Breaking Bad Recap: Da Brat

Recaps

By Saint Clare of Assisi | Monday, August 27, 2012 | 11:24 pm | 16 Comments
Posted in: Breaking Bad, Featured, Recaps

Skyler is way more passive this year. In years past, she was either actively trying to figure out Walt’s secret, or, once she HAD figured it out, she was doing something about it. She was having affairs, she was learning a new business, she was kicking Walt out of the house. Now it seems like every Skyler scene is the same. Walt reveals yet another unpleasant aspect of his life to her, she heaves a sigh of annoyance, and repeat.

No Gus, or other awesome villain. I do appreciate that the lack of a villain means Walt the has space to grow on his own (and, as we’re seeing this week, fall flat on his face). And that’s great for revealing Walt’s character, but I must say, having a great villain does make for instant tension and action. And the villains have been some of the best characters.

And there’s just less humor. I still remember the first episode Saul showed up. I laughed for the whole goddamn hour. I admit, the show itself is really dark these days, so it’s tough to make it funny on top of that. But I miss Saul, or the silly Los Pollos commercials, or Tio fucking with people. 

­-On the “removing the bug from the DEA” bit, that clears up my doubts about this whole scheme. I think I even put in my recap notes when they planted the bug that it seemed really risky because the DEA would easily find the bugs. But I guess Walt, Jesse, and Mike already thought of that and only planned on bugging Hank for a short time.

Actually I bet Vince Gilligan read my recap and put this into the episode this week to placate me. Smart of him, actually.

-In the scene when Jesse confronted Walt at Vamonos, and Walt asked Jesse what his backup plan is if he leaves the business, it reminded me of when Skyler tried to take the kids away from Walt. They were practically the same scene. Someone challenges Walt, Walt challenges them to lay out their end game. If someone ever comes after Walt with even a half-baked plan, he’s fucked.

-I’ve been thinking about Hank today…I had a couple different takes on the scene where the DEA guy chews him out for focusing too much on the Gus case. My first take was, god, that’s really cruel, because Hank isn’t cut out for an administrative job. Hank was just coming out on the other side of the dark wheelchair times, only now he’s about to endure professional humiliation by being exposed as incompetent at work.

But actually, I now think Hank will be pretty good as an ASAC once this is all over. I don’t think he’s incapable of focusing on admin tasks and wants to do field work. I think he’s distracted because some part of his subconscious knows he’s missing something, i.e. Heisenberg is still out there.

I still think that if it ever comes to light that Walt is Heisenberg, Hank’s career, and maybe his ego, will be obliterated.

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Saint Clare of Assisi attended Boston University and has written for The Onion.  He took his name from the patron saint of television, who was a virgin and saved a boy from a wolf one time.

16 Comments

  1. 1
    mjhhawk
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 8:53 am

    The movie Mike was watching is called “The Big Heat”. It is about a cop who continues to investiagte a case after he is told to stop (aka Hank).

    I do like this season as much as the past, everything is steaming towards the finish line. The one area where I think you are off in your review of the season is in saying that there is no super-villain. Walt has clearly jumped into that role and is the scariest villain yet. What the show truly lacks is the hero. Most people I watch have pulled for Jesse or Mike as the hero this season, but neither of them are admirable (while I love(d) them both). The only true hero can be Hank. I am thinking that they 2nd half of this season is going to be Walt versus Hank.

    I do agree with you that the Skylar stuff has become repetitive, but to be honest I was never a huge fan of her character anyways. And I think Anna Gunn has stepped up her acting a notch this season, whether she is just laying in bed terrified or this chilling fight scene she finally had with Walt I think she has performed well.

    I also agree about the lack of comedy in this season, but I think that was a direction the show had to move as it went forward. They are waist deep in running their own meth operation now and everything has gotten real.

    Anyways there is rarely a Sunday night that I am not satisfied with the show (even when they do cheat a little a make Hank-Gomey have a convenient conversation in front of Walt).

