Walter White Wednesday 73

Holy.  Cow.

This week's episode is titled "Ozymandias," after the Shelley sonnet.  I mentioned the sonnet when Breaking Bad used it as a promotional piece with Bryan Cranston intoning the lines - click here for that - and the Wanna Cook? guide will have a brief discussion of it to go with the episode.  Spoilers aplenty.  Deal.

In what very well may be the absolute best cold open of the show, we see how far Walt has descended and just what he's lost - and our first image is of water coming to a boil.  The joy is gone and there are no exultant cheers of "Chemistry!  Science!  Yay!"  What began as a highly stupid, pissant criminal enterprise intended to create a nest egg for Walt's family (a loving, caring family, as the cold open points out) has vanished into the blank, bleak desert.  It vanished one lie at a time and the winds of change swept away the footprints so Walt can't even see where he began, although we know it was in this very place.  But the trackless desert has no memory.

Honestly, I've been reeling ever since I watched this one.  I've seen other amazing dramatic episodes of television that left me breathless, but "Ozymandias" is different.  It's more gut-wrenching, more horrifying, and if anyone remains convinced that Walt is somehow to be emulated and sympathized with - seek help.  Several diagnoses in the current version of the DSM apply and none of them are good.  Sure, his rant to Skyler very well may be his attempt to get her off the hook for her involvement, but so what?  That doesn't make up for a teenth of the bone-headed, petty, and just plain mean things he's done and said.  And nothing, nothing justifies that chilling line to Jesse regarding Jane.

Walt's lost. He's not noble, he's not heroic, he's a man whose choices have caused him to lose every single thing he once held as precious and valued. So he hooks up with Saul's guy out by the spillway with his one remaining barrel and makes tracks. In his wake are bodies, despair, cruelty, and blood.

I've often been amazed at how Breaking Bad ratchets up the tension and then keeps doing it!  It's like some sort of crazed Jack-in-the-Box that never quite manages to pop, instead going&going&going while your nerves fray under the tension.

So let's talk about Jack.  Not the one in the box; rather, let's talk about the one in the desert.  I'm not sure there's a better example of just how much control Walt doesn't have than his use of Jack.  Walt thinks he can tell Jack to "jump" and Jack will simply ask, "How high, Walt?"  Not happening.  Even Todd, who appeared to be a fairly dim bulb, turns out to have a strong streak of family loyalty to Uncle Jack, to the point of committing wholesale murder, enslavement, and just generally being a waste of human skin.  Walt has not just brushed up against evil, he made a deal - and shook on it.  Might as well of signed the contract in blood, Walt.  Preferably your own, but Walt gets squeamish that-a-way.

But I've got to give Walt points for one thing.  He raised a hell of a son, who I will no longer call "Junior."  He's Flynn all the way.  His world, the one that had Walt as its sun, was rocked and split and he didn't want to believe it.  But when Walt showed his true face, Flynn didn't hesitate - and the kid gets around on crutches!  Flynn chose his side - and it wasn't Walt's.

So Walt's in the wind.  Hank's in the ground, as in Gomez.  Jesse's chained like a beaten dog on a backyard run.  Todd's got help in the meth kitchen to up the purity in order to impress his heartless Lady Love, who probably won't like seeing Jesse beaten and enslaved, but hey, it's for the good of the brand.  Jack's rolling in stolen cash. Holly's safe at an ABQ firehouse.  Skyler and Marie are pulling together.  And Flynn became the man of the house.

Two to go.

For more, read my co-author's blog.  And also this one, which happens to be written by my good friend and editor.  Both posts brilliantly discuss this episode.

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It may have been a long time coming, but "Blood Money" was worth the wait!  Breaking Bad has a lot to do in only eight episodes, and it certainly started with a bang!  My co-author, Ensley F. Guffey, has written about the episode (and his squee-worthy interview with director of photography Michael Slovis!) over in his blog, and I strongly encourage you to read that.  As for me, I'm going to discuss just a couple of aspects of this episode - you'll have to buy Wanna Cook? when it comes out next spring for all the juicy details!

Naturally, there be spoilers ahead.

