Breaking Bad Review – “Rabid Dog” S5E12

Spoiler City ahead.

Poor Jesse. No one cares about him. This makes me really sad. I care about Jesse. Skyler wants him dead, Saul wants him dead, Hank doesn’t care if he’s dead or alive, and Walt just put out a hit on him (it can be assumed the last statement is true). Everyone’s reaction to Jesse throughout the episode is as if he is a “rabid dog”, except for Walt (until the end), and maybe Marie’s gesture of coffee. Hank even points out that Walt cares about Jesse, as proven by Jesse’s confession tape and Jesse responds:

It’s not only funny, but draws back to when Jesse calls Walt gay for stripping down in the RV before cooking the meth. Funny enough, Walt strips down in this episode, too. But instead of stripping down to avoid the toxic smell, he strips down to add the toxic smell. He even has his gun tucked in the back of his whitey tighties like in the Pilot episode. After coming home to find his home broken into and soaked in gasoline, Walt devises a plan. Before I get to that, the beginning teaser was the best scene of the episode. The suspense that was built when Walt is walking through his home with a gun entering the different rooms of his home until he gets to his bedroom was exhilarating.

So Walt devises his plan to cover the gasoline smell. He tries getting the carpet cleaned and when that doesn’t work, he douses his clothes and car in gasoline. Then he tries to pass off the worse lie ever, a gas pump malfunction, on Skyler and Walt Jr. Even Walt Jr. can see through it. Jr. thinks Walt may have passed out while pumping gas. That would have been a better story than a “malfunction.” Why is the lie so bad? Perhaps this is the first time that Walt has really ever been scared of Jesse. He was very close to going through with burning the house down, and Walt thinks he had a “change of heart”, but isn’t sure what that change was. He is still banking on the fact that their partnership means something.

Several times through the episode, Walt proves his love for Jesse. He calls Jesse after he finds his house gassed down and tells him he wants to talk and to fix whatever it is that’s wrong. He calls again and sets up a time and meeting place to hash it out. And when Jesse shows up, it looks like Walt has brought backup, but really Walt did show up to talk. He may actually care about Jesse, in his own sick manipulative way.

What about those keys? Why was Walt so crazy about those keys? It makes sense that he doesn’t want Skyler to know the truth, but in great BrBa fashion, there is a reason that Walt was so bent on the fact the keys had to stay the old set. This will come up again. Along those same lines, when Walt and Jr. are talking by the pool, Walt tells Jr. that cancer will not kill him. I know I’ve thought it before, but what if Walt really does die of cancer? It wouldn’t be the best ending, but ironic, no? And Marie casually mentioning to her therapist that she thinks about poisoning Walt. She has even gone so far as to look up different ways to poison people. Well, at least she’s not stealing anymore.

Because of the carpet ordeal, the Whites go to a hotel. Outside of the hotel, Walt meets with Saul and Kuby in a car. Saul utters the best line of the episode to Kuby, “I never should have let my dojo membership run out.” Yeah that dojo membership would have really helped contain Jesse last week. To Walt’s surprise, Saul’s face is the work of Jesse and Saul says, “Yeah, but you gotta understand that deep down he loves me.” The subject of abuse is used sarcastically here, but everyone is in an abusive relationship, mostly with Walt, a theme that is becoming more and more relevant. It is discussed that Jesse cannot be found, not even with Badger (Beaver?) or Skinny Pete, although they have moved away from Star Trek and have moved on to Babylon 5. Saul then suggests that once they find Jesse, he should be put down like Old Yeller. Later when Skyler goes all Mrs. Heisenberg and suggests that talking to Jesse is not enough, Walt becomes very defensive to both Saul and Skyler. He insists that killing Jesse is not an option, even though they both think it is. His reaction to it suggests he is as loyal to keeping Jesse alive as he is Hank.

When Jesse is in the midst of dousing the White residence down, Hank enters. I gotta say, I knew that Hank was leaving work to go to confront Walt. I am glad I was right, but from here on out, I am not happy with the result. It would have been nice to see Jesse and Walt team back up like the good ole days, but it seems that will not happen again. Jesse goes back to Hank’s house and eventually tells his story to Hank and Gomey, who is now in on the investigation. Jesse being allowed in to a DEA agents home is interesting for two reasons. Its safer for Jesse, but more dangerous for Hank. Not only does Jesse, a meth addict and murderer, know where Hank lives, but Hank could also be fired for harboring a known criminal and not turning that known criminal in. I think what Hank did there was illegal. And he and Gomez both agree with Jesse that there is no physical evidence in Jesse’s account, though Jesse did give them a lot of info. They still have the possibility of Lydia, Saul and Todd. Instead, they decide to wire Jesse. Jesse tells them that wiring is not going to work. He fears that Walt has set up to kill him. He lets Hank and Gomez know that Walt is smarter than they are. He is still a little enchanted by Walt. He calls him The Devil, but makes it clear that Walt is very intelligent, lucky and is capable of anything.

