Breaking Bad 5.02 Madrigal
Jul. 23rd, 2012 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which we meet some new players and I am distracted by my nationality.
When the teaser started, I had this moment of "what language is that supposed to be? Oh. Oh". In all fairness: it's grammatically correct German, and you can tell the actors really took a lot of trouble to learn it phonetically. (Which is more than they do on other tv shows. I'm looking at you, Highlander, much as I love Valkyrie the episode.) Unfortunately, this makes for an exaggaratedly careful pronounciation with the inevitable accent, so everyone sounds really weird, plus the building and the glimpses of the blue Arizona sky and the flat desert through the windows scream the American-ness of the location as well. Not that I blame the show - filming that one scene in Germany would have been way too expensive to justify - but, you know, it's distracting. Watch a couple of German Westerns filmed in Yugoslavia from the 60s and you'll understand what I mean.
Anyway, moving on. This episode was mostly set up, introducing various Madrigal people, most prominently the guy who talks to Hank during the briefing and Lydia, and giving Mike a reason to join Our Heroes despite his accurate assessment of Walt. It also delighted in giving us two of the most creeptastic scenes involving Walt yet, which are that way because of what the audience knows versus how Walt sees the situation, what he thinks he's doing versus what at least one of the characters know he's doing. I am referring, of course, to the scene with Walt massaging Jesse's shoulders early on and the scene of Walt kissing Skyler that concludes the episode. It's a dead heat race as to which feels more wrong wrong wrong, in that way that also makes them fantastic in terms of writing and acting. Walt comforting Jesse (physically and emotionally) and being understanding in ways he never was before comes with the acidic irony that what Jesse feels guilty for assuming is actually the truth (though not for the reason Jesse originally assumed it would be). And Walt is simultanously lying and telling the truth - everything he says to Jesse is simultanously a self justification ahead of time in case Jesse does find out (i.e. that it was all worth it for them to have each other's back again and triumph together, etc.). Short of the scene where Walt finds Jesse in the crack house in the s2 finale, completely drugged out and suicidal, and hugs him, this is the most affectionate we've ever seen Walt with Jesse, downright tender, and what makes it horrible is that it's a gigantic betrayal at the same time (though Walt of course doesn't see it that way).
As for Skyler, what Walt thinks is happening versus what Skyler feel is happening couldn't be further apart. Walt does recognise she's going through the self loathing state he was at when he smashed his own image in the mirror many episodes and seasons back - when he found out his cancer was in remission and thus he would not immediately die and had to live with what he had done. But having left that state long since behind and being in "yay me, I'm awesome!" mode by now, he thinks he'll use that knowledge to guide Skyler to the truth and acceptance (and the eternal self justification of "it's all for the family"), plus that now she's on that road, she no longer has any reason not to go back to marital sex anymore. Meanwhile, Skyler does go through self loathing, absolutely, but she also goes through stark terror and revulsion, directed at Walt. Even at her angriest in early s3, she wasn't revolted by him, and late s4 showed she still had passion for him in her, but right now, she is mainly horrified and revolted, because she's finally aware as Walt is not he is well and truly past recovery, and the fact she's now ever more morally compromised herself doesn't it worse for her, not better. Which makes all the tender kisses on her arms which don't have physical violence in them at all still the most violating thing he did to her since coming home and wanting celebratory survival sex in the kitchen in late s1/early s2 (forgot which one).
Sidenote: I've heard Anna Gum is nominated for the first time this year along with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, which makes me very happy - she deserves it! God, Skyler's face.
Speaking of "it's all for the family" as Walt's big life lie, it didn't escape me that the episode prominently directed our attention at Mike's granddaughter (not-anymore owner of an account on the Cayman islands, courtesy of Gus) and the fact Lydia has a daughter as well, and despite her nervous demeanor is not afraid to die but is afraid to leave her daughter with the impression she abandoned her. If I had to guess, I'd say family will be a major theme this season. Of course, Jesse has/had a sort of replacement family in the form of Andrea and Brock as well, but we don't know yet whether Brock's stint of being poisoned at the hospital means Andrea has left Jesse for good. It's interesting that Jesse, with his ongoing soft spot for kids, has so far not done what all the other parent figures did - used family as self justification. (He does have, or used to have, something if a wilful self-delusion in how he reacts shocked everyone he sees drug addled parents, because this is his product they're buying, we've also seen him manipulate people into taking it, and really, it's not like he makes him tell him whether or not they're parents before.)
The Mike and Hank (and Steve) scene made me realise these two hadn't met before and fulfilled a need I didn't know I had, to see them confront each other. It's satisfyingly competent on both sides. Hank's earlier scene with his old boss included the later's somewhat sledgehammery musings on how Gus was someone right under his nose, a completely different person from the one he thought he knew, and Hank looking thoughtful; it's too early in the season for Hank to get suspicious of Walt, but I do think that's foreshadowing he will later. Now that Mike (robbed of his/his grand daughter's Cayman Island account) has teamed up with Walt and Jesse, I suspect that Hank will see him with either of them, and that will do it in terms of awakening suspicion, considering Hank correctly deduced Mike was Gus' main enforcer.
Lydia: it's Henriette! (I.e. Laura Fraser played Henriette in RTD's Casanova.) Having learned my lesson with Skyler and Marie, I am confident we'll find out more despite the first appearance making one wonder how if she's that high-wired she ever made it far in the drug management business; her final scene with Mike is a good start to that as she held her own and as opposed to her nervousness in the restaurant was very strong under fire, so to speak, getting the nanny and her daughter out of the way without a false note despite being threatened by a gun at that time and then trying to arrange her death in a way that would make it minimal traumatic to her daughter. So what did she do for Gus, exactly? Since she can get her hands on a Meth component, I'm assuming it had something to do with resources, but I'm curious to learn more.
