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Breaking Bad on AMC (4 Viewers)

The overhead shot of the trees while Mike was walking to Walt looked like a Coen brothers movie. I thought we were going to get an artsy assassination.

when Walt was meeting with the buyers in the desert one of the guys looked like an actor from Latin lover2 on TLN.

 
Everybody dies but Marie, as her final move is to run over Walt in dippy's PT Cruiser. The end.

Also, are we still splitting hairs over Walt is "tough" enough to handle Mike? Tough is irrelevant. He's dangerous.

 
The opening scene in the premier is throwing a wrench in where I would see this going if not for it. Is Walt teaching Todd his complete recipe? No way, right?

 
"Shut the #### up, and let me die in peace." -Mike

We've spent this half-season of "Breaking Bad" watching Walter White grow ever more confident, and ever more reckless, in the wake of his improbable murder of Gus Fring. His every action, every word, every dismissal of very legitimate concerns about his latest plan seems to be driven by the same thought: If I can kill the Chicken Man on a million to one shot, I can do anything. That arrogance is every bit on display in the sensational opening scene of "Say My Name," where Walt invokes that very deed in convincing Mike's buddy Declan to go into business with him, and being one part Muhammad Ali, one part John Shaft in demanding Declan announce him as Heisenberg.

But Walt isn't as bulletproof as he thinks, as we see when he nearly botches the murder of Mike, and the expression on his face is pure Walter White, with nary a trace of Heisenberg to be seen. His hubris has left him exposed repeatedly this season, and knowing what we know about Walt's 52nd birthday, things are only going to get worse from here.

Walter White getting cocky and making mistakes is fine. That fits everything we know about the character. What I'm worried about a little is "Breaking Bad" doing the same — that having pulled off the amazing death of Gus arc, while disregarding some of the open book, step-by-step plotting that had been the show's hallmark up to that point, the writers may feel compelled to keep reaching for those highs, no matter how shaky the plot logic may have to get.

Because on the one hand, the death of Mike Ehrmantraut is just a gorgeous, devastating scene, and a fitting end to Jonathan Banks' tenure on the show.

And on the other, it makes no damn sense at all.

Why does Mike, pro of pros, sage of sages, exemplar of all that is wise and patient and level-headed on this show, repeatedly shoot down offers of help from a man he likes and trusts in Jesse, then readily accepts the aid of a man he has every reason in the world to dislike and distrust?

Because the show needed him dead, that's why — and because the script couldn't be finessed in some way so that Walt was literally Mike's only option, or that Walt in some way conned Jesse into letting him be the delivery man without Mike knowing until it was too late.

I don't buy for a second that, given the choice between the two meth cooks for this errand, Mike would ever choose Walter freaking White — not even under the extreme stress and devastation of losing his money, access to his granddaughter and his life as he knows it — over Jesse, or even Saul. And because I didn't believe that, it made that horribly beautiful final scene not quite as impactful as it should have been. I should have been focusing on Mike's own pride leading to his downfall by insulting Walt and telling him he should have known his place — just about the last phrase to ever use in front of Walt, but one I believe Mike would have given their relationship to this point. I should have been focusing on the transformation from supercool Heisenberg back to overmatched Walter White, who even apologizes to Mike once he remembers the existence of Lydia. I should have been admiring the gorgeous shot of the sun reflecting on the creek as Mike sat on a rock, waiting to die, and I should have been appreciating just how stupendous Banks was in that scene, as he had been all episode, as he had been since we first met Mike late in Season 2.

And I could appreciate all of those things on some level, but it wasn't as fully as I should have, because I was busy thinking of how contrived the setup for that scene was. And when you add that to Mike's improbable decision last week to leave one of Walt's hands uncuffed, you have a character who's been treated as Batman from the moment we met him, and who's suddenly, implausibly, acting like Marvin from "Superfriends," because the story demanded that Mike be removed from it by any means necessary.

And that's a shame, because there were so many great moments in this episode, and not just at the beginning and end. Just look at Banks' face in the scene where the cops are closing in on him at the playground. This is the first time we've ever seen Mike Ehrmantraut really sweat, the first time we've seen him look defeated. He has just lost everything, and as he looks at the cops, and then looks at his carefree granddaughter on the swing, he knows it, and it's incredible to watch.

Or take the latest Walt/Jesse break-up scene. These two have had their splits before, and I imagine they'll reconcile a time or three before the end, but it's always nice to see Jesse call Mr. White on his lies and hypocrisy — and in this case to see him resist the one hold Walt thought he still had on him by giving up all claim on the money.

Or look at that beautiful shot of Skyler standing in shadow at the car wash, turning to look back at Walt and Jesse, completely out of the loop and unsure of how much she wants to know, but hating every word that comes out of her husband's mouth.

