In " Cornered ," several themes reappear, but with a twist. We're treated to the same cold opening (har har) and a different result. The show opens with two of Gus ' red shirts in the cargo hold of an 18-wheeler. The cartel's hand kills the driver and instead of shooting up the truck like they did when Mike was in the back, they connect the exhaust pipe to the cargo hold and choke them out while eating the driver's lunch—a sandwich. Clever.

Skyler rethought getting away from Walt again, but chose once again to stay (and faster than she did last time). Jesse ran into a couple of meth addicts and handled it with reckless abandon this time—a little older and a little wiser, but not wise enough. We're all a little smarter, we're all doing the same things. "Cornered" was self-reflexive, and jarring, and beautiful. Breaking Bad is hitting on all cylinders now."Cornered" is an episode about each character getting a little smarter, but the only one who's changed -- really changed -- is Walt. While Skyler is still the control-freak matriarch who protects her family, while Jesse is the in-over-his-head former meth addict, while Mike is the world-weary hitman, and while Gus is the businessman's Devil, Walt is the new Walt. He's suddenly the epitome of Eff You, Got Mine; the little pieces of him scattered through the first four seasons congealed into one full episode.Cranston delivered in this episode. He was outraged. He was self-obsessed. He was indignant. He was an a-hole. He knew it and he didn't care. Jesse even called him out on it. His response? "It's all about me." Meanwhile, there's a truck's exhaust pipe in plain view.The best scene in this episode came early when Skyler approached Walt on what he knew about Gale after he spilled the beans at the end of the last episode. Walt pretended to play dumb until she questioned his standing in the meth trade (his weakness) and Cranston gave a speech that defined his character and the show. The soliloquy was well-written, poignant and brilliantly delivered - a summation of the show's philosophy and storyline. "I am the danger; I am the one who knocks" was a blood-chilling line, stirred with the fact that Skyler now knows a lot about what's going on. Everyone seemed to be smart in this episode except Walt.Suddenly this new Walt/Heisenberg was pushing buttons, testing people, attempting to dominate. He was the inverse of Walt at the beginning of the season, and yet he wasn't succeeding. He got three women deported and used Bogdan's first earned dollar to buy a soda. Jesse was turning on him - thanks to Gus' strategy to isolate the two of them. And Jesse's doing pretty well, it looks like. Now that we can move past Jesse being involved in this season, it's nice to see Mike mentor him. This has become the arc of the show that keeps Breaking Bad from being downright depressing.Our final scene was from Skyler to Walt, where she laid down the law. She pointed out point-blank that he was making her look like the bitch mom depriving her son of a new car. Because this is what Walt does.There were so many little symbolic points in this episode, it'll probably take years to point them all out. Mike ate a sandwich while waiting out the meth addicts, just like the cartel in the opening scene. Jesse was digging himself a hole, literally and figuratively at the meth den. The baby's outfit looked similar to the pink bear from seasons 2 and 3. The writers are also reminding us we're in 2009-mode with the red Dodge Challenger.And who didn't love Tucker? Good ol' Tucker.On top of all of this, what this episode opened up was the possibility that maybe we all have it wrong - that maybe Walt will never best Gus and this could be the beginning of the end for Walt. While I don't think that'll happen, the seed is planted. Gus has a solid infrastructure. Walt has absolutely no idea what happens past him making the meth. So even if he does get to the mountaintop, he's got a lot to learn about distribution (though it looks like Jesse is learning). Walt may be necessary now, but we're being shown he may be expendable sooner or later.This was an extraordinary episode from top to bottom, from the acting to the direction to the writing. Everything furthered the story and all fans will remember this one as the first step forward in Season 4 , though in a few years we're probably going to remember it as that episode with the Dodge Challenger in it.