'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Review

By Kartik Chainani 

            It’s not often that a sequel film has the ability to trump its predecessor, but with a much larger budget, a new director and a talent as unique as Jennifer Lawrence, it would seem “the odds were ever in their favor”. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire released only two weeks ago and has already shattered box office records. Not only soaring farther than the first installment of the series, Catching Fire set huge box office records over Thanksgiving weekend ($74.5 million Fri-Sun, $110.2 million Wed-Sun), even surpassing its 12-year previous record holder for this specific weekend, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Though not my favorite book of The Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire is without a doubt my favorite film of the series thus far. In this second installment, we’re transported back into the dystopian “future” world known as Panem to see what happens next in the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). By the end of the first film, we had witnessed Peeta and Katniss dominate the 74^th annual Hunger Games and fool the capitol (and somewhat themselves) into believing their love story. Their love story was of such popularity in the capitol that it forced the tyrant President Snow to allow two victors of the games for the first time in history.

President Snow (Don Sutherland) seemed to be the only one in the capitol not fooled by their love story, and his grudge on Katniss’ open defiance against him carries on in this film. He worries that this act of defiance against him and the capitol will spark an uprising among the districts and lead to a rebellion. Because of this, he warns Katniss to show her allegiance to the capitol in order to contain this fire. However, without giving out any spoilers, suffice to say things don’t go over as smoothly as he would hope.

The transformation that this film undergoes occurs in more ways than one. This film is bigger, sexier, funnier and much more action-packed than its forerunner.  With a new team of Oscar-winning writers, a well-reputed director, and a cast full of talented actors, Catching Fire delivers in full and is sure to be one of the best movies of the year.

'Breaking Bad' 5x16 - "Felina"

Breaking Bad: Season 5, Episode 16: ‘Felina’

Review by Kartik Chainani

Just get me home….just get me home…I’ll do the rest. Wow. That’s the only word that I can think of to describe how incredible and fully satisfying our final spoonful of Breaking Bad tasted. Every single storyline and was either left in a solid and unquestioning place, or wrapped up to full satisfaction. Over the past 5 seasons, creator Vince Gilligan has truly built an empire that rivals even Walter White’s. Being an avid television enthusiast, I can honestly say that I have never seen any show in which character development has undergone such depth in not only its protagonist, but every character we meet along the way that even closely rivals that of Breaking Bad. Every character we meet on this show, we’re given just a small glimpse onto their very colorful pasts, and nothing more. Each of their pasts could have its own show, but we only get slight glances and are left to wonder how they all ended up where they are now. To me, that’s one of the biggest beauties of the show.

In full BrBa fashion, the finale delivered to us, as we were promised from day 1, no mercy. The beauty of the show is that there is no forgiveness. Last week we were left with what appeared to be Walt finally giving up and laying down. After a heartbreaking conversation with his son who now despises him, Walt realizes that everything he’s done has become a waste if he can’t give what he earned to his family. Of course, we all know that Heisenberg would never give in, and just needed a slight nudge over the edge to end things on his term. That nudge was given just moments later. Sitting in the bar waiting for the DEA to break down the doors and bring him in, Walt happens to notice that Charlie Rose is on television, and his guests? None other than Walt’s old colleagues and co-founders of his billion-dollar enterprise; “Gray Matter Technologies”. After claiming Walt had virtually nothing to do with their company’s success, we were able to see a glimpse of Heisenberg in those menacing eyes, back for one final blow.

Throughout the episode, Walt seems to float through town, almost ghost-like to take care of business. What seemed last week like it was going to be an execution of his ex-business partners, was actually Walt coming to conduct one final business deal with the two, but in a very Heisenberg manner. Walt knew his family would never take his money willingly, and came to Gretchen and Elliot to strong-arm them into funneling what little of his fortune he had left into his son’s life on his 18^th birthday, even if that meant it appearing to be charity for the damage his father left on their family. Walt has always been a prideful man, even unable to accept money from Gretchen and Elliot for his cancer treatment in the beginning. To not only allow, but to come up with the idea to further tarnish his name in order to get his family his money, shows us that on some level, he really did do all of this for them.

