Spoilers for tonight's "Breaking Bad" coming up just as soon as I do tequila shots with my kid..."I'm not exactly sure who that was yesterday, but it wasn't me." -WaltOh yes it was, Walt. Yes it was.
After giving us our most extended tease yet of what I've taken to calling The Curious Incident of the Burnt Teddybear in the Daytime(*), "Over" dials back on the action and shows Walt struggling to deal with a longer life than he expected before the good news he got at the end of "4 Days Out."
(*) So in addition to the charred bear and Walt's glasses, we now have the smashed-up windshield to his car, not to mention two corpses laid out on his driveway. Should we assume the cartel shows up on his doorstep? Or is there a chance this could all be the result of an accident? Might Walt have done an uncharacteristically sloppy job installing the new water heater?
As you might expect him to, Walt tries to leave the world of crystal meth behind (other than accepting his share of the profits from the last batch they cooked in the desert), trying to be a more attentive husband and father, and even doing some long-overdue repair work on the house.
But this is not who Walt really wants to be. He wrecks the party Skyler throws to celebrate his remission by pouring one drink of tequila after another into Walter Jr., finally stepping to Hank for the sin of daring to play surrogate father figure to Jr. while Walt's been distracted these past months. And as Jr. vomits into the pool and Skyler, Hank and the other guests look hurt, Walt looks like he's been bathing in schadenfreude, like he can only enjoy the party if everyone else feels as miserable as he does to live this straight life.
(Good lord, does Bryan Cranston make a good/bad mean drunk.)
The remainder of the episode wears its subtext on its sleeve, as Walt gets around to replacing the decaying water heater. Just as his meth career seemed to be more about damage control than cooking meth, he finds that fixing the water heater only exposes another problem, in the rotted foundation that only he can see.
"Just cut it out and start fresh," he says, but that's easier to do with floor boards than with the rot in his soul. And as Walt makes yet another trip to the hardware store and stumbles across an aspiring meth cooker loading up on supplies, he recognizes once and for all that the only thing that gives him personal satisfaction -- that makes this extended life he's gotten worth living -- is playing drug lord, and he chases the cook and his partner away with a menacing threat to "Stay out of my territory."
When Walt announces his plans for retirement, Jesse takes it very well, understandably. First, he was expecting Walt to be dead, and is simply happy that the guy's still alive. Second, where Walt feels more vital the deeper he gets into this drug empire, Jesse is still a little scared of it, and he can understand why someone might want to get out. Both of these attitudes, by the way, put him one up on Walt, I fear; were the roles reversed, Walt wouldn't take kindly to Jesse's attempt to get out of the business if it inconvenienced him.
And with Walt spending the episode in semi-retirement, and the drug operation apparently running itself well for the moment, Jesse gets to focus on the state of his relationship with Jane -- and the realization that he's more invested in it than she is.
While I like Krysten Ritter's addition to the show, this subplot was the least compelling part of "Over." It provided some more hints about Jane, and about her dad (who was more than ready to use a key to go into Jane's house on his own), but it mainly felt like set-up for something coming down the road.
We have three more episodes to go this season, and where last year the show was only starting to find itself when the strike shut things down ahead of schedule, this year the show has been brilliant from the start, and I feel confident that it's all building to something explosive -- regardless of what happens to that poor teddy bear.
Some other thoughts on "Over":
• Skyler and Walt have been getting on much better ever since he lied to her about Gretchen and Elliot, but part of that was predicated on her belief that, if Walt ever got better, he'd become happier, and easier to live with. But that's not what he's about, and as his ceaseless misery becomes more obvious to her, she starts going after Ted Beneke, even knocking over her pencil cup to lure him into her office at the end of a shift. How do you think Walt will react if he finds out another man's been invading his personal turf?
• Jane's dad was played by John de Lancie, probably best known as Q from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
• Dean Norris always gets off one or two hilarious lines an episode. This week, it was his deadpan delivery of "Wow. Inspirational." in response to Walt's depressing toast at the party.
• Loved Jesse quoting the infamous"This is your drugs. This is your brain on drugs." commercial while cooking eggs. (I prefer that ad's simplicity to the sequel with Rachael Leigh Cook.)
