Monday, April 26, 2010
Breaking Bad - Sunset
Season 3 of Breaking Bad has a little bit in common with Season 2 of The Wire (which is fresh on my mind because I am in the middle of Wire binge in order to school my girlfriend on one of the top three greatest television shows in the history of the medium). The beginnings of both seasons are relatively slow and full of dense subtext. The purpose of the first half of the seasons is mainly getting the gang back together. In other words, retying loose ends that inevitably fray at the end of prior seasons. In the case of The Wire, it takes 6 or 7 episodes for Daniels to reassemble the old crew to take a run at Sobotka. In Breaking Bad, it is all about getting Walt cooking again and reuniting him with Jesse. In seasons like these, there are always breaking (Bad) points when the set up is done, the gang is back together and the ball starts rolling down hill, fast. In the case of season 2 of The Wire, it was the episode where Stringer has D'Angelo killed in Jessup. For Breaking Bad, the episode that sparks the wild ride towards the finish line was last night's.
Walt and Skylar are going forward with their divorce, which Walt seems to think is a result of Skylar's "unhappiness" and not his "meth-cookingness". To make their separation more official, an unusually upbeat and optimistic Walt decides to get his own apartment. He demands to rent the model apartment and when the agent balks, Walt asks him to "name one thing that is not negotiable". In a clever piece of direction, Gillian and company cut right to a shot of El Pollo, hammering home the point that Walt knows all too well that everything is negotiable. He just doesn't realize that Fring has outmaneuvered him beautifully in their negotiation last episode. Coming into this week, a lot of people were predicting that Gus was planning to use the three months of Walt's service to learn his meth-recipe and when he was finished, allow the Cousins to have their way with him.
After this initial Walt/Skylar divorce bit Breaking Bad puts the White's domestic issues on the back burner (thank god) in order to focus on the more pressing subject: Hank is hot on Jesse's trail. Last week I was pining for the old days of B.B., with Jesse and his buddies doing drugs and hustling. Right on cue, we get a scene featuring not only Jesse and Skinny Pete, but my man Badger. Jesse is rallying the troops to hit the streets with his solo-cooked batch of blue meth (he gives Badger a sample so potent it sends him into an impromptu jig, which Jesse puts a quick stop to lest Badger scuff his hardwood floors). Little do they know, Hank is right outside doing surveillance in hopes that Jesse will lead him to the RV.
Meanwhile, Walt shows up for his first day at his new job and meets his lab assistant, Neil, who has come prepared with his resume, which I imagine looks something like this:
Education:
Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering - University of New Mexico
Masters of Science in Organic Chemistry - Colorado University
Work Experience:
Acme Chemical Corporation - July 2005 - August 2010, Bolder, Colorado
Duties: Boring chemical stuff.
El Norte Division of The Mexican Drug Cartel - September 2010 - December 2010, Multipurpose Laundry Facility Outside Albuquerque, New Mexico
Duties: Assisted in the manufacturing of 200 pounds of high-quality methamphetamine per week for the duration of three months.
The two seem to hit it off and when Walt asks Neil how he ended up in the meth business, he responds with a version of Walt's own "I just respect the chemistry" rationalization (I guess Walt isn't the only one who is a tad delusional). To me, Neil seems too good to be true, I get the feeling that he and Fring might be up to something. We, at The 'Feeling, will continue to monitor the situation.
Things start to move at hyper-speed about 20 minutes in, when Marie reminds Hank of Walt's connection with Jesse (Walt used to buy pot from Jesse). Hoping Walt might have some information about the whereabouts of the RV, Hank gives Walt a call and completely tips his hand. Panicked, Walt calls Jesse to warn him, but hangs up when Jesse answers. Thinking more clearly, he calls Saul instead.
Walt catches up with the RV, Badger is having the oil changed at Jesse's request, and demands to have it destroyed immediately. Seizing the keys, Walt takes the RV to junk yard to have it wiped off the face of the earth, lest the DEA pull a few of his latent prints from its interior. Badger calls Jesse, who predictably assumes that Walt is trying to destroy the RV to take away his ability to cook, therefore eliminating the competition. Jesse races to the junk yard to stop Walt, unwittingly leading Hank right to the RV.
What comes next will go down in Breaking Bad lore as one of the show's defining moments. In an agonizing, sphincter-clenching sequence, Hank approaches the RV with Jesse and Walt inside. The dynamic between the two ex-partners reverts to its natural equilibrium as Jesse desperately turns to Walt for an escape plan. What Walt comes up with is quite possibly his most despicable, yet effective, idea to date.
Walt calls Saul, who in turn has his secretary, impersonating an ER nurse, call Hank and inform him that Marie has been in a car accident. As Hank speeds toward the hospital in a blind panic, Walt and Jesse destroy the RV. But this is just a temporary reprieve. Hank is still onto Jesse and he has to suspect Walt is involved. Can anyone think of a scenario in which Hank does not assume (correctly) that Walt tipped Jesse off and had a hand in the Marie/fake-car-wreck situation? I tried and I can't.
The issue now becomes: Will Hank survive long enough to bring in Jesse and Walt? The episode ends with Gus Fring meeting with the Cousins to bargain for Walt's life. In exchange for Walt, Fring greenlights Hank (the man who actually pulled the trigger on Tuco), who had previously been off limits due to his status with DEA. Will Hank be forced to turn to Walt for protection when he realizes who is after him? Will Walt be able to offer said protection? If the Cousins get to Hank, will they be satisfied or will they still want to put a chrome axe into Walt's ass? These are the questions that will be answered in the next few episodes and I can't fucking wait.
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