Series finales generally have a few flashbacks to remind you of the journey, and I won’t lie, I was hoping for a few in Breaking Bad as well. Only one managed to make it, but it invoked more than just nostalgia. As Walt was leaving his now run-down and abandoned house, he has a flashback to the first time he saw a meth lab on TV, and Hank offering him a ride-a-long to “get some excitement” in his life. “Someday…” the look on Walt’s face as we flashed back to present day read everything the audience felt too; guilt and disbelief at how far we’ve come in such a short time. After a heartbreaking final words with Skyler and a final look his baby daughter and the son who will never be able to forgive or understand what he did, Walt was finally ready to settle the score. 

 He went to the neo-Nazi base with the intent of wiping everyone out, including Jesse. But when he sees how broken Jesse has become, he realizes that he’s already been through death. Jesse’s soul has been taken, and it’s been taken by Walt. He realizes that Jesse deserves a new life, and beautifully gives that to him as he takes a bullet to give that to him. After Walt’s genius automatic gun kills everyone in its path and Jesse is able to finally end that sociopath Todd, we’re just left with Walt and Jesse This is truly the showdown we’ve wanted since season 1. Jesse is given the chance to put an end to all the manipulation, destruction and torment that Walt has put him through. Even when Walt gives him his blessing to do so and says, “It’s what you want.”, Jesse ends the manipulation then and there, by telling Walt to admit that it’s actually what he wants. He’s not going to do any more of Walt’s dirty work, and tells him to do it himself. Jesse is finally able to let go of his old chemistry teacher once and for all without having  to do so as Walt would have it. He’s free. As “broken” as literally every character’s lives are because of Walt, the one thing everyone wanted was for Jesse to be able to put this life behind him. Jesse has been through more than everyone in this show, and no one is more deserving of a new life.

 

            All things are squared away, and Walt is left with all alone to die in a meth lab as the police are just on the horizon, a perfect way for this amazing antagonist to go out.  What’s amazing about this finale is that it stands out as one of a very select few shows that actually follow through on what it’s about. It was never about a perfectly happy ending, and it was never about a perfect disastrous ending. It was the story of an average man and the darkness that can be hidden inside him. It’s the story of how, given certain circumstances, that darkness can rise in anyone (as we saw through numerous characters) and what the ramifications of this can be. All in all, we knew that the show wasn’t going to end on our terms; it was going to end on Walter White’s terms. It’s been an incredible journey, and Breaking Bad is sure to be a show that is talked about for years to come. Thank you for taking these last steps with me!

'Breaking Bad' 5x14 - "Ozymandias"

Breaking Bad: Season 5, Episode 14: ‘Ozymandias’

Review by Kartik Chainani

                   If emotions have ever run high for you when watching a television program before, last night’s episode of Breaking Bad is very likely to at the very least, make your heart race furiously. Tensions were already left high last week, as we were left in the middle of an insane gun battle between Hank and Gomez and the neo-Nazis who came to “rescue” Walt, who remained frantic in the middle of it all. Of course, it wouldn’t be Breaking Bad or Vince Gilligan’s style to instantly start us right back in the middle of that. As usual, we were given a cold open that seemed unrelated to the current events of the show. However, what was a little change of pace from the normal cold opens, was that this one was a flashback to seemingly happier times; times that at this particular moment in the show, seem as much like a completely different lifetime to us as they do to Walt. We were taken back to Walt and Jesse’s RV days of cooking, to hear Walt calling Skylar to make an excuse for why he would be home late that evening. To me, this scene really exemplifies not only the amazing transformation that Walt has undergone, but the depth of acting ability that Bryan Cranston is blessed with. The look on his face as he nervously brainstorms the lie he plans to tell his wife is almost one of innocence, which is a complete 180 from the Walter White we know now. The fact that Cranston is still able to draw back to who his character used to be so easily really shows how remarkably diverse his skills are. Anyway, in this scene Skylar tells Walt that she has been thinking about naming their then future baby girl ‘Holly’. The fact that the writers felt it necessary to bring this to attention at this moment sent a chill down my spine about the baby’s fate in present-day. There has been much speculation by fans that the show has dropped plenty of Easter eggs leading to Holly’s death, and even non-believers of this theory can’t brush this blatant hint off as irrelevant. It seemed certain something unfortunate was in the works for baby Holly.

