Of all the episodes we’ve seen so far in this second half of the final season of Breaking Bad, last night’s episode, titled “Rabid Dog,” was the least tension-filled. That’s not to say that it wasn’t good, mind you, it was just a slow down and take a deep breath episode that needed to happen in order to set up whatever pant-sh*tting stuff is to come in the four episodes that remain. With that said, more Carol the neighbor and more Trent the table-side guacamole guy would have been nice. Oh well.
So let’s get right to it, shall we? Here are a few notes I made during last night’s Breaking Bad about characters, scenes, etc. I found interesting for one reason or another.
– “Mr. White? He’s the Devil. He is smarter than you. He is luckier than you. Whatever you think is supposed to happen, I’m telling you, the exact reverse opposite is going to happen.” — Jesse Pinkman
– When Jesse uttered the line above, you just knew that Hank’s plan to get Walt to talk about his crimes on tape was somehow going to go awry — and it did. This time Walt — who for some reason still trusts Jesse enough to let his guard down a bit, even though he knows the DEA has already tried to get him to turn informant — got lucky because Jesse confused a random dad with his kid in a public plaza as a hitman or something.
– Regarding what the episode seemed to be setting up in the final four episodes: I have a feeling that the call to Todd is going to rain hell down on everyone. Killing Jesse and Hank has to this point had not been an option to Walt. When Saul made the “send him to Belize” and “Old Yeller” suggestions he balked at both.
It’s clear that Walt has so far considered Jesse to be “family,” just like Hank. But now Jesse has finally crossed a line with Walt. I have to think there’s a good chance that Jesse will get clipped and I wouldn’t be surprised if Hank gets a bullseye put on his back as well. Meanwhile, the call to Todd will likely also get Walt ensnarled with some really nasty people — I mean, they’re F*CKING NAZIS — perhaps leading to the showdown with heavy weaponry that’s been foreshadowed in the flash forwards we’ve seen.
– So we’re left to wonder: what did Jesse mean when he said, “Next time I’m going to get you where you really live.” The internet has some theories…
– For someone who gets away with telling a lot of lies, Walt sure can be a terrible liar at times. The scene where he explains the gasoline smell to Skyler and Walter Jr. was laughably bad, and a little cringeworthy. Naturally, Walter Jr. sort of bails him out.
– Speaking of Walter Jr., I absolutely cannot wait for him to find out the truth about his dad. At this point, he’s the only major recurring character on the show who doesn’t know what’s really been going on.
– I’m rarely one to voice a gripe towards Vince Gilligan and his writers, but I so wish they would have given us a scene in which Hank fills Gomie in on who he now believes Heisenberg is. It would have been worth it for the big, dumb, stunned look on Gomie’s face alone. And a scene showing some of Jesse’s confession would have also been welcome.
– I touched on this in a previous discussion, but it’s worth repeating as we get deeper into it: I don’t see how Hank’s investigation would hold a drop of water in a courtroom. Did he even read Jesse his rights? Was there any type of authorization from above to wire Jesse? There just seem to be so many holes for any good defense lawyer to exploit. But then again, I guess it doesn’t matter because we all know it will never come to that. The only justice that will be served on Breaking Bad will be of the street variety.
– I absolutely love that Marie served Jesse coffee in a DEA coffee mug.
– In this episode we see Marie talking about ways to kill Walt and Skyler expressing a desire to have Jesse killed. Oh how far they have come! Also, the guitar in Marie’s therapist’s office was a nice decorating touch, I thought.
– “I never should have let my dojo membership run out.” — Saul Goodman.
– Interesting to see Walt in tighty whities again. At this point, I would have fully expected him to be going commando.
– I can’t stop laughing at this…
– I always tend to check out the books people have on their bookshelves when I visit their homes. So naturally I paused the show to look at Hank and Marie’s. The book Jesse picks up and looks at from Hank and Marie’s bookshelf? Dutch, a Reagan biography by Edmund Morris. Also on the bookshelf: Deadwood.
– To put pancakes in from of RJ Mitte on Talking Bad was just cruel. Everyone knows there’s no way such a thing wouldn’t distract him!
– Finally, I can’t wait to see what sort of fan erotica this line inspires…
Your own thoughts are welcome in the comments.
(GIFs and pics via Chet Manley & Daily Breaking Bad)
