt's crimes, and I cannot wait to see what he does next season now that it's obvious he was right about Gus Fring and the superlab. I hope there is a time jump from the end of season 4 to the beginning of season 5 so we can see him recovered from his gunshot wounds and restored to active duty.

There's a lot of things I'm looking forward to in the final season, but I think most of all I really want to see Hank figure out Walt is Heisenberg. I would especially love it if Hank is able to keep his suspicion a secret from Walt for awhile so he could turn the tables and secretly monitor Walt's activities, for a change.

[EnsleyG]

Over the past two seasons, I've come to see Hank as the true moral center of the show, and the fundamental "good guy" in the series. Going back to the pilot, note that in the meth lab bust that Walt's riding along on, Hank is very, very careful not to move in until the school-bus has cleared the area. In addition, despite being in a profession that is often appallingly violent, Hank does not get off on violence or power. First and foremost, Hank is a cop, and one hell of a detective, as season 4 has shown.

Sure, Hank plays up a good ol' boy roughneck exterior, projects how he thinks a "man" should act to the outside world, but alone of all the characters in the show, Hank actually lets himself feel what he feels, albeit often unwillingly: PTSD, guilt at taking another's life even in total self-defense, anger at being forced into a wheelchair, rage at "Jesse" using Marie to get to him, etc. And of all the characters, Hank is the only one who has recently had the antidote to pride: humility. Hank has had to face the fact that he is really just not cut out to be a big shot DEA guy. Sure he makes a good big fish in his little New Mexico pool, but when he faced the big time after killing Tuco, he found out that, unlike the agents he was with in "Negro Y Azul," he is unable to truly view even vicious drug dealers as anything but human beings.

When it comes to the authorities, I think Hank remains Walt's greatest threat, not least because Walt consistently underestimates Hank's abilities and intelligence. I also don't think Hank would hesitate much about bringing Walt down. Not least because of what Walt and Skylar have done to Walt Jr. and Holly, the only true innocents int he show. Hank has already shown himself to be a consistent secondary father-figure to Walt Jr., and from the pilot on, it is when drugs come into the lives of kids (like the janitor at the high school), that Hank becomes most righteously angry. Hank will hate to do it, but he will take Walt down, even if it means sacrificing his job. Because, above all, Hank's a good cop, and that's what a good cop would do.

[marioninnyc]

As someone who only starting watching recently, I'm awestruck by how well the writers have handled Hank's not knowing or even seeming to suspect Walt, and Hank's not being Lois Lane stupid. He's a good, persistent, intuitive investigator. He's capable of connecting the dots, and maybe just maybe if Walt hadn't pointed to the Walt Whitman reference in Gale's journal he would have gone there, but when he had the more "reasonable" explanation, he took it. I agree with above that Hank would take Walt down.

[azure4]

Hank is a perfect example of a person applying the rule to never ignore your intuition/gut. Except that he hasn't figured out Walt yet, because he doesn't have a good reason to be suspicious.

There's a lot of things I'm looking forward to in the final season, but I think most of all I really want to see Hank figure out Walt is Heisenberg. I would especially love it if Hank is able to keep his suspicion a secret from Walt for awhile so he could turn the tables and secretly monitor Walt's activities, for a change.

I also would like to see Hank figure out Walt, but I don't know if Hank will be able to contain his rage.

[CuteJaime7727]

I truly believe that everyone does have their own dark side...and Breaking Bad is no exception...nor is Hank. I am seeing that Hank's dark side is his inability to deal with his own issues by putting on a front. It is very similar to Walt's pride of not wanting help and needed to provide all of his own support. Hank has plenty of health, work, and relational issues of his own, yet has a hard time coming out in conversation with topics that discuss his own imperfections.

[Josh29]

Do we really know for sure that Hank doesn't know Walt's secret? Remember Walt first refusing to help Hank plant the GPS device on Fring's car? He did it on the way back, AFTER going into Los Pollos Hermanos. Do you really think Hank bought Walt's excuse that he wanted to be sure it was secure, when Walt wanted nothing to do with the thing in the first place? Do you really think Hank missed it when Mike drove up along side the Aztek? Speaking of driving up, remember when Walt pulled up along side of Hank's car during the "fake Heisenberg" drop, to allow him to get to the right bench? Remember Walt refusing to turn into the laundry while driving for Hank during one of Hank's so called "field trips?" Remember the W.W. at the top of Gail's notes. Walt, becoming a card shark, explaining away the cash windfall? A card shark! Walt? Heisenberg is about great chemistry. What was Walt, once again?

