Posted on 09/10/2013 11:21:52 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Last night's Breaking Bad left off in the middle of a gunfight, with Gomez and Hank trying to fend off two cars' worth of Todd's Nazi family. Gomez had a shotgun; Jack and Kenny each had some kind of assault weapon. But there were Hank and Todd, each with a handgun. Bang, bang, bang. It was just the most recent instance of Todd mirroring another character. We've seen him be like Walt, we've seen him mirror Jesse, and then last night we saw him mirror both Skyler and Hank. For a very late addition to the cast, Todd sure has become important.
Early on, Todd was a mirror for Mike. In his first appearance — as part of the Vamanos extermination front — Todd spotted a nanny cam in the house Walt and Jesse were about to use as a onetime cook site. It was an instance of Mike-style attention to detail (think of Mike cleaning up Jesse's apartment when Jane died), with the same kind of modest presence that disguises an intense dark side. Two episodes later, in "Dead Freight," Todd works seamlessly alongside Jesse and Walt, pulling off the great methylamine heist of '12. And then in one of the show's most striking scenes, Todd pulls out a gun and kills a child.
But dirtbike-riding, tarantula-trapping Drew Sharp is not the first kid to be shot on Breaking Bad. There was Tomás Cantillo back in season three, who was shot and killed in "Half Measures," presumably at Gus's behest. If Todd and Gus ever crossed paths, we didn't see it, but when he killed Drew Sharp, it was a total Gus move. At that point, Jesse thought Gus had poisoned Brock — so in Jesse's eyes, that was another Gus-style transgression. But Walt knew better; in his eyes, Todd was making a Walt-like move, and in its own sick way, that was flattering. Not unlike the Salamancas, Todd has an important professional criminal relationship with his uncle. Not a lot of solid father-son relationships on Breaking Bad! This is why so many characters seek out authoritative male approval and attention!
Since then, Todd's bounced between Jesse and Walt. He's a protégé — so he's Jesse. But he's very precise and committed — so he's Walt. He doesn't have a natural aptitude for meth-cooking — so he's Jesse. But boy, is he ever applying himself — back to Walt. When he helped Walt dispose of Mike's body, he channeled Saul: I don't need or want a full explanation; let's just get the dirty work over with. In this season's "Buried," Todd leads a blindfolded Lydia through a maze of corpses that she refuses to see or acknowledge, which is more or less how Walt led Sklyer through the first few seasons of the show. Denial's a hell of a thing.
So we've seen Todd channel the bad guys. But he's channeled the good guys, too. (Good being a relative term here; it's Breaking Bad, after all.) When he sat at breakfast bragging to his uncle Jake and associate Kenny about the train heist, he sounded just like a season one Hank bragging about his DEA busts; mostly telling the truth, leaving out the unsavory parts, and basking in the adoration of a rapt audience.
Todd's even able to echo parts of Skyler's story lines. Breaking Bad is a surprisingly desexualized show. Usually in this antihero genre that Walter White gets lumped in with, we see a tremendous amount of womanizing: We saw it from Tony Soprano, from Don Draper, from Vic Mackey. And often shows that have this much violence — say, Game of Thrones or Dexter — have a lot of sex and nudity to go along with it. Not so Breaking Bad. There's very little tenderness, very few loving relationships, and almost no eroticism. But then there was Todd's charged conversation with Lydia and his wistful examination of the lipstick stain she left on his These Colors Don't Run mug, and suddenly things were as sensual as they'd ever been. The only other time we've seen anything that overtly sexual was Skyler singing "Happy Birthday" to Ted, just before they rekindled their affair. And the way Todd cradled the mug felt like a direct callback to Skyler at the end of "Fifty-One," when she sat in the living room, ashing her cigarette into an Area 51 mug.
We see Hank in Todd, we Skyler in Todd, we even see Marie's perky telephone demeanor maybe sort of in Todd. We see parts of Walt and Gus and Mike and Jesse in Todd. And what they all add up to — Todd himself — is someone pretty awful. Oh, he's devoted, he's easy to work with, and he even seems to be enjoying himself at least some of the time. But Todd's also maybe a psychopath, or at least he's someone detached enough from the experiences of life that he's unfazed by murdering a child. He's a bad, bad guy. And with him, Breaking Bad is telling us that the bad side wins out — add up all the good things about the show's universe, and add up all the bad things, and guess what? The bad part wins. The dangerous part, the criminal part, the cold part, the cruel part — even when someone has goodness in them, when he or she is smart and passionate and reliable. Even then, the bad part is more powerful. Just ask Heisenberg.
Gus was doing his best to replace Walt and Jesse since season 3. With Gale first. Then the deal with the drug pair and Tomas and Jesse. Then playing Jesse against Walt to have Jesse eventually agree to takeover. Walt was in survival mode as he saw what Gus was trying to do. Gus needed Jesse, so did Walt. Walt won.
when Walt let jesse’s girlfriend die right after he let the handcuffed guy die, ir killed him, I was done with Walt.
