8/14/13
View Logs: Breaking Bad S5.2 Episode 1
Episode Title: Blood MoneyWow... ok, there is one thing I must commend the Breaking Bad writers. When it comes to plot, they don't dwell. I know I've said that the writers like to navel-gaze with their characters just a little bit. But seriously when it comes to plot devices, such as misunderstandings between the characters, it gets resolved pretty quickly. As a deep fan of TV, I've watched my fair share of both Soap Operas and Anime. In both of these types of media, plot devices tend to drag and drag sometimes even for more than one seasons (especially in Soap Operas). How many times did we see Luke and Noah in As the World Turns whine about their relationship issues because of a misunderstanding they didn't bother to address themselves (like normal adults)? How many times do we see Dragonball Z drag on fight sequences for the sake of filler? And don't get me started on dragged out plot devices in Gundam's weaker shows. Point is, it's common for plot devices to go on for multiple episodes because it's just a very cheap way to extend the screentime of a show. Especially if the writers don't have enough ideas to cover their running time (like many soaps and animes...)
Breaking Bad broke that. Episode 8 of Season 5.1 ended off with Hank finding out that Walter White is Heisenberg, the meth king. By the end of Episode 9, they directly confront each other about the issue. I actually expected this to extend throughout the entire season! But the writers resolved it in just one episode... writing wise this is very economical and it actually created a lot of tension because I now literally have no idea what happens next.
There is a common idea in writing that cliches aren't bad if they are done well. A part of that is just being economical with how you choose to use plot devices that's common in fiction. The reason why cliches are generally bad is because once you rely on it for drama and character development, your audience just ends up waiting for the end to see how it resolves. So if your piece of fiction is all a cliche from front to end. That becomes a waiting game. And that makes it a weaker experience. One way to subvert that and make a cliche "work" is by resolving it early because it throws the audience off guard. So well done writers of Breaking Bad. I'm now eagerly awaiting the next episode.
Speaking of the story, man... the proverbial fecal matter is going to hit some spinning propellers... But before I talk about the characters, there is one thing I have to say that I hate about Breaking Bad. It's the use of flash forwards as a teaser in the beginning of the episodes. Generally speaking it's fine for foreshadowing. But there are times when it got a little too gimmicky for me. A good example is the beginning of the season 2 finale. In that episode, the bodies you see on the driveway had absolutely nothing to do with any of the characters and were victims of a plane crash. That kind of misleading was a little silly. Again, nothing theoretically wrong with flash forwards. But now it's starting to get a little overused and I'm personally a little annoyed by it. Because at this point, anytime I see a flash forward I now expect to receive literally no reliable information from it. It's becoming like the cliffhangers in Battlestar Galactica. I hope to see a little less of it in the final 7 episodes.
Character wise... I think Hank is going to die. I don't think it's too below Walt at this point to kill his own brother in law. It's pretty obvious that he's embraced the sociopath within him. On top of that however, I also think Walter will probably lose one or a few of his family by the end. Maybe at the hands of Lydia because I don't think she will just go away. After all, if the previous seasons have proven anything... everyone will always bother Walt and I think his character will find his way back. At this point he still believes that the thing he wants the most is his immediate family but, as an audience, I think we might know better. I think Walt will probably learn that he's too into himself to walk away from an Empire and maybe might make the choice to forsake or leave his family to become a kingpin.
Jesse is, once again, having a hard time dealing with his guilt. Not that this is a complaint from me. I think it's very rare for a crime show to really explore guilt as thoroughly as Breaking Bad with Jesse. He is, and has been from the start, a decent person who just had a hard time following rules and expectations. Actually, Walt and Jesse are almost perfect swaps of each other. Think about it, Walt was always the straight laced high school teacher who never thought about crime (until now) and found that he's actually a criminal at heart (and wholeheartedly embraced it). Jesse has always been the school dropout delinquent but he's actually a pretty good person. He's just misguided and, at times, a little too accepting of his situation.
I think the ironic thing is that Walt and Jesse were never a match for each other. Which is why their working relationship always ended poorly. The two of them just keeps forcing themselves to work together just because they've had history with each other. Honestly that's really the only reason why they are "friends". There is a further irony to this in that Walt also walked away from the business at a critical point because Todd and Lydia are essentially evil versions of Jesse and Skylar. And he was finally working with people who would least likely clash with him and yet he dropped that pretty quickly. I'm sure Walt doesn't realize this yet... but it'll be pretty dangerous when he does... Jesse needs to be careful. If I were him I'd take that 5 million and just move... maybe even move to a different country...
But he won't. The best I can hope for is that Jesse will finally wise up and realize that Walt isn't and was never really his friend. What will definitely seal that deal is if Jesse spots that poisonous plant in Walt's backyard. ;)
Anyways that's just my speculation. I can't wait for this Sunday where I'll be able to watch Episode 2 of both Breaking Bad S5.2 and Low Winter Sun. Until then squishies!