                  With the nostalgia of the early days of Walt and Jesse’s cook in our heads mixing with the fear and paranoia about what would happen to Holly, we were immediately thrown right back into the action. Not surprisingly, the 2-against-5 battle seemed to end. We had to see our favorite DEA sidekick meet his sticky end, as Hank still desperately tried to fight. It was somewhat surprising that Walt rushed to Hank’s side and was even willing to give up his fortune (which we finally learned the value of, $80 million) to save his life. It always seemed that Walt cared about nothing more than his money, but we saw there was still some humanity left inside him. However, that may have been shattered when they decide to kill Hank anyway. Hank’s death in this scene hits us all just as hard as it hit Walt, which is credited to the beautiful cinematography that makes Breaking Bad unique. The combination of the background sound muffling out and the screen blurring in such a way showed us just how much this affected Walt, and hit us in our gut as well. It was very hard to see Hank’s motionless body being dragged into a hole, as this is a character that we’ve all loved to watch evolve. As much as we all hoped he would be the one to take down Walter White, a part of us knew his fate would lead him here one way or another.

                  Walt, now seemingly broken, agrees to leave town with the $10 million that Jack and his crew leave him, but not before attending to the unresolved issue of Jesse Pinkman.  It almost seems like Walt blames Jesse for Hank’s death. We see the cold stare Walt gives Jesse as Jack kneels him down in the same execution-style he had Hank, it seems certain that Jesse is about to meet his end as well, which would have been way too much for me to handle in one episode. His hate for Jesse now seems inflexible, and he even went as far as to finally tell him how he didn’t bother saving Jane’s life as sort of a final slap in the face. Luckily, Jesse didn’t die here, and they take him hostage to teach them the cook that Walt had promised them, because apparently $70 million isn’t enough for these guys.

                  All of this was a lot to handle, but only half of the episode had ended. There were still matters to deal with at home, starting with Walt Jr. finally learning who his father really is. As he’s done throughout the show, Walt Jr. refuses to believe anything negative about his father, and doesn’t take the news well. Until of course, the White family confrontation that had us all holding our breath. It seemed certain that at least one member of the White family would die in this scene. Skylar, who couldn’t take any more after finding out what happened to Hank, finally brought her empty threats to life, and pulled a knife on Walt. With this epic knife battle in the White family room, baby Holly’s cries heard in the background, and Walt Jr. leaping in to protect his mother, I truly felt that somehow baby Holly would end up dead. Instead, she ended up kidnapped by Walt, which I guess is the lesser of two evils. This was one fight that the White family will never recover from. The cops were finally called and basically told everything they were needed to know about Walter White.

                  Though it’s incredibly hard to highlight in this particular episode, watching Marie’s reaction when she learns about Hank was one of the most heartbreaking things we saw. While starting off as such a miniscule side character, watching Marie’s journey has turned into a huge part of this story. It was already hard enough to listen to her say she’ll stand by her sister’s side during Walt’s arrest, because she had no idea what had already happened. Marie is a character who complemented Hank perfectly. Both were opposites in many ways, but were two of the only characters with a solidly “good” core. Like I said in the beginning, if you have any feelings at all, they’re going to be in full effect during “Ozymandias”.

 Alas, we finally saw the events that led to Walt turning to a new identity, as he took off into the sunset in that red van that Jesse never entered a few episodes back. It would seem that he’s left his old life behind, but we’ve seen too much from flash-forward scenes to know that his new life is short-lived. What was most interesting is that when Skyler begged him to come home with Holly, he told her he “still had things to take care of.” To me, this makes it seem that Walt is intending to return soon, and most likely to seek revenge. Power has always controlled Walter White, and he sure as hell isn’t going to end things with it being stripped away from him. With an emotionally deep episode in the dust and only two episodes to go, we can only hope that we see him gain that revenge soon.

 

'Breaking Bad' 5x13 - "To’hajiilee”

“To’hajiilee” (5x13) Review by Kartik Chainani

            “Todd, I think I might have another job for your uncle…” those were the words uttered by Walter White that we were left hanging on last week. This week, we got to see just how well that job might play out in what I believe was arguably one of the best Breaking Bad episodes of all time. Words can’t even describe the rush, fear and adrenaline that are felt during this episode, but I’ll try my best. Last week we were left wondering what Jesse’s new plan to bring down Walt would entail, and if he would even have time to carry it out before Walt sent out the cavalry. Just as predicted, Jesse told a very pissed off Hank and Gomez that Walt’s money is the best evidence to go after, because “that greedy bastard would never get rid of it.”           

