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04-29-2009, 10:50 PM
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#23 | |
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Banned
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05-04-2009, 06:31 AM
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#24 |
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Banned
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SPOILER ALERT
I think '4 Days Out' is another great episode in a season full of them. I am really enjoying the dynamic of Walt and Jesse, and it's funny to see that STILL after 2 seasons these two guys just cannot get along. They seem to be the very worst partners possible, and Jesse just can't get any respect no matter what he does. Jesse's life has really gone crazy since his days as Cap'n Cook, the profits were meager, but so was the risk. There was a way out. Now the stakes are too high, the attention from the DEA and, eventually, from the cartel are too big, and his partner is too arrogant and reckless. Though they managed to avoid dying in the RV with $1.3 million worth of crystal, this isn't the first time that Jesse's partnership with Walt has brought him close to death, and it won't be the last. Walt, meanwhile, is usually too busy cleaning up the latest mess he and/or Jesse has made for self-reflection. But stuck in that RV, fearing imminent death twice over -- even if they can get the battery going, he assumes he has only a short time left to live, based on his misreading of the PET scan -- Walt has this moment of clarity where he realizes all he's done, all the lies he's told, all the people who have been and will be hurt by his actions. But because Walt's ultimately more selfish than he tells himself he is, it turns from a moment of self-realization to one of self-pity, and he's prepared to lie there and wallow and let the chemical engine that is his body slowly and painfully stop working. But then Jesse is able to come up with a great idea, and we're reminded that, for all his many faults, he's still a genius chemist, and he finds a way to gather keys, spare change and sponges into making a battery strong enough to jump-start the RV. And having evaded the first kind of death -- and then discovering, to his amazement (and lack of relief), that the experimental cancer treatment has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations -- Walt's left to wonder, what now? He and Jesse come to an understanding, but it seems predicated on Jesse's assumption that Walt will die soon. For that matter, his entire criminal career was predicated on that same assumption -- that Walt wouldn't survive long enough to ever have to live with the things he was doing. In the final scene of the episode -- brilliantly played, as always, by Bryan Cranston -- Walt studies his reflection in the bathroom mirror, than in the gleaming paper towel dispenser. He does not like any of what he sees, so much so that he begins systematically pounding on the dispenser until it's so badly dented that all he can see is a warped reflection, completely unrecognizable as the man he was, or the man he's become. Sam Catlin's script overplayed the foreshadowing of how Walt and Jesse would be stranded -- there's a fine line between introducing Chekhov's gun in the first act and introducing his gun, his bazooka, his machete, and his surface-to-air missile collection -- but once we got past that point, Catlin very wisely placed his trust in his actors, and in director Michelle MacLaren and director of photography Michael Slovis to capture the harsh beauty of the desert and the direness of the situation. I've commented a lot this season on how beautiful the episodes look, and "4 Days Out" felt like a cut above even that. Image after image -- the glowing orange light of the desert, the cool blues of the chemicals mixing together, the tableaux of the RV resting in the tall grass or Walt and Jesse enjoying the night air after a hard day's work -- looked absolutely gorgeous, and captured the dual-edged nature of what's happening here. The meth itself is destructive, both to its users and to Walt and Jesse's lives for making it, but the actual process of making it is a work of art. The desert could kill them without fuel or adequate supplies, but there are far, far uglier resting places. Even the clinic where Walt gets the good news -- so shiny and clean and modern (and with a fountain overflowing with the kind of water Walt will badly need a few days later -- isn't quite what it seems, in that he really, really doesn't want the treatment to work. But it has -- enough that he actually has a realistic shot at beating the cancer. Now what the hell does he do? Some other thoughts on "4 Days Out": • Saul Goodman is obviously still in the picture, now introducing him to the world of money-laundering, as well as snark: "Congratulations, you just left your family a second-hand Subaru." That scene was also a nice reminder that nothing ever goes quite as planned for Walt and Jesse, and that maybe they should wait before spending that 600 grand apiece. • Did Jesse have that tattoo on his chest before he met Jane, or are we supposed to assume she gave it to him? And what are the chances she got a look at that incriminating pizza box? • Speaking of Jane, I thought it was a very nice touch that she was eating Cap'n Crunch cereal in Jesse's kitchen. Of course The Artist Formerly Known As Capn'n Cook would eat Cap'N Crunch. • Two notable songs on the soundtrack this week: "Good Morning Freedom" by Blue Mink as Walt and Jesse drove out to the desert, then "One By One" by The Black Seeds over the montage of Walt and Jesse cooking like a well-oiled machine. • Meta humor in action: the oncologist jokes with Skyler, "Is that baby ever going to come out, you think?" Sky's pregnancy is an easy way to chart how much (or how little) time has passed since the start of the series, but because of the hiatus between seasons, it really does feel like she's been pregnant forever, doesn't it? • That scene also provided a rare moment where we got to see all of Walt's family happy at the same time, even though Walt himself wasn't so much happy as stunned. 
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05-04-2009, 06:57 PM
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#26 | |
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Banned
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"Yes! A wire!"  Jesse rules!
