Walt does all his evil things, we try to justify him, we watch him transform into “friendly dad” with his super-lame patter around Skyler and Walt Jr. and Hank and Marie, and we’re at the point where there’s a real sense of anarchy underlying Walt. There doesn’t seem to be a way for both of them to win. Nothing too drastic so far. Speaking of not liking Walt, I hated the way he spoon-fed Jesse more lies tonight. And yes, speculating about Future Walt is going to be fun. Martin.” There’s no exact equivalent here, since we’re now guaranteed an ending to this story, so instead of that I’m going to sign off with a plea for survival centering around the character I’d be most upset at losing. Crime, Drama, Thriller. The “Battle Hymn” in the office. It’s an odd feeling, because usually I’m in lockstep with the TV intelligentsia; I love all the shows that are supposed to be timeless works of art, and I actually hate when people are critical just to be anti-establishment. The ricin he’s fetching from the house is for himself—he’s been on the run, chased by Hank and maybe Jesse and God knows who else, and rather than suffer from the alienation and pain and fear, he’s going to off himself by tasting his own medicine. Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed. It’s why Hank’s line in the garage—”I don’t even know who I’m talking to”—was so powerful. Knowledge eats away at your insides on this show, doesn’t it? Not bad for a start? What we got was fiery and explosive, with Dean Norris really portraying so many layers of anger, hurt, and betrayal. Now, on to rational conversation. A couple examples from this episode, besides the grating skateboard sound: 1. Or we could start with Walt reorganizing the high-margin air fresheners. Scraggily Walt has returned to his derelict former home to collect his little vile of ricin, last seen almost spilt in Lidia’s hot lemon water. He knows the stacks of cash in the duffel bags cost too many lives. Peripheral stuff: Breaking Bad doesn’t often make me laugh, but the idea of Badger conceiving of a Star Trek script that starts with a pie-eating contest and ends with Kirk sending Chekhov’s guts into outer space because he’s distracted by breasts…that’s pretty hysterical. The beginning of the end for Breaking Bad is here. I’ve written quite a bit over the years about my admiration for the way Breaking Bad handles pacing. Huell reluctantly bumps Jesse up to the front of Saul’s queue when he sees the pack of cigarettes from which he lifted the ricin. Like most premature retirees, he’s bored stiff, and as is traditional, he copes by interfering in his wife’s business. We return to the framing sequence that started this season: A noticeably thinner, more hirsute Walt, drives the rustbucket he bought at Denny’s (the one with the machine gun in the trunk) to the suburban White homestead—now fenced off, boarded up, and tagged out, skateboarders shredding in the empty pool. Hank has been crippled and unmanned, quite literally, by Walt’s quest for power. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, a high school teacher tries to secure his family's financial future by producing and distributing crystal meth. He’s come out on top by not letting anyone or any qualms get in the way. When we left our heroes, drug kingpin Walter White's DEA brother-in-law Hank just stumbled upon some damning evidence against poor Walt. Hank knows he did it! She gave Walt an unnecessarily terse greeting at the car wash, then was back on his side when he came up with a good idea for laundering money, and then had a mostly non-annoying (but also pretty unbelievable) confrontation with Lydia. If not then, why not do it the minute you get the materials from work and realize it’s him? The beginning of the end for Breaking Bad is here. It is also the mid-season premiere. My suspension of disbelief has already been murdered by this show and now THEY ARE KICKING MY CORPSE, JOSH. If You're Happy President Trump Tested Positive for COVID-19, You're Just as Bad as He Is, Brand-New Tesla Model Y's Roof Flies Off On First Drive Home, We sing the praises of 17 musical moments from non-musical movies, If Your iPhone’s Battery Is Evaporating With iOS 14, You Are Not Alone. A recap of Breaking Bad season 5, episode 9 "Blood Money" starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The droning noise while Hank is driving home after discovering Walter = Heisenberg. All of our TV reviews in one convenient place. Breaking Bad: 5.09 - Blood Money. Until then, we get to watch Jesse’s conscience eat him alive. The show has always excelled at the unusual perspective, the slow reveal, the enigmatic opening. I don’t care how many nonsensical accusations are cast at the legions of my fellow Skyler-haters (the most prevalent: we’re misogynists who don’t like empowered females! Opening on the tight shot of the skateboard that eventually pulls back to reveal the ruins of the White house in suburban Albuquerque was perfect. We've seen almost all of … After all the anticipation about how great this was going to be, I’m frankly astounded about how great it is in ways I wasn’t at all imaginative enough to anticipate. Or his visit to Jesse’s apartment. He wasn’t lying to Hank about the cancer’s return, but he’s certainly got his hair back. A year ago, at the end of the first half of Breaking Bad’s fifth season, we learned that Walter managed to extricate himself from the meth business and hang up his porkpie hat. the surveillance video of the precursor theft, he still thinks he’s the one who lost the fake cig. Not only do you have no compunction about lying through your teeth anymore, but you don’t even bother to make it plausible. Now? I honestly didn’t even consider your angle about the meaning of the lyrics, so thanks for enlightening me on that. I see that I have truly rambled. This single episode, the first of the series’ final run, was filled with shots that tell the story in a style all its own, so much so that it led to this video. How will Hank react? He knows what his actions will mean for Skyler, Walt Jr. and Holly—in fact, Hank doesn’t really fully go into shock right when he learns the truth—that only happens when he looks at Walt holding Holly as he starts his car. Conan O'Brien Interviews the Breaking Bad Cast and Creator Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan and many others joined a panel to talk Breaking Bad in front of an Academy of Arts and Sciences audience before the series final episodes premiere this summer. That we were going to be watching a man face temptation, fall and spiral down into the abyss, dragging countless others with him. Well, not yet, but this is the first of eight concluding episodes, after which we'll finally know the ultimate fate of all these characters. So you can imagine my delight at the way “Blood Money” depicts the aftermath of Hank’s epiphany. And Google+, if that’s your thing! That, plus the shifting camera angles, were just amazingly effective at capturing the utter shock/panic/revulsion of someone’s world turning on its head. Jesse has been crushed by the weight of his guilt—a human response to the enormity of his sins that shows that his life may be in shambles but his soul has not been destroyed. Meet The Team I don’t get him, and I mean that as a compliment (I think). Walt has manipulated and deceived Jesse at every turn, and like other writers on this site, all I want is for Jesse to get his revenge and ride off into the sunset.