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
As always, this review will contain spoilers. If you have not seen the episode yet and do not wish to have it ruined, stop reading now and come back once you have seen it. You have been warned
"Rabid Dog" the title of this episode is a nice homage to "Problem Dog" (season four, episode seven) in the sense that it is all about Jesse and how his actions have stirred the pot once again. Last week we ended with Jesse pouring gasoline all over the White residence. Unlike the previous few episodes, this one did not pick up right at that point (although it easily could have once we saw where Jesse disappeared to) but rather at the point where Walt got to his house and noticed Jesse's car. The events that followed were a bit too "Hollywood" for my liking.
What do I mean by Hollywood? Its when a TV show sacrifices an established premise (in Breaking Bad's case its: meticulous and realistic situations) in favor of more flashy scenes that only serve to either a): advance the plot towards a desired direction quickly so that no one questions it, or b): to have a spectacular scene (think "One Minute") that has fans talking for a while. In one case I accept it and enjoy the fireworks, in the other I am bitterly disappointed and feel that the show can do better. In this episode's case some such events stand out: Walt arriving literally one second after Hank and Jesse leave his house, and the last scene. Man I hated the last scene. What are the odds that a guy who, looks like an absolute thug, is standing at a perfect distance from Walt to make it seem like he is on orders to kill the first person to approach, mean-mugs the entire time, and picks up his daughter three seconds after Jesse threatens Walt? That is pure Hollywood and this show is better than that. I could think of nine different ways that they could have done that scene better.
Having said all that, the episode did have some nice positives. Hank revealing to his partner that he could care less if Jesse dies as long as he gets Walt in the end, Marie (best season for her by far) having very realistic and emotional scenes, Skylar throwing out the suggestion to kill Jesse (at this point I do not think there is a single fan who wants her alive), and lastly, Walt making the call to our old friend Todd (also known as child murderer). This Jesse situation (can we get a clarification from the writers? Lily of the Valley poisoned Brock, not the Ricin! This is a really fristrating plot flaw) has escalated to the point where Walt is asking from help from a dangerous party. Considering the fact that we know (to some extent) what happens a year from now, I am really excited to see how things fall apart. Only four episodes to go.
Overall Rating for this episode: 7.7/10 An underwhelming episode, fueled by unrealistic plot progression that will probably wind up being the worst episode of this season. Let's just get to next week already. Best Scene: The show runners really want people to say stuff like "OH WOW, IF JESSE ONLY WAITED ONE SECOND" yeah that is not happening. I am going with the scene where Hank convinces Jesse to help him bring down Walt. Best Quote: "He can't keep getting away with this" - Jesse
As Always, these reviews will contain spoilers. So if you have not gotten the chance to watch this episode and do not wish to have anything ruined, stop reading now and come back once you are caught up. You have been warned.
It was always going to be hard to top "Blood Money" (The episode preceding this one) and I feel like a lot of episodes would seem worse when the bar had been raised so high the week before. Having said that, I probably liked this episode more than most of the people I discussed it with after watching it. In every sense, "Buried" is a set up episode that needs to exist to string us along to the next major event of the series. It contained a lot of substance with very little flash.
After a brief scene of a lucky individual finding the cash Jesse was distributing, Robin Hood style, across Albuquerque, and seeing Jesse in his patented 'down on the world' state, the episode picked up literally where it left off last week. Now, I do not know if they plan on having all of the episodes this season directly pick up where the last one ended, but I will say that I really enjoyed it and the way in which it was done. Hank wastes no time in trying to gather the evidence against Walt and immediately calls a shell-shocked Skylar to recruit her to testify against Walt's crimes. Fearing for her own freedom, Skylar refuses to be interrogated and creates great tension between herself and Marie (who is obviously upset that Skylar wont help close the case on why Hank was shot, although I think trying to take the baby was a but much).
The rest of the episode is a classic Walt-scrambles-to-cover-his-tracks episode that was a staple of the early seasons. He recruits Saul's 'security' to transport the money over to him in a van so that Walt can bury it in the desert. After that, he and Skylar agree that the best course of action would be to stay quiet, as Hank does not have concrete evidence against Walt. Problem solved right? Not if Lydia (dime) and Todd (child murderer) have anything to say about it. Lydia takes the meth quality problem into her own hands and visits Declan's meth enclave in the middle of nowhere. Now, even though Declan's crew was smart enough to blind-fold her, they were not smart enough to make sure she did not have anything else on her, say a tracking device, that could cause their enclave to be found out. So Lydia's solution to the poor meth quality? Kill everyone on this side of the business in an attempt to re-instate Todd as the main cook, so that her Czech Republic buyer will continue to buy the meth from her.
This is where we could have gotten an awesome scene of Todd and his crew having a gunfight against Declan's crew. Sadly, we got no such scene. The scene we did get was: Lydia cowering in a corner of the underground Meth lab and then refusing to open her eyes for the carnage once it was over (might be time to rethink your life choices Lydia). Yeah, can't really blame anyone for being disappointed here. We did get an amazing cliff-hanger at the end of the episode however, as Hank entered an interrogation room that was holding Jesse. What happens from this point is anyone's guess, I would really like next episode to open with Jesse and Hank in the interrogation room, which would continue the trend of an immediate continuation that we have seen over the last three episodes. One final thing: There is a very cool theory circulating on the internet that points out that Walt takes on the traits of people he has killed (cutting the crust off his sandwiches like Crazy-8, Driving a Volvo like Gus, taking his hard liquor on the rocks like Mike used to). I will just leave you with the fact that in the flash-forward scene from last week's episode he was wearing Jesse's jacket and using an ID with Skylar's maiden name. Six episodes left.
Overall score for this episode: 7.9/10 Nothing spectacular, something tells me this will be the lowest rated episode of the season. Best Scene: Let's go with Lydia orchestrating the desert massacre Best Quote: "Please don't let all I have done... be for nothing" - Walt
As always, these reviews will contain major spoilers so from this point on its on you.
Well that was one hell of a way to kick off the last eight episodes of the series wasn't it?
For starters, I really enjoyed the fact that, following another flash-forward scene, "Blood Money" picked up literally moments after the end of last year's mid-season finale. The writers produced a truly intriguing sequence that was all kinds of fun to watch. From Hank hiding the book in his bag, to the awkward getaway from the lunch, to his episode (of what I am assuming is his post traumatic stress disorder acting up again) in the car, everything about the scene reminded me of why I missed this show so much. The episode only got better from there.