When Hank starts devising a plan to find out where Walt’s money is, we really get another glimpse at the transformation Hank has made throughout this show. Early on, we never would have expected that he would be so capable of lying and conspiring in such a Heisenberg-like manner. While Huell isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, the lies Hank spins to manipulate him into telling them where Walt’s money is really were pretty brilliant. The roles of power have definitely shifted in the past couple episodes, as we see Hank getting a step ahead of the game, and Walt now taking desperate and hasty measures.

Walt asks Todd and his neo-Nazi family to take care of Jesse in the same fashion that they took care of the 10 inmates in separate prisons who knew about Walt earlier this season, and they finally see a chance to get what they want. Todd’s cooking hasn’t been up to Lydia’s Heisenberg-standards, and Walt needing something from them is the perfect chance to fix this. Though Walt had sworn to his family and even himself that he was out, we all know that deep down, he can’t resist that apron. Forced to make a deal, killing Jesse in exchange for “one last cook”, things were looking up for the White family. Only one problem: how can Walt draw out Jesse? As the only way he knows how, Walt sees fit to pay another visit to young Brock and his mother Andrea, in hopes that a phone call from her mentioning Walt will be enough to send Jesse running over there. However, as Saul points out, Jesse isn’t as dumb as Walt thinks. For that matter, neither is Hank, who sees right through the voicemail Andrea left on Jesse’s phone. Walt’s plan to draw Jesse out goes kaput, and it becomes Jesse and Hank’s turn.

After another brilliant fake picture by Hank gets sent to Walt, seemingly showing his barrels of money, Walt desperately rushes out the door to get it, ironically in the same way he hoped Jesse would rush to Brock. The scene when Walt frantically drives into the desert to stop Jesse is nothing short of brilliant, and another prime example of the beautiful writing of Breaking Bad. Jesse definitely isn’t as dumb as Walt thinks, and even manages to convince him to stay on the phone the entire drive out to the money as well as confess over the phone to a number of his crimes without even realizing it. As if pulling a fast one like this on the great Heisenberg wasn’t enough, Jesse’s dialogue in this scene is so satisfying to anyone who’s been eagerly waiting for him to get his revenge. His voice-over doesn’t even sound like an average phone call, but more so booms over the background noise, almost as if it was a voice inside Walt’s head. We also finally get to hear Jesse call him ‘Walt’ as opposed to the term of respect ‘Mr. White’ that we’ve heard from him for 5 seasons.

             Finally, we get out to To’hajiilee, and the blood is pumping for both the audience and the characters. But we’ve only just begun. Walt realizes he’s been trapped and calls in his reinforcements for help. However, once he discovers that Jesse isn’t with a gang, but with his brother-in-law, he realizes its over for him and calls it off. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, Hank especially. He finally has the great ‘Heisenberg’ in handcuffs, and this nightmare can be put to rest. But we all know by now, there are no happy endings in Breaking Bad. 

Vince Gilligan and his team of genius writers have already shown us in flash-forward scenes, that this is not when Walt goes down. Walt’s cavalry arrives, fully strapped, just as he’s been sat in the back of Hank’s car. In one of the most bone-chilling scenes I’ve ever scene on television, we sat at a standoff between the neo-Nazis and Hank and Gomez. Both parties opened fire, and the credits rolled over the screen. 

Besides Walt, who we know is sure to survive, everyone’s fate is at risk at the moment. It seems more than likely that at least one of these three characters will bite the dust in the beginning of next week’s episode. As usual, we’re left with too many questions waiting to be answered, and are forced to starve our addiction for another seven days.

'Breaking Bad' 5x12 - "Rabid Dog"

"Rabid Dog" (5x12) Review by Kartik Chainani

"We've come this far...what's one more?" These words uttered by Skyler White both send a slight shudder down our spines but also can hardly be argued with when we look at the White family's magnificently horrific track record. If you watched "Rabid Dog" this week, then you know Skyler is referring to Walt "taking care" of "the Jesse problem". After last week's intense ending, which left us watching Jesse in a frantic rage storm into Walt's house and douse everything he could see in gasoline, we returned to Walt finally arriving home to try and stop Jesse. Entering with extreme caution and the help of the handgun he kept stashed in his car wash vending machine, Walt fearfully screamed out to Jesse to come out so they could talk. After walking through the gas-soaked carpets, he discovers that Jesse isn't there, leaving Walt, and the rest of us, wondering where the hell he went.