• I talked about director of photography Michael Slovis' gorgeous work in my review of "4 Days Out." Phil Abraham, the director of "Over," was himself a longtime DP (notably on "The Sopranos"), and between the two of them, we get a number of the requisite haunting shots, whether it's Walt hanging upside down in the crawl space like an alien invader, or the light of the sunset oscillating like a UFO beacon. (Possibly piloted by Walt?)
• I liked Jesse's superhero sketches, particularly Kanga-Man (who, as Jane points out, is kind of a Kanga-She-Male), and Rewindo, whose power is to run away really fast. Jesse may want to invoke that power the next time Walt proposes an exponential expansion plan.
• Walt's money literally has blood on it. Maybe he needs to literally launder it again, like he did in the first season. That, or ask Saul Goodman where he can get some clean, crisp bills.
What did everybody else think?
38 comments:
Walt moving the bloody money back to his wallet made me wonder/worry: won't the bank be looking for the currency from the ATM? One of the things I love about this show, it's way of keeping these issues teasingly alive.
Did it seem, to anyone else, that the imaginary basement rot was Walt's way of justifying further cooking and selling?
i.e., "Gee, this house is really falling apart ... Skyler and Walt Jr. are gonna need a lot more money after I'm gone."
That last scene was amazing. I loved the use of TV on the Radio's "DLZ" as Walt makes his big stand against his prospective rival. Nothing like using the most effortlessly badass song out there to score the most effortlessly badass show on TV.
A few thoughts on this episode:
I know it might not cool for a guy to say it, but Jane's way of apologizing was pretty cute. Would love an Apology Girl picture on my cubicle now.
I was going to say termites, but it ended up being fungus. Oh well.
You can see Walt's eyes light up with excitement when he spotted the guy buying the meth supplies. But that altercation in the parking lot might be leading up to something. I think it's very telling that the two guys simply left without any questions. Nothing like, "Who the f*ck are you"? or anything like that.
Will the pink teddy bear be one of those extra gifts we get when we buy Breaking Bad Season 2 from Best Buy or Target?
We see just how much of a sap Jesse is. The very fact that he got sprung says a lot about him. You're a drug dealer/lord now. Man up already. Jesse having feelings and a conscience is a big reason why he and Walt get into messes.
Loved the part where Walt continued to pour the liquor despite Hank's hand covering the cup. Classic Bryan.
Alan, you are so right. Bryan's acting in the pool scene was great. I smell another Emmy.
I think this was one of those episodes where we get a lot of info, but no real action. It's all leading to something. And if Season 1 is any indication, we won't be disappointed.
Hank cracks me up and makes me cringe sometimes. The whole "liquor puts hair on your chest" is so old. But yet so funny.
Jesse got the commercial reference wrong. He was supposed to say "This is your brain" before he cracks the egg. Found it funny that he used that old reference and him being a drug dealer.
Jane is putting out mixed signals. On one hand she wants to do things (who goes to museums if you just want a booty call), but then she flips it and makes it seem like Jesse is the one wanting a relationship.
I find it hard to believe that Walt didn't install the water heater properly. He's a stickler for instructions.
Is it me or does every episode seem like 1/2 a week each. I think that's how slow time moves in this show.
The Jesse and Jane scenes are exquisitely well written and acted. Jane pulling the egg shell from the huevos rancheros of Jesse’s gallant attempt at a romantic breakfast. The lounging around in bed as she encourages him to open up, then the counter turn when she shuts down the reciprocity the moment her father appears. The way an emotionally pained Jesses pauses before starting his car and glances back to the front door, hoping for a reaction. The reaction appearing much later in the form a comic book super heroine. I wonder if the houses in Albuquerque actually have a gap beneath the door wide enough that apologies can slide in on rays of sunshine.
Walter White is a VERY bad man. Love him!
I love the way these episodes, and the series as a whole, is structured and paced. The amazing "stay out of my territory" moment at the end wouldn't have meant nearly as much if it hadn't arrived at the end of a very quiet, leisurely paced episode that was all about exploring Walt and Jesse's "time off." But coming when it did, that scene was electrifying. Cranston is really nailing the creepiness (and soul rot, as you put it) of this character.
"Did it seem, to anyone else, that the imaginary basement rot was Walt's way of justifying further cooking and selling?
i.e., "Gee, this house is really falling apart ... Skyler and Walt Jr. are gonna need a lot more money after I'm gone.""