"Blood Money" has an amazing cold open.  This is the Walt of last season's "Live Free or Die" - a Walt with hair, a beard, heavy glasses, and an almost Mike-like attitude of being deeply tired, but having a job to do.  Walt's gone home, but home isn't "home" anymore.  The house that once had blocks of cash stuffed into the very walls is now abandoned - no Sky, no kids, no family dinner around the table.  Everything looks dead - the pool where family cookouts were held (and where Sky waded in too deep that one memorable time) has been drained and is now a makeshift skateboard park.  The dark paneling of the living room is decorated with the name Walt wants people to remember - "Heisenberg" - spray-painted in bright yellow.  The next-door neighbor, Carol, is horrified to see Walt in the driveway.  Just what the hell happened here?  The one thing - and at this point, the only thing we know for sure is that Walt's precious vial of ricin was still behind the faceplate in the bedroom and that he now has it, along with the M60 in the trunk.

In the present day, Hank knows that "W.W." isn't Willy Wonka and it's not Woodrow Wilson, either.  Life changes for everyone when he steps out of the bathroom with Walt's copy of Leaves of Grass.  But knowing isn't enough for Hank - he has to prove it and he painstakingly builds his case.  Walt learns that Hank knows and, while he may try to intimidate his brother-in-law with his advice to "tread lightly," Hank's having none of it.

So who's the weak link?  Lydia, who can't cook meth as good as the now-retired Walt?  Skyler, who's willing to run Lydia off?  Saul, who intends to not go to jail?  Or is it Jesse, who's throwing money away in a bid for some sort of late-night redemption?

That house didn't get empty because Skyler decided she didn't like the paneling.

Seven to go.

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. . . which is the one that doesn't get written.

Sorry, folks - and I truly am, for I enjoy writing these posts every Wednesday - but last night was Election Night here in North Carolina and the U.S. of A. and I stayed up late.  Very late.  Too late for someone who has a day job and a 12-hour stint at it this too-early morning.  But I believe that some things are worth seeing live and this was one of them.  (Also - I think we can put aside our differences about the candidates and just admit that the Democrats have a much better soundtrack.  Also - rest of the world, please ignore Donald Trump.  Paying him attention only encourages him to continue acting the fool.)

At first, I thought about crafting a post about who would make the better First Lady, Marie (who'd probably steal the linen from the Lincoln Bedroom) or Skyler (who'd probably squirrel pallets of campaign donations away in the walls).  I also considered cobbling together my thoughts on who would prevail in a Hank vs. Walt tossup, but I got stuck on who would be Hank's running mate (although I have to admit, siccing Jesse on certain world leaders DOES make me smile on this under-caffeinated morn).  Instead, I'm going to simply admit that there's no post this week.

I'll be back next week with thoughts on Breaking Bad, but today, I need more coffee.

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Voyage of the Soul

. . . in which we learn of the dangers of poetry.  NOTE: This post refers to the events in the Season 5 "mini-finale" ("Gliding Over All") so  if you haven't seen that, please stop here! Proceed, but you've been warned and I'll tolerate no whining about spoilage.

Walt Whitman spent forty-plus years of his life writing, revising, and re-writing his magnum opus, Leaves of Grass, which first appeared in Breaking Bad with Gale Boetticher's quoting of "I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" back in Season 3. Gale gave a copy of the book to Walt with a lovely inscription, remember?

Walt should be more careful with his books.

"Gliding Over All," the title of this week's episode, comes from a poem contained within the book.  It's short, so I'll quote it here.

Gliding o'er all, through all,

Through Nature, Time, and Space,

As a ship on the waters advancing.

The voyage of the soul -- not life alone,

Death, many deaths I'll sing.

I've often marveled at Gilligan & Company's ability to pull what looked like random threads together, but wow.  Seriously, WOW! That painting of a man rowing away from his family on the shore that we first saw in Walt's shrink's office back in Season 2 shows back up here in a cheap motel room, battered and stained much the way I imagine Walt's soul to be. Also in this meeting with Todd's tattooed and apparently Aryan Brotherhood-connected uncle, death -- many deaths -- are planned and later executed with astonishing precision. Walt's empire expands into Europe, Skyler shows him just how much money he's made (still not more than Gray Matter generates, but apparently, it'll do) and Walt has a change of heart. The family is reunited and a cozy poolside cookout commences - Walt glides serenely over all.