No, this was a mostly tremendous episode of a drama that's still among the best there is or ever was. But "Breaking Bad" has set such a high standard for itself — in the same way that Walt prides himself on the purity of the blue meth — that it becomes much more obvious when the show starts taking shortcuts, in the same way that the first batch Walt cooked with Todd almost certainly won't be as good as the stuff he used to cook with Jesse.

If you want me to supplicate myself before you and say your name, you better bring it to 99.1% or more. No shortcuts. No, to borrow a phrase from the late, great, Mike Ehrmantraut, half-measures.

Some other thoughts:

[*]A few more words on Mike, because he deserves them. Even as I recognize that he had outlived his usefulness to Walt's larger story arc, I'm gonna miss that slow-but-steady SOB. The writing of that character, and the performance by Banks, were a clinic on the power of minimalism. Mike said as little as he had to, rarely raised his voice or got flustered, and that made every word he did say, and ever slight change in mood so much more powerful. And his final words were exactly what they should have been: right to the damn point. I hope like hell that Banks gets Giancarlo Esposito's slot at next year's Emmys. Career-best work from a guy who's been a reliable pro for decades.

[*]This is the second time in three episodes to be written and directed by a longtime "Breaking Bad" writer — in this case, Thomas Schnauz — making his directorial debut. Feels a bit like Vince Gilligan — who got to make his own debut behind the camera late in the run of "The X-Files" — getting to pay it forward.

[*]Excellent use of "Goin' Down" by The Monkees" for our latest meth cooking montage.

[*]Also wobbly, plot-wise: Walt being there at the exact moment Gomez told Hank about Mike's lawyer flipping. For that matter, Walt's crocodile tears didn't play as interesting the second time around because we knew exactly what he was doing, where the first time there was at least some surprise to why he was behaving that way in front of Hank.

[*]I like seeing Walt back in high school teacher mode with Todd, being patient and encouraging him on his effort even as he avoids praising the work itself. This will not end well, will it? And not just because this lunatic is taking written notes on Walt's process.
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'Major said:
'Abraham said:
'badmojo1006 said:
Damn knew it was coming, but he will be missed... :no: And I wish Mike would have said "Walt, Shut the F*** up"
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He did Great episode. Jessie killing Todd on the agenda?
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Maybe Todd is just acting dumb and a plant to steal the recipe? The guy seemed really eager to earn his keep with Walt (baby cam and killing kid).
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He's also proven that he's capable of ANYTHING. If Walt teaching him his recipe, he's as good as dead.
 
I rarely disagree with Sepinwall but the offing of Mike didn't seem like a contrived shortcut at all to me. I liked it a lot.

Best episode of the seasons so far.

 
'Good said:
'Apple Jack said:
'Good said:
Hate to nitpick, but it's hard to imagine Captain Careful turning his back on a guy who's gone over the edge like Walt after a heated argument like that.
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This show can be nitpicked to death. What's the point in that?
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What's the point of any of this thread? :shrug:Baseless, likely wrong prediction: Todd is either in Declan's pocket, or soon will be. Lots of notes there.
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Not sure. We already had that story line with Gale trying to learn Walts recipe so they could bump him off. You think they'd go for a similar angle again?I guess it's possible and that's why Walt needs a big machine gun, to kill all of those bastards off but I hope not.
 
'John Bender said:
I rarely disagree with Sepinwall but the offing of Mike didn't seem like a contrived shortcut at all to me. I liked it a lot.

Best episode of the seasons so far.
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Mike being killed isn't what he took issue with. It was that he agreed to let Walt run the errand.And he's taking heat on his board for that stance.

Laura

I look at it this way; Mike let Walt go retrieve the bag because he didn't give an eff about Walt and he actually cared for Jesse. So if something went wrong at the airport, Mike was more comfortable letting Walt hang out to dry than Jesse.

Chris

This is what I thought, too. Mike has the relationship that Walt used to have with Jesse.

JT

I agree 100%. Mike already knew he was on a slippery slope, so protect Jesse and expose Walt if anything goes wrong. The tough part is explaining Saul not doing it, but that may have been Saul's reluctance to get involved.

Carter That is exactly how I saw it – if something was going to happen to someone helping Mike, it was going to be Walt.

Now, I have my doubts about Mike trusting that lawyer...

sepinwall

No, I understand Mike's concern for Jesse. But in this circumstance, HIS LIFE is on the line, and he knows Walt to be a completely untrustworthy rat *******. If he doesn't want to have Jesse do it, surely ONE of his "guys" is still able-bodied and free in the ABQ area, no?
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'Good said:
'Marvin said:
'Good said:
Hate to nitpick, but it's hard to imagine Captain Careful turning his back on a guy who's gone over the edge like Walt after a heated argument like that.
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True but then again Mike didn't know Walt had his gun. :shrug:
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It's not unforseeable that Walt would have one of his own? And I think most guy's with Mike's skillset can tell when somebody's carrying.
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Mike's had heated arguments before. Relax.
 
