Breaking Bad: ‘Blood Money’

"If that’s true, if you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.” – Walter White

Can any show, nay, any thing live up to hype it creates in the way that Breaking Bad can? It’s hard enough to be off the air for a year, get the pieces in place to set up the final act, and keep it exciting. But it’s a completely different league that Vince Gilligan and company are playing when in their 55^th hour they are able to produce one their finest segments to date. 'Blood Money' continued with the tradition that Breaking Bad has established in wowing the viewers and giving them exactly what they want before they even necessarily know what that is.

In so many ways this was a ‘greatest hits’ version of the show. We literally saw some of the highlights of Walt’s past as part of the very fun montage(*) that had Hank assembling all the evidence he ever had revolving around this mysterious and very dangerous Heisenberg character. Plus, we got to revisit many familiar scenes but with new context: the cancer returning for Walt, Jesse hitting rock bottom for a third time, Jesse being lied to by Walt for a five-hundred gagilionth time, and even one more silly Badger and Skinny Pete rant(**) to give Jesse something to zone-out to.

(*) Set to the song ‘Wordmule’ by Jim White: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijzo90Wznc

(**) Which someone has already made an animated video of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZvMAKeaEyo  I think JJ Abrams just found his writer for Star Trek III.

I won’t go any further though without discussing what transpired in the final five or so minutes where Walt and Hank have a confrontation that’s been coming ever since Walt gave Jesse some money to buy an RV. The fallout of Hank’s new knowledge is obviously going to be a driving point for a large chunk of the season as he has to weigh the benefits of turning in the most wanted man in the drug business versus destroying his family and possibly career in order for a dying man to get his justice. Theory Time: Since we have flash forward footage of a decrepit White house with ‘Heisenberg’ graffiti  painted on it, it’s safe to assume Walter has been found out by the general public. If Hank wants to get solid evidence put on Walt, which would put him in this situation, it would certainly help his case to enlist someone who was there to witness it all… a Jesse Pinkman perhaps? And it’s certainly possible Walt would want a way of disposing of such a key witness and make sure it looks like an accident…. if only he had a poison capsule of some kind…

Speaking of Jesse, can we just all give this guy a collective hug? This now marks the third time his self-conscious has bottomed-out because of the actions brought on by his former high school chemistry teacher. First it was losing his girlfriend Jane because of Walt’s negligence, and then it was after he was forced to shoot Gale Boetticher to save them, and of course now it’s the current guilt of living with the fact that Todd

shot down a kid because he was a witness to their crime. So when Walt comes back into his life telling him that he can’t even give this “blood money” back to innocent people, and when he tells him a bold faced lie about the fate of their former colleague Mike, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. There are going to be more than a couple of people curious about this Robin Hood-esque character throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars and Walt know the last thing the two of them need is more eyes looking at their direction.

I can’t believe we only seven more installments with this crew and this story but I have absolutely no doubt that it will be fantastic. Time after time Breaking Bad has given us intense moments when they call for them and they don’t leave anything on the table. Sure, they could have undoubtedly stretched this over 7 or 8 seasons, gotten bigger paychecks, more syndication rights, but instead they chose to avoid any lulls and went right for the throat. Just like Heisenberg would want it.

Other moments of note:

• Dean Norris absolutely nailed it in this one. I know the campaigns for him finally getting an Emmy nod for Hank are starting up but this seriously needs to happen. His panic attack after discovering Gale’s book in Walt’s house was terrifying and the look of horror and despair on his face as he closes the garage door was perfect acting.
• Great touch to have Marie calling Walt ‘The Devil’ as Hank opens the sliding glass door after taking one of the most pivotal dumps of all-time.
• Brian Cranston actually directed this episode, so I guess he’s kind of a talented individual?
• Skyler had a very strong moment by telling off Lydia at the carwash. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the character but it was nice seeing her do something redeeming here. Also, you know Walter can’t be very ecstatic to hear his one pristine product is a mere shell of itself these days… could be a “Just when I thought I was out…they keep pulling me back in.” situation.
• “Hello Carol.”

What did everyone else think? Comments are always welcome.