Warning: Breaking Back and Forth is a weekly feature where Chris and Jeff discuss the latest episode of Breaking Bad in detail. So if you haven’t seen the episode yet, you should probably hold off on reading any further.
Chris: So the first episode of the final run is in the books. A lot of stuff to process now that it’s over, and while some questions were answered, more were posed. I guess we should start at the beginning though.
Jeff: Screw the beginning! I think we need to start at what surprised me most (and I’m assuming most other viewers). They didn’t waste any time on that confrontation between Walter and Hank. I thought they would draw it out, having Hank and Walter play cat and mouse with each other.
Chris: Sure, I figured at least another episode to let that stew. Although, with only seven left, there isn’t much time. The opening though spoiled a bit of that anyway.
Jeff: Yeah, let’s go back and talk about the opening. Those first two minutes. I knew what was going to happen for a couple weeks now, and you wouldn’t let me talk about it with you. So now that you’ve finally seen it, what do you think?
Chris: I loved it. It worked perfectly. Seeing Walter, who has been so in control of himself over the course of the series, look downright broken was pretty emotional. The entire scene was just Walter and his thoughts. You can see he’s thinking back to happier times in the house but it is all gone now.
Jeff: There is also a lot of information buried within that short scene. ‘Heisenberg’ written on the wall. The ricin. The fact that his house is abandoned. It’s crazy to think that he’s going from the Walter of this episode to that in just seven episodes. I wonder where it goes from here.
Chris: To the depths of hell, I’d guess. It is obvious that some sort of law enforcement agency has moved on him, and that the information is public. The most telling thing for me about the entire scene though was after he leaves the house and is getting ready to get in his car. His neighbor is just standing there, staring and he looks over and says, “Hi Carol.” It was surreal.
Jeff: Yeah, and then they show him saying hi to her in the present, and everything is fine. Any thoughts on the ricin? I believe he is going to use it on himself.
Chris: He certainly seems like the likely user of the ricin. I’d like to think it all ties into one last crazy scheme but I have a feeling you are right, though, why not just use it there in the house?
Jeff: Maybe as an insurance measure? Like, if he gets caught, he can take it and ensure that he dies quickly, instead of being in jail and having to go through a painful death with cancer? But back to the heart of the episode, it felt kind of slow-paced for a typical Breaking Bad episode. It really felt like a premiere, where you get to catch up on what’s going on in the characters’ lives. It’s too bad about Jesse succumbing to guilt and addiction again, but that is very true to his character.
Chris: The episode was very slow-paced, and for as much information as we got out of it, not a lot happened. It was mostly just everyone trying to move on. Except for Hank. But on Jesse, yeah, you can’t really blame him for taking that route. While Jesse does bad things, he doesn’t strike me as a bad person, just misguided, and these happenings have to be eating away at him. Because you know, he has a soul, unlike a certain other person.
Jeff: Exactly. Jesse actually seems to feel guilt about things more than most people, and that’s what makes me like him. He is the moral center of this show. However, his emotions tend to make him do stupid things, such as going back to using (was he smoking meth or just smoking pot?) and, for instance, giving away all his money. That scene with him driving down the street tossing bundles of money on peoples’ lawn was funny, but that will definitely get noticed and probably put on the news. Also, there are important fingerprints on that money. I wonder how Jesse plays into this final season. Does he become a problem? Does he confess to the DEA???
Chris: I think he already is a problem for Walter, and I fear that because Jesse is Walt’s conscience that he is going to end up with a grenade in his lap.
Jeff: I’m thinking the same thing, which is kind of sad, and probably not far off from what will happen. I like Jesse so much as a character that I actually wanted him to clean up, outsmart Walter, and become the king. Of course, this was before season five played out the way it did.
Chris: Yeah the cards have been dealt and now its just seeing how the hand plays out. Speaking of which, Hank showed his cards really early and we now know that the Walt/Hank showdown is going to play out a bit more openly than I had anticipated.
Jeff: Yeah, that really surprised me and got the adrenaline flowing. It’s going to play out more openly and quickly than expected. We’re in for a roller coaster ride. I also like how Walt slipped back into Heisenberg mode once being confronted by Hank.
Chris: He really turned it on in the end. He went from being normal, concerned Walter to the crazed drug kingpin he had become in the blink of an eye. His closing line really shook everything to its core.
Jeff: Tread lightly! That scene made the episode. Also, on a completely unrelated note, do you think Lydia could become a problem?
Chris: She seems like an unnecessary loose end, but I think she needs to be cleaned up and, I think you know what that means.
Jeff: Yeah, she’s getting put into a barrel at some point, along with Jesse, Hank, and anyone else who gets in Heisenberg’s way. But who will be Walter’s final nemesis? The one that finally takes him out? We are in for a ride.
Chris: Yeah, a crazy two month roller coaster.
Jeff: Indeed. It will be funny when Skyler walks away with everything, and the entire Internet is pissed.
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