True. I think it also gave Walt an outlet to exert his maniacal controlling issues/self-loathing behavior/{insert your Walt psychological dysfunctional observation here} on his own turf. Actually, "control issues" may be an inappropriate term to apply to Walt. More like obsessive to the point of, 'will manipulate you or ingore your concerns if they deviate from my trajectory'.
Skyler asked Walt to take the rest of the week off work after he told her of his intentions to go back right away. Walt is so twisted at this point, he can't deal with his family or any aspect of this 'straight' world on the terms that pre-cancer, pre-methlord Walt might have been capable of. He told himself (and Jesse) that he was done with the meth business. But this is who he is; he just doesn't fully accept it yet. So he basically finds a distraction at home. It starts out justifiably - the kitchen sink is running mud. Hey, gotta fix it [kind of how the the show started: I've just been diagnosed with third-stage lung cancer. I have only months to live. I have a family, with a baby on the way, with little funds to leave behind. Hey, gotta fix it]. But this is Walt. Walt is a brilliant man with a severe personality disorder. Nothing can be as simple as that.
So yes, I agree, the faulty boiler gave Walt a subconscious motivation to go back to doing what he really wanted to do anyway. Did anyone else notice the TV broadcast in the background while Walt grabbed a piece of toast, talking about declining economic conditions, the recession, etc.? Money is definitely a factor here. How in the hell will Walt ever explain all the money spent on this home repair? Finally, seeing the methhead's cart at the Dome Hepot was just the godsend that leads to the final epiphany.
Sorry to be so overly analytical; only meant to write a parapragh, but this show just does that to me. I love the way it messes with my head.
One last thing [re. the Burned Teddy Bear Incident]: Alan, you speculated that maybe it's the result of the cartel (Hank's recitation of the Turtle incident, particularly his mentioning of what a little C4 explosive can do, seemed like a bit of foreshadowing), or possibly a fault in Walt's DIY housework. I wouldn't be surpised if the end result didn't involve a little of bit of both.
I think you are all watching a different show if you think there's rot or fungus or whatever in that crawlspace. He's obviously making a secret vault and/or escape route.
Loved how the scene where Skyler draws her boss into her office with the pencil cup routine immediately cuts away to a shot of Walt's huge drill bit sawing a hole into a plank in the basement. Brilliant bit of foreshadowing there. Didn't the Sopranos do something like that with the 'Johnny Cakes' scenario?
I agree. There was rot in that general area due to repairs Walter ignored, but rot through the foundation? What else did he tear up, other than that hole in that room and maybe some bracing boards under the floor?
He put in a great deal of work to get access to a room he wouldn't ordinarily see. It's a heck of a better place to put his stashes than the nursery.
One more bit -- those forensic people were in full hazmat suits. That means that meth and/or its chemicals contaminated the entire area. Sounds like either Walter decides to cook at home, or something goes boom....
I think you are all watching a different show if you think there's rot or fungus or whatever in that crawlspace. He's obviously making a secret vault and/or escape route.I'm not sure why both can't be true. At the beginning it sure looked like extensive water damage to the wood which could be fungus to my non-expert eyes.
Walt should get that carpenter George Costanza used to construct a little hovel under his desk at the Yankees. That guy could fit a nice little meth lab under there.
Great episode. Very uncomfortable to watch the pool "celebration" and very funny to watch Walt unable to stop himself from correcting the newbie shopper. No matter where he goes, Walt finds dimwitted students to instruct. But obviously not a wise move if he wants to keep a low profile. That's pride eff'in with ya, Walt.
-anonymoose
Can anyone tell me what Flight of the Conchords song that was at the end when Walt was scaring off the competition?
It was DLZ by TV on the Radio (someone mentioned this earlier, and I'm pretty sure they're right). Great song for the bit.
I still have no idea what the burnt teddy bear means right now, but with two body bags, I can't imagine who they'd be, especially if there are more seasons to come ( and god, I hope so!).
Did anyone get the impression that Walt's whole "I'm the man of the house again, let me fix things in the house" spiel started to crack right after speaking to Walt Jr. at the sink? What made him snap? Was it because Walt Jr. kept up with the drinking, or was it him mentioning Hank's name?
