Breaking Bad 5.06
Aug. 20th, 2012 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAn aftermath and transition episode with both fake and genuine revelations.
You know, for some reason, possibly because I don't watch trailers, the one Jesse reaction to the death of the spider kid I hadn't seen coming was the most logical and sensible one: quitting the meth business. Not that I can see it sticking, given this last season will be extra long and having a cliffhanger hiatus in between, and we're still not there, but I'm glad the writers let him try it for now.
(Mike deciding to call it quits was less of a surprise, though now I'm on Mike death watch, and much as the character has added to the show, it's time, imo.)
There is a startling contrast between the early Walt and Jesse scene when Walt is faking empathy and the sharing of guilt, and betrays himself by whistling before Jesse leaves (which is enough to clue Jesse in that it has been faked), and the later sequence starting from the moment Jesse enters the White residence (can't call it the White house), which is the undisputed highlight of the episode. Lo and behold, I don't think Walt lied or faked anything the entire time, and he actually told Jesse the truth about his motivations (without being pressured by a gun or an emergency situation or anything). At last, we get the backstory with Walt, Elliot and Gretchen (well, at least the important part of it), and Walt doesn't pretend anymore he needs the money for his family, either. Then, when I'm just reeling from the thought that Walt and Jesse are having their most mutually honest conversation since.... hm... maybe mid s2 and "Four Days Out" (which is referenced as Jesse still remembers the exact sum Walt came up with that day), the stakes get upped even more when Skyler comes back. And Walt tells Jesse to stay dor dinner.
This is the first scene Jesse and Skyler share since early s1, and I'm still wondering about the different motivations Walt may have had here. There is always the power factor, of course; he's demonstrating to Skyler he can make her have dinner with someone she at least knows is connected to drugs and probably has guessed is involved in Walt's meth king life. He's also displaying Jesse to her (as he did when showing her the watch as proof someone who wanted to kill him can still love him) and her to Jesse (who knows how much Walt used to worry about Skyler finding out). On another level, he's having a family dinner again. Skyler managed to get their children away (at least for now), so he brings his meth son in. Who, however, isn't just a Walt Jr. parallel/contrast/replacement, but also a Skyler parallel/contrast/replacement, Walt's other marriage, so to speak. On yet another level, he's revealing to Jesse by demonstration just how bad things stand chez White now, and will complete the confession once Skyler has left.
Having Skyler come from her chat with Marie where she has just learned Walt branded her with the letter A for adultress to Marie and Hank was genius. And provided Skyler with a cutting knife of a reply when Jesse valiantly tries and tries to make conversation in the midst of the iciest marital war fare since the last Edward Albee play. Of course, now that Jesse and Skyler have been reintroduced, I look forward to more scenes with them and hope for an alliance. I mean, that also has to be the (Doylist) purpose of that scene, right?
The third part of the sequence, when Skyler has left and Walt and Jesse are alone again, was also great. Again, there is a startling contrast between Walt crying for Hank last week about Skyler not loving him anymore in order to manipulate Hank and Walt telling Jesse here, quietly and almost blankly, that she's waiting for the cancer to come back and that the kids are gone. I mean, yes, he's saying this by way of explanation about why his "empire" and being Heisenberg are so important to him, but again, he's not lying. Not admitting to cause and effect, no, but also not indulging in pretended virtue anymore. Wow. (I don't expect this to keep, but for now: what a scene.)
Trivia: the short scene where Walt figures out a way to escape Mike's not-quite-handcuff felt like a callback to earlier seasons, too, because it's the first time in a while where we've seen Walt using his scientific brain to get out of a tight spot.
I'm not sure I buy Mike not shooting Walt at this point, though, on a Watsonian level. Doylist wise, he can't, because Walt's the main character, but Watsonian wise he should have just shot him instead of keeping him prisoner to begin with - there is nothing he needs Walt for anymore, and it's not like he needs to keep Jesse happy anymore, either.
You know, for some reason, possibly because I don't watch trailers, the one Jesse reaction to the death of the spider kid I hadn't seen coming was the most logical and sensible one: quitting the meth business. Not that I can see it sticking, given this last season will be extra long and having a cliffhanger hiatus in between, and we're still not there, but I'm glad the writers let him try it for now.
(Mike deciding to call it quits was less of a surprise, though now I'm on Mike death watch, and much as the character has added to the show, it's time, imo.)
There is a startling contrast between the early Walt and Jesse scene when Walt is faking empathy and the sharing of guilt, and betrays himself by whistling before Jesse leaves (which is enough to clue Jesse in that it has been faked), and the later sequence starting from the moment Jesse enters the White residence (can't call it the White house), which is the undisputed highlight of the episode. Lo and behold, I don't think Walt lied or faked anything the entire time, and he actually told Jesse the truth about his motivations (without being pressured by a gun or an emergency situation or anything). At last, we get the backstory with Walt, Elliot and Gretchen (well, at least the important part of it), and Walt doesn't pretend anymore he needs the money for his family, either. Then, when I'm just reeling from the thought that Walt and Jesse are having their most mutually honest conversation since.... hm... maybe mid s2 and "Four Days Out" (which is referenced as Jesse still remembers the exact sum Walt came up with that day), the stakes get upped even more when Skyler comes back. And Walt tells Jesse to stay dor dinner.
This is the first scene Jesse and Skyler share since early s1, and I'm still wondering about the different motivations Walt may have had here. There is always the power factor, of course; he's demonstrating to Skyler he can make her have dinner with someone she at least knows is connected to drugs and probably has guessed is involved in Walt's meth king life. He's also displaying Jesse to her (as he did when showing her the watch as proof someone who wanted to kill him can still love him) and her to Jesse (who knows how much Walt used to worry about Skyler finding out). On another level, he's having a family dinner again. Skyler managed to get their children away (at least for now), so he brings his meth son in. Who, however, isn't just a Walt Jr. parallel/contrast/replacement, but also a Skyler parallel/contrast/replacement, Walt's other marriage, so to speak. On yet another level, he's revealing to Jesse by demonstration just how bad things stand chez White now, and will complete the confession once Skyler has left.
Having Skyler come from her chat with Marie where she has just learned Walt branded her with the letter A for adultress to Marie and Hank was genius. And provided Skyler with a cutting knife of a reply when Jesse valiantly tries and tries to make conversation in the midst of the iciest marital war fare since the last Edward Albee play. Of course, now that Jesse and Skyler have been reintroduced, I look forward to more scenes with them and hope for an alliance. I mean, that also has to be the (Doylist) purpose of that scene, right?
The third part of the sequence, when Skyler has left and Walt and Jesse are alone again, was also great. Again, there is a startling contrast between Walt crying for Hank last week about Skyler not loving him anymore in order to manipulate Hank and Walt telling Jesse here, quietly and almost blankly, that she's waiting for the cancer to come back and that the kids are gone. I mean, yes, he's saying this by way of explanation about why his "empire" and being Heisenberg are so important to him, but again, he's not lying. Not admitting to cause and effect, no, but also not indulging in pretended virtue anymore. Wow. (I don't expect this to keep, but for now: what a scene.)
Trivia: the short scene where Walt figures out a way to escape Mike's not-quite-handcuff felt like a callback to earlier seasons, too, because it's the first time in a while where we've seen Walt using his scientific brain to get out of a tight spot.
I'm not sure I buy Mike not shooting Walt at this point, though, on a Watsonian level. Doylist wise, he can't, because Walt's the main character, but Watsonian wise he should have just shot him instead of keeping him prisoner to begin with - there is nothing he needs Walt for anymore, and it's not like he needs to keep Jesse happy anymore, either.