 After Walt span his usual web of lies that Skyler is always able to see right through about the house, the family ended up in a hotel for the night. When Walt meets up with Saul and Huell in the parking lot to discuss how to handle "the Jesse situation", we get another play on the Scarface theme of Breaking Bad that Vince Gilligan is so famous for. Saul looks at the aftermath of Jesse's attack on him in the mirror and says " You think this will leave a scar?"  While this in itself isn't necessarily a tie-in to the Scarface theme, Saul's all white tux with red button-down shirt sticking out definitely is a tribute to Pacino. In this scene, Saul compares Jesse to a rabid dog that needs to be put out of its misery. At this, and then at Skyler's insistence to take care of him in the same fashion, Walt sticks to his guns that eliminating Jesse is completely out of the question.

         Finally, we get to learn what exactly happened to Jesse, as we flashback to the gasoline incident. We see that just as Jesse is ready to torch the place, Hank bursts in to the house in a jaw-dropping scene that ends with this unlikely duo pairing up to destroy a common enemy. The scene after Jesse's video confession to Hank and Gomez (Hank's DEA partner), we see just how far Hank is willing to go to bring Walt down. While it often looks like we have good vs. evil in the battle between Hank and White, it appears all characters are "breaking bad" so to speak, when we learn that Hank is even willing to sacrifice Jesse if it means bringing him down. They arrange a meeting for Walt and Jesse in hopes of gaining recorded proof straight from Walt's mouth about anything that can incarcerate him.

We were all very anxious to see Jesse finally on his way to confront Walt about everything he found out about him, but alas, we were teased once again. Jesse had a revelation just feet away from Walt and turned around to call him from a pay phone. On this call, he tells Walt that he still plans to bring him down, only this time, he's going to get him "where he really lives." This could mean a couple of different things. The most likely thing being that Jesse plans to go after Walt's money. Walt's money has been what all of this has been about since the very beginning, and is also enough incriminating evidence to at least raise a few eyebrows. If Walt is scared enough about his money, it will draw him out in a desperate and unsuspecting fashion, making him ripe for Hank's picking. In addition, next week's episode is entitled '' which as us die-hard fans that watch the behind-the-scenes videos know is the place where Walt buried his money. It is also coincidentally the location that Jesse and Walt had their first cook.  This is just speculation of course, as you can never assume anything when watching Breaking Bad. 

'Breaking Bad' 5x11 - "Confessions"

Breaking Bad: Season 5, Episode 11: “Confessions”

Review by Kartik Chainani

                  The words “awkward tension” can’t even begin to describe the cringing feeling everyone surely felt when watching the newest episode of Breaking Bad, “Confessions” last night. Awkward family meals have become sort of synonymous with the show, from the meal Walt and Skyler shared with Walt Jr. and his friend just moments after Skyler shoved it in Walt’s face that she cheated on him, to the hilariously uncomfortable meal they shared with Jesse, who had no idea Skyler wanted nothing more than to see Walt die. Last night’s episode played along with this fun theme quite well.

After a desperate attempt to lure Walt Jr. over to Hank and Marie’s to keep away from his parents, Walt and Skyler arrange to meet and discuss this sticky situation in a public place. The serious tone of this discussion contrasts with the optimistic and lively atmosphere of the restaurant and waiter ina way that only Breaking Bad can pull off. After a heated discussion which only left both parties more indulged to stick to their original choices, Walt and Skyler decided it best to leave. Before doing so, Walt leaves Hank a DVD with his “confession” that we caught a small glimpes of him recording earlier that day.

                  Upon watching the confession, we learn that Walt still has no intention of going down easily. In a jaw-dropping and devious technique that only Heisenberg could pull off, Walt’s “confession” in fact puts all of the blame on Hank, claiming that it was him who ran the drug empire for the past year, forcing Walt to help him under threat of death. This was one of those notorious “I did not see that coming” scenes that Breaking Bad is famous for.

                  The whole theme of “confessions” runs throughout this entire episode, with just about every character. We start off with Todd, Walt’s replacement for Jesse when he quit the business. Since Walt left as well, Todd is the only cook in the country who knows Walt’s famous meth recipe, and the one who Walt left to run the empire. As we saw from his involvement in the part A of season 5, Todd is without a doubt a sociopath. Having shot the kid who saw them stealing the methylamine from the train back in episode 5 (“Dead Freight”) of this season in cold blood with absolutely no remorse, we caught a glimpse inside the head of this maniac.

