Now that is what I’m talking about. The first two episodes felt like a little too much of a slow burn considering we only have eight episodes to wrap up the season, but this one had several scenes that pushed the story forward in major ways.
Let me complain about life here for a little bit. I don’t have cable, so I don’t get to be part of the zeitgeist when shows like Breaking Bad air, which is a huge bummer. I have to wait to watch until a day or so after (and I will not discuss the means of my viewing here on the interwebs). Because of that fact, I’m always extra worried about spoilers. I avoid Twitter while the show is airing, and in general I don’t visit websites that talk about television until I’ve seen the episode. I made a bit of a mistake this week. I watched a video called “Hank and Marie watch the VMAs” thinking that it would be something making fun of Miley Cyrus, and while it was, it used footage from this week’s episode.
Seeing Hank and Marie standing there being pissed at whatever was happening on the TV freaked me out and set my brain to trying to figure out what the hell was really going on in the show. I came to the conclusion that Walt had filmed a confession and set it to the local news, and that’s what Hank and Marie were seeing. So of course I was pissed because I had just had some huge moment spoiled for me by watching a dumb YouTube video. Thankfully, I wasn’t completely on the mark. What was really going on was even more sinister and conniving. Walt had filmed a confession, sure, but it was a confession outing Hank as Heisenberg. After all of the veiled threats Walt had thrown around, this one was not so subtle. “Take me down, and you’re going with me.”
Another thing I really enjoyed about this episode that I had always wished the show would delve a little bit deeper into were the opposing scenes between Walt and Jesse, and Walt and Jr. “Flynn” is Walt’s son, yes, and Walt definitely loves him. But since Jr. usually ends up being some sort of plot device or ancillary character, you never really connect with their relationship. (The exception being back in season one when Jr created that adorable “save my dad” website.) Jesse, on the other hand, has always felt like Walt’s true son. Walt challenges him, teaches him, looks out for him when he’s in his darkest moments, and he was even training him to take over the family business. Of course not all of Walt’s parenting has been in Jesse’s best interest, but no parent is perfect. And at the end of the day, Jesse seems like one of the few people that Walt wouldn’t kill if it came down to it. He really does care about Jesse, and that might be enough for him to get some redemption before the show ends. But I doubt it.
Positives:
-red herring confession
-Walt and Jesse’s scene in the desert
-Jesse’s reaction to the Ricin moment
Negatives:
-Ricin moment was too esoteric for some
-Walt Jr is still a plot device
-I’m actually starting to feel bad for Skylar
Score:
9.5/10