Breaking Bad 5.09
Aug. 12th, 2013 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakThe final countdown!
First of all, this is how much of a Trekker I am:
Tula Berries are from the Gamma Quadrant, yes, but the Gamma Quadrant is in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, not in Star Trek: Voyager. While the Voyager crew ends up in the Delta Quadrant, the stable wormhole next to the space station DS9 leads to the Gamma Quadrant. Also, Tula berries are what the Grand Nagus asked Quark to negotiate for in order to establish trade relations with the Dominion, the big power in the Gamma Quadrant.
Having gotten that off my chest: loved the "Badger and Skinny Pete talk Star Trek" scene, complete with heartbreaking Jesse. Jesse only had three or so lines in the entire episode and Aaron Paul otherwise played his part silently and all the more touching, because Jesse's utter brokenness comes across so well. Also, while I applaud he actually still walks the walk and doesn't just talk the talk re: blood money,falafel_musings has reminded me that Drew Sharp's parents, whom Jesse wants that money to go to in addition to Kaylee Ehrmantraut, still have no idea whether their child is dead, alive, in someone's basement as a sex slave or harvested for organ trading, so the best thing Jesse could do would be to finally go to the cops and confess. Though it's hard to hold Jesse to higher moral standards when he spends the episode like this, finally clued in to the fact Walt shot Mike, still not able to draw that final consequence of handing Walt over to the cops but unwilling to accept anything from him any longer, be it words, trust or money.
Jesse subplot aside, though: the heart of the episode was Hank, as it should be, given we ended the half season finale with his realisation, which means the most suspenseful question was "how will Hank react, and what will he do next?" It was guessable that Hank would be shocked and then trying to confirm his Damascus moment, because Hank is a genuinely good detective who works with his instinct but also needs proof. It still was fascinating to see it play out, from that drive home in a state of utter horror to comparing the writing in the book to his own copy of Gale's handwriting to going through all the evidence he collected since the show began.
At that point I was wondering whether the show would let Hank sift through evidence for one or two episodes more before doing something, because the moment he talks to one of his colleagues - Gomez is the obvious first to tell - he's doomed himself along with the Whites. (As there is no way his career won't be finished, at best, once he's convinced people his brother-in-law is the meth producer they were looking for, and at worst he'll be suspected of being Walt's confederate.) What I didn't expect but in retrospect should have is that we'd get Walt figuring out Hank is onto him in the same episode and we would get the two of them ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS in the climactic final scene of the ep. Which was such an awesome scene. Again, when it started I figured we'd been in for a few more eps of mutual double talk where Walt thinks Hank knows and Hank guesses Walt suspects that he knows, but they both pretend all is fine at the surface. But no. Walt turns around and point blank asks about the car bug. And then Hank lays it all on the table, and it's such a breathtaking intense scene, played so very well by both actors. You can tell Hank was heartbroken but is by now past heartbroken to just plain furious and determined. And Walt, who, mostly one sided rivalry for male alpha of the family or not, is really fond of Hank (see him trying to save Hank's life in mid s3 when it would have been easier to let the Cartel guys or Gus kill him), is nonetheless still too married to looking out for No.1 not to, when the "the cancer is back" confession doesn't work, pull out his inner Heisenberg and deliver a threat. "Tread lightly" indeed. Tread lightly, or you tread on Walt's dreams. (This is the season for poetry.)
As the second half of season opener gives us another flashforward, as the teaser for the season start did, we now know the White house will end up gutted, looking not dissimilar to those crack houses Walt once found Jesse in in the s2 finale, with graffiti, including the name "Heisenberg". This continues a visual theme: Walt's method of cooking this season, using "Vamonos" as cover, already gave us the visual of the poisonous fumes inside family houses, i.e. what Walt supposedly was trying to protect, and now we know that the house will end up ravaged and exactly like the dens of the people he's been poisoning all this while. So there is no question about it, the truth about Walt will be revealed to the world before his death. What we still don't know: will Hank be the one to reveal it no matter the cost to himself and the family, or will it come out another way? Jesse literally throwing the money away, for example, will either get him kidnapped by other criminals or collected by the cops, for example. And Lydia, now that Walt's refused to go back and Todd evidently (no surprise there) can't deliver meth of the same quality, has reason for drastic measures in order to get her quality product, including maybe exploding Walt's civilian facade. Who knows?
