Breaking Bad - Blood Money

Ok, so I know I'm a little behind the curve on this one, but cut me a little slack, I'm watching the show with my girlfriend and we only just caught up.  That said, here's my take on the season premiere of Breaking Bad's final run of episodes.


Holy crap, shit is getting real.   This episode might be one of the best yet.

We left off last season with Hank finally realising that Walt is the cook he's been hunting all this time.  With that discovery a chain of realisation is set off.  It was Walt who convinced him his wife was in danger.  Walt deliberately turned into traffic to get Hank off the laundry.  Walt blew up a nursing home in order to kill Gus Fring.

Though it happens at the end of the episode, I can't help discussing Walt and Hanks confrontation first.  In an episode full of high quality moments, this one was by far and away the best.  Every line Walt utters is a demonstration of how easy he's become with lying, cajoling, threatening all without ever saying anything that couldn't mean something else.  Even Walt's warning "Tread Lightly" could be taken as something, it could simply mean that Hank shouldn't upset the families last months of good times together with these wild accusations.  Or it could mean back off or I'll have to kill you.

Aaron Paul continues to prove himself to be an amazing actor and Jesse the moral center of the show.  His scene on the couch with Walt shows one thing more than anything else.  Walt's bullshit almost certainly is not working on Jesse anymore.  His response to Walt saying he didn't kill Mike is to say he believes him, but his attitude suggests he does anything but.  Later showing up as a teary-eyed midnight paperboy throwing bricks of money out of his window shows just how far his depression has gone.

Remember when Jesse was the comedy relief?

I'd be remiss not to mention the fantastically ominous opening which follows on from the flashforward in "Live Free or Die"  We still have no idea how this story is going to end.  But these pretty clearly show us, it won't be quietly.  What does he need that gun for, the ricin for?  What happened between now and these future moments, when Walt's house lies in ruins, his secret spraypainted over the walls.  If Walt is revealed, is this the beginning of some suicidal last stand?

It's worth pointing out  that the ridiculous gun in the trunk is the gun from Scarface, a film Walt watched with Junior, the only scene of which we seen was Tony Montana's famous last stand.  Foreshadowing?  I don't know.

That for me is the great thing about this show.  It keeps you guessing.  It never takes the turn you expect.  For instance, after Hanks discovery at the end of "Gliding Over All" I was waiting for the show to become a cat and mouse game that would play out over the rest of the season.  The one this I wasn't expecting was for Walt to walk into Hanks garage and confront him about it.

Breaking Bad is probably the best show on TV right now.  If you're not watching it, you should be.

Posted in: bad, Blood Money, blue meth, breaking, breaking bad, bryan cranston, Season Premiere, TV, TV Review, walter white