My co-author has already cleverly commented on the images and motifs that have previously appeared in Breaking Bad that reappear in this episode, so I'll simply direct you over to his post about that. Do those images indicate that the past - in the form of Walt's cancer - has returned? Believe it or not, I think the answer is not that important - Walt doesn't get a free pass on this one. He's done terrible things and done them willingly and that price must be paid. His doom approaches as a ship on the water - then again, maybe he's obliviously rowing out to meet it.

Hank knows. Now he's just got to prove it.

For me, this episode ties things together and puts Walt, who's become increasingly desperate, despicable, and damned, squarely in the gunsights of the one man who will patiently put it all together - Hank Schrader. This happened because, for all Walt crows about being smart, about being The Man Whose Name Must Be Said, he's sloppy.  He keeps trophies and loses his temper. Hank can follow the money or the bodies, but either way, there's a trail.

I think with the final shot of "Gliding Over All," we went from "Will Walt get caught?" to "Who's the weakest link?" So who will be Hank's guide on the trail? If Skyler's put in a box, will she turn Walt in to save the family? That woman has every intention of keeping her children. Heaven knows that Lydia's not wound all that tightly and she'll do about anything to stay with her daughter. (See the theme?) Then again, has Jesse been bought off by two duffles stuffed full of cash? After all, he was careful to check to see who was at the door, then he made a detour to the coffee table to make sure he went to the door with a gun stashed at the small of his back. And if he ever finds out about Jane . . . 

So that's our mid-finale, with no new episodes for nearly a year.  (I know - a YEAR!) But both I and the tall and talented Ensley F. Guffey will continue to be here for you, updating you on the progress of Wanna Cook? as well as including other tidbits on the dark world of Walter White.

Walter White Wednesday 17

. . . which is the one about family.

The concept of family runs throughout Breaking Bad - most obviously with Walt, who uses his desire to provide for his family as his reason for getting into the meth trade.  For new viewers, when Walt is diagnosed of terminal lung cancer, he begins to take stock of his life and he doesn't like what he sees.  Teaching high school chemistry to bored teenagers hasn't brought Walt happiness or prestige.  Desperate to at least leave behind a tidy nest egg for his wife and children (Skyler is pregnant with a "surprise" baby at the beginning of Season 1, remember), Walt comes up with the hare-brained idea of using his stellar background in chemistry to manufacture the purest methamphetamine on the market.  He's got the skills in the manufacturing arena, but doesn't count on the casual viciousness of the drug trade.  I've argued before that his motives aren't really that pure, anyway.  With Walt, it's more about pride than it is about providing.  He refuses help when it's offered (and offered by well-meaning people, including his brother-in-law) and digs his hole deeper and deeper until he apparently decides he likes the darkness he finds underground.  He doesn't like - not one little bit - his son's efforts to raise money for his treatment.  Walt wants to be The Man Who Provides, but he's busy keeping secrets and shoving away the very ones he's supposed to be providing for.

Not that he's the only screw-up in that household.  Skyler has her own sins to atone for.

But the White family is not the only example of family ties in Breaking Bad.  Look beyond that small circle and you find the strong bonds of family loyalty in the Schrader household, for instance.  Marie and Hank have problems (mild kleptomania and a streak of jackassery), but their loyalty to each other is above question.  Exhibit A - see how Hank tears out of the junkyard when he thinks Marie has been injured, even though it means leaving ABQ's drug kingpins behind to flee (and if you don't think Walt owes a debt for that lie, just ask Jesse, much less Hank, or Marie, or Skyler).  And Exhibit B - see how Marie transforms from self-centered memememe! to Tiger Wife when Hank's treatment options are being discussed.