We quickly saw that Walter could never truly be out, and that his 'Heisenberg' persona would always weigh heavily on his life. First it was Lydia coming to the car-wash in an attempt to get Walter back into the game, something Skylar (was this her first truly great moment of the series?) was having none of. Then it was Jesse attempting to give money to the families who have been affected by Walter White's rampage of evil, something that Walter quickly tried to stop by visiting Jesse again. Following those events, Walter realized that Hank is onto him which culminated in their tense confrontation at the end of the episode (something I will discuss in more detail shortly). So now we see that things were not so neatly tied up as we thought. A particularly intriguing aspect of this episode was Jesse spiraling down into an endless pool of guilt. He knows Walt well enough at this point to correctly assume that he took care of Mike. The way Aaron Paul acted out the scene where Walter "needed" him to believe tells me that Jesse did not in fact believe him, but rather Walt's lies only confirmed Jesse's suspicions. I am really interested in seeing how Jesse will (if at all) snap out of his latest funk and how it will impact the final seven episodes.
"Blood Money" was filled with many small scenes that only served to add to the entertainment of the episode. Jesse smoking in Saul's waiting room, Walter discussing expanding his car-wash empire with an indifferent Skylar, Skinny Pete and Badger having baked discussions about star trek, Hank re-opening the W.W. investigation were all small scenes that felt way bigger in the grand scheme of things just because of the way they were shot and acted. Without bogging this review down with too much details, lets get to the jewel of this episode: the match-up we have been waiting for all series: Walt vs. Hank (suffice to say round one did not disappoint at all). The beauty of Breaking Bad is that you never exactly know what is about to happen. When Walt found the tracker on his car and asked Hank about it, all bets were off. Was Hank about to arrest him? Would Walt kill him in cold blood and go on the run? Was the tracker maybe Lydia's? Well some of those questions were answered right away and some still linger. Bottom line, the face to face discussion between the brothers in-law was not only one of the most tense moments of the episode, but of the series as well. Once the scene ended and credits started rolling, there was an ominous silence in the room (I viewed the episode with a couple of friends) basically everyone trying to wrap their mind around how awesome that moment was.
That silence after an episode is when you know that it is a great one. Only seven left.
Overall score for this episode: 9/10 A fantastic opener to the final eight which added even more great moments to an already fantastic show. Best Scene: Come on. Can it really be anything other than the immediate aftermath of Hank closing the garage leaving him and Walter isolated for one of the best lines of the series? Speaking of which. Best Quote: "If you don't know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly" That is it for this week, man it is good to be back.
Finally the stage is set for the conclusion of Breaking Bad. Its just a shame that we will have to wait more than half a year to see it. I already complained about AMC splitting this season into two parts (way back in the first review of this season), but now having seen where they left us, and where things stand, can you blame me for bitching about it again? Thank God that the NFL kicks off this Thursday, otherwise this would have been a really depressing stretch of television. But anyways, on to my thoughts about the episode.
'Gliding All Over' really felt like a simple episode to me. Not that this is a necessarily bad thing, but I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by it. The gem of this episode; the prison killings were really well done. We got to see each and every one of Mike's "nine guys" plus the lawyer become the latest victims of W.W.'s reign of terror. From the music, to Walter's indifference at the very end of the scene, it was easily the best 3 minutes of the episode. The rest of the episode? Underwhelming to say the least. In the past, Breaking Bad would have methodically showed us the expansion of Walt's new-found empire into European territory, here we got to see it all in roughly five minutes, with a little montage to guide us through it. I don't know about you, but I expected more from an episode that will be the last one we see for a while.
TweetAs always, there are going to be spoilers below, do not continue reading past this until you have seen the episode.
"Shut the f*ck up and let me die in peace" - Mike's last words of the series... very fitting of such a great character.
We knew after last week's set-up episode that something drastic was going to happen in this one. Unfortunately for Mike (who probably grew to be one of the more liked characters of the show) that drastic occurrence was his death. Before we talk about it, we should see how the episode set up Walter white's latest victim.
Firstly, we picked up right where the last episode left off, with Walt delivering on his promise to pay Mike and Jesse their share (technically, only Mike got paid as Walt tried one last time to draw Jesse back in) while retaining his growing 'empire'. I have to say that this scene was really enjoyable, Walt has really mastered weaseling his way out of death to the point where you are excited to see how he does it. From standing up to Tuco all the way back in season one, to orchestrating Gale's death at the perfect time (right as Mike was about to kill him) was there a doubt that he would escape unharmed from the meeting with the guys who wanted to buy the methyl-amine? Bonus points for the "Say my name" line, it really gave a nice finishing touch to an already good scene.
From that point things slowed down a bit. We had a few more awkward exchanges between Walt and Skyler, we saw Mike and Jesse both leave the game officially, the former taking care of the legacy fund, and the latter being fed up with all of the killing. It was really nice to see Jesse stand up to Walter and flat out refuse to continue cooking with him. Jesse even turned down an offer of five million dollars and endless taunts by Walter that were aimed at drawing him back in. Jesse, as a character, has shown the most development since season one and of all the characters in the show, the only one the audience may legitimately be rooting for (other than Hank) at this point is Jesse, and I hope he wins in the end. As for Mike, after leaving (and destroying all evidence of criminal activity) he starts to live a normal, boring, old man life, enjoying spending time with his granddaughter (whose legacy fund is fully re-filled). However, Hank's instincts led him to one last attempt at catching Mike (by following his lawyer, and it was the final attempt because if that had not worked out, Mike would never have been caught) and they catch the lawyer red-handed. To make matters worse, the lawyer is absolutely ready to flip and gives up Mike right away, dragging Mike back into the thick of things (including a truly sad scene where he could not even say bye to his granddaughter).
From there, everything was set up for Mike's demise. Saul's refusal to get Mike's bag (which had his remaining money and his gun in it) followed by Mike's refusal to let Jesse get it for him left only one person who could: Heisenberg. As soon as we saw the gun inside the bag, I think we all knew what was going to happen. After an inevitable and heated confrontation, Walt shoots Mike. For a brief second after the shot, it looked as if Mike managed to get away, but tragically, that was not the case. Walt immediately realized that he could have easily got the names from Lydia, prompting Mike to utter his excellent last words. We keep waiting for the mistake that will inevitably do Walter White in, this may have been the one.