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05-04-2009, 10:15 PM
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Banned
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05-04-2009, 10:17 PM
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#29 | |
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Tattoo King
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05-04-2009, 11:00 PM
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#30 | |
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Senior Member
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It was another great episode last night. Sometimes I wonder how Jesse manages not to kill himself in the course of a normal day. lol
It's going to be interesting to see if Walter gets out of the drug biz [Show spoiler] Quote:
  
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05-05-2009, 04:40 AM
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#31 | |
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Banned
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[Show spoiler] but since we know there is a season 3 he definitely isn't, lol.
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05-12-2009, 03:08 AM
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#32 | |
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Banned
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Season Finale Spoiler Alert courtesy of Kristen at E!
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05-12-2009, 06:52 AM
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#33 |
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Banned
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I didn't think Walt had any menacing qualities in him, but his threat to "Stay out of my territory" was incredible!! I actually for the first time ever saw an edge and a potential for untapped anger in future storylines. And my god does Bryan Cranston make a good/bad mean drunk. Bottom line, Walter White is a very bad man
Last edited by WyldeMan45; 05-12-2009 at 07:00 AM. |
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05-12-2009, 11:52 AM
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Blu-ray Guru
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05-12-2009, 11:30 PM
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#35 | |
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Banned
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05-19-2009, 07:38 AM
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#36 |
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When will this be released on blu? Mad Men was released on blu, why not Breaking Bad?
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05-25-2009, 07:46 AM
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#37 |
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Banned
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"Phoenix": There's no real way to dust for vomit
 "Want to see what your daddy did for you? That's right: Daddy did that. Daddy did that for you." -Walt I spend a lot of time in these "Breaking Bad" reviews making comparisons to other movies and TV shows about crime and the drug trade, because creator Vince Gilligan openly invites them. His pitch for the show was and is "We're going to take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface." Various storylines and moments have echoes of "The Godfather," or "The Wire," or "The Sopranos," not least of which was Saul Goodman offering to be Walt's Tom Hagen a few weeks back. The scene at the end of "Phoenix" wasn't quite as overt in its homage as the Hagen scene. For all I know, it may not have been intended as homage at all. But if you've seen "The Sopranos" (and if you haven't but plan to at some point, you may want to stop reading this review immediately) it's impossible to watch and not think of Tony snuffing out Christopher's life after their car accident in "Kennedy and Heidi." Now, Tony actively chooses to smother Christopher, while Walt simply lets Jane choke on her own vomit rather than turn her on her side (as Jane had done for Jesse earlier in the episode), but beyond that, it's the same scene: our crime lord protagonist doesn't go into the scene intending to kill anyone (or let anyone die through inaction), but when an opportunity presents itself to eliminate a troublesome junkie acquaintance -- someone who doesn't even pose a current threat, but who might one day be a problem -- he can't resist taking advantage of it. The Tony/Christopher scene was notable as the moment when even the most devout Tony worshippers could no longer deny that they had been rooting for the bad guy all these years, and I imagine Walt's moment here will have a similarly clarifying effect about the monster that Walt has become. One person who remains firmly in denial, though, is Walt himself. Just listen to how tenderly he speaks as he shows baby Holly the money he's acquired through such unspeakable crimes, or the look of horrified self-pity on Walt's face after he lets Jane die. In his mind, Walt is still the hero of his own story, making hard but necessary decisions to protect his family. At the same time, "Phoenix" (written by John Shiban and directed by Colin Bucksey) gives us a stinging reminder of just how unnecessary this has all been, with the subplot about "Flynn" setting up a website to get PayPal donations to help pay for his dad's expensive cancer surgery. When Walt tells Skyler that "It's charity," the disgust in his voice at that word brings back how much Walt's pride has driven all of this. He could have just gone to Gretchen and Elliott himself, or at least dropped out of the drug game once they made their offer, but he refused, because Walter White is too damn proud to accept help from outsiders. And because of that pride, a lot of people are dead -- and, I imagine, a lot more will be dead soon. Some other thoughts on "Phoenix": • Two notes on SaveWalterWhite.com: first, the site design looks like something you might have seen on Geocities in 1999. Second, I know, they have a fake version of Flynn's site that went live once the episode aired but I do love that when you click the donation button it takes you to an actual cancer related website for real donations. • Another "Sopranos" parallel, intentional or not: when Walt is drinking with Jane's dad at the bar, he refers to Jesse as his "nephew," which is the same term Tony always used to describe Christopher, even though they were more like distant cousins. And, like Tony with Christopher, Walt really is starting to think of Jesse like a surrogate son, which makes his frustration with Jesse -- and his horror at what he just did to him -- that much greater. For all the terrible things Walt does in this episode, and in the series as a whole, I believe he really did mean to do right by Jesse by denying him the cash until he got clean. • John DeLancie got quite a bit more to do after little more than a cameo a few episodes back. One thing to keep in mind about guest stars on this show: Vince Gilligan talks a lot on the podcasts about how the show can't afford to bring in actors from Los Angeles unless the part is significant. So if you see a guest star you recognize, chances are they're going to be doing something of note. • Speaking of Jane's dad, are we to assume that he's also a recovering addict -- which means that his recent struggles with Jane had kicked him off the wagon? Or is it customary for sober family members to escort loved ones to 12-step meetings? From what little I know of that world, it seems that if you need to be dragged to them, you're not really ready to work the program. • I like how, when Jesse comes back to his old classroom to confront Walt and demand his money, Walt deals with him the same way he dealt with the student trying to con his way into a higher test score a few episodes back. • Check out the way Walt reacts to the realization that Ted Beneke is in Skyler's hospital room, and that he was there the whole time while Walt was off selling meth to Gus Frings. Walt knows there's something between his wife and Beneke, and he doesn't like it one bit. Season finale next week. I'm not ready for this to be over just yet. |
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05-26-2009, 02:34 AM
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#38 | |
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Active Member
Aug 2008
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05-26-2009, 07:05 AM
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#39 | |
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Banned
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05-30-2009, 02:16 AM
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#40 |
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Banned
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Last year, "Breaking Bad" was an interesting series with a great star performance. This year, the rest of the show has caught up to brilliant leading man Bryan Cranston, and it's become one of the best series on TV as a result. Along with fellow AMC drama "Mad Men" (which will be back in August), it's the worthiest heir to "The Sopranos" that we have on television right now.
