This review contains MASSIVE spoilers, yes I used all caps because having this episode spoiled would make you hate life. You have been warned
Is it even possible to write a coherent review about this episode? After watching it would you care what happened for the first 40 or so minutes? I would personally skim past everything and try to analyze the way this episode finished for hours. So let's do that. Let me start off by saying that the ending absolutely sucked. Not that it was bad or anything, but when it spawns tweets like this, this, and this and also causes one of my friends (the one who tweeted that last bit of genius) to say things like: "That episode was a half-measure" you know that they fucked up. You absolutely cannot leave us with a cliffhanger in this specific situation and I am about to go into detail as to why.
First of all, assuming Hank and Gomie meet their end, their deaths would be WAY less meaningful and/or shocking because we will have had a full week from the airing of this episode to deal with it and think about it. On the other hand, if they somehow survive (my beacon of hope is that Hank is two for two in shootouts and situations like these) it would be an incredible reach by the writers, very "Hollywood" if you will. Worse yet, they could opt to just skip the shoot out and show us the aftermath and move on. I think that last option would cause riots. Its a no-win situation. We are either heavily disappointed, or are rolling our eyes at a miraculous escape. Sigh. Despite the ending of "To Hajiilee" I must say that it is an absolute gem of an episode, a true Breaking Bad classic that had all the aspects of what made this show so good over the years.
We had Walt being his despicable self with his ploy to lure Jesse to Andria's house. We had Hank finally displaying the type of police work that we saw him display when he was on the hunt for Gus. Taking Jesse's phone, figuring out that Walt buried his money, and fleecing Huel were all really good moments and were very fun to watch. The cream of the crop however, was tricking Walt into revealing the location of his buried treasure. Hank created a way in which Walt would have absolutely no chance to call for back-up or see the trap coming. Really good stuff.
Next week literally can not come fast enough. Only. Three. Left.
Overall Rating For This Episode: The tension in this episode was unbearable, the plot was fantastic, and as we round the corner and come into the home stretch; I could not imagine a better way (despite the ending). There is absolutely no doubt that this episode receives a 10/10.
Note: The Ending itself received a -092138120983/10 but it really could not ruin the overall brilliance.
Best Scene: Everything from the point that Walt saw the picture which he thought was his money all the way through to the gunfight. Absolutely the most dramatic moment of the series to date.
Best Quote: "Walter White... You are under arrest" In what may be some of his last words, there can only be one choice
-Hank
The best subtle moment in the episode for me was when Jesse called his now arch nemesis "Walt" for the first time in the whole series. Up until this episode it's been "Mr. White".
ReplyDeleteHow telling.