Overall score for this episode: 9.7/10 - Almost perfect, Mike's death was a bit rushed, and it feels like the writers wanted to get it out of the way to set up the half-season finale twist that inevitably looms. Also, last week's episode was not officially reviewed, but would have received a 7.8/10 if you are wondering. Best scene: Mike dying, a not so fitting end, to a phenomenal character. Best quote: Mike's last words, which lead off, and end this review: "Shut the F*ck up, and let me die in peace"
Blonde guy kind of resembles Matt Damon, am I the only one?
As always, this review will contain spoilers so if you have not seen the episode and don't want anything ruined, stop reading now.
Well, we were waiting for this season to give us our first '10' episode. The episode that would just make you think about it (not even about specific things, but just... think) long after it ended, that would shock you with a surprise twist, and leave you wanting to see the next episode tomorrow. 'Dead Freight' is absolutely that episode.
From the very opening scene, where a young boy is just riding his dirt bike out in the desert (and collecting tarantulas, which is something I would rate right behind commuting to school on my 'least favorite hobbies' list) we knew something was up. As I have said in the past: breaking bad does not waste scenes, as soon as I saw this one, I began trying to figure out what it could mean, or where it was going. The answer to that question would not come until the final scene of the episode, a point at which I long forgot about the boy because the rest of the episode was just that good. I will talk briefly about what happened, then get into that last scene.
Firstly, we have our new trio of meth lords bugging Hank's new office (he accepted his promotion) through some diabolical fake crying by Walter. The purpose of the bug was to check whether or not Lydia was telling the truth about the GPS trackers on the barrels. You wont believe this, but she actually was! I was really surprised at this, it was a really nice curve-ball that threw me completely off. Lydia (now a lot more safe from danger) then offers a tip on 'an ocean' of methyl-amine that the crew pretty much has to take up because a) they can't go back to Germany for it b) the legacy fund needs to be re-filled and c) Walter's ego needs to be fueled, and a spectacular heist is just the way to do it. From that point, the episode became a really fun 'Ocean's Eleven' type of story. A ridiculous plan, a hastily put-together team, with each person being responsible for a different job, something going wrong, and then a spectacular finish that came out of left field.
I mean, every part of the heist; from not taking everything, but just diluting the methyl-amine with water so no one would really notice, to the execution (the truck was a really nice touch, but a flat tire might have been an even better idea) was spot on. Even Todd, the henchman Walt took notice of earlier in the season (and who looks a lot like Matt Damon), said "You guys planned for everything". The actual heist was well-filmed and intense, giving us some nice angles on the action and providing legitimate drama. Would Walt risk everything just to fill the barrel up a bit more? Was someone going to die if the plan went awry? As it turns out the heist was completed with no major consequences and everyone started to celebrate wildly. Wildly that is, until they noticed the boy from the first scene watching them. Here is where I thought they would end the episode, a nice twist, a truly innocent by-stander, with a variety of ways they could have gone in the following episode, had they done that, this would have gotten a 9.5. However, they chose to go 'full measure' on us with Todd giving the kid a wave, then killing him in cold blood.
Just a pivotal moment. We know Walt is unafraid to put children in danger (see risen, Brock) but this is the first instance where a child legitimately died because of Walt's actions. There is no way that Jesse takes this lightly, and there is no excuse for Walt to have. I cannot wait for next week's episode. Overall score for this episode: 10/10 just one of those episodes that makes you think for about 2 hours after you've finished watching it. Best scene: Basically the entire train heist, but the best moment is definitely the poor boy getting caught in Walter White's path of destruction. Best Quote: "There are two types of heists. Those that succeed, and those that leave witnesses" -Mike A perfect quote for this episode. Follow us on Twitter @MillenniumSandE
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One of the really good things about writing reviews about shows you love, is that you get to watch some episodes multiple times. In the case of breaking bad, second (and sometimes even third) viewings of the same episode will often enable the viewer to spot something that he or she may have missed initially. 'Fifty-One' was definitely one of those episodes you had to watch multiple times in order to catch all the details. The episode itself was significantly slower and less explosive than the ones preceding it, making it easily the worst episode of this season so far. However, being the worst episode in this season is not a bad thing at all. In fact, the episode was actually really good, its only 'flaw' is that it was not as good as the three that came before it. One of the reasons that breaking bad is such a good show is that it is remarkably consistent. Yes, some episodes like 'Problem Dog', or 'One Minute' leave us in shock and awe at how brilliant they are, but the set up leading to those episodes is just as good. Breaking bad rarely has bad episodes, just ones that are not spectacular.
So what were the aspects of 'Fifty-One' that made the episode good? For one, it gave us a nice reference point to the show in general. It has been exactly a year since all of this began, as we have come full-circle to Walt's fifty first birthday. Unlike his fiftieth birthday however, things are very different for Walt. His only present came from his meth-cooking partner, his relationship with his wife has deteriorated to a point that is beyond repair, and most disturbingly of all: Walt is doing nothing to change these facts. He is healthy enough to continue his teaching career, he and Skyler own a car-wash that he could manage, and his son is about to graduate high school and go to college. Given the fact that Walter was only given a short time to live the year prior, you would think that he would jump on the chance to be able to lead a normal life again. Breaking bad however, is a show where you slowly deteriorate to the point that you may never be good again, and it looks like Walter White has reached that point. Everything from the arrogance of selling his car for $50 to his chilling conversation with Skyler (where he shot down every single idea she had to stop him) is both a testament to Bryan Cranston's acting (seriously... this was the dad in Malcolm in the middle!) and the fall from grace of Walter White. At this point, everyone who watches this show expects him to die, we are just waiting to see how it will happen.
I also just realized that I am more than halfway through this review and have not even touched on other things about this episode. Lydia planting the GPS tracker on the barrel (and Mike figuring it out in the time it takes you to read this sentence) was a nice twist, although I wish we could have seen what Walt's suggestion was at the end of the episode. It looks like Lydia will be spared (and honestly, Mike broke through with his 'half measure's' speech in season 3, and since then he has done nothing but half measures, he needs to step things up) and with each episode that she stays alive, the more likely it is that she will be the one that eventually leads to Walt's demise. I don't really have much more to add other than to share some theories that I heard while discussing the show with colleagues. The ticking clock at the end of the episode stops at exactly '52', you may remember that the first images of the season was a flash-forward to Walt's fifty-second birthday. Is this the day he will die? Seems like a cool way for the writers to set us up: "We know that you know Walt will die, but do you know how?". Another interesting theory I heard is that Skyler took up smoking again to try and get Walters cancer to return (I love this theory and will discuss it more in the future).
