Breaking Bad - Season 5 (AMC) (2 Viewers)

[Walter C]

Thanks Ronald! The props are on display until October 27th.

 

[joshEH]

Spoiler for tonight's episode:

Spoiler

 

[TravisR]

^ I guess that scene didn't make the final cut.

I'll keep my comments vague for anyone who might be picnicking and DVRed the episode but this was another winner. Nice twists. Great music.

After being only mentioned in the first few years of the show, Dave the therapist makes an actual appearance!

 

[joshEH]

Marie to Dave the Therapist: "WE HAD RIBS!!!"

 

[joshEH]

My initial thoughts:

[*]
Jesse is now greenlit.

[*]"Beaver" called, Walt (and don't forget "Fat Mike," either!).
[*]
"You really wanna burn him down? Let's do it together."

[*]"What's one more?"
[*]"Your plan is to do HIS plan?!?"
[*]That Hello Kitty phone-ringtone is so now my jam.
[*]"Mr. White is totally gay for me." Tomorrow, Fanfiction.net explodes.
[*]"I never should've let my dojo membership run out..."
[*]The "DEA" cup plus the handle spells "DEAD."
[*]Did anyone else notice the Deadwood box-set on Hank's shelves? Nice little Easter egg, since it starred Anna Gunn.
[/list]
Oh, man...what an episode. Oh, man. Everyone had a "Heisenberg"-moment in this episode. Everyone compromised their morality to serve a "higher good." No one's innocent except Walt Jr., and that's because he hasn't had the chance to react yet. This was the first Skyler/Walt conversation I've ever seen where I've been 100% convinced that Skyler was in the right and Walt was in the wrong. Just goes to show how amazing the writers are on this show.

And HANK might very well be the titual "rabid dog" of this episode.

The "kill Jesse" conversations with Saul and Skyler were extremely well done, and Hank's idea to stash Jesse at his home was exciting. But I feel disappointed we were kind of cheated out of Jesse's confession that was entirely off-camera. That could have been a really powerful scene.

Marie contemplating poisoning Walt was unexpected and quite chilling, as was Hank's indifference about whether Walt murdered Jesse at their meet. Everyone was fucking cold in this episode, and I'm still trying to process that. Good episode, with a lot to think about and forward action, and next week's gonna be fucking brutal, if that final scene was any indication.

 

[joshEH]

Also, foreshadowing from last week:

 

[Joe_H]

I feel disappointed we were kind of cheated out of Jesse's confession that was entirely off-camera. That could have been a really powerful scene.

I actually really would have liked to see the scene where Hank is telling Gomez about the whole thing.

Also, that episode absolutely flew by. I mean, most of these last few have felt extremely fast, but this one especially felt over in practically a blink of an eye.

 

[joshEH]

Walt: "Yes, Todd...I did receive the 'Get Well Soon' card."Walt: "Yes...yes...the 15-week-friendship anniversary cookies were very delicious, Todd."

Of course Jesse would be afraid of a bald guy dressed in black. I love how tenuous Jesse and Hank's partnership is. If it lasts until the end of the next episode, I'll be amazed. There's no mutual respect or solidarity. Hank's fine with Jesse dying, and Jesse assumed Hank would "break bad" to take Walt down. Strictly on paper, the concept seems a little too obvious, but the way it's written is perfect.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE SEEN THIS WEEK'S SHOW

Another brilliant week of Breaking Bad storytelling.

The writers just don't disappoint and it continues to amaze
me that each episode is better than the previous. It's almost
impossible to follow a great act, and these writers do it week
after week.

A few thoughts...

1. The best thing about Breaking Bad is not just the story but
the order in which the story gets told. Another brilliant decision
this week to create a mystery of where Jesse went after dumping
the gasoline, only to create a flashback showing Hank intervening.
It's another one of those "Holy Shit!" moments.