  2. 2
    timgunnssister timgunnssister
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 9:51 am

    I understand the changes in Skylers behavior. Way back when she thought that Walt was just a cook working for someone else, well, he might as well have still been a teacher. They had problems in their marriage before and nothing’s really changed. Walt works and is Walter Milktoast, Skyler handles the family and the finances and hates that her life is so boring and the kids are just background.

    All that was true up until the end of last season. That’s when Skyler discovered that Walt is the danger at the door. Walt is not the shy, retiring always ready to be stepped on guy she thought she knew. Walt is a bad, bad, dangerous man. And Skyler is no longer driving this bus. And she’s terrified, as she should be.

    I’ll miss Mike and wish Walt hadn’t killed him but I did see it coming. Is Jesse in Walt’s gun site now? Hope not but yeah, probably. And no matter what Todd has done, so long as he treats Walt and Walt’s genius with proper reverence, he’s got a job.

  3. 3
    Christinawilde85
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 12:11 pm

    Hate to say this but…. I wish i believed more in walt shooting mike. Just
    having a hard time with it. Almost like the writers are trying to make
    Walt more and more evil just for its own sake. Thoughts?

  4. 4
    Abby
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    I think Todd is seriously dangerous. Something very, very bad is going to happen with him once he knows all the ins and outs of a cook.

    And I LOVED that they used The Monkees music during the cook scene.

  5. 5
    SuburBint
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 12:58 pm

    When Walt fired that gun, I let out an involuntary “NOOOOOOO!!!!!”

    Is next week the semi-finale? IIRC they were breaking this season into two eight episode blocks. If Walt kills Jesse, I’m going to be pissed. Completely, totally, ineffectually PISSED.

  6. 6
    mjhhawk
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    Christinawilde85 – I don’t think the writers had Walt shoot Mike just to make him look more and more evil, they have done a great job at that. I just think they didn’t want any loose ends. If they had Mike just go away then the last few episodes we would probably all be wondering when he was going to show up again until the end. But I do agree the one character flaw with Mike was that he was incredible professional and into every last detail, but he underestimated Walter consistently, which seems a bit out of character.

    SuburBint – next week is the half-season finale. There is no way Jesse dies before the second half of the season. Is there?

  7. 7
    Stan Low
    Posted August 28, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    I’m loving this season, if only for the way Walt has become a true villain. He is losing any remaining redeeming qualities with each episode.

    I think some of the plotline bears more than a passing resemblance to Scarface, and the episode where that movie is playing on the TV (and the particular scene at the end) I think is very foreboding. Some examples, Skyler’s out-there behaviour is not unlike Michelle Pfeifer when she realized how she was trapped; the “nobody” (Walt) becomes the kingpin through a series of really ballsy moves, including killing the top guy; while at the top, megalomania sets in, and Pacino loses it with everyone (he kills his long time friend and sister too, if I remember – uh oh, Jesse!).

  8. 8
    Amanda
    Posted August 29, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Does anyone else think Mike pre-planned the whole thing, expected Walt to react like that, and faked his own death? MIke just seems waaay to smart to let Walt catch him like that. And he knows how to toy with Walt’s ego and how Walt will react. Is it too crazy to think Mike is still alive? Didn’t the spot where he died look suspicially close to the spot he stored the guns and computers? Am i just in denial that Mike is gone?

  9. 9
    Abby
    Posted August 29, 2012 at 9:24 am

    You know, Amanda, I was lamenting Mike’s death last night and a friend of mine said that it was possible for him to still be alive. I thought about it and I really think that might be what happens.

    I thought Beneke was dead for sure after that fall and he showed up this season in a halo. I’m jumping aboard the “Mike is Alive” boat.

  10. 10
    MrsMiaWallace MrsMiaWallace
    Posted August 29, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    Great recap!!!

    I kind of agree on losing the fun from earlier seasons and not loving this show the same way, but it is still gripping and well done and one of the highlights of the week!

