'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.