That will be it for this week, next week there will be a more in-depth review. Enjoy your week everybody!
Overall score for this episode: 8/10 Best scene: Walter asking Skyler how she intends to stop him
As always, this review will contain spoilers, you have been warned.
Another solid episode in what is shaping up to be an excellent start to Breaking Bad's final season. This episode featured less action than the ones preceding it, but it more than made up for it with superior storytelling. The other two episodes showed how Walt was covering his tracks, in this one we got to see how Mike would go about covering his now that he is back in the game. What we got was an interesting scene of Mike talking to one of "his guys" about "making him whole" (this episode featured so many great quotes it was hard to count) with hazard pay; hazard pay is basically money provided in return for keeping one's mouth shut about an illegal operation. As far as characters go, you have to appreciate Mike, he is fiercely loyal, intelligent, and careful. You get the sense that, if he wanted to, Mike could be the kingpin of his own empire. What started off as a minor character (at best) has evolved into one of the main figures of the story.
As always, there will be spoilers in this review, you have been warned.
Now that was a really good episode. The pacing, tone, story, and acting (acting has never actually been in question with this series, but it still warrants mentioning) were all top notch. I don't think that it is merely coincidence that the formula: less Skyler = better episode came into play here. As I have stated before, Skyler's story-lines only seem to get in the way of the main plot, while at the same time managing to be horrendously boring and uninteresting. Less Skyler means more Mike, a really under-rated character in my opinion, I get that what he does is popular among breaking bad fans, but his actual character might be the best one on the show. I will touch on that point as I go through the episode in more detail.
Be warned, there are spoilers ahead. So if you have not seen the episode you should probably stop reading this right now... unless you like spoilers in which case keep reading. Quick tangent: AMC decided to split season 5 into two parts. As if it wasn't bad enough that we had to sit through endless promos for the garbage that is 'small town security' throughout the season premiere. Finding out that this 'season' will only have 8 episodes this summer, then conclude with 8 episodes next summer did not make for a fun night, but I digress
After a long wait (seriously, it felt like forever) we can finally watch Breaking Bad again. The season premiere wasted no time and quickly picked up right from where we last left the show but not before treating us to a scene from the future. We know that Breaking Bad is not afraid to flash forward and show glimpses of where the current plot may be going (remember the pink teddy bear from the plane collision in season 2?) and the scene they showed was very interesting indeed. Seeing Walt buying an M-60 on his fifty-second birthday using an alias in New Hampshire obviously brings up a lot of questions, but those are probably questions that we wont have answered until the summer of 2013 when part two of season 5 is set to air.
Following the flash-forward scene, we got to the immediate aftermath of last season's finale.The writers did their best to answer many lingering questions from last season, including what happened to Ted. The answer to that one probably made many fans let out an audible groan. I've hated all story points involving Ted and Skyler so far and that trend continued in this episode. I really hate to start the review here, but I really want to get this out of the way before moving on to the good stuff. I pointed out before how incredibly stupid it was for Skyler to support Ted and try to save him from the IRS precisely because of what happened in this episode. Obviously Ted is going to be blackmailing Skyler which is just going to bring more complications (ones they easily could have avoided). At this point I hope Mike sneaks into the hospital and cuts his head off.
Whew!, now on to the story lines you actually care about. Walt quickly moves to destroy any remaining evidence that could be used against him. He cleans up the materials he used to make the bomb that killed Gus and he gets rid of the 'Lily of the Valley' plant that he used to poison Brock (and his involvement in the poisoning was confirmed by Saul later in the episode). This is what I like to see: characters acting logically! Unfortunately for Walt, he forgot about the cameras from the meth lab; the same cameras that had been recording him and Jesse cooking meth for months. To make matters worse for our favorite anti-hero, the hard-drive that stored the videos is in the hands of the police. Realizing that they could be done for, Jesse and Walt convince Mike (nice to see that he has recovered nicely) to help them destroy the evidence. The scenes with these three were really fun to watch. From the tense confrontation where Mike wanted to shoot Walt (stopped only by Jesse), to the scene where they were arguing about how to destroy the evidence (where Jesse of all people had the best idea on how to do it, "magnets") there never was a dull moment.
I wont get into too many details about how they managed to destroy the evidence (it has been an extended hiatus from writing for me, I need to warm up a bit) but long story short: their elaborate plan appears to have worked. What will be really interesting to see though, is what was written on the inner frame of one of Gustavo Fring's photos. Scenes from the next episode revealed that Walt will try and recruit Mike into a partnership, will it work? Mike is not exactly Walters number one fan (ironically, Mike openly questions Jesse's loyalty to Walt while he pretty much has the same exact allegiance to Gus, it doesn't really add to this, but it is interesting to point out) but if that means more scenes of them together, then sign me up. Overall, this was a very fast paced episode that looked to answer a lot of remaining questions, while setting up future plot points. We are only 15 episodes away from seeing just how far Walter White will fall and if this episode is any indication; it will be a fun ride.
Overall score for this episode 8.1/10 It was a very entertaining and fast-paced episode, but nothing too drastic happens that would warrant a higher score.
Best scene: Mike and Walter arguing over how to destroy the evidence room, while Jesse yells "Magnets" about 9 times before they listen to him.
The AMC decision to split this season: -12/10
Follow us on Twitter @MillenniumSandE and me specifically @Daki_4 and leave us a comment if you like (or even dislike) what you read, cheers until next time!
Full Spoilers ahead for Season 5, episode 8 of Mad Men
More on this week's episode just after I taste some of this Cool Whip.
This week on Mad Men we got to see Don and Pete go further and further down the roads they've made for themselves this season with Don continuing to be the caring, loving, understanding husband (does anyone actually prefer Don when he's like this?) as opposed to Pete who's basically becoming Don of seasons 1-3. The episode started like a few others this season with Pete taking the train to work while talking to Howard (we finally get his name in this episode) about life in general but as per usual their conversation drifted towards adultery and the different ways Howard cheats on his wife, Beth (another name given to us this episode). Right after watching this opening scene, I thought that we would see some more shady behavior from Pete and I was right as Pete continued to cheat on Trudy (I'm still not sure why anyone would, has he seen Trudy?) later on in the episode.
