Breaking Bad Week: Series Defining Episodes

Breaking Bad has been a series to help define modern television.  It is one of the smartest series to exist to date.  The writing is impeccable, bringing a myriad of literary techniques to the screen.  Not only is the dialogue memorable, but so is the vast amount of symbolism.  The character development is of such high caliber that it becomes obvious how the characters changing has also influenced the show changes.  With that being said, we felt there were certain episodes that changed the course of the series in the most dramatic ways.  Here are our Series Defining Episodes:

7. Blood Money

“Tread lightly.” The quote still sends shivers down my skin. This is the turning point of the series; Hank had just gotten the epiphany (or rather, the epoophany) that Walt had been the Heisenberg all along. Instead of quietly searching through the evidence for any proof, or telling anybody at the DEA, his pride leads him to confront Walt after Walt asks him about the LoJack he sloppily placed on the Chrysler 300. He decks Walt in the face and lets out all his anger to him. We can see the hurt and anger in Hank’s face, but Walt is still calm and in command. He advises Hank that he needs to drop the case, because he has no idea what the Heisenberg is capable of. It sets the rest of the season in motion, and truly marks the beginning of the downfall of the empire – all ironically when Walt is finally out of it. It’s also the end of Jesse and Walt’s relationship. Jesse knows that Walt killed Mike, the only true father figure to him through the series, and we realize that Walt has no power over anybody anymore. He pleads Jesse to believe that his hands are clean, because he needs him to.

6. Face-Off

Gus Fring represented a new type of “bad guy.” Unlike Krazy 8 and Tuco, Gustavo Fring didn’t have to be the villain. Gus gave Walt several opportunities to be a good asset to the business, and Walt was the one that proved to be the the sloppy, unpredictable one. It’s a theme that is consistent through The Walking Dead comics – it’s the realization that maybe our protagonist isn’t a good guy. A lot of fans were polarized by this because Gus Fring (an oddly charismatic character) didn’t have to be the villain, but Walt’s arrogance and greed put Gus in a situation with no choice in the matter. Walt poisons a little boy and throws Jesse right into the fire to save his own ass. He even literally uses Hector Salamanca to do his dirty work in killing Gus. “Face Off” marks Walt’s fall into villainy. While he does what he does out of the fear of his family’s safety, Walt proves that it’s little more than a pissing contest to him, telling Skyler “I won” after the deed was done.

Dafuq??

5. One Minute

This episode is about much more than Hank’s parking lot stand-off with the Salamanca cousins. It marks the turning point for when Hank stopped being a jerk off and became a hero that we all rooted for. Hank Schrader was simply caught in the web that Gus Fring and Walter White had weaved for him. Hank was the sacrificial lamb Gus gave to the cartel hitmen, Marco and Leonel Salamanca, or so it seemed. The episode really showed us that Gus Fring is not simply your neighborhood “Chicken Man.” He is a manipulator, and with the botched attempt at agent Schrader’s life, he causes the death of a major cartel capo. More importantly though, this episode marks Hank’s true cross into lawlessness. The beatdown that he gives Jesse can be interpreted as his frustration that a junkie got the better of him, and not as much being about Marie. As we see later in the series, Hank hates to lose and will bend the law pretty far to make sure that he doesn’t. “One Minute” also captures the tragedy of Jesse; while Jesse undergoes even more tragedy, he never words his feelings quite as honestly as in this episode.

This is how an average day at Wal-Mart ends.

4. Phoenix

“Phoenix” was defining in so many ways.  Walt just missed the birth of his daughter.  He claims to be doing everything he does for his family for the entire series, but it is a rare occurrence when he is actually there for his family.  Missing Holly’s birth continued Walt’s dead-beat daddy routine.   Walt Jr. sets up a website for Walt’s cancer treatment, savewalterwhite.com.  It highlights Jr.’s kind heart and what he thinks of his dad, or probably the man he used to know.  But as so well stated in this episode, Walt is not the man he used to be.  He mars the point of Jr.’s website and allows Saul to use it as a money laundering technique for the meth business.  Walt will continue to ruin nice things for the sake of the money he makes.  Most importantly, “Phoenix” defines the series because of what happens to Jane Margolis, Jesse’s girlfriend.  In the duration of the episode, Jane lies to her father about using again, lies to him about seeing Jesse, blackmails Walt into giving Jesse his fair share of money, and helps Jesse shoot up a combo of meth and heroin.  She shoots up the mixture herself.  Walt goes to Jesse’s house while the two are both passed out due to the drugs.  Walt tries to wake up Jesse, seemingly to talk about his drug abuse, and in the process of shaking him, causes Jane to roll onto her back.  She begins to vomit and choke.  Walt looks on at her with his hand covering his mouth.  He knows he has every opportunity to roll her on to her side, but instead he chooses to let her choke and die on her own vomit.  This act, or rather, lack of act, set in motion not only the pain that Jesse endures from Walt, but the fact that Walt is willing to let go of anybody as long as it benefits him.