Played by the very talented Jesse Plemons, Todd is an incredible character. In the beginning scene for “Confessions”, we see him sitting in a diner with his demented uncle who arranged the hit on 10 witnesses to Walt’s crimes in 2 minutes, all in separate prisons; more proof that crazy seems to run in Todd’s family. Todd sits with his uncle and his partner, bragging about the incredible train heist that he, Walt and Jesse managed to pull off. It’s interesting to note that he doesn’t even make mention of having killed the child. One might think that this is because he feels guilty, but knowing Todd’s character, I think the opposite could be said. It’s because he felt nothing when he killed him that he doesn’t even think it worth mentioning in the story.

As we left off in the ending of last week’s episode, Hank had just gone in to the interrogation room to try and get a confession out of Jesse. This is a confrontation we’ve been waiting a few seasons for, as Hank and Jesse haven’t seen each other since he attacked Jesse for something he now knows was actually Walt’s fault. In this scene, Hank shares with Jesse his big discovery about his partner Heisenberg. He also relates to Jesse, explaining to him how they both have been lied to and manipulated by Walt in so many ways, some of which neither of them even know about. You can see in Jesse’s eyes how broken he is, and that somewhere inside, he knows all his troubles are a direct result of Walt’s desire to take Jesse’s soul. The idea of finally bringing him down and putting an end to all these troubles is of course appealing to Jesse. However, his strong loathing for the police, and Hank in particular, causes his reaction to Hank’s deal to simply be, “eat me.”

Walt of course, is able to get away in this confession-themed episode without confessing to anything. Though he has the most to confess for, we all know Walt sticks to his guns. During his “confession”, Hank finally learns the truth about how his medical bills were paid for, forcing Marie to finally let the cat out of the bag. The fact that Walt was responsible for paying these bills just puts him another step higher than Hank in this battle.

In some ways, Hank manages to go without confessing too. Perhaps learning some techniques from his devious brother-in-law, Hank decides to keep this battle close to home. He and Marie discuss going to the DEA with Hank’s discovery about Walt to help bring him down. However, despite the many opportunities we see in this episode to do so and the threats he gave to Walt, Hank still keeps the information to himself. There are many reasons he might be doing this. Hank could be worried about what the DEA will do to him, for being so careless as to not notice his brother-in-law has been running an entire drug empire right under his nose. After Walt’s DVD, he could also be concerned that Walt actually will bring him down with him. Or possibly, Hank could on some level be so terrified of Walt that he still on some level is considering either letting him go, or taking him out himself. Either way, they both are running out of time.

Lastly, we come to the biggest “confession” of the entire episode, and perhaps even of the series; the moment when Jesse realizes that Walt was the one who poisoned Brock (his ex-girlfriend’s son) after all. After being convinced by Walt that it was best for him to erase his identity and start all over somewhere new (conveniently also helping Walt get rid of the only witness that could bring him completely down), Jesse went to Saul to get the process started. In this visit, Saul sees that Jesse is still carelessly firing up joints any and everywhere. Worried that him slipping up like this will cause his identity-removing contact to not do business with Jesse, he has his bodyguard snag Jesse’s weed from his pocket on his way out. It isn’t until Jesse is left waiting for Saul’s contact that he realizes it’s missing, and then makes the connection to the last time something slipped from his pocket.

It seemed like a pretty big leap to me that Jesse would go from realizing that Huell, Saul’s bodyguard pickpocketed his weed to connecting that the last time he bumped into Huell must have been when the famous ricin-filled cigarette disappeared from his pocket as well. Either way, it was a heart-racing realization, and the way that the creators used a 360-camera spin around Jesse really emphasized the desperation and then moment of clarity that Jesse felt. Jesse storms in to Saul’s office and forces him to confess to these allegations.

Finally, it seems Jesse can no longer be manipulated by Walt’s lies and is ready to put an end to him after all. The episode ended on yet another nail-biter, as Jesse breaks into Walt’s house and begins throwing gasoline on everything. Still unsure what’s to come next, we can guarantee that at least one loose end will be tied up next week, and we may have just discovered who it is that spray-paints ‘Heisenberg’ on Walt’s wall. Either way, next week’s episode ‘Rabid Dog’ is definitely not one you’ll want to miss.