Can't wait to find out.
Minor observations:
- first scene between Skyler and Lydia, which tells me that it's going to be important to the plot later that they both know who the other is. Also, behold the return of Skyler in defending-her-territory mode (previous notable occasions being her dressing down of Jesse early in s1 when she thinks he does nothing worse than selling pot to her husband on the funny side, and Skyler's revenge on the unfortunate car wash owner on the dark side.)
- Walt, now that he's retired from meth cooking, promptly deciding he needs to improve the car wash smells cracks me up. Dark as this show is, it never loses sight of its sense of humour.
- this is the first time Walt called Jesse "son", or did I forget an occasion, right?
- oh, and the cancer is back as everyone guessed, but that was logical and inevitable at this point.
First of all, this is how much of a Trekker I am:
Tula Berries are from the Gamma Quadrant, yes, but the Gamma Quadrant is in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, not in Star Trek: Voyager. While the Voyager crew ends up in the Delta Quadrant, the stable wormhole next to the space station DS9 leads to the Gamma Quadrant. Also, Tula berries are what the Grand Nagus asked Quark to negotiate for in order to establish trade relations with the Dominion, the big power in the Gamma Quadrant.
Having gotten that off my chest: loved the "Badger and Skinny Pete talk Star Trek" scene, complete with heartbreaking Jesse. Jesse only had three or so lines in the entire episode and Aaron Paul otherwise played his part silently and all the more touching, because Jesse's utter brokenness comes across so well. Also, while I applaud he actually still walks the walk and doesn't just talk the talk re: blood money,
falafel_musings has reminded me that Drew Sharp's parents, whom Jesse wants that money to go to in addition to Kaylee Ehrmantraut, still have no idea whether their child is dead, alive, in someone's basement as a sex slave or harvested for organ trading, so the best thing Jesse could do would be to finally go to the cops and confess. Though it's hard to hold Jesse to higher moral standards when he spends the episode like this, finally clued in to the fact Walt shot Mike, still not able to draw that final consequence of handing Walt over to the cops but unwilling to accept anything from him any longer, be it words, trust or money. Jesse subplot aside, though: the heart of the episode was Hank, as it should be, given we ended the half season finale with his realisation, which means the most suspenseful question was "how will Hank react, and what will he do next?" It was guessable that Hank would be shocked and then trying to confirm his Damascus moment, because Hank is a genuinely good detective who works with his instinct but also needs proof. It still was fascinating to see it play out, from that drive home in a state of utter horror to comparing the writing in the book to his own copy of Gale's handwriting to going through all the evidence he collected since the show began.
At that point I was wondering whether the show would let Hank sift through evidence for one or two episodes more before doing something, because the moment he talks to one of his colleagues - Gomez is the obvious first to tell - he's doomed himself along with the Whites. (As there is no way his career won't be finished, at best, once he's convinced people his brother-in-law is the meth producer they were looking for, and at worst he'll be suspected of being Walt's confederate.) What I didn't expect but in retrospect should have is that we'd get Walt figuring out Hank is onto him in the same episode and we would get the two of them ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS in the climactic final scene of the ep. Which was such an awesome scene. Again, when it started I figured we'd been in for a few more eps of mutual double talk where Walt thinks Hank knows and Hank guesses Walt suspects that he knows, but they both pretend all is fine at the surface. But no. Walt turns around and point blank asks about the car bug. And then Hank lays it all on the table, and it's such a breathtaking intense scene, played so very well by both actors. You can tell Hank was heartbroken but is by now past heartbroken to just plain furious and determined. And Walt, who, mostly one sided rivalry for male alpha of the family or not, is really fond of Hank (see him trying to save Hank's life in mid s3 when it would have been easier to let the Cartel guys or Gus kill him), is nonetheless still too married to looking out for No.1 not to, when the "the cancer is back" confession doesn't work, pull out his inner Heisenberg and deliver a threat. "Tread lightly" indeed. Tread lightly, or you tread on Walt's dreams. (This is the season for poetry.)