When the teaser started, I had this moment of "what language is that supposed to be? Oh. Oh". In all fairness: it's grammatically correct German, and you can tell the actors really took a lot of trouble to learn it phonetically. (Which is more than they do on other tv shows. I'm looking at you, Highlander, much as I love Valkyrie the episode.) Unfortunately, this makes for an exaggaratedly careful pronounciation with the inevitable accent, so everyone sounds really weird, plus the building and the glimpses of the blue Arizona sky and the flat desert through the windows scream the American-ness of the location as well. Not that I blame the show - filming that one scene in Germany would have been way too expensive to justify - but, you know, it's distracting. Watch a couple of German Westerns filmed in Yugoslavia from the 60s and you'll understand what I mean.
Anyway, moving on. This episode was mostly set up, introducing various Madrigal people, most prominently the guy who talks to Hank during the briefing and Lydia, and giving Mike a reason to join Our Heroes despite his accurate assessment of Walt. It also delighted in giving us two of the most creeptastic scenes involving Walt yet, which are that way because of what the audience knows versus how Walt sees the situation, what he thinks he's doing versus what at least one of the characters know he's doing. I am referring, of course, to the scene with Walt massaging Jesse's shoulders early on and the scene of Walt kissing Skyler that concludes the episode. It's a dead heat race as to which feels more wrong wrong wrong, in that way that also makes them fantastic in terms of writing and acting. Walt comforting Jesse (physically and emotionally) and being understanding in ways he never was before comes with the acidic irony that what Jesse feels guilty for assuming is actually the truth (though not for the reason Jesse originally assumed it would be). And Walt is simultanously lying and telling the truth - everything he says to Jesse is simultanously a self justification ahead of time in case Jesse does find out (i.e. that it was all worth it for them to have each other's back again and triumph together, etc.). Short of the scene where Walt finds Jesse in the crack house in the s2 finale, completely drugged out and suicidal, and hugs him, this is the most affectionate we've ever seen Walt with Jesse, downright tender, and what makes it horrible is that it's a gigantic betrayal at the same time (though Walt of course doesn't see it that way).
As for Skyler, what Walt thinks is happening versus what Skyler feel is happening couldn't be further apart. Walt does recognise she's going through the self loathing state he was at when he smashed his own image in the mirror many episodes and seasons back - when he found out his cancer was in remission and thus he would not immediately die and had to live with what he had done. But having left that state long since behind and being in "yay me, I'm awesome!" mode by now, he thinks he'll use that knowledge to guide Skyler to the truth and acceptance (and the eternal self justification of "it's all for the family"), plus that now she's on that road, she no longer has any reason not to go back to marital sex anymore. Meanwhile, Skyler does go through self loathing, absolutely, but she also goes through stark terror and revulsion, directed at Walt. Even at her angriest in early s3, she wasn't revolted by him, and late s4 showed she still had passion for him in her, but right now, she is mainly horrified and revolted, because she's finally aware as Walt is not he is well and truly past recovery, and the fact she's now ever more morally compromised herself doesn't it worse for her, not better. Which makes all the tender kisses on her arms which don't have physical violence in them at all still the most violating thing he did to her since coming home and wanting celebratory survival sex in the kitchen in late s1/early s2 (forgot which one).
Sidenote: I've heard Anna Gum is nominated for the first time this year along with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, which makes me very happy - she deserves it! God, Skyler's face.
Speaking of "it's all for the family" as Walt's big life lie, it didn't escape me that the episode prominently directed our attention at Mike's granddaughter (not-anymore owner of an account on the Cayman islands, courtesy of Gus) and the fact Lydia has a daughter as well, and despite her nervous demeanor is not afraid to die but is afraid to leave her daughter with the impression she abandoned her. If I had to guess, I'd say family will be a major theme this season. Of course, Jesse has/had a sort of replacement family in the form of Andrea and Brock as well, but we don't know yet whether Brock's stint of being poisoned at the hospital means Andrea has left Jesse for good. It's interesting that Jesse, with his ongoing soft spot for kids, has so far not done what all the other parent figures did - used family as self justification. (He does have, or used to have, something if a wilful self-delusion in how he reacts shocked everyone he sees drug addled parents, because this is his product they're buying, we've also seen him manipulate people into taking it, and really, it's not like he makes him tell him whether or not they're parents before.)
The Mike and Hank (and Steve) scene made me realise these two hadn't met before and fulfilled a need I didn't know I had, to see them confront each other. It's satisfyingly competent on both sides. Hank's earlier scene with his old boss included the later's somewhat sledgehammery musings on how Gus was someone right under his nose, a completely different person from the one he thought he knew, and Hank looking thoughtful; it's too early in the season for Hank to get suspicious of Walt, but I do think that's foreshadowing he will later. Now that Mike (robbed of his/his grand daughter's Cayman Island account) has teamed up with Walt and Jesse, I suspect that Hank will see him with either of them, and that will do it in terms of awakening suspicion, considering Hank correctly deduced Mike was Gus' main enforcer.
Lydia: it's Henriette! (I.e. Laura Fraser played Henriette in RTD's Casanova.) Having learned my lesson with Skyler and Marie, I am confident we'll find out more despite the first appearance making one wonder how if she's that high-wired she ever made it far in the drug management business; her final scene with Mike is a good start to that as she held her own and as opposed to her nervousness in the restaurant was very strong under fire, so to speak, getting the nanny and her daughter out of the way without a false note despite being threatened by a gun at that time and then trying to arrange her death in a way that would make it minimal traumatic to her daughter. So what did she do for Gus, exactly? Since she can get her hands on a Meth component, I'm assuming it had something to do with resources, but I'm curious to learn more.