    I totally agree on Skylar, I was just telling MrWallace I wish she’d do SOMETHING. Join Walt, leave him, hire a hit man… When Jesse said “Vamanos” and she said “I wish” it made me wonder if Jesse was going to figure out the meaning of that word and rescue Skylar and Walt’s kids! Like they all go on the run, vamanos!

    Love the idea that Mike is alive, I don’t think he will be though. He failed completely at this point in securing a future for his granddaughter and had to leave in disgrace. The tying up loose ends comment is apt as well. Also if the DEA finds Mike obviously murdered, it just sharpens Hank’s interest since all this time he thought Mike was the mastermind… there is someone else out there! That amps things up for the final Walt/Hank showdown.

    Oh, and inevitably Hank will know it was Walt, and there will be a confrontation of course. I kind of can’t wait for Walt to reveal that all of Hank’s hospital bills and recovery therapy were paid for by Meth! Too hilarious!

  11. 11
    Saint Clare of Assisi
    Posted August 29, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Hey everyone. Thanks for the reads and the comments!

    The “Mike is alive” idea is interesting, but I’m not sure I buy it. From a storytelling perspective it’s way more tragic for Mike to be dead than for him to have made it out alive, because he dies just as he was trying to leave the business behind. It’s way more tragic for him to come THIS CLOSE to escaping with his life only to be killed thanks to Walt’s ego. (Insofar as it can be tragic for someone as shady as Mike to die tragically).

    Another thought I’ve been having, regarding Mike and all the other members of the criminal class, is that they all don’t seem to know what to do with Walt. I think most criminals (on the show) have spent their careers dealing with other criminals. Other criminals are predictable. Since Walt’s still an amateur, he’s unpredictable. Maybe that’s why Mike maybe didn’t see his death coming. A professional criminal kills for practical reasons. Walt killed Mike in a fit of rage. For me, part of the show is about our collective inability to adapt to unknown variables.

    Also, I think I’ve said it before, but I’m calling it again: Hank will find out about Walt, but Walt will kill him before he can do anything about it. That’s one of the only lows to which Walt hasn’t sunk yet: killing his own family members. Mark my words!

  12. 12
    cosmonala
    Posted August 30, 2012 at 8:11 am

    Go to amctv.com and watch the making of video clip, which will answer the question of whether Mike is alive.

    Great recap!

  13. 13
    maryedith
    Posted August 31, 2012 at 3:22 pm

    A third thing to add to the I’m-not-quite-buying-it list (the other two being the kid eating the lily-of-the-valley with no explanation of how Walt got it to him and the storyline taking place within a year) is the kids staying with Hank and Marie. It makes for a dramatically gloomy atmosphere in the house but it just isn’t realistic. I guess the writers made a decision to drop the realism for this last season and make it be more “pure drama,” which explains why the comic elements had to be sacrificed, but the thing I really appreciated about this show was the way it balanced the domestic details with the cosmic good/evil stuff. Drop one half of that equation and I’m not sure if you have such a complex, groundbreaking tv show.

  14. 14
    Michelle
    Posted September 1, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    I would have rather Mike take his own life to avoid Prison. I hated him being bested/killed by Walt. I enjoyed the show more when I felt conflicted by Walt’s complexities. Now he’s just bad and for me, it’s less compelling/fascinating. I understand what drives/motivates him, it’s all about the Prestige/Power/Money and success and he feels he missed the opportunity that his scientist friend/collegue got (who we met back in Season One). Perhaps this is the only direction they could take this with it all soon coming to an end. I wonder if he will somehow force Jesse’s hand, ie threatening the lives of that Mother and Son

  15. 15
    Michelle
    Posted September 1, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    Why is Mike so shady. As far as the criminals in this show go he seems like the most loyal, straight shooter of the bunch. And he was trying to look out for Jesse. What did I miss?

  16. 16
    maryedith
    Posted September 4, 2012 at 9:01 am

    But wouldn’t Mike taking his own life amount to Walt besting him? Mike was all about fixing things so that he could end his life being a normal grandfather. Walt ruined that for him.

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