Breaking Bad Recap: Soggy Birthday

“For the cancer to come back,” she says, shaking her head like he should know that. That thought had maybe not occurred to Walt.

The next shot is Walt’s creamy, white head rising above his shoulders for a really scratchy shave – the habit he picked up in his chemo days and kept because bald heads can be scary (see also: Mike). He draws blood, and the blood drips down in a red line dividing the raw skin from the cream. Symbolic.

Next scene, he’s got a band-aid on his scalp (shot from above, then from across the house in one of those deep shots) and is eating some O-shaped cereal. Playing with it really. The meth phone rings with meth issues.

Meth Central. Jesse is saying that a new methylamine hookup will be as easy to find as a unicorn. Mike finds this whole tracking device thing fishy for its sloppy obviousness. After he determines that Lydia’s full of Earl Grey shit, he announces she’s dead. Even if they have to ramp down production. Jesse, the last man with a heart standing, tries to talk him out of this, saying she’s just an uptight hysteric. This, says Mike, is sexist, because she’s actually just as crazy and dangerous as any guy, and she needs to get dead. Jesse blocks the door.

Kid, you better hope I already have someone to kill the next time you put your hands on me.

Mike, with clenched teeth, assures him his objections have been duly noted. Jesse wants to vote on this. He yells for Mr. White, who’s been sitting across the room contemplating his Heisenberg hat this whole time. Walt’s main concern is that production doesn’t get ramped down. “Nothing stops this train,” he says. “Nothing.” A lot of other actors would have chewed up that line with a mouthful of scenery, but Cranston makes it really chilling.

Outside Methquarters. Jesse approaches Walt at his car to say he really liked his idea. He’s also got a birthday gift for Walt, a watch (because the clock is ticking for both of them?) Walt doesn’t say thank you or smile or anything, but Jesse gives him a friendly slap on the shoulder and his best wishes anyway. I think this is the only gift anyone bothered to get Walt.

White house. Skyler sits in the dark smoking cancer sticks.

And blowing the smoke right at him.

Walt tries to act normal, even asks her how she is, to which she responds by dropping her cigarette in her coffee cup and lighting another. He shows her his birthday watch and explains that Jesse recently wanted to kill him, and now look at them. Skyler continues to blow smoke at him.

Walt strips down to his saggy whities and menacing T-shirt and gets into bed. The final shot is of the second hand on his new watch passing the number 50 and ticking loudly. It sounds like the click of a gun cocking as it rounds 0, but I think that’s actually from the credits music. Still awesome though.