The other main storyline of the episode involved Megan's resignation from the advertising business to continue to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Before we got to this, we were treated to Megan receiving a mysterious phone call at work and then lying to both Don and Peggy in order to meet the director of some off-Broadway play she auditioned for. This gave us some good scenes between Peggy and Don, especially Peggy answering Don's phone call by yelling "Pizza House!" so she wouldn't have to lie to him. The extremely bad Asian accent she used made this one of the more random scenes of the episode but funny nonetheless. As this was going on we also met Howard's wife, Beth for the first time. She is waiting for Howard at the train station because she locked herself out of her car and right away you can tell that she is not happy with her marriage (much like Pete) and even knows about Howard's adulterous ways.
Full Spoilers ahead for Season 5, episode 5 of Mad Men (if you haven't
seen it there's no reason to read this)
Lane Motherfucking Pryce. If it hadn't been for Tupac making Coachella
nothing but a gangsta party later that night (if you're one of the 5 people who
haven't seen it, watch it now.), Lane's beatdown of Pete
Campbell would have definitely been the most gangster thing to happen last
weekend. This Sunday's episode began with Pete in driving school and it set the
tone for the rest of the show as this was certainly a Pete-centric hour. Thus
far this season we've gotten some hints that Pete isn't happy with his new
suburban life with Trudy but this episode really went further in that direction
to show just how unhappy Pete is. Throughout the episode we see Pete attempting
to court a high school girl from his driving school class even going as far as
to ask her out on a date to the botanical gardens in the city.
Pete also seems incapable of living the suburban life as he unsuccessfully
fixes the water tap before it eventually breaks at the party that him and Trudy
are hosting. Something that causes Don to go "Superman" (Trudy's
words) and fix the tap so easily that makes me wonder if there's anything he
can't do. This is completely opposite to Pete who can't even find the proper
tool in the time it takes Don to fix the tap. Sad episode for him. Speaking of
the party it was very interesting to watch the three couples, Don and Megan,
Pete and Trudy, Ken and Cynthia (Whose name Don and Megan didn't know up until
Ken said it. Funny stuff.) interact with each other. Even Don who at first didn’t
want to go to the party seemed like he had a decent time and even brought up
his own childhood willingly. Something he rarely if ever does. This might be a
cause of the calming, relaxing effect Megan has on Don or the amount of alcohol
Don had before and during the party (“I want to hit the doorbell with my chin”). Regardless of the reason, it was fun to see Don relax a bit with people other than Megan.
Full Spoilers ahead for Season 5, episode 3 of Mad Men (if you haven't seen it there's no reason to read this)
Don Draper is boring. There's no other way to put it. Through 3 episodes (last week's season premiere was a two-hour show so it counted for two episodes) of this season, the SCDP head ad-man has become what was once thought impossible, not that entertaining to watch. The Don that we've seen in 1966 hasn't come close to the womanizing, take everything without asking questions Don of the first 3 seasons or even the slightly pathetic drunk Don of last season but rather he is exactly what one would expect a 40-year old man working in an office building to be. Boring. This seems to stem from his marriage to Megan which so far has looked to be the best relationship Don has been in (not counting Anna Draper) and one that gives him a sense of peace in his life. It will be interesting to see where this goes this season but I still believe that we'll end up seeing the old Don sometime in the near future.
Well so much for my prediction that this season we'll be seeing the gradual phasing out of Betty and Henry Francis as this week's episode was basically geared around Betty, her weight gain (more on this later) and her possible serious health scare. Watching this episode on Sunday night had me all kinds of confused after seeing Betty for the first time. I flipped between "she's pregnant" to "she's fat" several times in the first five minutes before finally giving up and letting the show tell me. It turns out that in the last 6 months from the time we last saw her, Betty has been eating everything (seriously if we hadn't seen baby Eugene last week, I would be expecting the worse). The reason that the show writers had to introduce this storyline is because the actress who portrays Betty, January Jones, was actually pregnant over the course of filming the show's fifth season. And while the fat gain due to psychological reasons is a nice touch in trying to explain the real-life weight gain by Jones, I can't lie and say it wasn't weird watching Betty's second and third chins wobble as she walked/spoke.
Through this weight gain is where we get the main conflict of the episode as Betty goes to her doctor for some diet pills but rather hears some unexpected and startling news as the doctor finds a "lump" on her neck. In her panicked state she calls Don to tell him and their relationship seems to be way better than last season's as Don does his best to calm down and comfort Betty. By the end of the episode we find out that nothing is wrong with Betty and that in her words "she's just fat". Before this happens we get a psychic reading Betty's tea leaves and saying how many people depend on her, naturally Betty cries after hearing this and even has a weird dream where she dies (strange looking scene). The uncertainty of her health led to some interesting convos between Don and Megan and Don and Roger about the future if something happened to Betty. The strange thing is that Megan had a way better outlook on it than Roger who basically said that he's done with dealing with real life and death thoughts. This is even more strange considering that Roger has previously suffered a near fatal heart attack but also way less strange when you consider that Roger seemingly doesn't give a shit about anything happening in his life right now.
What was happening at SCDP this week also played a role in the episode as the company got back the Mohawk Airlines account thanks to Pete and Roger although if you asked Pete he'd say it was all him. Roger finally appeared to get back into the business side of things as he became the account man for Mohawk Airlines based on their demand for him. This led to Peggy being told to find a new copywriter for the account as the Mohawk people wanted a man for the job (Roger - "they want someone with a penis", Peggy - "I'll work on that"). Peggy ends up picking Michael Ginsberg, a talented copywriter with a strange personality that Peggy fears Don will hate. However, Michael impresses Don in the interview (mentioned how much he loved Don's "letter" to cigarette companies) and gets the job. I'm liking Michael as a character and with him being Jewish (Roger let us know in his funny racist way) and Don's new receptionist, Dawn (led to some more funny comments by Mr. Sterling) being African-American, the offices of SCDP appear to be moving with the times, something that is sure to provide more racially-charged comments (but funny) by Roger.