Hank has been right about everything. It's uncanny just how right he has been. He's in charge of the day-to-day investigation, capable of keeping the focus away from Walt, while keeping a close eye on him. If you buy into my theory that Hank has known for quite a while now, the question becomes, why has he done nothing? Well, I guess we'll know the answer to that question sometime around now, next year...

[azure4]

Good points. Another thing that’s bothered me is the scene at Tuco’s house. Tuco made Jesse and Walt give him their wallets and he went thru them, discovering that Heisenberg was Walter White’s alias. Later they went outside, fought, Tuco was shot, Walt and Jesse ran and hid, then Hank came and killed Tuco. But the wallets were still inside. Surely the evidence team would have discovered the wallet contents, and I doubt that Tio/Hector did anything with the wallets (he was too busy ringing that bell). That may be a nitpick/continuity flaw.

It's also uncanny how close Walt has come to getting caught. The scene in the RV at the junkyard . . .the savvy owner just happened to appear to deter Hank, and at Tuco's house Hank arrived after Jesse and Walt escaped (not before).

However, I do not think Hank knows about Walt (despite Hank’s sharp mind). I just don’t think Hank would be able to contain his rage for all the damage Walt has done.

Edited by TWoP Pembleton, Aug 6, 2012 @ 7:25 PM.

[Captains Log]

Hank has been right about everything. It's uncanny just how right he has been. He's in charge of the day-to-day investigation, capable of keeping the focus away from Walt, while keeping a close eye on him. If you buy into my theory that Hank has known for quite a while now, the question becomes, why has he done nothing? Well, I guess we'll know the answer to that question sometime around now, next year...

This blew my mind! What if Hank is the DEA mole this whole time??!

Edited by Captains Log, Aug 6, 2012 @ 2:30 PM.

[peachbeserk]

I can't remember how I got to the YouTube video that I saw yesterday which was a scene with Hank and Walt. They are seated on the steps of a patio decorated with flowers for Hank and Marie's wedding. Purple flowers figured heavily into the color scheme, of course.

Hank looks hysterical in an all white Western themed tuxedo complete with shiny white boots and a white cowboy hat. Walt is trying to convince him to come into the house or building where the wedding is about to begin. Hank is distraught about his indiscretion the night before and still hung over. He vomits in a flower arrangement and then attempts to again later into his cowboy hat. Walt grabs the hat and reminds him that "it's a rental". He tells Walt that he got wasted because the wimpy pink zinfandel that Walt served at the bachelor party didn't do it for him and that he went to a bar where he met a beautiful woman named Joan Crawford who was singing torch songs. Walt says, "Who the hell sings torch songs?" He keeps telling Walt how upset he is and tries to describe where the bar is. Walt tells him that everyone makes bad decisions sometimes and that he really doesn't want to hear about it.

Hank keeps describing the people in the bar and noting that of all the men there, Joan Crawford chose him to "do a BJ and the bear minus the bear". Then Walt says "Oh, geez. Did you say that there were only men there?" Hank still doesn't get it. Walt asks again what the name of the bar is, and Hank says, "The Ivory Swallow".

[Navin]

My father is retired from DEA and he told me that Hank reminds him of every field agent he worked with.

[Ankai]

While, at first, I raised my eyebrows about how Hank found out about Walt, this was ultimately the reason why I came around to it:

It's also uncanny how close Walt has come to getting caught. The scene in the RV at the junkyard . . .the savvy owner just happened to appear to deter Hank, and at Tuco's house Hank arrived after Jesse and Walt escaped (not before).

There were so many opportunities for Hank to stumble upon Walt by accident during his investigation or for him to find evidence that would directly lead to Walt. Sometimes Walt got away through quick (or reckless) thinking, sometimes through Hank not following through on his conclusions due to being too close to Walt, and sometimes through simple dumb luck. This time, a foolish decision on Walt's part that he did not rectify for months, and a simple casual decision of on Hank's part, led him to suddenly think back to something that happened even further back in the past. Whether Hank had subconscious suspicions about Walt before, something must have clicked then in his head. We do not yet know whether he had stopped chasing Heisenberg during the last three months and focused his energies on other matters, but the gears in his head must be spinning.

