WHAT THE F*CK! Seriously. How is there only two hours left. When thinking about this final half of a season there’s an unending correlation of stuff being resolved leading to even more new stuff yet to be resolved. Each solution seemingly begot’s multiple new problems. This is the gremlins of television shows and someone has fed Vince Gilligan well after midnight. I’ve attempted each week to hypothesize what happens next and each week I’m confronted with something completely out of left field. So far off the realm of expectation that even when I try to think of only possibilities from left field, I’m still way, way off the mark. Even if this show wasn’t brilliant across the board in acting performances, wasn’t a brilliant script, it would still be brilliant as just an exercise in story telling. Breaking Bad has somehow found the ability to buck every conventional story telling mechanic that we as an audience have been trained so well to expect from our years of television viewing. Watching Breaking Bad is more than entertainment. It’s a weekly relationship between Hollywood and it’s customers that says “we get it.” Meaning both sides understand that the other is not dumb. With that I’ll offer my smartest/favorite moments of this past Sunday’s episode.
Take it like a man Hank:
Hank dying wasn’t a revelation. I’m not going to say I thought he was definitely going to die, but when it became imminent, I wasn’t at all shocked. This goes against the expectations of most shows. When a show kills off a main character you’re supposed to be floored, you’re supposed to be affected. But Breaking Bad had conditioned us enough to expect it, a problem only one other show on television currently has, which is Game of Thrones. But when it came to Hank’s final demise it wasn’t his death that left my mouth gaping. It was the manner in which he was disposed of. Most leading characters, if they die, go down in a heaping ball of fire. Most of the time it’s dramatic, it’s drawn out, and it’s usually the punchline of an episode. But not here. Not in New Mexico, apparently the capital of meth. That moment when Hank offers dying advice to Walt by proclaiming that Todd’s uncle had decided 10 minutes ago he was going to kill him was amazing. Throughout the show I never really cared all that much for Hank and Marie, I didn’t hate them or anything, but they weren’t really my cup of tea. But in that single moment the character of Hank earned all my respect and then some. No dramatic music, no intense build up. Just a cold bullet to the head as he laid defenseless on the ground. And the perfect period (not an exclamation point because there was nothing loud or dramatic about it) to this coldly delivered sentence of death, was the way in which they just rolled Hank and Gomez’s bodies into the money-less pit. We didn’t even get to see the cliche vehicle burning (which is sort of like a viking funeral) method, favored by most television criminals, to dispose of dead bodies. And for the first time in the show’s history, I actually felt bad for Marie, really bad.
The birds and the bees:
I really wondered whether we’d see the end of the show before Walt Jr. even got a whiff of what was actually going on. I seriously thought the show might close on a scene with him completely unaware of the carnage around him just eating his cereal. Marie’s play towards Skyler was a surprising one, although not one that was out of character. When she showed up to the car wash, she showed up saying all the right things, but meaning all the wrong ones. She offered Skyler some support and help, but did so in a manner that said, “I want you to know I’m better than you.” And while her caveat for mercy was one of positive outcomes (the kid does deserve to know), it was also slathered in vengeful enjoyment. The fact that Marie needed it done right then and there in front of her definitely felt like a bit of voyeuristic fantasy for her. She got to watch as Skyler do the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. Remember up until everyone was made aware of Walt’s criminal activity, Marie was the most embarrassed character of the bunch. She had been caught shop lifting. So in a way this is Marie finally getting her retribution. Finally she wasn’t the most deplorable one of the family. The initial denial of Walt Jr. and his disbelief and willingness to hang his mother long before ever believing his dad could do anything wrong was beyond powerful.
Mrs. White in the kitchen with the knife:
Wow. Just wow with this moment. I feel like Walt Jr. is the audience in this show. Cause no matter how bad Walt ever got, there was always a modicum of likability to his character that survived with the audience. But I think that all died in that moment when he over powers his wife and turns the knife on her. I don’t think he was going to kill Skyler, but it spoke volumes to how far he’d go to do things his way. Which at this point, his intended purpose of doing everything for family diametrically opposes his actions, when you realize he’s indirectly caused the death of one family member and was a few slashy movements away from killing another. His contradiction level reaches an all time high when he ends the standoff by leaving the house with stolen baby in tow.
Phone a friend:
Walter White doesn’t always have the best plan, but he somehow stumbles into them when faced with adversity. Jesse makes this very point when he’s initially talking to Hank and Gomez and states that “…you aren’t as lucky as he is.” Which is rarely the notion people have about Walt. Most of the characters on the show just consider him masterful in his planning, but really his good luck and fortune and everyone else’s misfortune that gives him the upper hand usually. So from our perspective we see that Walt just took the baby with no plan and only considered a viable option when faced with the daughter’s all too sad cry for her mother. The phone call he has is both poignant and brilliant. And almost makes him stealing the baby worth it to Skyler. If you missed it, Walt was obviously aware that the cops were listening the whole time. His seemingly cold blooded diatribe establishing all credit / blame for everything that has happened and placing it solely on himself was his dying retribution. He knew Walter White would ceased to exist so he figured, why not bury all the guilt along with him and free Skyler and his family of any blame themselves. This has been his single moment of selflessness in this whole series. If I had to guess, I think he will find a way to get his money back to his family and probably kill the whole white supremacist clan while he’s at it.
The artist formerly known as Landry:
This is a quick and final note. Todd is easily the most intriguing and disturbing character on the show. I would pay a lot of dollars to see some form of mini series or show exploring just how bad of a sociopath he is. That scene of him taking Jesse out of the prison to cook is just so matter of fact it’s rather chilling to watch. Kudos to actor for giving such a subtly brilliant performance.
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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