Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 9: "Blood Money" Review

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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.

Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 5: 'Dead Freight' Review

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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.

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Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 4: 'Fifty-One' Review

Tweet 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

Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 3: 'Hazard Pay' Review

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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.

Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 2: 'Madrigal' Review

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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.

Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 1:Live Free Or Die Review

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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!

Breaking Bad Season 4 Episode 11: "Crawl Space" Review

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Okay, lets all take a deep breath.  Exhale. Wow.

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).