We have hit the halfway point in the final chunk of episodes for Breaking Bad and story lines are hitting their peaks as the show is readying for the finale. Did this episode flatten off to let the audience breath, or is it still going break neck crazy towards the finish? Your Major Spoilers SPOILER filled review will let you know!
SUMMARY
Pros
Marie slipping into the dark.
Battle of wits!
Walt Jr’s love for his dad
Cons
No ambiguous beginning
But I don’t want Jesse to die!
READER RATING!
[ratings]Previously on Breaking Bad: Jesse was taken into custody for being too generous with his 5 million in cash, which led to Hank stepping in on interrogation to get Heisenburg’s number one man to spill the beans. Walter tapped his confessional of crimes claiming that Hank was the mastermind behind the meth empire forcing Walt to do the cooking for the past year. Jesse figured out that Walt was responsible for Brock’s poisoning and, after destroying Saul’s face, raced to the White residence to burn it down.
HE CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!
As we left last episode with Jesse seemingly pouring gasoline straight onto audiences faces, we open this week with Walt driving up to his house completely aware that Jesse is in there. Walt sneaks into his backyard like we have seen him do multiple times before, pulls out his gun and proceeds to check his entire house to find his estranged sidekick but turns up empty. Where could Jesse possibly be? Saul’s car is clearly in the drive way and the gas canister sits in the living room.
That question wouldn’t be answered till halfway through the episode as we are taken back to Jesse pulling back into Walt’s house, snorting a line of coke and entering the house in an attempt to burn the place down. Right as he is about to light the gas, who steps in but one Hank Schrader. Moving the story back to Jesse in the house halfway through allowed for this episode to develop at a much slower pace than the episodes before it. The story line of Walt’s family was given plenty of time to develop before the big twist was revealed with Jesse recording a true confessional for Hank. If the two stories would have been edited together as they happened in real time the emotional impact of both stories would have been lessened greatly.
If this episode of Breaking Bad were to be titled in the same convention that the sitcom Friends used it would be titled The One Where Everyone Wants Jesse Dead. The killing of Jesse is first brought up by Saul to Walt then almost immediately brought up by Skyler once Walt is forced to tell her what is happening. Later, Hank states that he doesn’t care if Walt kills Jesse because they will be able to catch it on tape, and, finally, Walt ends the episode flipping his opinion on what should happen with Jesse by saying he needs to be put down. This completely stays in line with fact that everyone in this show, with the exception Mike (may he forever find peace in Belize), has been using Jesse for their own gain. Now that people are finding him as more of a hinderance than an asset they are ready to cut him down.
OLD YELLER
The overarching narrative of Rabid Dog is certainly the relationship between Walt and Jesse. It has certainly been the most entertaining of the character relationships on the show for every season and as the show is coming to an end it appears that so is their relationship. Walt, no matter how dark he goes, has always seemed to care for and protect Jesse; Hank even points this out when convincing Jesse to wear a wire. How it will end between the two is sure to be surprising considering that we know Walt makes it to his next birthday with no indication if Jesse does.
A question for you dear reader: Are you rooting for Walt to come out on top still? I find myself hoping that Walt will best Hank and everyone still and that slightly scares me. We have been told time and time again that Walt is not a hero or, really, a respectable human being, but I still find myself wanting him to win. I even believe that through the clothe coloring and lighting, especially in this episode, that we are suppose to be rooting for the opposite of Walt. Let your thoughts on the matter be heard in the comments.
BOTTOM LINE: CALM BEFORE THE STORM
If we didn’t have proof in the episode count that Rabid Dog was the middle episode of the final eight we surely could have figured it out by the tone, speed and storylines within. All episodes previous this year have had huge game changing, heated developments that have left our jaws on the floor by the end. Rabid Dog changes things up and lets the character development and story line progress at a more gradual pace during the 45 minutes of screen time. Rabid Dog won’t be remembered for death and destruction, but for the mental break downs of Marie and Jesse and the emotional innocence of Walt Jr. and for those reasons it should not be forgotten anytime soon.
