I mention all of this because the final two seasons of Breaking Bad have a monumental challenge in front of them: to compact their traditional 13-episode style of storytelling into just 8 episodes, while at the same time heading towards an all-important endgame. Three episodes into this season, it's become very clear to me that, now more than ever, every single scene matters. Case in point: last week's Mike-specific episode, "Madrigal". Last week, I was just overjoyed to have an episode to showcase Mike's brilliance... which is fine in itself. But, in the light of this week's episode, the purpose for "Madrigal" becomes very clear in terms of the overall narrative: it's very important for us, as an audience, to realize exactly what Mike has brought to the Gus Fring operation, and what he'll bring to Walt's new operation... because, as this episode shows us, Walt himself is too caught up in his own hubris to realize it, potentially creating his new nemesis in the process.
This week's episode kicks off with Mike back "at work"... this time, acting as the "paralegal" for the lawyer who's representing all of Gus' jailed men. Mike's visiting all of them in one day, to make sure that all Gus' men remain quiet about what's going on. The incentive: the luxurious "hazard pay" package which will ensure that them and their families will remain well-compensated for their trouble. On one hand, the show is apt to make us aware of any and every loose end that could exist as a result of Walt's actions from last season's finale. On the other hand, this "hazard pay" will help to unravel Walt and Mike's relationship... and it's key for us to understand why it's important to the business. Because, after all, Mike runs the business, and nobody will tell him otherwise... and he makes that very, very clear to Walt and Jesse during a meeting of "the four amigos" in Saul's office. But, as the gang leaves Saul's office to tour potential new cooking sites, Walt says, "He (Mike) handles the business... and I handle him."
And with that, we head a bevy of new locales: the box factory, the tortilla factory, and even the old laser tag place from Season 3, but they're all met with rejection for Walt... for predominantly logical reasons. And then, at the end of the day, we arrive at the Vamanos Pest garage, where Walt figures out a ludicrous, but savvy, way to cook meth: by setting up a lab in the fumigated homes of their clientele. (Jesse chips in a helpful idea: by bringing in a medical tent similar to the one where Gus and Mike were treated near the end of Season 4.) Sure, there's a crew that they'll have to contend with (including Landry from Friday Night Lights!!!) - a crew that's accustomed to breaking and entering into the homes they're fumigating... but Saul assures our guys that all is well. (And, to seal the deal, Mike gives a helpful talk to the Vamanos guys, to ensure that there's no stealing.) Plus, brought in to help with the restructuring effort are, of all people, Badger and Skinny Pete (!!!), who are tasked with buying big roadie cases to stash the cooking equipment in. (Gotta love that stencil job!)
With all of that in place, we finally get to go to work, as Walt and Jesse draw up plans for the portable lab. It's a nice bit of teamwork, but things quickly get awkward as Walt tries to implant some feelings of doubt in Jesse with regards to his girlfriend, Andrea, and his desire to make sure that she doesn't know anything about the operation. Then, Andrea swings by Jesse's place... with Brock in tow. Again, Walt's working the situation in order to come off as "the nice guy", remarking that Brock was "very brave" in his poisoning bout at the end of last season. That uncomfortable silence as Walt and Brock are left alone in Jesse's living room is just great... this is a show that works best when things aren't quite right. (By episode's end, Jesse severs his relationship with Andrea, to Walt's silent satisfaction.)
We then head to Vamanos Pest's first new client, and the wonderful montage of Walt and Jesse back at work. It's a hypnotic, wonderfully photographed, edited, and scored sequence; I had a smile on my face the entire five minutes or so; who knew that the making of meth would make me so happy? But that's the magic of Breaking Bad for you. (One harbinger of potential doom: the multiple shots of exhaust leading out from the 'fumigated' house. No doubt that will bite them in the end.)
This week also brings us the return of Marie, who meets up with Skylar at the car wash, and finds herself on the receiving end of a Skylar breakdown, complete with a cigarette and 14 increasingly loud utterances of "SHUT UP!!!" Marie wonders what's up, and confronts Walt at the White household to find out the truth. Stuck in a rut, Walt plays a potentially dangerous card: by revealing Skylar's affair with Ted Beneke. Skylar isn't handling Walt's return to the White family home, leading to the twisted scene of Walt, Walt Jr. and the baby sitting in front of the TV and watching, of all movies, Brian de Palma's 1983 remake of Scarface. Now, the symbolism may be a little bit on-the-nose here... especially since creator Vince Gilligan has repeatedly described the show as "Mr. Chips becomes Scarface". But you've gotta admit, the sheer sight of Walt watching the movie with his infant child in his arms is a little bit twisted, eh?
And then comes the big final scene of the episode, as $1,379,500 of revenue quickly diminishes, much to Walt's chagrin. I must credit the writing with making it very clear (complete with lots of figures and mathematics) where all the money is going. Some of the expenditures are sensible, such as the distribution drivers and the Vamanos Pest crew... but then, Mike takes additional money to pay for Gus' guys in jail - the "hazard pay" from the opening scene (and the episode title, natch). Walt isn't very happy that the legacy costs from Gus' operation are being paid from the new revenue... but Mike counters with the quote of the night, "Just because you shot Jesse James doesn't make you Jesse James." And there's more expenses to come... such as an increased cost for methylamine going forward. (For a complete infographic breakdown of the costs, check out this week's Breaking Bad Story Sync.) Caught up in all this mess is Jesse, who offers a larger chunk of his share to resolve the Walt-Mike conflict, but fortunately, Walt ends up chipping in his share. But, in the final shots of the episode, Walt hints at a more dangerous resolution by invoking Victor, the henchman who got his throat sliced in the Season 4 premiere, "Box Cutter"... and surmising that Mike could meet a similar fate.
For Walt to turn on Mike this early in the season is a move that certainly can't bode well... and for Walt to think that he can handle Mike simply because he could handle Gus is a nearly-maniacal thought. Remember, a good chunk of the reason why Walt was able to take out Gus last season was because Mike was out of commission during that time. But already this season, we've seen how truly dangerous Mike can be... and it adds a layer of suspense and tension to what's already a dangerous situation.
Random notes:
- AMC was very nice to air a Bryan Cranston-heavy TV spot for this Friday's remake of Total Recall. (Cranston is playing the role of Cohaagen, essayed by Ronny Cox in the 1990 original.)
- The box factory scene gave me vivid flashbacks to "Bart Gets Famous", the Season 5 episode of The Simpsons where Bart escapes a box factory field trip, only to gain a feature role on Krusty's show.
- Please don't tell me that the Scarface scene was intended to be a tie-in to AMC's Mob Week... especially since the Mob Week commercials featured Scarface clips. (On a side note, when I think of mobsters, I think of... Anthony Bourdain?!?!?)
- "Everyone dies in this movie, huh?"
- Next week: The episode title is "Fifty-One", as in Walt's 51st birthday. (You'll recall that Marie hinted at this in the car wash scene.) That can only mean that we're getting closer to Walt's 52nd birthday... mua-ha-ha-ha!!! Oh, and is that Walt breaking out the Heisenberg hat? :-D
No comments:
Post a Comment