It’s a little hard to believe that, up until this week’s
episode of Breaking Bad, we hadn’t
had an episode dedicated to our favorite cleaner, Mike. Every supporting character of note has had
their own episode all to themselves: from Gus in last season’s “Hermanos”, to
Marie in “Open House”. But until Sunday
night, the most we got for Mike was a single act in the third-season finale,
“Full Measure”, in which we got Mike to see in ass-kicking silencer mode. “Madrigal” delivers on the potential of a
Mike-heavy episode, giving us two action sequences, plus several other awesome
dialogue scenes for Jonathan Banks to knock out of the park. For the die-hard Breaking Bad fan, it’s an unqualified recipe for success.
But before we get to Mike, let’s talk chicken nuggets! In
the episode’s off-kilter cold open, we’re introduced to Mr. Schuler, who runs
Madrigal Elektromotoren, the German-based parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos
(and the owner of the laundromat that housed the meth super-lab in Seasons 3
& 4). He’s in the middle of a taste
test of new sauces (including honey mustard, a half-ranch, half-French
combination called “Franch”, and “Cajun Kick-Ass”, which is charmingly uttered
in a German accent) when his assistant informs him that the police have stopped
by to ask some questions about the Gus Fring operation… “Three this time”. Schuler knows he’s screwed, and so he does
the only thing he can do: by committing suicide in a bathroom using a portable
defibrillator. (In true Breaking Bad fashion, Schuler’s death invokes
a twisted moment of laughter, as the bathroom toilet flushes after he drops
dead.) Of course, such a move is only
going to raise more suspicion… which leads to a meeting at the DEA offices in
Albuquerque between Madrigal representatives and the DEA (including an
out-and-about Hank).
After the cold open, we’re treated to a moment of Walt at
his most calculating: he attempts to reconstruct the ricin cigarette in a
hurried effort to appease Jesse’s worry about where it might be. He then heads over to Jesse’s house to “search”
for said cigarette, ultimately planting it inside television’s favorite non-DJ
Roomba for Jesse to find. For starters, I
enjoyed Walt’s “What the hell is that?” reaction to the Roomba at the
beginning of the scene… and further
enjoyed it when I realized that his reaction was a ploy to get Jesse to open
the Roomba up. And once Jesse finds it,
and breaks down crying in a sign of relief, you can’t help but think, “Walt,
you sadistic bastard.” The stark contrast between Jesse’s bawling after finding
the cigarette and Walt’s meaningless hugs of comfort is a shining example of
how far Walt’s fallen, and how much Jesse has usurped him as the moral center
of the show… if there is such a thing.
(And let’s give it up for Aaron Paul for selling the heck out of that
scene… kudos!)
With that out of the way, Walt and Jesse start building their
meth business back up from scratch… in what will certainly be a less lucrative
operation than Gus’ structure allowed (albeit with larger profits for all
involved.) First order of business:
attempting to get Mike involved as a third partner – for security/logistics
reasons, and especially to help acquire the various ingredients needed to make
the blue meth. From the second Mike
opens the door and gives that “Aw, crap, not these guys again” look on his
face, you know he doesn’t want to be involved with this at all. In fact, he verbalizes it succinctly, calling
Walt “a time bomb, tick-tick-ticking”, and declines their offer. But Walt and Jesse proceed anyways, meeting
with Saul to start getting things into order.
Despite Saul’s best advice, Walt’s hubris starts gleaming through, as he
proclaims, “There’s gold in the streets, just waiting for someone to come in
and scoop it up!” Even more, Walt’s about $40,000 in the hole as a result of
last season’s chaos – in terms of what he owes Jesse and also what he lost to
Ted Beneke – putting him in a situation where he HAS to start cooking once
more.