2. Creating an "aha!" moment when Walt Jr. exclaims, "Dad, why
are you lying?!" For a brief second you think Walt is in big trouble
as his son is on to him --- only to find out that there is a different
thought pattern going on here altogether ("You fainted, didn't you?")

3. Extremely surprising and chilling moment as Walt reveals the truth
to Skyler about the gasoline incident and she suggests that offing one
more person wouldn't hurt. That is a reaction I never expected.

4. Great visual of Jesse walking through the plaza showing his paranoid
POV of the strange, irritating people he passes. Great way to build up the
moment. When he got cut off by that kid running by, it was a neat little
"gotcha" moment. Even using the bald guy to illustrate the paranoia (and
then reveal the reason why he was actually there later) was fantastic.

I could even talk about the interesting camera angles at the start of the
episode showing Walt from his car's side mirror or from the ground up,
focused on a door knob, as he is about to enter his bedroom as he hunts
down Jesse.

5. It's the little things you don't pick up on at first but realize later...

The Hello Kitty phone. Was just a phone that Saul happened to give
Jesse after rummaging through his drawer. Yes, it was a nice funny
moment at first, but now you realize what an essential key element
that phone has become. They gave the audience something easy to
recognize, and it certainly became a focal point in this week's episode.

One thing I did not pick up on that I am happy that Josh brought to light....

When Marie was talking to the psychologist about poisons, I thought
she was contemplating committing suicide and poisoning herself as she
was highly depressed. Did not pick up on the fact that she was contemplating
poising Walt. Very interesting.

Was happy to see the plaza scene played out. Thought the show would end
right before it and make that meeting the big headliner for next week. Instead,
I think things played out quite nicely, building to a climatic phone call before the
credits rolled.

All in all, now halfway through the season, the show is in a good place. The
momentum that has been present and building from the very first episode hasn't
seemed to diminish as we near the very last episode. I don't think there are any
fans that are disappointed at this point nor have any doubt that this is one of the
greatest television shows every produced.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

One more thing just came to mind....and perhaps I am overreaching
a bit...but here it goes...

Spoiler

Any reason why Hank mentioned that the confession was done
on a SD card? Where every piece of dialogue has some significance
down the road, is there any reason to believe that we should be paying
attention to the fact that the confession was recorded on a card that
could easily be stolen or erased?

 

[TravisR]

I actually really would have liked to see the scene where Hank is telling Gomez about the whole thing.

Me too. I wonder if they shot the scene but it got deleted for time since the audience can easily figure out that Gomez has been informed as to what's going on as soon as they see him there.

2. Creating an "aha!" moment when Walt Jr. exclaims, "Dad, why
are you lying?!" For a brief second you think Walt is in big trouble
as his son is on to him --- only to find out that there is a different
thought pattern going on here altogether ("You fainted, didn't you?")

Walt Jr. is the character that I feel the most sorry for at this point. Walt, Skyler, Jesse, Saul are all criminals who have made their own beds. Hank and Marie are wreckage in Walt's wake but at least they know the real Walt now and are trying to stop him. Junior, on the other hand, is totally in the dark and is worried about his dad dying. When he presumably finds out the truth about his dad, it's going to be pretty brutal.

 

[joshEH]

"Take a run at Lydia?" Shit, might as well. She's so skittish, she'd probably sell Walt's ass down the river if they so much as threatened her with probation.

This was definitely more of an episode to set up future events, but oh my God, it is done so fucking well. And like many have said, every character is coming across as broken now, except of course Walt Jr. Every single person is compromising themselves to reach goals that aren't virtuous. Walt is the cancer that has rotted everyone around him from the inside.

And the Babylon 5 joke was great -- Bryan Cranston guest-starred in a Season 4 episode of that series ("The Long Night," as the doomed Ranger captain).

 

[joshEH]

Also, Walter White has got the Ozymandias Pool Package.Seriously, was I just acutely faded, or was that the most baller pool in New Mexico?#carwashmoney

 

[SamT]

Wow, after this episode, I consider Hank as one of the bad guys now. The way he treated Jesse and consider him like a sub-human. It makes me want for Hank to go down long before Walter.