As the second half of season opener gives us another flashforward, as the teaser for the season start did, we now know the White house will end up gutted, looking not dissimilar to those crack houses Walt once found Jesse in in the s2 finale, with graffiti, including the name "Heisenberg". This continues a visual theme: Walt's method of cooking this season, using "Vamonos" as cover, already gave us the visual of the poisonous fumes inside family houses, i.e. what Walt supposedly was trying to protect, and now we know that the house will end up ravaged and exactly like the dens of the people he's been poisoning all this while. So there is no question about it, the truth about Walt will be revealed to the world before his death. What we still don't know: will Hank be the one to reveal it no matter the cost to himself and the family, or will it come out another way? Jesse literally throwing the money away, for example, will either get him kidnapped by other criminals or collected by the cops, for example. And Lydia, now that Walt's refused to go back and Todd evidently (no surprise there) can't deliver meth of the same quality, has reason for drastic measures in order to get her quality product, including maybe exploding Walt's civilian facade. Who knows?
Can't wait to find out.
Minor observations:
- first scene between Skyler and Lydia, which tells me that it's going to be important to the plot later that they both know who the other is. Also, behold the return of Skyler in defending-her-territory mode (previous notable occasions being her dressing down of Jesse early in s1 when she thinks he does nothing worse than selling pot to her husband on the funny side, and Skyler's revenge on the unfortunate car wash owner on the dark side.)
- Walt, now that he's retired from meth cooking, promptly deciding he needs to improve the car wash smells cracks me up. Dark as this show is, it never loses sight of its sense of humour.
- this is the first time Walt called Jesse "son", or did I forget an occasion, right?
- oh, and the cancer is back as everyone guessed, but that was logical and inevitable at this point.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 05:25 pm (UTC)Jesse gets away with the money and baby Holly.
It probably won't be anything like that, but I'm pleased that the show has already set up a pretty clear Hank-Jesse flip.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 08:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 02:10 pm (UTC)You're probably right about the money. Hm. My other thought was that Holly ends up with the Grey Matter folks, who I went big on with betting they'll be seen again before the end.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 02:56 am (UTC)already gave us the visual of the poisonous fumes inside family houses, i.e. what Walt supposedly was trying to protect, and now we know that the house will end up ravaged and exactly like the dens of the people he's been poisoning all this while.
This is such a good observation! Ah metaphor!
I looooved Skyler and Walt's car wash scene, both for the humor of Walt attacking car freshener marketing with a desire to be the best, and for Skyler still being DRAWN IN, and the way she's obviously intrigued by the idea of biting off a little more and getting away with it. She already has a second car wash site picked out!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 08:25 am (UTC)Skyler, when not terrified into an inch of her life, is just too damn competent and fond of controlling things not to be drawn in. Whether it's coming up with a GOOD money laundering scheme instead of Saul's silly laser idea or mentally plotting to branch out with the car wash business. And then, note that Walt's asking her permission. This is all ressuringly husband-I-used-to-know rather than creep-who-holds-me-hostage. I love that the show never loses sight of the fact Skyler is no innocent victim here.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 12:21 pm (UTC)I just hope Saul makes it. I love Saul fiercely.
Star Trek: have you seen this?
http://www.avclub.com/articles/theres-an-animated-version-of-badgers-breaking-bad,101484/?utm_source=AV+Club+ALL+%28Validated%29&utm_campaign=3656f6a208-Opt_Out_Email_7_23_137_23_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e18dce41c5-3656f6a208-16466077