Like "The Sopranos," "Breaking Bad" is about the dichotomy of a man who can be a loving husband and father at the same time he's a horrible criminal, and about the rationalizations that man makes to continue being a monster. Cranston's Walter White was a high school chemistry teacher who, diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, began cooking crystal meth to provide for his family after his impending death. But as the series has gone along, Walt's health has gotten better, even as his soul has gotten worse. A few episodes ago, his experimental treatment proved wildly successful, yet even with his initial excuse for cooking meth gone, Walt found himself unable to walk away from that world. As an ordinary man, he feels emasculated and miserable; as a budding drug lord, he feels alive. The "Sopranos" parallels became particularly obvious at the end of last week's episode, when Walt witnessed Jane (Krysten Ritter), the junkie girlfriend of Walt's partner in crime Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), choking to death on her own vomit. Jane had been threatening to expose Walt's double life, as well as introducing Jesse to heroin. All Walt had to do to save her life was turn her on her side (where she had been until Walt's attempt to wake Jesse rolled her onto her back), but instead he chose to take advantage of the situation to eliminate a thorn in his side and let Jane asphyxiate, in the same way Tony Soprano took advantage of the car accident at the beginning of the famous "Kennedy and Heidi" episode. It's a testament to the Emmy-winning brilliance of Bryan Cranston -- so fearless, so technically perfect, and yet so likable -- that I wouldn't run away from a show whose main character could let that happen. And it's a testament to the increasing fearlessness and confidence of "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan and his production team that the series around Cranston has become so addictive. Gilligan was a longtime lieutenant on "The X-Files," but this is his first shot at running a series, and he admittedly had some on-the-job training to do during the first season, which was disrupted and then abbreviated because of the writers strike. But starting with the haunting opening sequence of season two -- a flash-forward, which has gradually expanded over the course of the season, to a charred teddy bear floating in Walt's pool, as men in hazmat suits wander around gathering evidence of some kind of tragedy -- it's been clear that Gilligan and company know what they're doing, know the story they have to tell, and know the most wildly entertaining way to tell it. The other characters have been given added depth to match Walt, whether it's the previously clownish Jesse becoming more poignant as we realize he's just another of Walt's victims, or Walt's DEA agent brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris) suffering PTSD after killing a drug lord in a shootout, or Walt's wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) going back to an old job with a boss who was either her lover or her sexual harasser, just to get away from her increasingly cold and deceptive husband. The series also has become a technical marvel, as incredible to look at in its own way (with the emphasis on beautiful desert vistas and disturbing tableaux) as "Mad Men," and amazing simply to listen to. Sound design isn't often a big point of emphasis in series television, but the soundtrack of Walt's life -- the hum of his pool filter, the whoosh of the chemo entering his bloodstream, the sound of the meth ingredients mixing together -- is hypnotic, and as much of a character as any of the actors. And the show has managed to take Walt down a darker path without losing the sense of humor that makes the bleaker moments bearable. Cranston (who, remember, is famous for being a sitcom dad on "Malcolm in the Middle") and Paul make a wonderful comic duo, each exasperated with the other's personal shortcomings (Walt has no patience, Jesse no focus), and this season, the hilarious Bob Odenkirk came on board as Saul Goodman, the low-rent but well-connected defense lawyer who's become consiglieri to Walt and Jesse, turning their operation from a bumbling disaster into a thriving concern. Saul offered his services to Walt by asking, "What did Tom Hagen do for Vito Corleone?" Just as Saul is unapologetic about his own corruption and greed, Vince Gilligan and company are unafraid to cop to their show's many famous predecessors in the world of organized crime drama. And as this brilliant second season of "Breaking Bad" comes to a close Sunday night, the series is starting to earn a place in any discussion of the classics of the genre. "Breaking Bad" (Sunday at 10 p.m. on AMC) The second season concludes with Walt (Bryan Cranston) preparing for surgery and Jesse (Aaron Paul) dealing with the death of Jane. |
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