And the end. Having watched all the episodes, you knew it was coming, and yet, still pretty heartbreaking to see Walt put down those cans and his apparent hatred for his life even (or, especially?) without cancer, and be Heisenberg again.
Great scene at the beginning with Walt and Jesse, and to actually see Jesse's relief and joy at Walt's remission. I can't imagine how the next talk between them would be like.
Oh, and great shot with Hank's marguerita ice.
O what a loathsome bastard Walt has become. Mean drunks are some of the worst SOBs there are, and as brilliantly as Cranston plays him, I hope dearly that this series ends not with Walt's death but with Walt rotting away in prison. He's like Tony Soprano without the charm at this point.
Also, when I saw the body bags, I had the sickening feeling that they contained Skyler and Walter, Jr. I suppose that might interfere with one of the show's central dynamics (Walt dealing with his family), but how much longer can they really drag out this tension?
Ahhhh, it's probably not them, but that's what I first thought.
Oh! One more specific point!
That look on Walt's face, the tiny sneering smile when Walter, Jr. threw up, was easily one of the most evil things I have ever seen on television. Rot in the foundation, indeed.
I'm probably going out on a limb here, but there was something terribly nervous about the way Jane dealt with father.
She ran wordlessly out of Jesse's duplex. Then she treated him as a stranger.
Is de Lancie her father or her older lover?
Alan,
Great comments as always. When I cruise the Net and look at others' comments on Breaking Bad, I'm struck by the notion that breaking bad is liberating for Walt. I appreciate the fact that you don't let him off the hook. You've been very persuasive in your arguments that Walt's problems stem from Walt's character.
You've pointed out that the writers have been very good at showing us Walt's pride, his stubborness and his vanity. These traits drove to walk away from the good life, and they've driven him to the drug life.
You've never hesitated to call what Walt does monsterous and to call Walt, in essence, a monster. You don't let him off the hook because he's entertaining. John Wayne once said, "Perversion and corruption masquerade as ambiguity, I don't trust ambiguity."
There's nothing ambiguous about Walt is doing, it's evil and it's selfish. You never let us forget it, and for that I am thankful.
Great episode, with Cranston doing the seething anger bit sooooo bloody well, he had ME intimidated.
I really loved the editing of the piece, as the film had a number of GREAT cuts, including--as Anonymous pointed out--the cut from Skyler and her boss to the shot of Walt drilling in the basement (not just for the obvious sexual connotations, but for the violent ones as well. Body Double, anyone?), but also the cut from Jesse and Walt's discussion of meth to the shot of the green-tinted ice being used by Hank to make his margaritas.
Among the many things that the show is digging into is Walt's sense of imasculation (he lost his girl to his partner, got squeezed out of the business as well, seems like a very passive hubby in his marriage and feels ineffectual at his teaching gig). In other words, one of the most important things that Walt is attempting to reclaim through his rise as a drug lord is his masculinity. Just look at the how the two scenes--at his poolside with Hank/Walt Jr. and in the parking lot with the wannabes--mirror each other in Walt's masculine territorial assertion.
Great show, and it just seems to be getting greater.
At the risk of sounding pretentious, there's a Nietzsche quote that always comes to mind when I watch this show:
"Verily, I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they had no claws."
Walt's not that far removed from anyone who has ever had to deal with failure, compromise, and anger - which is to say, all of us. He's just found his claws.
Nietzche's Will to Power. Ties in very well with my theories about Walt's emasculation (notice how I spelled it right this time?)
This is my favorite episode of the series thus far.
The party was exquisite, from Walt's discomfort at being hosted and the toast for his friends to the power struggle between him and Hank. I literally said to the screen "pour it!" when Hank was blocking the cup. The writing on Walt's response to Jr's pride at keeping up was really great as well.
I think there is more history to the relationship between Skyler and her boss. Did we get foreshadowing that there are crooked books?
With only 3 episodes to go (unless I'm wrong, which I'm happy to be), we seem a long way off from the Teddy Bear resolution. I fear that that is going to be the end of the series in a season or 2 (which according to Alan's interview the show is designed for only two more).
I miss Saul.
The final line was such a sweet sweet payoff and made this my favorite episode. Walt wants to be in control of his life; I don't see it as control issues in general. Methmaking is where he shines though.