Jesse’s confession isn’t seen on camera, but we do know that he gave up a lot based off things Hank mentions after the taping. But the one thing we do see is Jesse say that Walt was his teacher. Has Jesse finally learned from Walt how to beat Walt? When he goes to the Plaza with the wire to talk with Walt, he thinks he will be killed by a guy who turns out to be a random bystander. Instead, he calls Walt from a pay phone and tells him that next time he is going to go after Walt where he “really lives.”

This is not the face of someone who is playing nice anymore.

Where does Walt really live? Is it his family? Is Jesse outsmarting Walt by saying this, or killing himself? When Hank picks him up in the van, Jesse tells Hank he has a “better way” of getting Walt. What is this better way? Hank won’t go for killing the family. It seems a little willy-nilly on Jesse’s part, but I hope he has something fantastical up his sleeve. And of course, Walt has things up his sleeve. The episode closes with Walt calling Todd asking for his uncle to do a job for him. Walt knows that Jesse is threatening his family and as loyal as Walt has been to Jesse, it is clear Jesse is no longer loyal to him.

Little Things

-Jesse drinks his coffee out of a DEA mug.

-Hank calls Jesse “partner” after he puts the wire on Jesse. Jesse pauses for a moment. He will never be Hank’s partner. He’s being used in an even more obvious way than Walt has been working him over.

– Gus Fring also hired other people to do his dirty work, but as we saw in last weeks episode, Todd’s uncle is not the clean killer Victor was. It won’t just go off without a hitch.

– Where is Lydia?

-The Hello Kitty phone. And that awesome ringtone. Is Hello Kitty the mascot of season 5b like the teddy bear was to season 2?

Predictions

I have said that the M-60 has got to be for the Aryan gang and that they aren’t happy with Walt. My new theory is that either Todd or the Uncle come to kill Jesse and Jesse kills them first, leaving the rest of the Aryans to think Walt set them up and now they are after him.

Hush Comics gives Breaking Bad‘s “Rabid Dog” a B+. Too much time was spent on the fake gasoline story and not enough time on what Jesse said to Hank or what he was thinking threatening Walt. Props to the acting, the suspense in the teaser scene, the emergence of Mrs. Heisenberg, and Jesse’s newly discovered leadership.

written by Adrian Puryear

Breaking Bad Review – “Confessions” S5E11

You know the deal.. there will be spoilers.

Breaking Bad‘s “Confessions” started right off with a confession… of sorts.  Like most dialogue in the show and particularly this episode, the confession is only a half-truth.  The “loose end” still running around, Todd, calls Walt from a cell phone off of Route 66.  He leaves a voicemail and is so polite.  That Todd is really a gem.  He, much like Jesse, addresses Walt as “Mr. White” and is cordial enough to consider his “retirement”.  He then confesses to Walt that Declan and he had a disagreement.  But he leaves out some very important stuff.  That Declan was murdered, that Declan’s whole crew was murdered, that Lydia called the hit and and that Todd and his Uncle’s Aryan gang stole Declan’s meth lab.  He also neglects to say that he, Todd, is now the meth cook and that the cook will be coming back to Albuquerque.  I still believe that this could become a factor in the DEA’s investigation, if there is one.  Todd and the two head guy’s of the Aryan gang eat at a diner while Todd excitedly divulges the details of the train heist.  The one he wasn’t supposed to talk about.  To anyone!  And of course the other two are eating up his wild tale.  And I say tale because Todd leaves out the most important part of the heist: Drew Sharp’s murder.  The older men joke about Todd being like Burt Reynolds in a 70’s film called Hooper, about a stuntman who is the best in Hollywood.  Todd is far from Burt Reynolds.

Todd could never pull that look off… even if he can jump off a moving train.

Todd’s Uncle and cohort ask Todd if he is ready to run his own lab and Todd assures them that he is.  Is Todd really ready?  He started a fire at his last cook and no longer has Walt to guide him.  Todd being the cook will not work out well.  The two older Aryans go to the restroom and one of them wipes his bloody shoe with a wet paper towel and then flushes it. Sloppy.  Dirty.  Not a Gus.  Not a Heisenberg.  These guys will be caught or they will continue to play a dirty game.  I’m still guessing that the final showdown will be between Walt and the gang.  I believe the shot of them driving the barrel of methylamine to the Land of Enchantment will be known as classis in Breaking Bad.