I'm also going to have to disagree with Mike. Fring never considerd Walt a professional. It was only a matter of time until Gale mastered his method. Gus would not have put up with Walt and Jesse as his only cooks over the long term. Who knows, though, because Jesse did eventually earn some of his respect.

 
'Jojo the circus boy said:
'Aaron Rudnicki said:
Even if his new plan works, Walt doesn't seem like he would have an easy time letting Mike get away with trying to steal his share, forcing him to sell, and tying him up like that.
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As well as pointing a gun to his head (again) at the end of last night's ep. This is different than when Jesse did the same since there was never a bond between between Walt and Mike they have always been at odds.Mike is going down, as much of a strong and pivotal character he is to the show there will be a showdown between Walt and Mike before there is one between Walt and Hank. The only alternative is Walt earns Mike's respect but it seems too much of a stretch based on Mike's character thus far.
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:whistle:
 
Great episode, tension the entire time as has been noted. The only thing I take a small issue with is I don't see how Walt survives that talk in the desert. I know it is a nitpick of the show and it doesn't bother me that much but I think in the real world it would be a mistake to announce you are "the cook" and expect to be able to just talk your way out of that confrontation, normally he'd be shot/dead after revealing that. By saying he was the one that killed Fring, that should not be enough to scare these guys.

 
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'John Bender said:
'Good said:
'Apple Jack said:
'Good said:
Hate to nitpick, but it's hard to imagine Captain Careful turning his back on a guy who's gone over the edge like Walt after a heated argument like that.
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This show can be nitpicked to death. What's the point in that?
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What's the point of any of this thread? :shrug:Baseless, likely wrong prediction: Todd is either in Declan's pocket, or soon will be. Lots of notes there.
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Not sure. We already had that story line with Gale trying to learn Walts recipe so they could bump him off. You think they'd go for a similar angle again?I guess it's possible and that's why Walt needs a big machine gun, to kill all of those bastards off but I hope not.
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I think it's a plausible thing for the cartel to do, should they figure out that Todd's involved. Maybe they get word via Todd's "connections" in jail. Given that he knows where the methylamine is, and has notes on Walt's process, you have to think they would throw a major sum at Todd to screw Walt over. Or maybe they don't find that out, and Todd stays hidden from view.
 
Seppinwall's criticism re: allowing Walt to get the go-bag

1) it was Walt that called him to warn him the DEA was coming for him, that buys him a little trust, even if Walt's motives may have involved self-preservation.

2) Jesse may have been too short to reach the key for the car, Mike had to nearly climb up to drop it.

I was ok with it at the time I saw it since we didn't know there was also a gun in the bag during the phone scene.

 
'FlapJacks said:
I'm also going to have to disagree with Mike. Fring never considerd Walt a professional. It was only a matter of time until Gale mastered his method. Gus would not have put up with Walt and Jesse as his only cooks over the long term. Who knows, though, because Jesse did eventually earn some of his respect.
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If Walt would have just cooked with Gale everything is fine. Gus was willing to defend Walt against the cartel because Gus wanted to be out from under them. Gus was a big fan if Walt until Walt chose Jesse and took out those dealers. Then Walt continuously over played his hand and it got to the point that Gus preferred Jesse to Walt. But it was Walts ego that put he and his family in jeopardy, not Gus and not killing Tuco. Walt keeps Gake as his assistant and he has a cushy multimillion dollar job in a premiere lab.
 
'timschochet said:
When Mike said this was all Walter's fault and that they could have continued the way they were under Gus, was he right? It seemed to me that from the very beginning Gus intended to kill Walter the moment he had someone else that could do the same job, and therefore Walter, if he wanted to live, had no choice but to kill Gus first. But perhaps my memory is faulty about this...
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I think that when Mike was talking about "we" he was talking about his deal with Fring and wasn't including Walt in that. Sort of saying "if you'd never come along we'd still be rolling along selling our chickenmeth." Mike wasn't a complainer, but I think that's something he'd been waiting to say to Walt for a while now.
 
On Sepinwall's criticism, I thought that was explained by Mike thinking it was too dangerous for Jesse, but was okay with Walt doing it. I had more of an issue with Saul not wanting to do it. Okay, Saul may being watched, but he's also got guys out there (like Bill Burr's character) who the police are not on.

 
I know when I am loading up tens of thousands of dollars in my safe deposit boxes, I always do it with the bank vault wide open so anyone can walk by and see how much money I'm toting around. That's just me.

Killing Mike was also a pretty convenient short cut, but I'm pretty good with the way it went down.

And Todd taking notes at the cook and Walt doesn't think that's a bad idea?????? come on.

good episode though.

 
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