 |
| Welcome back Mr. Pinkman. |
It's been nearly a year in our lives since Walter White poisoned a child and convinced an old man to blow himself up along with Walt's mortal enemy Gustavo Fring. In the meantime, I've been digesting every little bit of information about this show since it's inception. And frankly, I become more and more convinced about the sheer brilliance of this show. Simply put, this is easily one of the greatest shows of all time, if not the greatest. And I suppose we'll find out at the end of this final run.
We start this episode at some point in the future. We're exactly two years from the start of the series, kicking off season 5 with Walter celebrating his 52nd birthday in a Denny's, snapping his bacon to form a large 52 over his plate in a callback to the veggie bacon 50 that Skyler had put on his plate two years prior. And this time, it's the real stuff.
But things are VERY different. Walt is claiming to be from New Hampshire. He's sporting a full beard and head of hair. His glasses are borderline hipster. He looks tired. Worn out. Something serious has happened. And we have no idea what that is. Then, the same man from whom he purchased an illegal handgun in season three shows up and hands Walt some keys. He warns Walt not to take this over the border. Walt assures him this will not happen. He walks over to his car as the waitress says goodbye to him, calling him Mr. Lambert. After approaching a car with New Hampshire plates, he removes a bag from the trunk and goes over to the new vehicle and pops that truck to reveal a massive machine gun. With instruction manual, of course.
Except all this is just a glimpse of what is to come. Following the opening credits, we're back to the present day, moments after Gus' death and Walt feels on top of the world. He's cleaned up all his bomb-making material, and disposed of the lily of the valley he used to poison Brock. Things are looking up. Until he remembers the video camera that Gus had in the lab. Which leads Jesse and Walt to recruit a reluctant Mike to help them destroy the evidence that exists on the laptop.
While they are discussing the necessary methods to make this happen, Hank is given a tour of what he had pinned weeks earlier: that the laundry was a front for a mass meth superlab. And he looked up and noticed the remnants of what was once the video camera. Unfortunately, the laptop has already been seized by the Albuquerque police department. And given Walt's refreshed hubris, there's no reason why they shouldn't be able to come up with a plan to stop it. So as Walt and Mike argue over the most efficient way to get this done (Mike essentially explaining how this is ridiculous and impossible, completely fed up with Walt and his antics), Jesse comes up with the brilliant idea of "Magnets." And so magnets they choose.
The group heads to the junkyard and borrows a giant industrial magnet in order to erase the hard drive of the secured computer. And despite the magnet being so powerful that it tips over the truck they use to hide the magnet, they appear to succeed. Of course, Mike is not convinced and asks Walt how he can be so sure that the plan worked. Walt's response? "Because I said so?" A line delivered with the conviction of the man who believes that he is literally unstoppable.
And why shouldn't he believe that? He has arisen from every single conflict stronger and more powerful, regardless of whether or not he is directly responsible for that ascent. Which is where the brilliance in this episode, and by extension the show, lies. Walt has finally achieved a moment where he believes he's free. He cannot be caught. There is no one to threaten him. And to him, he deserves it. To everyone else, it's frightening.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in the reaction of Skyler throughout the episode. From the moment she hears Walt say, "I won." there's an element of fear. The concern and confusion that washes over her face as she listens to his proclamations is readily apparent. Couple this with Skyler's look of shock, horror, followed by taking the stance of a powerful criminal when dealing with Ted Beneke in the hospital, and Anna Gunn's work is truly a sight to behold as someone who normally gets stepped around when the talk of fantastic acting starts firing up. And her expression after Walt says, "I forgive you." just had me floored.
But we certainly shouldn't forget the solid work of Aaron Paul, whose Jesse Pinkman brings it again with his "Yeah, bitch! Magnets!" ideas. And that idea goes to show the beautiful character progression that has gone on in this series. What once was nothing more than a slacker loser cooking meth with chili powder, now lies a character who is able to develop ideas on his own, who has shown himself to be incredibly compassionate and layered. Before, he wouldn't have even been able to suggest a realistic idea (he was excited over the idea of Walt building a robot back in "Four Days Out" and called a barn a "cow house" in the pilot). Now, he's capable of thinking through a relevant idea and then seeing it to its conclusion, while still maintaining that which makes Jesse, Jesse.
The endgame has certainly begun and I honestly cannot wait to see where it ends up. There was simply no better way to start this fifth and (pseudo-)final season. Having binged on all the episodes, the extra features, and probably 30 episode commentaries over the last few weeks, it simply amazes me how delicately this story has been crafted. I could honestly write several more pages just on this episode alone, but this review is already far too long and it's about time to wrap it up. At any rate, if you're not watching this show: start. I cannot stress this enough. This show and the BBC Sherlock are easily the best shows on the air right now and I urge all of you to watch it.
EPISODE GRADE: A
No comments:
Post a Comment