Breaking Bad: "Ozymandias"

Spoilers ahead.

All I could think as I finished this episode was that people were going to be debating the meaning of the dog in the last shot for ages. That's because "Breaking Bad" has cemented itself in these past few episodes as one of the television greats. It was no mystery what was going to happen – there have been commentators making very accurate predictions all week, about who was going to die, what would happen to Jesse, and so forth. The crux is the execution. It's in the little turns and character moments, the performances, and the show's now-familiar idiosyncrasies. It's not that fact that the big developments happened, but so many and so fast, and it was terrifying to watch each domino fall.

The cold open was a flashback to the beginning of the series, a blunt reminder of how far the characters have come, but all too soon we were back in the firefight. I can already hear the complaints about how it was unrealistic that Hank wouldn't be blown to smithereens in an assault like that, but I appreciate that it allows for Walt's doomed last ditch attempt to bargain for Hank's life, which of course only results in Walt giving up one of his last bargaining chips, and Hank ("My name is ASAC Schrader") being shot in the head anyway. I love that Hank knows and accepts what's going to happen, while Walt still thinks he can control the situation if he can just come up with the right thing to say. But the decision's already made.

Walt's barrels of money falling into the hands of Jack's gang (I refer to them as such to avoid the Nazi v. White Supremacist debate), but Jack leaving Walt with a single barrel of money was unexpected. It's a reminder that the villains in "Breaking Bad" tend to be complicated souls, and if we had more time to spend with Jack, we'd surely get to know those complications better. All we have here are some hints, not entirely satisfying ones, but still indicative of the character having the potential to be more interesting. Todd, however, we've gotten to know, and he just keeps getting creepier. Ever polite, ever softspoken, ever helpful, heaven help us if her ever decides he doesn't want to be somebody's stooge anymore, and strikes out on his own.

And poor Jesse. Poor, poor Jesse. Walt blames him for everything going sour, and orders his death to his face this time. And to twist the knife, we finally get the Jane reveal. Of course, Uncle Jack still needs a meth cook, so Walt only ends up damning him to the hell of a new meth lab. The scene where Todd takes him to cook has very little dialogue, but so much is conveyed through the images – Jesse's bloody face, the grated pit, the handcuffs and leash, and finally the photograph of Andrea and Brock. Throw in Todd's completely unperturbed demeanor, and it's gut-wrenching. In a different episode, this would be the most shocking moment of the night, but then we go catch up with how Walt's family has been handling the news of his reported arrest.

Nobody predicted what was going to happen at the White household, and I wonder if the cliffhanger might have been designed to deflect some of the speculation. Everyone was so concerned with what would happen to Hank and Jesse, the developments with Skyler and Junior were unexpected. Junior had to find out sometime, and it was a probable outcome of Walt's arrest, but who guessed Marie would be such a key player in the decision? And since Skyler' alignment with Walt against Marie and Hank, I thought she's passed the point of no return. But no, she still has limits. "What's one more?" was okay when it was Jesse, but not Hank.

Whatever happens in the finale, the White household confrontation scene was the one I'd been waiting for. Walt trying to bully and cajole his loved ones into following orders, Skyler calling him out and having her horrific epiphany – Go Anna Gunn! – and then the misdirection with the cel-phone, the ultimatum, the knife fight (I was dreading/anticipating a fatality right there on the newly replaced rug), and finally Walt confronted with the sight of Skyler and Junior treating him as the threat, the bad guy, the unwanted intruder. And his first instinct, in the face of this rejection, is to ensure the one member of his family he hasn't alienated remains on his side.

The baby grabbing struck me as repetitive at first, but it does show Walt hitting rock bottom. Then it gives him a chance to show that he isn't a complete monster, and still has his family's best interests at heart. The phone call to Skyler suggests that he may be able to find redemption in the next two episodes. His snarling, played-up confession provides her with an alibi, and serves as a goodbye and apology too. It's one of the show's very best scenes, and Bryan Cranston is just fantastic. By the time Holly was found in the firetruck, I was on his side again.

And while there wasn't much to laugh about this week, I love that the creators still got in that whimisical bit with Walt rolling his barrel of money through the desert, plus a bonus ironic song choice.

And Rian Johnson. Just, Rian Johnson.
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