Good episode, but it seemed like it was setting things up for the final three episodes of the season. Byran Cranston in my opinion, is currently the best actor on TV right now. In season 1 he was a man who we all felt sorry for, and now he has become the best TV villain to root for since Tony Soprano. Aaron Paul definitely deserves some recognition for his work this year, I hope the Emmy's give him a little more publicity.
Interesting that you mentioned the water heater as the reason for the teddy bear incident, but I thought the people in the Intel suits and evidence bag suggested something more sinister.
BTW, the teddy bear thing that started at the beginning of the season is one of the most interesting things I have seen on a television drama. Has any other show done anything like this, tease the audience throughout the entire season with something that looks like it has a huge impact on the main characters life. Great show, and I am so relieved that we get to have another season after this one!
Interesting thoughts about Walt's emasculation, and it makes me think of something else. I wonder if what really sets Walt off at the party is Skyler telling a huge group of people that they took charity to pay for Walt's treatment.
He got really uncomfortable, and at first I just assumed it was because he knows it's a lie. Now I'm wondering if having her say that to everyone didn't make him feel, well, emasculated.
Best Hank line: "You goin' for Father of the Year?"
My theory about Jane's behavior is that her dad set her up in the apartment after a disastrous descent into drugs and subsequent rehab. He checks up on her, and has a key in case he needs to go in there and get her. I'm sure he's had the experience of having to key into places she's lived before, with less happy results than this time. In other words, she's tentatively on her own, but Daddy is watching carefully. THAT is why she didn't want him to meet Jesse, because even though she's not using again, dating an obvious stoner is not a good idea. We the viewers know it's an even worse idea than that, because Jesse is a drug dealer and user. I suspect Jane is going to fall off the wagon, hard, possibly not even with Jesse. She'll find some crystal in the apartment and... tragedy. Just a theory, not a spoiler.
Of course Walt isn't going to stop dealing. It's the only thing that makes him feel alive. His pathetic suburban life was killing him. The cancer was just a metaphor? Analogy? It was poetic, that's what it was. And the cure, unfortunately, like chemo, seems worse than the disease.
Terrific episode. Was there ever a show that dovetailed so well with the national mood?
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing what an increasingly darker and more murderous Walt will do with old girlfriend Gretchen and her husband and eventually Skyler's boss. I see a lot of fulfilled revenge scenarios building out there.
Pure speculation: my guess is that the incident in the teddy-bear scenes will amount to Walt faking his own death, although perhaps more after-the-fact than deliberately.
I actually liked Jesse's subplot a lot. Walt is pushing away the people who love him, but Jesse really wants that kind of love in his life.
The scene where he was chain smoking on his bed because he was upset about Jane was really played well by Aaron Paul.
And I love the burnt teddy bear teaser. I watched this one like three times.
This is not a spoiler cuz I have no clue what's gonna happen in the finale, but we've got two body bags, and we just met two guys at the end of the ep who look a bit like Walt and Badger, so I'm wondering if mebbe Walt is faking his own death, and that these two rivals are the dudes in the body bags.
When I look at the pink Teddy bear, I think of the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List. Her coat was the only thing colorized during the black and white portions of the movie.
One of the body bags looked a little big. Could be Hank or Schuyler (not that I want it to be either of them).
All I could think of as I watched Walt at the pool was "He's become Tuco." I don't think he even cares about his family, emotionally, at all any more. He knows he ought to, but he can't. He tells Skyler on the voicemail that that guy wasn't him, but it's the guy apologizing who isn't him. The use of his family as justification for his actions is now only an abstract; it's an excuse for him to continue his illicit life.
I thought the scene with Walt and Jesse at the beginning was heartbreaking. Jesse is such a sweet kid by nature, and he was so happy for Walt--a lot happier than Walt was. Jesse is really more of a man than Walt is, because he continually opens himself up to care about others, while Walt closes himself tighter and tighter into self-regard. Jesse is fucked-up, but he's a good soul.
It's not surprising that the remission is bad news to Walt; he's been "half in love with easeful death," and now he has to think about what it means to survive. He can never go back to being satisfied with teaching high school (if he ever was), but his survival undercuts his reason to cook, which is the only life he feels comfortable in now. He's painted himself into a corner.