The last plot point of the episode involved Don and Harry staking out the backstage of a Rolling Stones concert in hopes that they would do a jingle for their Heinz bean commercial (somehow all true.). I think I would watch an hour-long show of the adventures of Don and Harry. The two are complete opposites and the obvious dislike that Don has for Harry, one that he has no problem with showing off makes the pair great to watch. While backstage the two of them meet two girls who they begin talking to and who offer them weed. I know I wasn't alone in hoping to see Don smoke with the girls then make some sort of slick comment before hooking up with one of them (see Seasons 1-3). Sadly though the Donald Draper of 1966 continued with his boring ways by just smoking his cigarettes and questioning the girl (he did give her his business card so there's still hope in seeing womanizing Draper once more). Not surprisingly the two of them fail to even meet the Rolling Stones as Harry messes up (he talks to another band thinking they're the Stones). The episode ends with Pete undermining Roger in front of the entire SCDP staff by making it seem like Roger is working for him and not as partners. This Pete-Roger duel will probably the focal point of more episodes to come and will be interesting to watch.
Random thoughts: The scene with Don and Harry in the car after the concert was hilarious with Harry clearly affected by "munchies" and not wanting to leave Don's car. Have we ever seen Harry's family? I can't remember. No Cooper, no Ken and very little Lane this episode, the show probably didn't feel like paying them. What was up with the weird interaction between Ginsberg and his dad at the end of the episode? I'm predicting that Don meets up with the girl from the concert and the happy Megan relationship begins to crumble. I'm also sticking with my Betty and Henry will be phased out prediction just because. Overall I thought it was a good episode but weaker than last week's because I never really enjoyed Betty as a character and episodes focused on her are usually less interesting.
Rating : 8.2/10
Luka Milanovic
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Full Spoilers ahead for Season 5, episode 1 of Mad Men (if you haven't seen it there's no reason to read this)
Ah Megan. After a year and a half hiatus (caused by a dispute between Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and AMC), Mad Men finally returned on Sunday night giving us (the audience) a better look at the woman Don Draper proposed to in an unexpected move at the end of season 4. And speaking for myself, after this episode I don't blame Don. However, the episode did not start with Megan but rather with several advertising executives (we later learn they are of rival ad company Y & R) throwing water bombs out the window at African-American protesters down below. This scene sets up the social situation at the time which from a poster on the window is revealed to be 1966, seven months after the Season 4 finale.
At the beginning of the episode we also get to see the three Draper kids with Sally (growing faster than any child I've ever seen), Bobby, and baby Eugene who is no longer a baby sleeping over at their father's house for his 40th birthday. It is through this that we get our first glimpse of Don after his marriage to Megan and he seems more patient, polite and in generally a happier mood than we've ever seen him before. By the time we get to the office we see where Pete and Roger are after the 7-month break and they couldn't be more different. Pete seems to be the boss of the younger workers at the office and generally the busiest guy at SCDP (Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce) while Roger seems to be around for solely comedic value now as he drifts around the office seemingly doing nothing productive (unless you want to count him paying Don's secretary to come sit outside his office).
Joan as a mom is seen in this episode too taking care of hers and Rogers baby (her rapist, douche husband doesn't know this), Kevin. She is being helped out by her mother but it is obvious that Joan isn't one for the housewife role as she misses the office and gets mad at her mom for saying that Greg (Joan's douche husband) will essentially control whether or not Joan can work. Back at the office we see Don, Pete, Roger, and Lane (Bert Cooper is still in the office but he somehow does less than Roger, seems like he is completely out of the business end of things at the company) having a meeting in the hallway with Pete again taking charge of the proceedings and speaking for the group. Pete mentions to Don that he's working on getting Mohawk Airlines again (a company they passed over in hopes of getting American Airlines) to which Don reacts with indifference. The new Don Draper seems to have one thing on his mind, Megan. This thought is supported by him failing to even attempt and save Peggy's failed Heinz presentation (it being "the bean ballet", I don't care what the Heinz guy said, that'd be a cool commercial) but rather politely and patiently saying they'll work on something better. Even Peggy notices it saying to Stan that "this is a new Don"
Pete vs Roger seems to be a main point of emphasis in this first episode as Pete gets upset at finding Roger already at his Mohawk Airlines meeting. Strangely enough as Ken points out, the fact that Roger was there probably helped Pete in the long run but Pete is having none of it as he stubbornly continues to bitch at Roger's dis-usefulness at the company (hard to argue but then again Roger is hilarious). Megan who works under Peggy at the office in a strange repetition of the early Don and Peggy relationship decides to throw Don a surprise birthday party only to have the surprise funnily ruined by Roger and Jane (seriously, Roger is comedy gold). At the party we get to see more of the culture divide that began in the last season. Stan and Peggy's boyfriend arguing with Cooper over the merits of the Vietnam war. Roger and Don looking confused as Megan chats it up with the band playing at the party. We also see Ken's wife for the first time who is none other than Alex Mack (look up the show if you don't know who this is).
At the party is when Megan decides to perform a birthday song for Don (video up above) who seems uncomfortable the entire time. After the party we finally get to see some of old-school loner, brooding Don as he dismisses Megan for embarrassing him and wasting her money on a party like this. Nice to see the seasons 1-3 Draper even if it was for just a few minutes. The performance by Megan gave us some great bits at the office the next day with Roger singing Frere Jacques to Don in a "seductive" voice and Harry (the guy no one likes) vividly telling Stan what he'd do with Megan if he could without realizing Megan was right behind him the whole time. Funny stuff.
The Roger and Pete showdown continued later in the episode as Pete demanded to switch offices with Roger since he does more work and is more important to the company. This leads to this great exchange, Pete - "I say we take it to a vote", Roger - "I say we take it outside". Needless to say Pete did not get Roger's office but he did end up switching with Harry who Roger paid off in order for everything to work out. Pete ends up getting the last laugh this episode as he gets his secretary to set up a fake appointment at 6 am knowing Roger would go. Can't wait to watch the interactions between these two the whole season.
After seeing a want ad from SCDP for "equal opportunity employees" in the newspaper, Joan returns to the office with her baby to make sure people haven't forgotten her. What she doesn't know is that the want ad is just a prank by Roger on the Y & R people. Joan realizes that she has not been forgotten and is sorely missed as Lane tells her how much the agency needs her around. Both Lane and Joan seem similar this season in the sense that they both look to be very lonely even with several important things in their lives. Megan, after not taking Don's scolding well leaves the office early only to be followed by Don back home (when would the old Don Draper ever leave work for a woman he mistreated?). It is here where she begins cleaning the apartment in just her bra and panties provoking Don by saying things such as "you don't get to touch, you only get to watch". This of course excites Don who loves when women 'neg' him and leads to a passionate hook-up right there on the carpet.
