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.
Jeff: I don’t even know where to begin. What an incredible episode! As everything falls apart, Breaking Bad is rewarding fans by making it all come together into one of the best, most intense finales ever. And that wasn’t even the finale. We have two episodes left. How on Earth do they top that? What stuck out to you most about this episode? I know there’s a lot to cover.
Chris: There is a lot to cover. Hank. Jesse. Holly. But I think what stands out the most to me was Skyler standing up to Walt. This made Walt realize that what he had been doing was never about his family, he had just been fooling himself. Everything he does makes things worse for them and now, at least I think, he knows.
Jeff: You think so? I think this episode showed to extremes of Walter. Ultimately, like most people, he values self-preservation above all else. However, this episode showed his evil side as well as his good side. There are two scenes in particular I’m thinking of, and for me, they were the best in the whole episode.
Chris: Well, you can’t just leave me hanging there. Get to it.
Jeff: I’m thinking of when Walter gave up Jesse, and made it worse by telling him about Jane (never thought that would happen!), and then the phone call he made at the end. Probably my favorite scene in the whole series. He is going full-on Heisenberg, but it’s all just an act to protect his family, specifically Skyler. It was amazing watching him cry while he played the tough guy one last time.
Chris: So you think that the phone call was all an act. That he was trying to absolve Skyler of any involvement, get her off the hook so to say?
Jeff: Without a doubt. It was clearly an act made clear by his tears and the look on his face. He had to stop several times to pull it together and play Heisenberg.
Chris: I guess I just overlooked that. I was still so stunned by the abduction of Holly that I didn’t know which side was up. All I remember about the phone call was what was happening at the house. It all sounded so damn evil and I didn’t care what was going on with Walt because of what he had already done to destroy his family just a few hours before. Maybe that was his way of saying he was sorry.
Jeff: What he was doing was pure Walter. Calculated. He knew the police and Marie would be there. He knew they would be listening. He said “it was all me” to absolve her. He said Hank wouldn’t be coming back so Marie would know. Watch it again. It was just an incredible scene. But I wonder if Skyler realizes he was trying to do one last good thing. I kind of doubt it, but he did.
Chris: I’m sure, but even so… I’m not sure If I buy it. Sure, he has nearly always been one step ahead of everyone but I’m having trouble buying that his taking Holly was calculated. That he was able to formulate that plan after seeing his wife and son turn on him and do it instantly. Even for the great Walter White, it seems a bit of a stretch.
Jeff: He came to his senses and did what he could to clean up the situation. And then he dropped the baby off at the firehouse, because he knew taking her was wrong. He has done a lot of bad to his family, but he did what he could to keep it contained. Jesse, on the other hand, brought out his evil side. Dear God, man.
Chris: Yeah, but I could understand why. Despite all this actually being Walt’s fault, in that moment he viewed Jesse as the reason Hank was dead. If Jesse had just done what Walt asked, Hank would have been alive but he didn’t, he chose to work with Hank and doomed them all in the process. Jesse is in a worse place than he would have been if they killed him in the desert now and I think Walt takes some pleasure in that.
Jeff: Poor, poor Jesse. I’m really upset about how things are turning out for him, and I can only hope he finds a way to get out of that. Despite his main flaw of being addicted to drugs, he is the only person on that show with a truly good heart. Yes, even above Hank, Marie, Skyler, etc. He’s just a good guy, and the way Walter gave him up was heartbreaking. And wow, my jaw dropped when Walter decided to tell Jesse that he let Jane die, just to rub it in.
Chris: I know it was dumb but for a moment or two there I held out hope that Walt would rescue Jesse and the two of them would take on Todd’s uncle’s goons. I think Jesse and Walt are meant for each other, kindred spirits of a sort. But that wasn’t going to happen. That would be a happy ending and this show doesn’t deserve a happy ending. At this point, I only see this ending one of two ways. Walt killing everyone and then Jesse or Walt killing everyone and Jesse killing him.
Jeff: Yeah, I think there is still a possibility of Walter and Jesse teaming up again somehow. Maybe that’s just me being hopeful, but I think we know why Walter needs that giant machine gun now. He is going after the Aryans, I think. Either for the money, or Jesse, or both.
Chris: I think it might be a combination of those and revenge. Walt doesn’t like being crossed and Todd’s uncle certainly did that, even if they did shake on it and call it square. Heisenberg has a long memory and now Walt has nothing left to lose.
Jeff: The only reason Walter shook on it was that was the only way he would get out of that desert alive. He was not happy with the way things turned out. I mean, the Aryans could have taken everything and shot Walter in the head and buried him, but what they did was still very damaging to Walter. They took most of his money and killed his brother-in-law, which I think it is worth noting, Walter begged them to spare. Another instance of Walter showing his good side. I think in the end, he really is more Walter than Heisenberg, but he had to play Heisenberg to be successful in organized crime.
Chris: For as perfect as Walt often comes off in his dealings and schemes, he really is just a really flawed person and I think this episode he finally realized how much he has screwed things up. The Aryans leaving him alive though was probably the worst thing they could have done. Shit is going to go down and it won’t be pretty for them.
Jeff: I agree. It’s funny to think that everything is falling apart because of some low-level criminals when Walter took out Gus Fring, who ran an entire region of the country. But I guess that’s how it happens sometimes. Still, like you said, they should not have let Walter live. He has lost everything now, so he will come after them. He has nothing left to lose.
One last thing. Hank. How did you feel about that?
Chris: Him dying?
Jeff: His death and how they handled it.
Chris: I thought it was classic Hank. He had been doing this long enough that he knew what was up before it happened. It was nice to see Hank not back down and in the end turn to Walt and say, that he couldn’t believe Walt didn’t know this was how it was going to end.
Jeff: Yeah, I thought his final line to Walter was priceless, and I agree with you 100 percent. Classic Hank. A fitting end to his character. At least he had that one moment of happiness at the end of the previous episode, where he thought he had finally caught the bad guy.
Chris: Turns out, that just like in real life, there are too many bad guys to catch them all.
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