For five seasons, Jesse Pinkman had exclusively called his
former chemistry teacher “Mr. White.” Last night, he finally goes from that honorific
to a new form of address: “Asshole.” With that, even more than with the gasoline
soaked rugs, I feel the bond between Walt and Jesse is shattered. Jesse has
gone completely rogue, refusing to do what his former meth partner tells him
to.
Walt finally knows it, too. He spends most of the episode
mounting absurd defenses of Jesse, telling Skyler he had no wish to harm the
Whites and telling Saul that Jesse would listen to reason about the reasons why
he had to poison Brock – to which his wife responds that the kid had come very
close to setting their home on fire and his lawyer responds that he didn’t
think Jesse would go for a reasonable discussion of the “nuances of child
poisoning.”
Hank is perceptive enough to see, based solely on testimony,
that his brother-in-law has a close relationship with Jesse (or as Jesse puts
it, Walt is gay for him). That’s why we see Walt finally draw a line in the
moral sand: He will not sign off on murdering Jesse. Like a father with a
troubled son, he hopes against hope that love will be enough to bring the son
around.
That’s what Walt thinks until Jesse finally addresses him
with that term of disrespect. Then, just as the scales fell from Jesse’s eyes
about what kind of person Walt is, the scales fall from Walt’s eyes and he
realizes Jesse will no longer listen to reasoning or manipulation. Time to call
in creepy Todd and his neo-Nazi uncle.
Walt felt artificial and a little off in last night’s Breaking Bad and maybe that’s because
for most of the episode, he seemed like a non-psychopathic person for the first
time in forever. He seemed genuine when talking to Walt Jr. by the pool and was
moved to tears. Of course, right after talking to Junior, it’s almost like he
thinks “Let me call my real son” and tries to get Jesse on the phone. The more
I think about it, the more Walt’s subdued manner most of the episode seems like
Bryan Cranston’s very subtle, almost subliminal, way of depicting his
shell-shock at Jesse’s act of destruction against his home.
The Whites have already come so far, Skyler figures, so what’s
one more corpse in the shape of Jesse? I loved the shot of Skyler from above,
lounging on the luxurious hotel bed with a drink in her hand, as if she’s some
sort of queen or Lady Macbeth plotting revenge.
Skyler White is increasingly a confounding character and I’m
not sure what to think of her anymore. I had sympathized with her earlier as
Walt was clearly trying to trap her in an abusive situation but on the last
episode, she seems more than ever like a schemer. She’s always been reliably
practical and correctly knocked some sense into her husband’s head that the guy
who tried to burn down their house is unlikely to listen to reason. Anna Gunn
is doing a wonderful job with a complex character and I hope she wins an Emmy.
Hank seems to have come up with a plausible way to bring
down Walt by bringing his trusted ally Gomie into the fold. I sort of wish they
had showed the thought process of convincing his partner that the
brother-in-law was the meth manufacturer all along. I was excited to see Hank
being the one to burst into the White home and save it from destruction because
he deserved a great character moment after being so lost.
“Rabid Dog” was slower than the thrill ride of the last
three episodes and was mostly set-up but it was a sutble episode whose points
sunk into me only after reflection. I can’t imagine where Jesse will go to hit
Walt where he lives but I’m guessing it has something to do with his ego.
It was a treat to see Breaking
Bad at its normal time, since it’s a long weekend and we could stay up. No
such luck next week, since we’re on vacation and may not get to it til we get
home. I’m sure we’ll live.
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