Breaking Points: Breaking Bad’s Final Season (Episode 9)

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As with most great things coming to an end, we all have our concerns, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more confident in a shows personnel to handle their property better than Breaking Bad.  From the beginning of the show every episode has left me with moments that really leave me admiring the work of Vince Gillian and co., so I thought, what best way to memorialize the final season than to offer up these moments on a weekly basis. Also there’s enough recaps on the internet as it is. Here’s my “Breaking Points”.

Nothing Wasted:

The opening scene, opening minutes, opening seconds, are amazing right away.  Is there anything that sounds more menacing than a skateboard.  To open with nothing but the whirring sound of skateboard wheels jumping in and out of an empty pool immediately puts you on edge.  Post “life-apocalypse” Walter White makes a cameo again showing up to his home that’s now taped off and is in shambles, to retrieve the poison he stored behind the outlet in his bedroom.  Had it not been for the “previously on…” segment to open the show I would’ve been flabbergasted by this moment.  I had completely forgot about that tidbit of detail.  This is what makes this show brilliant, and within the show this is what makes Walter White brilliant.  He much like the show leaves no stone un-turned (more on this later).

 

“Hello Carol”:

To give two opening scenes and to book end them so well is a class move. The dichotomy of Walter going good and giving up the business and having an uber-cordial interaction with his neighbor, who waives back in the friendliest of manners, and the opening scene where Walter looks as if he’s gone full bad and the neighbor receiving the same “Hello Carol”, only to drop her groceries in fear is so enjoyable to watch.  They take two very cliché, usually throw away moments on any other show, and they use them to strike balance.  Cliche being the friendly neighbor watering their lawn waving hello, and the other side of the coin, the frightened citizen dropping their bag in fear, as their produce rolls out to the street.  Alone these moments are generic, but combined and contrasted they make a perfect duet.

 

Breaking Mad:

Even though Walt is the one with recurring cancer, Jesse more so has the look of a returning chemo patient. I guess in a way Mr. White is his cancer, that through out the show has given and taken away life and happiness from Jesse at his own whim.  Jesse seems to be cracking or already has cracked.  The fact that he wants to send Mike’s niece money without ever being explicitly told that Mike is dead shows that Jesse knows Walter better than anyone.  He realized that if Walt is getting out of the game, and did organize that hit on all of Mike’s guys, Walt would have to look behind his back for the rest of his life, and Jesse knows he wouldn’t stand for that.  The moment Walter brings Jesse’s money back is interesting, cause in the past Jesse would’ve done anything to believe the prettier, less sadistic story Walt was trying to convince him of by telling him Mike was alive and well.  But you can see it on Jesse’s face, his hope has all but ran out.  His breakdown moment of playing lottery paper boy and tossing out free stacks of money in a poor neighborhood was a powerful scene.

 

Tread Lightly:

It’s no surprise by now that Breaking Bad knows how to close an episode.  The final scene is probably the best in this episode. It’s so interesting to watch Walter White, and at the same time Bryan Cranston, flip the on/off switch on his character’s demeanor.  What’s great about Walt is that he’s not your usual villain.  He plays his hands out till he’s absolutely forced to fold.  It’s so awesome to see him not budge on his friendly brother in-law character till the bitter end.  What’s extra special about this scene is the fact that most shows would spend a whole season with near missed interactions, and failed face to face visits between the hero and villain, and yet, Breaking Bad says fuck it puts these two not only in direct contact, but in a “caged” room.  The two most bad ass moments happen in this closing scene.  First is Hank’s non verbal response to Walter asking about the GPS tracker he found on his car by simply closing the garage door and nailing Walt with a hay-maker. It would seem at this moment Hank has the upper hand, but obviously no one gets the upper hand on old W.W.  Walt’s closing lines in response to Hank telling him he doesn’t know who he is, is beyond classic and sends a few chills down everyone’s spine.

“If that’s true, if you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly”

Fuck, now I wish I just stayed under a rock and could binge watch all eight episodes.  Guess I’ll just have to wait till next Sunday.

Matt Cargile

About Matt Cargile

Matt Cargile is the Editor in Chief of rookerville.com. He also works in finance, but refuses to read any news printed on pink paper. He is a child at heart with adult means. His childhood dream was to either become a magician or the leader of the next great empire and somehow both these things make complete sense. He's contradictory in nature, but is always consistent.

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