We then come to Jesse in the interrogation room.  We see the asshole cops questioning him from his perspective in fast motion.  Then Hank enters.  From this moment on, this episode was a roller coaster.  Such suspense.  Hank turns off the video tape.  Hank then offers Jesse the deal:  He knows the Heisenberg is his brother-in-law… so Jesse must give up Walt and then his own charges will disappear.  Hank reads the situation very well.  He predicts problems with Jesse and Walt.  But Jesse easily throws the last encounter he had with Hank in his face, recalling when Hank beat the living shit out of Jesse.  Hank then says something that becomes very important for Jesse, “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”  Well of course he did.  He’s done a number on everyone.  Hank then tries to empathize with Jesse and the relationship they both have with Walt and their hatred for him.  He asks Jesse if he wants to talk and Jesse says, “Not to you.”  Does this mean that he will talk to someone else?  It’s a possibility I will not reject yet.  Saul enters the interrogation room and he is not happy.  He also infers that Jesse was told about Hank’s revelation.  We cut to Walt on his cell phone (is it the second cell phone?) demanding Saul use the money Walt paid him to bail Jesse out.  Walt Jr. comes home and asks Walt about his whereabouts the night before.  Walt uses make-up to cover his bruises from his fall.  Walt Jr. tells Walt that he is going to Marie’s because she needs help with her computer.  And then Walt stops his son from leaving.  If you watched “Talking Bad” Sam Jackson said that Walt doesn’t play his family, but he does!  He plays Walt Jr. by choosing the moment when Marie is going to tell Jr. about his dad’s drug business to confess his cancer is back.  The Heisenberg has worked his magic on his son just to ensure that his reputation isn’t damaged.

Hank comes home and tells Marie that he didn’t tell the DEA.  She is very upset.  Hank’s pride gets in the way and he tells her he needs to follow his leads.  We cut to the White bedroom.  Skyler asks Walter if he is “sure” and he assures her “it is the only way”.  He sits down on the bed and Skyler has a video camera set up in front of Walt.  Is this about to be the worst sex tape ever, you ask?  No.  It is Walt’s confession, homage to the pilot episode and Walt’s selfie video-taped confession.  But that was back when Walt was still Mr. White.  This is Heisenberg’s confession laced with the weavings of Mrs. Heisenberg.  Also, Walt’s middle name is said again.  Hartwell, in case that ever comes up.

Skyler and Walt wait at a table in a brightly colored Mexican restaurant in silence while festive music plays in the background.  Hank and Marie sit with them and the tension is thick. Everyone is sitting stiff and staring at each other. And then in the most uncomfortable, yet much needed way, the server Trent welcome the group in a very excited way.  Can anyone say a w k w a r d?

Not the family dinner I’m used to.

Walt tells the Schraders that this meeting is not about the business or a confession, but rather about the safety of Walt Jr. and luring him is not going to work.  There is a lot of back and forth about the investigation and the children’s safety and Walt’s cancer.  And then Marie says the most extreme thing possible.  Walt should commit suicide.  To which Hank and Skyler both say no, obviously for much different reasons.  Hank tells Walt to be a man and then Walt and Skyler leave, leaving the DVD of Walt’s confession on the table.  I am hoping because of this discussion and what winds up being on that tape, this is the last family moment we see.  Nothing good can come for anything like that again. UPDATE: After re-watching the episode, I notice during this scene that Skyler and Walt are both wearing white while the Schrader’s are wearing dark colors. Good vs Evil?  Who should we be rooting for here?  It’s been something viewers have been asking themselves for years.

Hank and Marie go home and watch the tape.  It begins with Walt saying that if the tape is being watched, he is dead and has been murdered by Hank himself.  He then so intricately goes into the details as to why Hank is the ring leader of the meth empire.  He links Hank to the drug bust he and Walt went to in the first episode, to Gus Fring as his partner, to the money used to pay for Hank’s medical bills, Hector Salamanca, Walt’s children staying with Hank and that Hank used Walt as his cook the whole time.  Hank quickly realizes this is Walt’s threat if Hank continues the investigation.  Hank also figures out that Marie knows about the specific amount Walt mentions in the tape.  Hank now knows that he can very easily be pegged as the Heisenberg because his medical debts were paid with meth money.

