BREAKING BAD 3.4 - "Green Light"
WRITER: Sam Catlin[SPOILERS] Four episodes in and we're still at a renovation stage, because so much exploded (literally) in season 2's finale that it's taking awhile for Breaking Bad's writers to plausibly rebuild things. Ironically, this is being done by viciously dismantling Walt's (Bryan Cranston) homelife and social support structures...
DIRECTOR: Scott Winant
GUEST CAST: Jeremiah Bitsui, Christopher Cousins, Jolene Purdy, Steven Michael Quezada, Carmen Serano & Michael Shamus Wiles
The big question hanging over season 3 has been: how is Walt going to be coerced into cooking meth again? Maybe "coerced" is the wrong word, as this will have to be a decision he makes for himself. The answer appears to be through a series of personal disasters, all of his own making: wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) is sleeping with her boss Ted (Christopher Cousins), despite the fact doing so has made her a pariah at work; Walt discovered Saul (Bob Odenkirk) and his "cleaner" Mike (Jonathan Banks) had bugged his house, so he breaks contact with them (meaning his money-laundering website is shut down and Mike's there to watch his back); and he's suspended from teaching after making a pass at the school principal, Carmen (Carmen Serano). With Walt's life spiralling out of control, it's only natural he'll perhaps be drawn to the power and respect meth-cooking seemed to provide him with, despite the dangers.As I suspected last week, Jesse (Aaron Paul) has learned a thing or two watching Walt cook meth and has manufactured a half-decent "blue meth" substitute he intends to sell to Walt's distributor, Gus (Giancarlo Esposita). The best scene of "Green Light" involved Jesse parking up outside Walt's school to discuss his plans to do business with Gus alone, which started on a paternal note (Walt called Jesse "son", revealing the affection he has for his partner-in-crime), but once it became clear Jesse's made an inferior blue-meth, it was fascinating to see Walt react so angrily ("my guy is a pro, and he doesn't deal with junkies") and end their conversation calling him "Pinkman".
Walt clearly has a lot of pride in his chemistry and hates the very idea of someone using his reputation and formula for their own ends. This wide streak of egotism will undoubtedly be partly to blame for getting Walt involved with drugs again. I particularly liked the symbolism of Jesse's car roaring away carrying Walt's box of belongings on its roof, which spilled onto the road -- the remnants of Walt's working past, strewn on the road by someone chasing a working future.
Of course, while Jesse has certainly improved his meth-cooking skills, he's still the one making slipups to give the DEA a break with their Heisenberg investigation. The teaser showed a cash-strapped Jesse paying for fuel by charming the cashier (Jolene Purdy) and offering her some fresh crystal meth, which wound up coming to the attention of the Sheriff after she passed it onto her friend. And from there, Hank (Dean Norris) got a call that the infamous Heinseberg's blue-meth product has been found on the streets again, perhaps meaning Hank's "nemesis" has finally returned. The timing couldn't be
I've always really enjoyed Norris' work on this show, and one of this episode's best moments came when he was called into his boss' office to explain his new findings in the Heisenberg case (a flimsy array of RV snapshots), and tried to justify missing his plane to El Paso to chase this crook. Norris played the scene perfectly, as Hank was forced to give a straight answer to a straight question ("are you going to El Paso now? Tonight?") and had no option but to mumble "no" and make himself look like a wimp scrambling for feeble excuses. Seeing Hank step out of the office and reassemble his Alpha Male demeanour was also a nice touch.
And what of Gus (Giancarlo Esposito)? He's becoming an even more fascinating character, as he tries to manipulate Walt's life from afar. He's asked Mike to investigate Walt's mental and physical wellbeing, with the results positive for the latter (he'll probably last a few years with cancer), but mentally he's a "disaster". Amusingly, Gus' plan was to break his "no-junkies" rule and get his henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) to do business with Walt's ex-partner Jesse, but only pay him half the money. In the final scene, Walt's given his half by having a bag of cash slung through his car window at an intersection, before the titular green light appeared on the signals. A sign from Gus that he appreciates Walt's worth as the creator of Jesse's copied formula, which strokes his ego. The green light obviously a sign Walt's return to meth-cooking has been given the go-ahead.Overall, "Green Light" was a good episode, if one that was more about moving pieces around the board and readying the story for its "second act" (12-part TV shows tend to come packaged in three batches of four episodes.) There were some excellent character moments and I'm enjoying seeing everything swirling around behind Walt's back, as he's so oblivious to a lot of what's going on this year. In fact, this was a darkly funny episode in many ways, and the closest Breaking Bad has ever come to something "fun" -- like Walt trying to break into Ted's office with a pot plant.
Asides
- The creepy Cousins were absent this week, but we saw that they've chalked a yellow scythe outside Walt's home, marking him for death. Also interesting to note than Gus doesn't want to tell Walt his life's in danger to get him to start cooking again, as he thinks fear's a bad motivator.
- It was a creative idea to have Walt and Skyler's argument over her affair with Ted be presented to us in audio form, via Saul's bug.
- Walt overheared on the radio that Donald -- Jane's father and the traffic controller who caused the airplane disaster, which ultimately traces back to Walt's actions -- has tried to commit suicide. A reminder that the repercussions of Walt's bad decisions are still continuing.
- Interesting to see that Skyler seems more commited to Ted than I expected she would be, despite the fact she's been made an outcast at work. Ted's obviously a rebound and/or a way to hurt Walt back, but is there a future for them as a couple? Here we werev reminded that Ted has his own family, as the camera lingered on some family photos in his bedroom.