Now expand out to Jesse's circle.  From what we see of Jesse's parents and brother, he was raised in solid comfort, but his choices have caused his family to make the painful decision to cut ties with him.  Call when you're ready to actually change, not just when you're in trouble and we'll talk is the message his parents send to him after years of shattered promises and broken hearts.  Jesse comes close - so close! - to forming a family of his own with Jane (I'm not counting Skinny Pete and Badger here, although a case could be made), but that ends badly.  The bad ending is the result of a toxic combination of miserable choices and Walt.  Collateral damage here includes Jane's father and an entire planeload of innocents.

But go even further from the bright firelight of the middle-class American family.  Look at the family in "Peekaboo," but don't stare too long - that cracking sound in your chest is your heart breaking for the child.  Oh, and drug lords have families, too.  Just ask the bloodthirsty Cousins, who arrive in Season 3 to exact vengeance on those responsible for the death of Tuco, a hit that has the blessing of the patriarch of the family.  Well, the family that slays together . . .

Normally, family ties are seen to be good things that serve to hold the fabric of society together.  But the family values of Breaking Bad challenge that viewpoint.  Is it love that holds these people together and drives their actions, or is it something more sinister, like the desire to control and to be held in esteem by those under you?  And just what sort of family is it that has these levels of secrecy, violence, and a running body count?

Tune in to AMC beginning on July 15 for Season 5 to find out!

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Which is the one devoted to sweet Marie.

It's possible to have a good TV show with characters who remain static.  Not easy, but it's possible.  I'm thinking along the lines of older comedies such as I Love Lucy (oh, Lucy, will you ever get in Ricky's show?) and The Andy Griffith Show (oh, Barney, will your wacky vision of total control over Mayberry ever get past the calm folksy logic of Andy?).  What those shows have in common is a sort of nostalgia for a time that, quite frankly, never was.  In such a case, viewers not only can deal with non-changing characters, those characters bring comfort to viewers living in a world that is often topsy-turvy.  After all, it's nice to be able to tune out the insanity of contemporary life and count on Ethel and Floyd.

But that's comedy.  Gilligan can foolishly drop the coconuts on Skipper's head over and over, but the same schtick doesn't work so well in dramas.  For instance, Joe Friday from Dragnet would be in front of the Internal Affairs Board like that! for his pre-Miranda warning treatment of suspects.

A different Gilligan learned that lesson well.  Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad has never settled for stock characters.  The show does a great job of fleshing out secondary characters and even gives tertiary characters details and depth (think about Hugo the janitor from way back in Season 1).  As Breaking Bad's Walt puts it, "Chemistry is the study of change," so it's not surprising that a show devoted to such a concept would be populated with the main characters who change dramatically.

Which brings us to Marie.

Marie is, among other things, Hank Schrader's wife.  (I've written about Hank before - click here.)  She deserves some attention - and she'd be the first one to tell you so.  Marie likes stuff, especially purple stuff.  Purple is the color most closely associated with Marie - she often wears purple (see the picture at the top of this post) and much of her house is decorated in purple - it's used so often that she's blogged about it on the AMC site.  It's not actually her, of course, but you get the idea.  She and Hank live in a very nice house - much nicer in terms of material stuff than her sister Skyler and Walt.  (Then again, it's just the two of them.  They have no children and they both work; Hank for the DEA and Marie as a radiology technician.)  Marie also has a tendency to pry into other people's lives, give plenty of unwanted advice, and occasionally steal things.  She's exasperating, self-centered, and all that changes when Hank needs her.

This is the key to Marie.  (Hey, that rhymes!)  Marie is all those things - nosy, an attention-seeker, and a royal pain part of the time - but she also is fiercely loyal.  She genuinely cares for her nephew and thinks her newborn niece is just about the neatest thing ever.  She loves her sister and worries about her brother-in-law.  And when Hank's serious injuries cause him to fall into a deep depression, she squares her shoulders and she takes the weight.  She advocates for his care and gets him out of the hospital by proving that he's on the mend in a most unusual way.  (By the way - what is it with these sisters and manual stimulation of their men?  Think back to the pilot episode and Skyler's "birthday present" to Walt.  Marital hint, Sky honey.  Close the laptop.)  Marie connives to get Hank the best physical therapy possible and she (mostly) keeps her hurt feelings hidden from him when he shuts her out.  She's strong in the way that women often are - she doesn't come in with guns blazing, but by God, you want her type there after the guns stop firing.

