Old relationships begin anew while others take a shot to the chest in this week’s episode
**Warning this review contains spoilers from the fourth episode of Breaking Bad. **
This season of Breaking Bad has been a hilly one to say the least. While some episodes have been some of the best in the series, such as last week’s episode, there are others that just don’t live up to expectations. However, this week’s episode was neither good nor bad, but just average.
Without going into too much detail, this episode choose to focus on Walt and Jesse and how they have been slowly drifting apart over the course of this season. After the intense and traumatic events of last season it is unsurprising to see that Walt and Jesse’s relationship has taken a bit of a tumble. However, it is through these events that Gus manipulates both without them even knowing. After some hectic driving to find Jesse after the events of last week’s finale, Walt comes to be told by Jesse himself, who is indeed alive and well, that he is doing some offbeat jobs with Mike. This leaves Walt to his duties in the lab, while Jesse comes to see just what Mike does for Gus, and just how uneventful it truly is. However, after going place to place- Mike insuring that Gus’ drug money is still secure and hidden, while viewers are treated once again to the loveable, idiotic Jesse that has all but disappeared in the last few episodes-things go astray as Jesse and Mike encounter some cartel members who have not taken kindly to there men being killed. This was a fantastic scene that showed Jesse taking control of the situation, while also proving himself to Mike. Not only that, it showed how Jesse truly does not need Walter anymore, and can do just fine on his own.
The same cannot be said for Walter himself, for after do batch upon batch of meth by himself does he come to realise just how invaluable Jesse truly is in there odd partnership. However, not only does Walt come to realise that he is no longer in control of Jesse; he also comes to realise that he is not control in his partnership with his ex-wife, Skyler. After officially purchasing the carwash, and hearing a heartfelt message by Walt on the answering machine (which he left when he thought he was going to die when looking for Jesse) Walt and Skyler commemorate the situation by doing a little something something. However it is after this instance that I came to realise two things, one in which Walt comes to realise himself later on. Skyler is a woman of influence, and is willing to do anything to get her way…anything. This is what Walt comes to realise, for he now knows that their partnership is a long term arrangement, and she’s the boss. This bugs Walt, but more on that later. The other thing I noticed was something far less direct. As both lay in bed discussing how they are going to tell Walter Jr., Walt began playing with his wedding band. Now, I must give credit where credit is due for it is mother that posed such a simple question that got me wondering: does Walt always wear his wedding band? That got me good, and slightly scared me for I cannot recall an instant where I did or did not see him wearing it. What I’m getting at here is that if Walt wore his ring to work in the lab, and Gus by chance saw it, things can get bad really quickly. Although Mike may have tapped his house last season, this did not give Gus enough to go on. I may be over thinking this situation, but if the writers are half as smart as a know them to be this can lead to some heated situations between Walt and Gus in the future.
After their little celebration, Walt, Skyler and the rest of the family head over to Hank and Marie’s, where Walt comes to be further filled in on the case in which Hank is working. Hank has made some big, and dangerous discoveries in his work, and while not going into detail, he comes to praise Gale as a genius and assumes Gale to be the Heisenberg character in which he has been so maliciously hunting all this time. This hurts Walt in a big way, and so to ensure that he is in control once more, Walt sways Hank into believing that Gale is not the genius he assumes him to be, and that the true Heisenberg is still out there. This is stupid for a number of obvious reasons. Simply because Walt does not have control over anybody anymore, he has to go and prove himself in the worst, and to say the least, the dumbest fashion. It is true in saying that Walt is a scientific genius. However, it is also true in saying that his Achilles heel is his ego, an ego in which forces him to flaunt his scientific genius to everyone. If Walt would have kept his trap shut, he would have been free forever. Now instead he has planted an idea in his brother-in-laws head that makes him rethink the entirety of the case. Walter may be a cool character, but he can also be completely stupid and this was probably his dumbest moment. Furthermore, not only is it Walt himself that can be caught, but his wife as well. What a giant frak up. Never the less, with Hank closer than ever to finding out, it will be interesting to see just how far Walt will go to hide his secrets.
The episode concludes on an interesting note. As Jesse tells Walt that he will be working with Mike more often now, unbeknownst to the both of them Mike and Gus discuss the run in with the cartel, and how it was all planned by Gus himself. I found this to be genius for Gus knows how much of a threat both are together, especially since Jesse can be so easily influenced. However, with Jesse on his side Walt has no one to go to, and therefore cannot go through with his plan to get rid of the big man himself. Walt and Jesse relationship has been on the rocks for awhile and so this seems to be a last ditch effort on Gus` behalf to drop it straight off a cliff. Can Walt and Jesse recover from what has happened, and re-become the scheming, lovable duo that we all enjoy; or will be pitted against each other like feral dogs, willing to strike whenever there unkindly master says? Who knows, but I’m sure it will be one hell of a show.
The Good: Seeing Jesse as his old lovable self, and becoming more of a leader character, even though it’s for all the wrong reasons
The Bad: Walter being an idiot simply because of his ego
The Ugly: Walt and Jesse’s relationship has taken a turn for the worst, and may never be the same again
Overall: 8.0 out of 10
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