If he still has the intention of taking down Heisenberg (as opposed to covering his tracks, working with Walt, or just breaking down completely), he cannot confront Walt directly. Not only would Walt be able to explain away the book or poke holes in Hank's theory, he would use the time that Hank needs to properly investigate things to cover his tracks. If anything, Hank has to look back on all of the times that he knew Walt got involved in the investigation and the times when Walt could have secretly sabotaged the investigation; all of the times when Walt's involvement could make sense and the times where things didn't make sense at the time because the possibility of Walt's involvement was not factored in, all of the times that suddenly now seem so obvious that it was Walt all along and all of the times where Walt dropped hints or pretty much admitted that he was Heisenberg. If he does talk to Walt about looking further into the Heisenberg investigation, he will have to do it as a trap; see what Walt does, judge what seems to be Walt trying to throw off the trail, and re-investigating what he just did.

And wasn't that whole scene with the book in the same episode where Walt asserted that Gale was not Heisenberg?

[Kel Varnsen]

I think most of Walt's odd behavior early on was easily attributable to his cancer diagnosis with a poor prognosis. When Hank found out that it was Walt smoking weed rather than Jr., he just laughed. (I always wondered why Walt didn't just tell Skyler it was to ease his pain.)

This came up in the episode thread, and the whole thing with Hank not suspecting Walt over the seasons doesn't surprise me at all. I mean Hank is surrounded by tough guy law enforcement types. So when his nerdy brother in law gets cancer I am sure Hank wouldn't have any idea what the normal way for someone like that to a serious cancer diagnosis would be.

Plus the whole thing about Hank should suspect Walt because he is an expert chemist doesn't really fly for me either. I mean maybe if they were living in some tiny little town where Walt was the only person who knew anything about chemistry that might make sense. But Albuquerque is a pretty big sized town (it has around 500,000 people) with a university and a community college plus the lab where Walt first worked at when they moved to ABQ (not counting the people in all of Gus's other territories). So the idea that Walt is the only person (or in a small group of people) with that kind of knowledge doesn't really make sense, at least not enough where it makes him a realistic suspect.

[Romantique]

And wasn't that whole scene with the book in the same episode where Walt asserted that Gale was not Heisenberg?

Yes, that's true, Ankai, and I remember thinking while watching this scene that this point of hubris would someday bite Walt in the ass. He could have just let Hank conclude that Gale was Heisenberg and let the trail to him run cold right there. But nooo...his pride would not let Gale get the credit, just like his pride would not let him get rid of that book like he got rid of the lily of the valley plant and all those bodies in barrels of acid that have been the accumulated collateral damage of his empire building.

I really liked how Hank's revelation was shown, and how we see him connecting all the dots, especially Walt's "You got me!" And now that he knows about Walt, a lot more dots are going to be connected, like that convenient car crash in front of the laundry, Walt's multiple questions about his work, the recent visits to the office.

We have 40+ weeks now to speculate on how he is going to act. On one hand, he has to take Marie, Skyler, Junior, and Holly into consideration. How is he going to take down Walt without destroying the family? Now he will know that Skyler's aided and abetted Walt's life of crime because she told that tall tale about Walt's gambling addiction. He will also figure out that the car wash as well as his hospital bills were all paid for by Walt's drug money. Now how is that going to look for the newly appointed ASAC? In a way, he owes his health to Walt's crystal meth making, and I'm sure that's really got to hurt, especially since he actually helped put Walt on the road to drug making when he let him ride along on the drug bust in the pilot.

We have seen Hank act pretty shrewdly in the past to hunt down leads as well as gather evidence (like how he was able to suspect Gus Fring as a drug kingpin before anyone else in the DEA and even used Junior to help him), so I have a feeling he's not going to burst out to the patio and point the finger at Walt. He's going to stay quiet and figure out a plan. I cannot wait to see how it unfolds!

[icouldntresist]

WAS Hank the DEA agent on the cartel's payroll? Wouldn't it be an ironic twist if Hank admitted to Walt he took money in the 'old' days but after the attacks on him and threat to his family he want's to be the best DEA agent ever. And will help Walt put as much distance between their past and cartel as possible?

Did Hank already break the habit of being bad?-not including police brutality.

[Myndela]

I highly doubt it. That would be one hell of a lot of ret-con and would strain so much credulity that I would throw my remote at the wall.

[Irlandesa]

WAS Hank the DEA agent on the cartel's payroll?

I doubt Hank is or ever was dirty.

But I have to ask, what DEA agent on the cartel's payroll? I can't remember that ever insinuated on the show. What am I forgetting?

[icouldntresist]

Wasn't it implied during an earlier epi where Hank was in the desert with other DEA agents and the turtle bomb went off. Since that epi they wanted to know where the leak was coming from. Hank didn't seem to vigorously defend allegation or insuations in him. He was in a very dark place at that time.