The episode ends with the lobby at SCDP being filled with African-American applicants answering the "want ad" in the newspaper. The 5 partners (mostly Lane as he is still the main voice of reason in the office) decide that they will hire one of the women to be the secretary in front of the office. This development will sure to cause an even larger culture clash within the office and I can't wait to see what sort of racist things will come out of Roger's mouth in the weeks to come.
Some random thoughts: We got no Betty or Henry in this episode which might mean that they are slowly being phased out of the show (no complaints here). Pete seems to be the new Don Draper with everything from the house in the suburbs, the wife he appears to not love as much right down to the obsession over work. Will be interesting to see how this develops. Finally, even though the Don-Megan relationship appears to be working out at the moment, I have a hard time believing that it will work out because as we've seen through 4 seasons, Don can never have a healthy relationship with a woman and will surely find some way to get out of this one.
Overall a very good way to start the season. I love how Mad Men doesn't care about conventional TV pacing and uses its slow pace to build the characters up making every small interaction more important.
Full spoilers below you proceed once you have seen the episode.
Wow, who would have thought that the episodes title would have such a double meaning. To be honest with you, I have no idea how to do this review, I have gotten so used to good episodes (we have been spoiled from episodes 4 through 11) that I am not sure if this episode was actually bad or just bad compared to the ones preceding it (which actually wouldn't be a bad thing). What I am sure of is that this episode is most definitely not a 10, or a 9, and might be lucky to get an 8. The initial reaction from most fans has been very positive and I can't understand why. Gus's death was nicely executed up until the end, I can't believe that someone allowed the writers to kill Gus off in such an unrealistic way. I'm not saying Walt's plan was unrealistic, but Gus being able to walk out, adjust his tie one last time and stand still for a solid five seconds was just blasphemy.
If you described what I just said to someone who has never seen the show, then asked them to guess how he dies these would probably be the responses: sniper, someone shoots him, etc. Then you would tell them "actually no, he JUST had a bomb go off one foot from his face, which by the way is half missing" The person talking to you would say something like "man that's unrealistic, how can he walk out of the room and adjust his tie... or even stand?". I have two explanations: firstly, the second season of 'the walking dead' is coming out soon and this was a good way to show how good their make-up artists are, and secondly the writers really wanted to send Gus off with a scene that would be iconic. The only iconic thing about it is that it destroyed any chance that Breaking Bad had of being remembered as a great TV show. Watch the scene again, it killed the beautiful build-up, acting, and music (man was the music good, I think it saved the episode) really disappointing stuff. Other scenes in the episode like Jesse being investigated by the FBI and being kidnapped in front of a police station just added to the unrealistic feeling of this episode. The FBI and Saul was a nice touch, as was Walter sending his neighbor into a very dangerous situation, but overall it felt as if this season could have done with 12 episodes instead of 13. Realistically, all the things that happened in this episode were just a dragged out version of last episode without anything dramatic. We didn't even get a nice plot twist! I kept looking at the time and knew that there was 15 minutes left when Gus died and 6 left when Jesse and Walt destroyed the lab. I kept waiting for something but it never came, oh wait it did! It turns out that it wasn't Risen that Walt poisoned Brock with; it was some berries off of the plant in his back yard. This would have been great had the entire fan base not predicted it last week, and yes the last four or so lines are pure sarcasm. I find it really hard to believe that after such an incredible season that we went out with a whimper and not a bang. Don't believe me? I went back and looked at the ratings I have been giving these episodes, after an average score of 7.2/10 for the first 3 we got this stretch: 9, 8.2, 8.4, 10, 9.4, 9, 10, 9.2, 9.3. My goodness.
So what the hell is season 5 going to be about? A few candidates: Jesse vs. Walt when Jesse finds out Walt poisoned Brock (it has to happen), Hank connecting more dots and Mike, good ol' Mike (I really hope they show us a scene of him leaving Mexico and seeing the carnage Walt left) are the prime story lines I can think of, the good thing is I don't think we can go wrong here. All in all it is really a bitter end to a season that was brilliant as a whole, it is just a shame that the worst episodes were at the start and at the end and this is all made worse by the fact that we have to wait a year to see how this all ends. If this review feels mailed in to you, then I hope its the same feeling you got from the episode, because man did they mail this one in. Breaking Bad: you are better than this
Overall Rating for this episode: 6/10 (any higher would be insulting your intelligence) Best Scene: Anything with Aaron Paul, I refuse to say Gus's death here because it was so 'Hollywood' and not realistic at all.
Overall Rating for the season: This was tougher than I thought because the final episode was so disappointing but overall the season was a solid 8.5/10 Best scene of the season: Let's go with the fight between Jesse and Walt, there were many worthy candidates but that one was the most intense.
A different take on things (from Jovan):
I cannot fully agree with the above review. I understand that there were some unrealistic scenes, as there have been throughout the entire show, but even though most people had already called some of the events beforehand, it was still acted out and directed extremely well. Hector got his revenge, and he had nothing left to live for, so I can't complain with his suicide. What I didn't like is how Gus did not realize that when Hector visited the DEA, it was set up. Why would Hector just suddenly decide to go and talk to the DEA? He clearly talked to someone first. Another problem I have is Gus not noticing the bomb on Hector's chair. It was in a visible area and when Tyrus turned around the chair, one of the two should have seen it. Lastly, Gus exiting the room before dying is somewhat unrealistic considering he lost half his face, but it made the scene that much better. The episode overall wasn't as good as some of the previous ones, but it was a good ending to a great season, and even though there were no twists (except the Lily of the Valley poisoning Brock - so why did Huell search Jesse in the last episode? I want this explained), there needn't have been any. What happened needed to happen and now we'll have to wait another year to see how Jesse will deal with Walt when he finds out that Walt was the one who poisoned Brock.
Episode Score: 8.5 (Season Rating: 8.8, while episodes 4-12 get a 9.5 average rating)
Look for some more Survivor thoughts in a week with some individual projects coming from each of the writers soon! Thanks for reading
This episode of Breaking Bad was like watching a great athlete put the finishing touches on an MVP season. Not sinse the third and fourth seasons of the wire (still easily the best show ever, this is not up for debate) have I had the pleasure of enjoying a television show this much. Season 4 of Breaking Bad has really been a joy and it is a shame that there is only one episode left before a year of waiting. This episode was not without its tense moments, but slowed down considerably from the last few. This is a nice calming period before we get to next weeks finale (titled 'Face Off') and this episode felt more like a stage-setter much like the episode 'half-measures' was last year.
