"Because Hank is a better man than Walt." -- Us
Full disclosure: I love Hank. He has no serious rivals as my favorite character on Breaking Bad (except maybe Jesse). Throughout five seasons of Breaking Bad, in a world full of twisted, immoral, dissembling, and dishonest characters, Hank has been the moral bedrock in a way that no one else has been. While Walt can lie to himself and others, and spin his increasingly monstrous actions in a way that makes them seem more palatable to himself and others, Hank is honest in a way that no one else on the show can be. When he sees the signature in Walt's poetry book, he doesn't try to talk himself out of believing its obvious implications. When Walt tries to gaslight Hank and convince him he's crazy, Hank doesn't back down. And when Walt shows Hank the tracker and asks, with frighteningly good manners, where it came from, Hank doesn't try to buy himself time and avoid a confrontation. He closes that garage door and gets down to brass tacks, his own safety and secrecy be damned.
He does, in other words, what Walt can never bring himself to do. He puts the truth first.
And that's why Hank is the best character on the show.
In Yglesias' review of 5.2's season premier, "Blood Money," Yglesias quite accurately points out that Hank's choice to confront Walt is strategic suicide. Hank knows Walt is a killer. He knows he's alone in a garage full of sharp pointy tools (I was wondering if a screwdriver was going to end up in someone's chest, personally) with a man who is physically stronger than him while he, Hank, is still suffering from the aftermath of a panic attack and car crash. Was Hank's choice foolish, as far as potential consequences are concerned? Sure. But it was also the only honest choice Hank had when Walt pulled out that tracker.
Hank could have made up some story to forestall a confrontation with Walt, but it wouldn't have been true to Hank's character. Walt is the show's strategist, not Hank. While Walt keeps on lying even when it's obvious Hank is on to him, Hank doesn't back down. He won't listen to Walt's insistence that he's "a dying man who owns a car wash" and tells Walt to his face exactly what he's done. It's not the safe thing to do, but Hank's not a safe guy. Walt uses lies and tricks to protect himself and get out of trouble, but Hank never does. He is honest and straightforward to a fault, even when it means he runs afoul of Heisenberg himself.
What was Hank thinking when he confronted Walt? He was thinking how to confront evil like a honest man, no matter what harm he brought on himself. And that's what separates him from Walt.
In comments, let us know: should Hank have confronted Walt in last night's premier? And if you like what you've read, follow us on twitter and tweet at us. We promise to tweet back.
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