So, I'm finally taking a shot at this blogging thing, and where better to start than my current Favourite Show Of All Time, Breaking Bad? I had actually meant to begin this at the start of the third season, as would seem logical, but life and other annoyances got in the way, so here we are at episode 7.
It probably goes without saying that there will be SPOILERS within for pretty much everything that's aired so far. So for the two or three people who may be reading this (that's pretty optimistic, actually), go away if you haven't seen the show! But if you haven't seen the show...seriously, do something about that.
Even more than the drug underworld or the Jekyll & Hyde story, Breaking Bad has always been primarily about family – what defines it, what shapes it, and how far people will go to protect it. This week’s teaser, with Tio teaching the cousins to appreciate one another and intoning “Family is all,” made it clear this was going to be especially pivotal this week.
For these characters, family is off-limits. It’s the one thing that can’t be threatened. Hank beat Jesse half to death not because he escaped arrest, but because he crossed a line by bringing Marie into the situation. It’s the same line Hank crossed for the cousins when he killed Tuco. It’s the same line Jane crossed for Walt when she started to drag Jesse down with her. In each situation characters respond in exceptionally violent ways when their families are put under threat, so that the life of the threatening party becomes, to some extent, forfeit.
One of this episode’s most interesting lines was Walt’s “Not currently,” in reference to Hank being his family. That could have just been passive-aggression towards Skylar, but I don’t quite buy that from him at this stage. I think he likely felt some resentment towards Hank for beating up Jesse (he certainly didn’t respond too well to that in Crazy Handful Of Nothin’), and last episode’s RV situation reinforced for him the fact that Hank is now, on a basic level, the enemy. It’ll be interesting to see how Walt reacts to Hank being seriously injured next week, as right now I believe he truly doesn’t see him as “family” in the show’s sense – that is, as someone whose interests must be protected at all costs.
So if saving Hank wasn’t a priority, what were Walt’s motivations for bringing Jesse back in? As always, they’re murky. Self-interest was doubtless a factor – it was the best way he could see to save his own ass. It struck me this week that Walt doesn’t seem to see caring for someone and exploiting them for his own ends as mutually exclusive ideas. Case in point: earlier this season we saw him forcibly re-insert himself back into the family house and refuse to leave, in spite of how obviously uncomfortable it made Skylar. Rather than respecting her very valid feelings, he did what was necessary to get the outcome he wanted. So while Jesse is clearly wrong to say that Walt doesn’t care about him (more on that brilliant scene later), his motives were, as always, pretty far from pure.
That said, I thought it was interesting how the writers went to great pains to show Walt and Gale’s partnership deteriorating, entirely independent of the Jesse storyline. I totally had poor Gale pegged as bad news, but now I just feel bad for him after being so unceremoniously dumped for really no good reason at all. Although it was a jarring 360 turn from their meeting of minds last week, this isn’t new behaviour for Walt. It’s the same impulse that made him dismiss Jesse’s very high-quality meth a few weeks ago; in part it’s an egocentric control issue, but to give Walt the benefit of the doubt I think it’s also about being a teacher. He still sees himself in that role, and with Jesse he always will be on some level (hell, he still calls him “Mr White”) whereas Gale really had nothing to learn from him.
All this got me to thinking about that great scene back in season one, where Jesse goes home and finds the old test papers graded by Walt, complete with encouraging messages like “Ridiculous. Apply yourself.” and so on. The family idea is crucial to Walt and Jesse, too - Walt verbally “claimed” Jesse as his family in Phoenix, and despite their recent rift this episode really showcased that, with Jesse as the wayward, bereft son lashing out at the neglectful father figure whose approval he desperately seeks. Their relationship is SUCH a twisted bastardisation of these dynamics - teacher/student, father/son - and it has no right whatsoever to be as strangely touching as it is.
Which brings us to the second hospital scene. Aaron Paul is such a committed performer, I loved the way he delivered each line as though it was a physical effort, like the words were actually tearing themselves out of him because he was in so much internal pain. Amazing. I do think that if there’s any justice, this year’s Best Supporting Actor Emmy will be a two horse race, said horses being named Paul and Norris. It was an enormously satisfying scene, too, quite cathartic in the way it summarised so many things that had needed to be said really since the show began. One defining idea through the series has been Walt trying to do things for the good of his family which end up hurting them. Jesse is no exception, and in fact may be the most extreme example. I'm still dreading the scene when he eventually learns the truth about Jane.
It would be criminal to end a discussion of family without mentioning Hank and Marie’s marriage. I don’t feel like their relationship has been given much depth before this season, they often functioned as a comedic, slightly mismatched counterpoint to Walt and Skylar’s drama. But these last couple of episodes have really showcased the reasons why their marriage works – there’s mutual respect, mutual trust, and a really moving, understated connection between them. It’s interesting to compare them now to Walt and Skylar, who I’m not really sure were ever a good fit even before all the external drama the show’s thrust upon them. Mutual respect and trust are two things we certainly haven’t seen between them, and it’s very hard to imagine Walt ever leaning on Skylar the way Hank did Marie this week.
Also, Dean Norris owned that scene on the bed so, so much. I can’t even. He’s always been solid, but he is something else this season.
Finally, the last and most deadly example of family loyalty came with the cousins. And...damn, did anyone know Hank had that in him? What a badass! I can't even imagine what kind of an impact this is going to have on his already raging PTSD. Will this drive him even further away from his old job, or reignite his passion for the work and make him fight to regain his position? This is all assuming he won't be permanently injured, which I'm praying he won't. If this were a sitcom, he and Jesse would so end up in a conjoined ICU room, a la that trippy episode of House where he's in the next hospital bed over from his attacker. Alas, I don't see it happening.
Presumably the car-sandwich brother will live, as it’d be awfully anticlimactic to have both taken out this early in the game. Will he and Tio be in twin wheelchairs, plotting Hank and Walt’s demise? Or will Gus be their new target, since they went after Hank on his advice? And surely Walt can’t be out of the woods either?
So many unanswered questions. Good thing I'm getting around to posting this a mere few hours before the new episode airs - the wait's almost over! Here's to another flawless hour.
