tv: As the light bulb turned on in Hank's mind while he did his business in the White household, we the viewer were left with more of a concern for how things were going to for Walter and his newly ended meth business than any sort of epiphany like what we had just watched. In the first part of the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad we had watched Walt descend completely into his evil alter-ego Heisenberg. The hard and fast science that had governed his every decision, much like the show he was a character on, was replaced by a sheer ruthlessness and ego now driven by the little more than the belief that things would work because he said so. Murder was becoming an even more regular part of the business and so was the bold nature of the acts he used to keep it going, be it a train robbery or a mass prison murder or the expansion to sales in the Czech Republic. And despite Skylar finally getting through to her husband after many ill fated attempts by simply asking how much is enough for him to walk away in front of a near mountain of cash, that terror and ego were what we feared would be Walt's undoing now that Hank seemed to finally know his secret. And with Jesse having also quit the business and Mike having "left town" for good, it seemed an almost more doomed fate for televisions most terrifying meth dealer.
The final installment of Breaking Bad began by dealing with one of last summers most talked about mysteries. Our teaser began by picking up with Mr. Lambert after he left the diner with his new car and the arsenal in the trunk. The arrival at what appears to be the former home of the White's affirms the fact that Walt, now as Mr. Lambert, is heading back to his old stomping grounds after some time away to take care of some unfinished business. The terrified nature of poor Carol and the condition of the home, complete with Heisenberg graffiti, gives us a ton of information about what happens between now and then. Walt has been outed as the villain he has become and his family, whether geographically or spiritually, is gone. But it is Walt's purpose for returning to the house that is the real moment. After a years worth of speculation about what the use of the ricen would be, we come to find out that even after things have gotten so bad that Walt had to run, it is still unused. And thus the questions of true endgame have been given to the viewer. Why is Walt back? If getting away wasn't enough, then what is the true end of his story? And of course, who the hell is he going to give the ricen to?
From their the story immediately jumps back to the moment of Hank's epiphany. As Hank stumbles his way to the car for a quick exit, Vince Gilligan and his writers telegraphed the next few moments. Well, mostly. Hank was clearly headed for a stroke or panic attack. But this is Breaking Bad. And so a panic attack immediately becomes a fatal car crash due to a heart attack in the minds of the viewers. Knowing what was to come, the mercy shown to Hank with a quick "oh everything is fine" was much appreciated.
As Hank begins his investigation into his brother in law, Walt spends his time getting faced with two truths. One of which he seems ready to accept and one he seems blind to. While working as a car wash manager for a second time in the show he is greeted by Lydia, our favorite up tight Madrigal employee who has become one of the show's best characters, not to mention being one whom the conspiracy theories swirl around. While Walt's ego allows himself to push through her plea and maintain that walking away from being a drug dealer and manufacturer is as easy all of our favorite just say no slogans, he certainly doesn't seem shocked that his past is in need of a an occasional revisit. And while Lydia is gone for now, the drop in quality of meth is sure to be a source of contention going forward since just saying no isn't always enough to get the temptress of drugs to go away forever. Walt then is forced to once again revisit his past by going to try to talk Jesse out of giving away his five million dollars worth of exit money. In a brilliant as always scene between these two we see Walt working as a master manipulator, trying to win an argument by any means necessary after dismissing a previous evil deed as himself doing just that. But as we see Jesse put the pieces of the past (what we saw in the last two episodes of last summer) we realize that he is on to Walt. And as the camera lingers on him one moment too long at the end of the scene we get the sense that he still isn't buying what Walt is selling.
Walt then heads home for the night. Jesse on the other hand decides to give his blood money away in a different manner. But before that he runs into a a homeless person and offers him some of his money, about a thousand dollars. The suspicion that action is met with seems so base and fundamental and yet is said with just a look that it hit home. This man knows that Jesse didn't get that money for doing nothing and fears the catch that will come with his taking it and the blood that that money will soon leave on his hands. Frustrated by this notion Jesse does the sensible thing and begins the quest of throwing his five million, one thousand dollars at a time, out his car window as if it was the morning paper.
Just as this is all going on Walt decides to go have himself some alone time in the same place that his new adversary did, the master bathroom(by the way, what guest uses the master bathroom, come on Hank.). He even has the same reading taste as he reaches for that old Walt Whitman book that we all know makes for the best bathroom reading. After not being able to find his book, Walt begins to put the pieces together himself. This is where the only crazy theory from me will come into play (really, I promise!). Walt runs outside to check his car and finds a tracking device. I can't help but believe that this is a bit of a mislead for Walt. He believes it is Hank who put it there and thus decides to confront him. But we as viewers saw such a detailed version of Hank's departure from Walt's house that we know it could not have been Hank. Lydia, however, was at the car wash in a much more sparsely shown scene. I refer to this as Walt looking into the Palantir(sorry, no Tolkien history in this piece. If you don't know what I am talking about you will have to look it up). He is shown an actual truth, that someone is watching him and keeping tabs on him, but the specifics he draws from that conclusion are doomed to falsehood and lead to a catastrophic choice of actions.
Those actions are shown in the final scene. A scene that was easily one of the shows finest ever. Walt goes to see Hank. Walt asks how he is doing after the panic attack and decides to just leave. Here is where Breaking Bad shows its true merit. Having gotten Hank's temperature in terms of his suspicion, the show could easily have ended on Walt walking down the driveway with that devilish smirk. And in those four extra minutes, the ultimate epiphany, much like Hank's at reading the inscription in the Whitman book, happens for the viewer. How could they possibly jam as much story as we all thought they had to cover into just eight episodes? The answer became simple. Have Walt turn on a dime and ask a question his continuingly uncontrollable ego couldn't resist and force us into a moment that should have taken three episodes to get to. I am not going to relive the gory details of this years most memorable television moment. But suffice to say there was nothing as intense as seeing not only two of televisions best (I know I keep saying that but this whole cast goes in that category. Its just true.) thunder away at each other in a moment that we had all spent five years waiting for. And yet when it came upon us we all had to tread carefully for fear of a spell that would drive us off the road like we had just read the words of Whitman.
And here we are. After an episode told with the speed of a methlamine carrying train (there damn fast right?), we now know how everything can be done in a short eight hours. Jesse is out, Walt is outed, and Lydia is trying to drag them all back in. And somewhere in all of that is the reason Mr. Lambert must make his triumphant return to ABQ. I am imagining some sort of combination of the two movies watched by their respective characters last season. Walt going in a blaze of glory after we say hello to the little friends in his trunk. Hank finally getting a criminal worthy of his skill as a detective and out of brotherly love getting that hand hold at the airport. But of course I am probably wrong. Vince Gilligan is smarter than me. And he maybe has not shown it more than in Blood Money.
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