I only set my DVR to 60 minutes…

3. Dead Freight

“Dead Freight” is the episode that really changed the game.  Not only was it masterfully pieced together, it influenced the rest of the series up until the tonight’s finale.  With a serious lack of methylamine, Walt, Jesse and Mike devise a plan using Lydia to get what they need.  According to Lydia, there is “an ocean” of the methylamine in trains that run in the northern part of New Mexico.  The three men plan to  rob the train, replacing it with water to make up for the weight difference when the train is weighed.  With Todd, the worker from Vamanos Pest, in tow, they are able to stop the train with a road block.  Todd is at the top of the train with the hose to release the water, Jesse is on the bottom of the train to release the methylamine, Mike is radioing Walt to tell him what is happening at the front of the train and Walt is counting off the gallons.  The train starts moving with Todd still on the top and Jesse still on the tracks.  In the end everything goes off without a hitch.  Except that Walt made it clear to Todd that no one can know what they did.  So after their short celebration, they turn and see a young teenage boy on his motorbike.  Todd without hesitation raises his gun and shoots the boy, killing him.  The episode ends there, with Jesse screaming “No!” but the effects of that one action have continued to take their toll.  Jesse got out of the meth-game because of it, Todd has been revealed to be an even bigger piece of trash since, Walt killed Mike, and Hank is dead.  And it all leads to Walt’s stupidity of trusting Todd at the train heist in the first place.

Dead-eyed Opie son of a bitch

2. The Pilot

In a 45-minute period, we meet a normal high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, who turns into a meth cook.  We saw his life quickly spiral out of control in one episode.  He is diagnosed with cancer, turns 50, quits his part-time job, goes on a meth-lab bust with his DEA brother-in-law, reunites with an old student of his, and decides to cook meth with said student, Jesse Pinkman aka Cap’n Cook.  Walt and Jesse cook meth together, and Jesse takes it to his friend Krazy-8, who was part of the meth bust Walt was a part of.  Krazy-8 is upset with Jesse about the bust for leaving his cousin, Emilio to be caught by the cops, so he questions the high quality of the cook.  Jesse is forced to take the two druggies out to the desert to the RV he and Walt bought to cook meth in.  Jesse lets Walt know they are in danger, promptly trips and Krazy-8 and Emilio beat him up badly.  Then they force Walt to teach them how to cook the meth he made.  Instead, he uses red phosphorus to kill them.  Or at least just Emilio.  There are so many decisions made in this episode that could have avoided the decay of this man everything he touches.  Without being on the car ride with the DEA or seeing Jesse, or decided to cook meth at all, Walt may be dead because of cancer, or he may be alive and just in debt.  But for such a prideful man, we know that he couldn’t live with constantly being at the bottom of the food chain.  His pride alone set in motion the consequences of the rest of Breaking Bad.

My life after Breaking Bad

1. Ozymandias

If you’re a family member of Walt’s, sorry, you don’t get any free trips to Belize. After several offers to off his brother-in-law, Walt’s twisted sense of morality keeps him from taking out his one real threat to him and his empire. Picking up at the end of the shootout that began in “To’hajiilee,” we see a very weak Walter White pleading the Uncle Jack and the Aryans to spare Hank’s life (oh, and Gomey’s dead already). This is the same man who was a hardened criminal that ordered Jack to murder ten men in prison. In a panic, Walt offers Jack and crew $80 million to turn their back. The Aryans counter Walt’s offer by killing Hank and taking all of him money for themselves. Walt’s two treasures are his family and his money – and in just one segment, they are both stripped from him. It’s not as satisfying as I thought it would be, and is instead terrifyingly tragic. In a panic to make his family disappear with the remainder of the cash that Todd convinced Jack to leave him with, Skyler deduces that Hank is dead and that it is Walt’s fault. When Skyler and Walt get in a tuft over the kitchen knife, Walter Jr. becomes the man that must protect the family from the man that protects this family (cue Inception music. Baauumm!). Not to mention Walt’s ultimate sacrifice of absolving Skyler and saying goodbye to baby Holly, who he realizes he does not even know due to his exploits of the Heisenberg. Plot aside, there is so much symbolism in this episode, most of it stemming from the first cook. The call-backs to the Pilot remind us of a simpler time, a simpler lie. Walt has been broken by Hank’s murder, and in turn, his wife and child have abandoned him. “Ozymandias” does a superb job of making a full-circle to the beginning of the series. Not too be hyperbolic, but this is one of the best episodes of any drama. Ever.

Tonight is the last episode of the Breaking Bad.  How will our lives go on?  There is nothing on cable as high of caliber of writing.  Vince Gilligan, sir, you spoiled us.  Thank you for such a rollercoaster of emotion through your writing.  “Felina” an anagram for finale and the chemical symbols for Iron, Lithium and Sodium or as the internet has deemd it, Blood, Meth, Tears will surely by the final piece of the puzzle of “Growth, Decay, Transformation.”  Be sure to read our recap and review later tonight.

Written by Adrian Puryear and Sherif Elkhatib

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