Saul and Jesse are in the desert waiting for Walt.  A tarantula crawls by.  The last time we saw a tarantula was when Todd kept the one that Drew Sharp had been keeping in a jar, just like Walt holds on to his murder victims “trinkets”.This tarantula is loose here because the secrets are out, or they will be.  Walt arrives and checks Saul’s car for bugs.  Jesse and Walt discuss Jesse’s meeting with Hank.  When Saul mentions that Jesse’s antics cost Walt a lot of money, Walt asks Saul to step away.  Walt then suggests to Jesse that if he wants to be happy, he should start over and not look back.  He then mentions the man Saul knows who can create new lives.  Walt tells Jesse it would be a “clean slate.”  Walt says that he wishes he could do the same.  But now we know, that the future scenes are exactly that: somehow they have “switched” and Walt has opted for a clean slate.  Jesse sees through Walt and tells him to drop the act.  Jesse knows that he needs to leave or Walt will kill him, just like Mike.  Jesse flips Walt’s own words on him saying “Tell me you NEED this!”  Jesse breaks down and Walt gives him an awesome hug.  It was a sincere moment in acting.  Jesse is broken and Walt is still playing Jesse for a fool, or so he thinks.

At the car wash, Walt assures Skyler their plan worked.  As he talks to her, he is standing in the shadows and his silhouette looks incredibly ominous while Skyler sits in the light.  When She turns to look at him, half her face is covered in shadows.  The imagery is a beautiful way of saying that without Walt, Skyler wouldn’t be bad.  At the station, Gomez asks Hank why there are DEA agents following Jesse.  Hank tells him to remove the agents without explanation.  At this point, Hank is at a standstill with his investigation.  Saul and Jesse discuss the importance of the call Saul will make for Jesse’s new life.  Saul calls and asks for a new dust filter for his Hoover Max Extract PressurePro model 60.  Ya know, in case you need to know that too.  Saul gives Jesse money to start his life while Jesse lights up a joint from his pocket.  Saul gets very stern about not smoking pot.  Jesse is clearly nervous about starting over.  Is it because of what he is leaving behind?  Is it the uncertainty of the future?  We will never know.  Saul gives Jesse a phone in case anything happens.  Jesse is not happy with the Hello Kitty phone.

Seriously? Thank you to the Heisenberg Chronicles for this one.

Jesse says he wants to go to Alaska.  Maybe Jesse is a fan of “Into the Wild”.  As Jesse leaves Saul’s office, Huell very quickly takes Jesse’s baggie of weed out of his pocket.

Since there was so much speculation on this on the net tonight, I wanted to show the baggie being taken. Jesse is a smart guy.  He did not jump to conclusions.

As Jesse waits for his ride to Alaska, he looks for the baggie, but realizes it is gone.  He looks at his pack of cigarettes and realizes this isn’t the first time that someone has taken something out of his pocket.  He realizes the ricin in the Roomba couldn’t have been ricin and that Walt really did poison Brock.  He chooses not to take the ride in the red mini van, but walks back to town.

Jesse in a rage busts into Saul’s office and confronts him about Huell taking things out of his pocket.  Saul tries to reach for a gun, but Jesse is quicker at grabbing it.  Jesse then clarifies that the ricin cigarette is what Huell stole.  Aaron Paul’s acting in this scene is phenomenal.  He is so scary, so outraged it is palpable.

That is the face of a desperate man.

Saul admits the ricin was lifted but that Walt made him.  He also claims to not know about Brock being poisoned.  Jesse steals Saul’s keys and as he leaves, Saul calls Walt.  Walt then speeds to the car wash and tries to act cavalier to Skyler, talking inanely about the latch on the soda machine.  He opens the machine up and gets a gun out of the bottom.  The gun is frozen.  Would a frozen gun really work?  I’ll tell ya, I’m not gonna keep my guns in the freezer.  It’s just not trusty.

Then in the last scene, Jesse pulls something that I’m not sure whether to cheer or yell W.T.F.?!  He speeds to the White residence (saying house sounds too weird), takes a gas tank out of Saul’s trunk, kicks in Walt’s door (like Hank threatened to do earlier in the episode), and starts spreading the gasoline throughout the living room. AHHHHHH!  What will happen now?  It is doubtful Jesse will be able to pull off torching the house.  It isn’t burnt in the flash-forwards.  Will Walt’s children strike a chord in Jesse’s heart?  Will he narc Walt out?  Will Walt kill Jesse?  I don’t know, but I do know that this episode was fantastic!  I am super stoked for next week.

Hush Comics gives “Confessions” an A +, for Heisenberg coming back in true form, for the return of the Hello Kitty phone, ultimate suspense throughout, and for the phenomenal acting that Aaron Paul put on as the tragic Jesse Pinkman

written by Adrian Puryear