that's why i love Breaking Bad. i'm quite optimistic they're bringing this to a good end. tread lightly was brilliant indeed. i must admit, though, that i was wondering if a different move would've been better. maybe it's due to him having become a bit softer and careless over the time spent in retirement (which would explain the cliffhanger moment at the end of the first semi-season as well). still, i think he could've done better.
my idea of course includes season 8 SPOILERS, so don't read on if you haven't seen the most recent episodes.
when Walt is confronted by Hank, i thought he just needs to make Hank realize that he'd have no trouble whatsoever making him look complicit, or worse, as the mastermind behind all this. it'd be hard to find a jury that wouldn't buy Walt's story if told like this: Hank, frustrated DEA cop, enlists his chemistry-nerd brother in law who desperately needs the money because of cancer/disabled kid/new baby. Walt is the executor, but Hank knows the criminal world inside out, pulls the strings, controls everything. how else would they build this huge empire, the biggest of its kind, do away with their main rivals, go global without having someone on the law enforcement side? it's Hank who wants Gustavo gone, and when he realizes he can't make a case against him (at least not without risking to blow his own cover), he has Walt build the bomb and offs Gustavo. yes, the money is in Walt's hands, but mainly because Hank knows the risk that comes with it and that he can't use it right now anyway, so he makes Walt handle his "retirement fund". Walt trying to leave the business, because his family is taking care off and he might be dying soon anyway - that's the reason why Hank even started moving against him now, and why he assaulted him physically. the press would love it - crooked cop would be so much more believable than dying teacher-gone-bad anyway.
of course, it's somewhat hinted at in the 2nd episode that Hank is aware of the negative effect that catching Hank could have on his career - but to this extent? i don't think so.
my main worry, if i were Walt and tried to go at it like this, would be that pushing Hank like that could drive him over the edge and lead him to just kill Walt. then again, if Walt really is dying, he doesn't have all that much to lose anyway, and Skylar and the kids would still get to keep the money.
then again, Walt still might make this move at a later point. and one reason not to say anything like that to Walt YET would be that he doesn't know if Walt was recording (although even then, he could've hinted at all this with the right phrasing - and on a record, it'd actually make him).
btw, the physical assault was another thing that Walt should've seized on. he should know this from Jessy's experience - a cop who assaults you is not the most believable in making a case against you. after getting hit, he should have gotten himself checked out at a hospital to have a record, then driven to Hank's colleagues and "innocently" asked about whether they knew how Hank was doing mentally, because he'd just been assaulted by him, out of the blue (maybe even mention "wild accusations that didn't seem to make any sense" - so he has the option of making Hank either a villain or a madman. or both.
btw, i'm not complaining that they didn't go in this direction. i think the path they've chosen so far is brilliant and does make a lot of sense. especially because there's still the duality of Walt and Heisenberg going on. just saying that i really thought that these would've been the best options for Walt, on an evil, rational level.
