Breaking Bad returned on Sunday night to kick off the final episodes of this ground breaking series as Walter White’s journey nears completion…
By Curt Heinrichs — Staff Writer
When I woke up this morning, I wished my wife a Happy Breaking Bad Day. It was an incredibly long day due to having to wait until 9 PM to watch the much awaited return of the most twisted show on TV today.
When Breaking Bad finally hit the airwaves, the show opened with Walt returning to his home to retrieve the vial of ricin hidden behind an electric socket plate in a bedroom. We know that it’s significantly after the point where we last saw our anti-hero because he has a full head of hair and his house was completely run-down and fenced off. A neighbor recognizes Walt, and clearly she was shaken because good old Carol decided to drop her groceries in the driveway. Something strange is afoot in Albuquerque.
Flash back to when Hank found the cryptic message in the book of poetry. Hank feigns illness (or does he?) and leaves the party. He appears to not have been faking as Marie insists that Hank has had a heart attack and needs to go to the hospital.
Lydia (she of the resources to put Jesse and Walt in the possession of “an ocean of methylamine”) makes the trip to Walt and Skyler’s car wash, and has a heated discussion with Walt (who’s back to bald, so we know we’re back in the past at some point). Skyler, though probably the character that enrages me most, is pretty smart and realizes she knows Walt. Walt explains that she’s a former business associate and that he told her no dice as far as going back into business. Skyler threatens Lydia and tells her not to return.
Hank seems to be feeling better and begins to do some feverish research into the Heisenberg case, including comparing handwriting samples in the book found in Walt’s bathroom. The case is most certainly not closed.
Jesse is less than enthused to listen to the ramblings of Badger and Skinny Pete’s stoner theories about the world of Star Trek, so he pays our old buddy Saul Goodman a visit. Jesse drops a pair of duffel bags onto Saul’s table and tells him to deliver them to Mike’s granddaughter and to the parents of Drew Sharp (the boy that was killed by Todd during the great methylamine train heist). Saul calls Walt and fills him in about what Jesse wants to do with his cut of the money. Walt answers the phone while getting an IV drip of chemotherapy, so we’re lead to believe that Skyler is getting her wish that Walt’s cancer is back to finish Walt once and for all.
Walt visits Jesse and tries to talk some sense into him. Jesse leads on that he’s deduced that Mike is not coming back because Walt has taken care of Mike’s guys and if Mike knew that, he would be tailing Walt. Walt denies killing Mike (lies! All lies!).
Walt is seen throwing up, likely as a result of the chemo. While bowing to the porcelain god, he reaches up for the Whitman book and can’t find it. He asks his loving wife Skyler about the book and she denies knowing about it. Walt seems shaken about the loss of the incriminating book and Hank’s dropping off the grid for the time being. A paranoid Walt then goes out to check under his car for a tracking device, and finds one under the right rear fender. Bad news for a man with some serious skeletons in his closet.
Jesse is asleep in the seat of his car when a homeless man asks for change. Jesse does one better and hands the guy a wad of cash. He then goes and begins to reenact the Nintendo game Paperboy with stacks of cash. Jesse throws cash all down the street, in bushes, in lawns, and wherever else it lands. It appears that Jesse is having some serious conscience issues.
Walt visits Hank at home, narrowly catching Hank red-handed with all of the evidence in the Heisenberg case. After a thinly-veiled (to us at least) conversation with Hank about Hank’s health, Walt asks Hank about why he found the GPS tracker under his car. Hank closes the garage door, and we’ve got a serious staredown that culminates in Hank putting a right cross to the jaw of his brother-in-law. Hank accuses Walt of being Heisenberg. Walt informs Hank that his cancer is back and he’s fighting, but the prognosis is not good. He says that 6 months from now, Hank may not have someone to prosecute. He claims to be a dying man who runs a car wash and points out to Hank that there’s no point in proceeding with the legal battle. Walt indicates that he’s planning on fighting not only his cancer, but Hank as well. In a chilling final scene in the episode, Walt tells Hank that if Hank doesn’t know who Walt really is, he’d better tread lightly.
Though not really a blockbuster episode, this one definitely set the stage for how the season will play out: Walt in a multi-front battle against cancer, time, and his DEA agent in-law.
In what (to me) was a low-down dirty trick, AMC put off the previews for the next episode until the 1st commercial break of the new series Low Winter Sun, which doesn’t look half-bad in my opinion.
Check back next week for yet another recap of Breaking Bad.
