In which Hank follows a lead, and a team is formed…
At the start of season two, Walt returned from a business meeting with Tuco, shaken up and struggling to function. In season three, he assuaged his guilt over causing a plane crash with an ill-timed and rambling speech, eventually leading to the loss of his job. In season five, he leaps once more into the world of meth, and celebrates by cooking a lasagne, then boasting about its quality. His speech to Skyler which closes the episode aims for reassuring, but skews towards frightening; crime and destruction have become easy to Walt. So long as he can justify his actions using his family, he’s not going to lose any sleep.
However, this episode was relatively light on Walt, taking instead a welcome focus on Mike. The character could easily be something of an archetype: the seen it all before punch-clock gangster who dotes on his granddaughter in the day and shoots it out at night. It’s the subtlety and wit of Jonathan Banks’ performance, combined, obviously, with the top notch writing that makes Mike one of the more likeable players in the world of BREAKING BAD. One of the show’s greatest tricks is its ability to switch focus at the drop of a hat, to switch the viewer’s allegiances whenever they see fit. Season four’s humanisation of Gus Fring is the best example of this; before the flashback episode, he was an unknown quantity, a ruthless businessman whose business happened to be meth. After ‘Hermanos’, he had a back story; his actions had context. It was easy to cheer for him in his war against the cartel. In one of this episode’s best scenes, Hank and Mike have their first face to face chat. And even as Hank – top cop and all around decent guy – digs into Mike, multiple murderer, it’s easy to want Mike to get away.
But this week’s big news is the team up we’ve all been waiting for. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Mr White/Jesse partnership, only this time, they want to add Mike to the mix. The way Walt pitches it, it’s to be a three way equal split. In textbook Walt fashion, though, he’s playing his own game from the start. The story of the missing ricin cigarette is put to bed for the time being, as Walter tricks Jesse into thinking it disappeared accidentally. By this point, manipulating Jesse is basically second nature, as he throws together a scheme that pushes his so-called partner further into his pocket. Unsurprisingly, Mike – the third part of the triumvirate – is harder to nail down, wanting absolutely nothing to do with Walt. It’s not until Hank reveals that the DEA is targeting the money Mike’s crimes have raised for his granddaughter that he throws his hat back in the ring with Walt.
One reason Mike is so fun to watch is because of his extreme competency. Whilst Walt and Jesse tend to bumble through a plan, improvising a solution when the outcome is not what they expected, calm, collected Mike never seems to lose control. ‘Magridal’ introduces a new character, Lydia, a woman with ties to Los Pollos Hermanos’ titular parent company as well as Gus Fring’s criminal empire. Lydia spends the episode in a state of overwhelming panic, which is not relieved even by Mike’s stern reassurances. After Lydia makes an attempt on his life, Mike is prepared to kill a single mother in her apartment while her daughter sleeps, but realises that she may be a source of a missing ingredient for their meth cook. This is a theme of BREAKING BAD: you only survive as long as you’re useful. Had Walt and Jesse not murdered Gus’ backup meth cook in season three, they’d have been buried in the Albuquerque desert some time ago.
This episode felt like season five truly picking up its pace, and with only six episodes remaining in this year’s truncated run, there’s going to be an awful lot of story to cram in. While Walt, Jesse and Mike take over the drug trade, Hank and the DEA are turning up the heat on the late Gustavo Fring’s operation. Gus masqueraded as a reputable member of society for decades, and only Hank was able to see through the mask. Now that Hank is up and running, and with a big gold star on his record, he’s going to follow this case to the top. While new allegiances are formed, stones are being overturned, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s going to be under them.
Other thoughts:
- No show on TV does cold opens like BREAKING BAD, and this was one of the best. Up there with the ‘Ballad of Heisenberg’ for its willingness to throw the audience into such odd surroundings.
- The cold opening also exemplified the show’s tremendous commitment to style, most notably in the colourful condiment samples that open the episode. It’s a testament to what TV can be if people put the effort in, really.
- Again, a fairly small showing for Jesse, but Aaron Paul got to produce a little burst of drama in the scene where he finds the ricin cigarette, running through a bevy of emotions in a short space of time. Good to see he’s been Emmy nominated, alongside Giancarlo Esposito (Gus).
- ‘Breath in, breath out. Drink your whatever’.
- ‘That last one is essentially just ketchup’.
Check out next week’s BREAKING BAD Series Blog!