But there’s still some problematic aspects towards making
this work, namely the need for methylamine… and surprisingly, that’s where Mike
comes in. It’s the long result of a quartet of stellar Mike-centric scenes that make this a top-notch episode:
- Mike and Lydia at the diner. Lydia, like Mike, is an employee of Gus’ operation… but unlike Mike, she’s extremely uneasy that the Los Pollos Hermanos operation is going to come crashing down. And so, we’re treated to a comedy of extreme awkwardness, as Lydia meets Mike (or should I say, “DWAYNE!!!”) at one of his favorite diners, and gives Mike a list of 11 guys who she thinks will break... and who should be bumped off. But, Mike ain’t gonna do that: He vetted every single name on that list – yes, even Chow, the man whose hand Mike shot in the Season 3 finale – and he’s dang certain that none of them will crack under pressure. And so Mike declines another offer… but Lydia isn’t going to stop there, as we’ll soon find out.
- Mike versus Hank. Just hearing that character combination should make you giddy inside… and boy, does this six-minute sequence lives up to the potential. The above scene hints that Mike knows enough to keep his mouth shut to the DEA… and Mike demonstrates that he’s a thorough man, as he rattles off the states in which he has P.I. licenses and concealed-carry permits (or in the case of the latter, the states which he’s NOT licensed). Mike denies knowing anything about Gus’ drug operation, but ultimately, Hank traps Mike: the DEA has found a list of bank accounts – in effect, the list of names that Lydia gave to Mike – and have seized their cash. Chief among that list, with a whopping $2 million in deposits, is an account registered in the name of Mike’s 10-year-old granddaughter. Mike simply says he doesn’t know anything about it… and leaves.
- A visit to Chow’s house. While playing Hungry Hungry Hippos with his granddaughter, Mike receives a call from Mr. Chow, asking him to come over to figure out what to do, now that the DEA has seized his money. But, as Admiral Ackbar would say, “IT’S A TRAP!”, as Mike quickly figures out that there’s a fellow hitman there to take both Chow – and Mike – out of the equation. But, with a sly fake-out, thanks to one of his granddaughter’s toys, Mike gains the upper hand over Chris the hitman. As it turns out, Lydia hired Chris to work through the list of 11, offering $10,000 per name (and $30,000 for Mike). But alas, Mike asks, “Are you ready?” and takes him out, making for Corpse #3 this week. (I must also compliment the show’s cinematography, which has always been one of the series’ strong suits: the wide shot of Mike pointing his gun at Chris, which pans down to display the blown-out back of Chow’s head – complete with flies already buzzing around it – was extremely well-done.)
- 4A visit to Lydia’s house. Having narrowly avoided death, Mike heads to Lydia’s house to exact his revenge. But Mike has to contend with the presence of Lydia’s daughter… and her housekeeper. The trademark Breaking Bad tension is absolutely palpable here, as Mike stands in the nighttime shadows of Lydia’s bedroom, waiting for her to enter… and it only gets more unbearable as Mike grabs Lydia in the bedroom, and as Lydia pleads for her life, asking not to disappear for her daughter’s sake. And then, Mike makes what might be his fatal mistake, as he lets Lydia live in exchange for acquiring the methylamine… which, don’t get me wrong, is a bit of a groaner, especially for this show. But, the fact that it’s going to allow Walt and Jesse to start cooking again is also exciting… especially now that Mike has reconsidered and has joined in the operation.
And now that we’ve made it 25% through this summer season,
we have to ask: What exactly is going to send things unraveling? Well, based on what Hank said during the
meeting with his now-ousted boss, Walt may have screwed things up: apparently,
according to Hank, the laptop from last week was encrypted, and they wouldn’t
have been able to pull anything off of it. But a part of me has to be wondering what
Lydia’s presence will affect our “heroes’” future.
Random notes:
- Again, if you’re watching the series live on Sunday nights, I highly recommend using AMC’s Breaking Bad Story Sync feature. I pulled it up on my iPad during the Sunday premiere airing, and it certainly makes for a fun experience.
- We have Jay Leno to thank for resurrecting this video clip: a 1998 appearance of Jesse Pinkman himself, Aaron Paul, on The Price is Right. You know you want to see it. :-D
Next week: Walt,
Jesse, Mike and Saul in a room together. There’s no way this can’t be good. :-) See you then!
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