Will Hank die? I kept yelling where is his backup in the last episode.
Walt did have a history with his rich former partner’s wife.
And I had cancer, was supposed to die and what I wanted was love to be there for the people I thought I was leaving. And I trusted all of them to step up and takr care of themselves and God to pitch in. Never once did I think of money. Now I am not a man and maybe they think that way. But my husband trusts all of us to take care of business.
The lines between mild-mannered school teacher Mr White and notorious Crystal Blue Meth maker Heisenberg are rather blurry.
I think the last time Heisenberg made a true appearance was when he met with Lydia at the coffee shop.
Or wait! Didn’t Walt put on “the hat” as he and Skylar left Hank and Marie with that DVD?
Just. Too. Cool.
my original twist, before the first season 5 episode with him and the machine gun scene,
I thought Walt would wind up isolated and alone somewhere, making meth in small quantities from capsules again, and selling it himself, only to die in an alley, killed by a junkie he just sold to.
but that’s not how it will end now.
Once we knew that Walt actually did poison Brock - we knew that *he knew* it was only temporary (since Walt knows his chemistry)...however - I didn’t see any purpose to it, really. I remember Jesse actually blaming himself for it, thinking it was the “ricin” (and then Walt letting him blame himself), but I still don’t remember seeing any reason behind why Walt did poison the little boy.
It had to have been to get a reaction from Jesse.
I may have to watch some past episodes again.
Walt needs the porkpie hat to properly be Heisenberg.
I've read that Gilligan doesn't waste any scenery. Sooo, I'm wondering where the Teddy Bear eye is rolling around, what Jesse really did when he asked to take a piss while at Hank's place, and did Walt pass anything to Jesse when he butted him while handcuffed and after accusing Jesse of being a coward.
yeah, I saw a copy of this where they showed what they were singing in english. The only phrase I remember was that he - Heisenberg (and Jesse) - were dead but they just didn’t know it yet.
You both crack me up Mr. K and Lazamataz...
I thought it was great that he freaked out so easily seeing the brain-splattered photo. Sure, he comes off as cool and collected, but inside I think he’s a bit of a teddy bear. Every one is intimidated by his size and appearance, but he never really showed a mean streak or propensity for being vicious. He just gets by in this criminal world because people assume he’s a “bad dude”, and now we find out he’s really kind of a softie.
He calculated out about roughly $750,000 was what he needed for college, house, family to be secure, etc. Originally.
He had almost had it, but the cancer ate a lot of it away, and then Hank’s illness - almost 200 grand - and then paying Ted’s tax bill which was 622,000, and the money Saul was paid all along the way, the more he thought he got clear, the more he found he was broke. To the poitn in the beginning of season 5 he’s forty grand in the hole.
Remember Jesse had a younger brother he did love and looked out for as best he could. He took the rap for his little brother’s pot, and crushed the joint his brother asked him if he could have back.
I think they play the angle okay. to me probably the weakest part of the believability of Jesse’s character, for me.
I couldn’t find the English translation on Youtube for some reason.
If that’s true it’s either a prequel (if he’s dead) or that means he survives, which would be too bad.
IBD I think estimated Walt’s hidden money as 80 million bucks.
well, Walt is in a different place than before. He’s a LOT more solo now, he’s “retired”, he has no loyal-to-him muscle, he has contract muscle that’s kind of impulsive and not 100% trustworthy, and he’s a lot more out of the loop on stuff without Mike, the organization, the wiretaps, and others watching their backs and his. He’s in a REACTION position rather than a more proactive position he’s been in before. That means way less control, and dealing with a lot more unknowns than he’s used to, making more mistakes than he otherwise would by reacting rather than analyzing and planning carefully.
Oh yeah....Thanks. I was thinking that he was already way over that, though, when he began paying for Hank’s rehab....but I remember that scene under the house when he figured out that Skylar had given all that money to Ted.
This is so damn involved. I love it though. I’m going to be sad to see it go away completely - I think. Bryan Cranston indicated on “Talking Bad” (AMC after-show) that we will all be satisfied with the ending. Whatever that means.
I will admit that after getting used to him on Malcom, it took a while for me to understand his character as Walter White, but he is totally WW now and I don’t think he’ll ever shake that.
that is true, the jacket isn’t black and the hat isn’t worn.
well, he was “retired”.
Walt knew Jane and Jesse would both overdose and die eventually with all that money. And if not with that money, they’d come back and blackmail walt for more money. Jane was bad news. Manipulative little thing. Remember she said “I’m your partner now” to Jesse after she hardballed walt to bring the money over. Even her character they brought out the worst inherent in her, and it destroyed her.
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