I watched Walt's stone-cold face sitting at that pool-side table, and I found myself straining to remember what Cranston looked like on "Malcolm in the Middle." Talk about a guy who didn't want to be typecast!
Late to the party here...but great comments all around on a great show.
One thing that struck me in this episode:
Walt is still instinctively a teacher. When he encounters the stooge in the hardware store with the wrong matches and a cart full of meth ingredients, his initial reaction is to educate the guy, to tell him what he's doing wrong. It's only later in the parking lot, when he encounters the guy's boss, that Walt unleashes his alpha-male drug kingpin side. As in Shaw's old line, "He who can, does; He who can't, teaches," Walt is now a doer. And he like it...
Expect when he sees his son after the poolside tequila incident and his son says -- I can't remember the exact quote -- but it was something along the lines that he kept up with the men. The look on Cranston's face when he realized the lesson that boy had learned....
Walt knows that as a father he is still and always a teacher.
Can't wait to see where this is all is heading.
Wow, blog and comments all so insighful and love reading them! I was introduced to this show by a friend, and i remember thinking what a sad sounding premise it had, and why would i want to watch it? I easily say now it is the most moving, well acted, amazing show i have ever seen, and will probably ever see. I don't know how large the fan base is, but from what i've heard, everyone who does watch it, is enthralled.
I literally cried almost every episode of the first season. Remembering now how bad i felt for Walt, working at the car wash after his thankless teaching job, only to be pushed around by the boss at a crappy "after school" job. The writing is brilliant to set Walt up as "that" guy, you feel so unbelievably sorry for him, why would such a sad thing like cancer have to cross his path too?
Now it's hard to remember that Walt, the one who fed and tried to befriend the hostage in Jesse's basement, not wanting to have to kill him, and apologizing as he had to eventually do it to save himself. This show moved me emotionally in a way that is hard for me to describe on words.
Now, as has already been correctly pointed out in these comments, Jesse is our little hero, he seems so sweet, and i love what someone wrote, "he is fucked up, but is a good soul." I know someone like that, and it's f-ing true. Walt's real self never had a chance or reason to come out. He did live a slightly sad life, although a straight one. Cancer gave him a reason to have to man up, and now i think he's terrified at the prospect of living...he can't go back to what he was, that wasn't really him. I almost long for the feelings of sorrow i felt for him, and cried over. Now i cry when Jesse plays peekabo with that neglected little boy, when he lets that bug crawl over his hand instead of killing it, when he begs for the motor home to start when they are stranded. He's a doll.
Skylar would have every right to "befriend" her boss, but it seems too the easy way out in terms of her plot line. The woman has an affair because her husband is emotionally unavailable...very true in this case, but doesn't seem enough for the show. But maybe that's not what's gonna happen...and there is still that weirdness they elude to about "Mr. Grabby hands." And does Skylar not own work clothes that don't spill cleavage!!!!????
Ok, and finally, i love Hank. He came off as an over bearing loudmouth ass in the first episodes, it helped too that we felt so sorry for Walt at that point. But there is just something about him, he truly does love Walt, it's sad to see the degradation of Walt's character, but Hank is the bigger man and seems to have forgiven Walt for the incident, and was even pretty calm at the pool scene, in fact, he looked damn right scared at one point...
Then again, Hank probably still is an overbearing loudmouth ass, but now seems a whole lot tamer compared to the new monstrous Walt. Yeah, and that sneer while Walter Jr. vomited in the pool, sinister.
Maybe it's Jesse and Jane in the body bags? Coming over to bring a gift to the baby and caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? There's been a lot of build-up of sympathy for Jesse this season...but at this point, does Walt really need him?
BTW the glass breakage on the car in the opening sequence is interesting - looks like someone shot the front passenger window, which caused breakage on the others.
I think the foreshadowing with the teddy bear is leading up to a confrontation between Walt and the cartel at Walt's house. However, I think the people in the body bags will be cartel members. I believe Walt is going to pull out some demolitionist type stuff like he did when he blew up the building last season.
Saw the 5/31/09 episode with the midair, and the pink Teddy bear ending up in Walt's pool. WHERE did we see that Teddy before, and in what context? (I watched several episodes with constant interruptions. The bear seems familiar, but I can't place it...).
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