What an incredible Breaking Bad episode tonight! It’s packed full of so much symbolism and character reinforcement that it hurts – some characters more than others.
Colors are always a good indicator of a characters state of mind in this show, as most of my readers probably know. But they become a star of the show tonight! Take, for instance, the scene around the Schrader dinner table. Marie is in her signature purple. Hank is sporting the orange that he began the series in. Skyler and Walt Jr. are in green/white and blue. But take a look at Walt. He’s wearing the dark red that we’ve seen him in before but was most definitely not his color at the start of the series. This is interesting since everyone at that table except for Walt is acting like nothing has changed since Walter’s birthday party in season 1.
The sheets on Walter and Skyler’s bed were another interesting color signature. They’re tan – a color which was strongly associated with Walt’s old schoolteacher persona. Was it just a coincidence that the only thing he was wearing at the time that Skyler and his relationship took a turn back toward what it used to be were those tan sheets? Not likely.
The true star of the show though, was the cinematography. This episode is chock full of amazing shots. From the car cam in the opening scene, to two full-on montages. The POV shots of Walt cooking meth in the hazmat suit were appropriately claustrophobic and gave me a very good idea of what it must be like to work all day in those suits. They also seemed to be alluding to the paranoia Walt displayed at Los Pollos Hermanos; like the walls are closing in on him.
The bedroom scene I mentioned earlier was enhanced by a fantastic shot where the image blurs when Walter takes off his glasses to set them on the nightstand so he can mix things up with Skyler. I’ve always associated those light aviators with the more level-headed, calculating Walter White; the way he was when the series started. He can see things clearly as that version of Walter. When he takes the glasses off he loses focus; he can’t see the details anymore. This has certainly been apparent in his attitude recently and it’s incredible to see it pointed out with the camera work.
Walt
The idea of a “Mr. Chips to Scarface” transformation for Walt were never more evident than in the dinner scene. Just as Hank had found his closure on the Heisenberg case and was seemingly ready to give up law enforcement for good, Walt’s pride rears its ugly head and sparks Hank’s imagination once again. He’s in pure scarface mode. People aren’t giving him the credit and respect he feels he’s due so he decides to take it without regard for the potential consequences. With all the red around him in that scene, I’m beginning to think it’s the color of mistakes for Walt. This was certainly one of his biggest.
Skyler
Skyler sure seems to have taken Walt’s “apology” in last week’s episode to heart. After hearing the message that Walt left, she’s back on board with their relationship. Instead of nagging him and explaining why her plan is so much better than his, she’s actually leaning on him for support! It looks like standing up to her and getting her back in Walt Jr’s good graces has given her some respect for Walter.
I have to so much more to say about that voicemail but I’m saving it for the podcast tomorrow night so keep your ears open for that.
Hank
Man, this guy came close to the brink tonight. He had all but given up on life until Walter tipped him off about Gale’s copycat role in the Heisenberg equation. With that new idea in his head, the Schrader marriage has returned to normal. They’re really highlighting how closely Hank’s identity is tied to his work, or maybe even just this particular case. When he has a lead on Heisenberg he becomes the dynamic, energetic Hank. When he doesn’t he’s a hopeless, miserable shit.
Jesse
It’s pretty obvious that Gus and Mike are grooming Jesse to be Victor’s replacement. The dead drops were an interview process and Jesse passed with flying colors. He did what needed to be done when put in danger and he understands the reason you use dead drops. This represents a turning point in the Walt/Jesse relationship. Jesse is independent now. He doesn’t need Walt and he’s actually surpassing him within the organization. He’s about to become Gus’s go-to guy while Walt is looking over his shoulder with every move. I’m really interested to see where it goes from here and given the show’s history, I’m sure they’ll get there quickly. I’d actually be surprised if they didn’t go with a Victor flashback as the cold-open next week.
That’s it for this week. Like I said, there’s loads more that I noticed and want to talk about but I’m saving it for the podcast tomorrow. Email us your feedback before then and we’ll read it on the show. You can also hit me up on Twitter and you can find A.Ron holding it down on Facebook. See you next week with another Breaking Bad Instant Review!