Walt thinks he loves his family and is doing "all of this" to protect them.  In fact, Hank and Marie have the stronger marriage of the two.  They may be in a rough patch just now, but neither one is running away from it.  Walt actually needs to add Marie to his list of things to worry about.  While she may initially come across as a feather-headed Real Housewife of Albuquerque wannabe, she's got grit underneath.

Time - and Season 5 - will tell.

Walter White Wednesday 3

. . . which isn't about Walter.

One of the many glories of Breaking Bad, which no less a pop culture critic than Stephen King named the best show on TV in 2011, is that it's not a one-trick pony.  Mind you, the Walt/Jess dynamic is one heck of a trick in and of itself, but showrunner Vince Gilligan takes us far beyond that.  Breaking Bad contains very well-crafted, three-dimensional characters in supporting, secondary, and even tertiary roles and that, much like a man wearing an octopus for a hat, is something you just don't see every day.

So let's talk about Hank.

Hank Schrader (played by Dean Norris) is married to Marie.  Marie is Skyler White's sister, making Hank and Marie in-laws of Walter, so there's a family connection there.  The other connection Hank has with Walter is one Hank doesn't know about yet - Hank's the DEA agent in charge of Albuquerque's methamphetamine interdiction unit, so he's chasing ABQ's new kingpin of blue.  This can only lead to complications.

In lesser hands, Hank would be drawn either as a buffoon along the lines of Barney Fife, unable to track down what's right under his nose or as a bald Joe Don Baker as Buford Pusser, complete with axe handle and swagger.  Gilligan doesn't take either of those easy roads, instead giving viewers a far more complex and human character.

Hank - let's face it - can be a jerk.  He's brash, loud, politically incorrect (but at least an equally opportunity insulter), and often someone who causes a certain degree of eye-rolling and deep sighing.  But he's also really, really good at what he does, which is to catch the bad guys without hurting the few remaining innocents in his world.  This is made clear in the first episode of the show.  A bust has been set up (for a house we're going to become familiar with) and everyone is just waiting for the signal from Hank to swoop in.  Hank's rarin' to go, but he carefully and deliberately holds off on giving the order until a school bus has passed by.  This tells us two things - one, that Hank has paid attention to the house long enough to establish the route of the bus and know just when it passes through the neighborhood.   This tells us that Hank is methodical and willing to wait in order to get things right.  And two, he won't compromise the safety of innocents to make his bust.  Getting the bad guys matters - quite a lot, in fact - but he's not going to have to explain third graders as collateral damage.

So when Heisenberg appears in ABQ with his pure-as-prairie-light meth, Hank takes his time.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Everyone.  It's just a matter of time.  This is a fact that should scare Walt spitless, but Walt's tunnel vision has crippled his ability to see what's closing in from the sides.

But Hank is more than Super Cop.  Viewers learn that Hank is human, with all the sometimes messy human connections that most of us have.  He loves his wife (and Marie's got some qualities that strain that affection; I'll get into those in another post), is a surrogate father-figure to his teenage nephew, and he cares about Walt and Skyler.  He home-brews beer in his garage and he likes his life.  And he is not immune to anxiety and injury, although he tries mighty hard to bluff his way past all that bunk.  Hank feels deep bonds of loyalty to the men and women who work with him and to his family - Walt's actions have completely betrayed all of that and, by doing so, placed Hank and others in grave danger from serious Bad Guys (see, they're so bad, I have to capitalize!).

Hank will find this out - some things are inevitable and Walt makes some slips.  Hank's loyalty to his home life has kept him from asking too many questions (after all, this is his chemistry teaching brother-in-law, not some meth-making genius.  Only it is), but Hank's tenacity can't be distracted forever.  And when he does start running down those questions, loyalty to the two halves of his life (work and home) are going to be in direct conflict.  Which side will win out?  I'm betting on "work," but the window is still open for last-minute wagers.