There is not really a point in discussing the minor happenings of the episode, because everyone on the internet is focusing on the question of who poisoned Brock? The main theories are almost divided down the middle with one side saying Walt did it and the other saying Gus did it. Before getting into that we have to acknowledge two more theories: first, Brock may have poisoned himself, very unlikely. Second, Skyler somehow did it, again unlikely but not impossible; she has the connections with Saul, she was more sane than Walt as of last episode and seems to be cold and calculating so I do not put anything past her at this point. Now that those are out of the way, lets get to it.
No matter what happens in these last two episodes, the fourth season of Breaking Bad is the show's best season hands down. We could talk about how Skyler's decision to tell Ted that it was her who gave him the money backfired in a big way. I have to admit, the scene of Skyler demanding that Ted pay off the IRS was actually very enjoyable, Anna Gunn even acted well enough to show us that she was not through with Ted as she walked out the door, brilliant stuff. Her method to get him to pay? Not the best, I would have just forged that check and been done with it but that's me. Now for all we know Ted is now dead and you know that there will be an investigation and you know that Skyler will be investigated. Whether the police will look at the shady accounting or the sending of thugs to Ted's house to sign that check remains to be seen. We can talk about Gus's sheer coldness and planning ability, or his stupidity. He is brilliant in his planning; he set up an emergency site where he, Mike, or Jesse could receive instant (well, almost) treatment for any wounds they could have picked up when obliterating the cartel. He is ice cold when he tells Hector (old man with the bell) about how he killed all of the big players in the cartel, colder still when he informs him that the last of his family is left, and even colder when he presents Jesse to him as the guy who helped Gus do it all. Despite what I just said about the guy, for the first time in the series I am calling him stupid. All he had to do was 'fire' or pay Walt off, guarantee his safety and he would be leading a much less stressful life right now. But we need to have a fifth season, so he had to make a big show to Walt, taking him to the desert just to tell him to stay away from Jesse? Of course Walt figured out that Jesse was still loyal to him and not to Gus and of course Gus (normally calm and collected, even when he finished the cartel off in Mexico) had to snap; threatening to kill Walt's entire family AND telling Walt that he planned to kill Hank!? After many years of being careful, Gustavo Fring has finally made a mistake, a really big mistake (I will discuss this towards the end of the review).
TweetAs always, this review will contain spoilers you have been warned
So much for Breaking Bad falling off. After what many fans would agree was a very slow start, season 4 has blossommed into arguably Breaking Bad's best season to date. Before we get carried away, we do have 3 more episodes, but its hard to believe that they will not be as good as the ones we are lucky to be watching now. While you can't blame anyone for getting excited about the last scene, the reality is that the entire episode was incredible, from start to finish. Before we get to the big finale, the other aspects of the episode should be discussed. Firstly, Skylar is probably guilty of the worst mistake in the show so far (yes the worst) I still can't believe that she told Ted that it was her who sent him the money to bail him out of the trouble with the IRS. How does the ONE person who has been the most careful and logical about covering up Walt's 'job' slip up so badly? If she felt bad for Ted, that is still no excuse, Im sure anyone would have let the IRS have him after seeing how greedy he actually is. Not only is he greedy, he completely ignores Skylar at first and even kicks her out of the office, only one episode after she bailed his ass out! In my opinion, a greedy scumbag like this will want more and could easily start blackmailing Skylar, if that happens it could be the thing that finally ends (and we all know its ending somehow) Walter's run. Enough about Ted and Skylar, I agree with Jovan's statement he had when we discussed this episode, this is what he said: "In all honesty, they never should have brought him back" Well said, we move on.
It took 3 seasons and 10 episodes but at last Walter White admitted he was wrong. It seems that Jesse's final words from the previous episode really hit Walter hard and for the first time in a long time he was human again. It really did feel weird feeling sorry for him after all he has done but the acting performance Bryan Cranston put on was nothing short of incredible. He not only gave an incredibly authentic "I made a mistake" line while crying, he had a monologue that could rival Mike's 'half measures' one. I actually felt like the actors were father and son and could'nt beleive how into the scene I was, well done guys seriously. The line that really stood out for me was Walt Jr's, when he said he did'nt mind seeing Walter like this, but he hated the monster he was from the time he got diagnosed. What a wake-up call for Walter, I mean just wow. Okay, now that I respected this episode with the minor scenes (if we can even call them that) let's discuss the main ones.
Jesse, Gus, and Mike (how entertaining are they as a trio by the way?) travel to Mexico to meet with Don Eladio, you may remember him as the guy who ruthlessly had Gus's original partner killed. After having Jesse show Eladio's cooks how its done, Eladio is so thrilled he decides to throw a party, opening it with everyone taking a shot of some liquor Gus was kind enough to provide. Now, I do realize Eladio made Gus drink it first, but how stupid do you have to be? Every single person I spoke to also though it was poisoned right away, but I digress. Before the meeting we saw Gus taking some pills, which I think its safe to say were some anti-poison meds. During the party, Gus excuses himself and promptly forces himself to start throwing up (I don't know how effective this method is, but James Bond did it in Casino Royal too, so We'll go with it). Outside, where the party is happening, people start dropping like flies. The whole scene is shot beautifly and is only ruined by the fact that we kind of knew what was coming, but that is my only gripe with this sequence. Once everyone is dead, our (heroes?) characters start making their escape, where Mike is shot and saved again by Jesse. So now Jesse has to drive a wounded Mike and a very ill Gus out of Mexico... Did I mention we still have 3 episodes left? I can not wait.
Overall rating for this episode: 10 I debated between 9.9 and 10 due to the predictabillity of the last scene, but the other aspects of this episode more than made up for it.
Breaking Bad continues to impress after its slow start to the season. Last week offered us a background episode on the show’s most secretive character, Gus, and gave us insight on why he’s such a badass and why he despises the cartel. In the latest episode, titled “Bug”, we were back on track with the current story. The title may sound familiar to the bottle neck episode (one with a lower budget) in season 3, “Fly”, and whether you hated or loved that episode, you should know that this episode is nothing like it. In that episode, Walt and Jesse were trapped inside their lab for the whole episode trying to catch a fly so that it does not contaminate their product (you can see how that episode could deal with a lower budget). In “Bug”, there is a lot of violence, a lot more blood, and it is overall a much better episode.