I liked the Skyler stuff (suggesting murder to Walt and being nastier than him). It was not a surprise to me and I long before predicted Skyler getting more like Walt.

 

[joshEH]

Carpet-Cleaning Crew to Walt: "This is as good as it gets."Walt to Skyler: "This is as good as it gets."
Confirmed: Walt killed the carpet-cleaning crew.

 

[joshEH]

Wow, after this episode, I consider Hank as one of the bad guys now. The way he treated Jesse and consider him like a sub-human. It makes me want for Hank to go down long before Walter.

For myself, Hank's still in the nominal "good guy" column, at least for the moment, even after the events of last night's episode.

Hank sees in Jesse a tool that he can use to strike back at Walt. Even after listening to Jesse’s tale of woe, he doesn’t feel much sympathy, viewing his wounds as largely self-inflicted. He’s willing to roll the dice with Jesse’s life, on the (pretty reasonable) assumption that Walt is not going to murder him in a town square in broad daylight.

This may raise our hackles, as he’s gambling with the life of a character we feel very protective of, but it’s not such a huge step for the character as it may seem. Cops risk the safety of informants every time they use one, but in this situation its only really notable for how they're technically coloring outside of official DEA lines. And Hank does have better reasons for going rogue than your average Vic Mackey-figure, so I’m not ready to write him off as pure villain just yet.

I am sort of relishing that Walt has to turn to a bunch of scumbag Neo-Nazi-types to do his bidding. It really sells the scuzziness of his business, and makes it easier to root against him.

Does anyone else think that Todd and the Neo-Nazis' first move (completely without Walt's authorization, of course) will be to take out Jesse's parents and little brother, or Badger and Skinny Pete, all to send Jesse a message? Draw him out?

Part of me is hoping we'll see an Assault on Precinct 13-style climax involving heavily armed Neo-Nazis descending upon the Schrader home, riddling it with bullets, poor Gomie giving his life, while Hank, Marie, and Jesse desperately try to fight back. The minerals will come into play, somehow.

 

[SamT]

Hank bothered me a lot, it's not about the town square meeting. It's just about the way he treated Jesse. He is kind of nice to him when he is there and behind his back he considers him a low life. Not what you expect from a cop or an honest guy.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Jesse is a lowlife. He confessed to a few murders, including being involved with the murder of the dirtbike kid (Drew Sharp). For all of his being motivated by concern for children, he was helping to make drugs that were getting or could get in the hands of kids--especially when he was making his cheap shit before Walt. Hank sees him for what he is, and to him, he is just a means to getting Walt. If Heisenberg wasn't out there, nailing Jesse to the wall would be the big goal.

I like Jesse. There's no reason Hank should or would.

 

[SamT]

The last time I checked Hank was a cop and not a member of Nazi Germany. He is supposed to do his job and not judge people. I don't even care about Jesse. It's not about him. It's about Hank and the principal of what he was doing. A decent, honorable person wouldn't act like that.

 

[TravisR]

The last time I checked Hank was a cop and not a member of Nazi Germany. He is supposed to do his job and not judge people. I don't even care about Jesse. It's not about him. It's about Hank and the principal of what he was doing. A decent, honorable person wouldn't act like that.

While it isn't Hank's job to judge people, I think asking Hank to not to be judgmental of Jesse is asking him to not have normal human feeling. Hank has seen and occasionally been a direct victim of the destruction that Walt, Jesse, Gus, Mike, Todd, Lydia, etc. have done and so I think it's nearly impossible for him to have much sympathy or concern for Jesse. Plus, Hank's plan- while potentially dangerous- would have worked if Jesse had followed it. Walt would have gotten caught on tape, there was no hitman to kill Jesse and the series would have been over 4 episodes early.

I think one thing that makes me still like Jesse while disliking Walt is that Jesse actually feels pretty bad for a lot of the shit that they've done and Walt doesn't care at all.