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.
imagine what skylar would do to him if he ordered a hit on marie.
>>Bullet to the back of the head, never see it coming? I think that may be an indicator.<<
Hopefully not another Sopranos ending...
i know the absolute worst way they could end it is if just before walt dies, he wakes up, as malcolm’s dad, and says “man honey, i had the wackiest dream...”
bryan cranston says we will be satisfied with the ending. i don’t think a sopranos ending qualifies, cause didn’t they fade out before anythjing conclusive occurred?
I think the goodbye scene was to bait you into thinking Hank is done for.
I have watched the part starting where Walt arrives at the buried money site a dozen times.
Here are some facts:
Next week's episode picks up right where this one left off, so we'll find out pretty quickly if Jesse is going to save Hank and Gomie and hightail it out of there, but I'd bet money on it.
i believe because the big news a few months ago reported him dead in a gunfight in the desert. being the master chemist heisenberg.
>>drinking tea, will be her downfall.<<
Waitress - “Honey, all we got is Lipton.”
Hank was having the panic attacks before the Tortuga incident. When he was alone in his garage and in the elevator his vision narrows and he nearly faints. Eventually he tosses out his trophy from the Tuco shooting because he wanted to get rid of the reminder. His failings in El Paso was caused by him having a panic attack upon seeing the head of Tortuga. When he was in the bathroom at the bar he has the same panic attack.
He clearly was dealing with PTSD issues and acting recklessly. He was ultimately trying to get control of himself. Not ultimately to prove he wasn’t a coward but to try and prove that he could cope with his job.
I looked it up. It was in “One Minute” when he talks with Marie about his anxiety attacks. Marie suggests he lie about the attack on Pinkman but he rebuts her (”I’m supposed to be better than that”). He states he’s not sure he can be a cop any more. That the Tuco shooting affected him (”I’ve been unraveling. I think I’m done as a cop”).
I think that Jesse cranks up Walt's Chrysler 300C SRT8 (the ignition key warning was sounding when Walt got out) backs up to shield the car behind Hank's SUV, picks up Hank and Gomie and hightails it out of there.
This leaves Walt the captive of the redneck cartel. I think Walt has them dig up his money and take it back to the lab compound. He calls Saul and has Skyler, Junior and Holly whisked off to new identities somewhere, probably New Hampshire because in episode 1 of this season Walt had a NH driver license and a Volvo with NH license plates.
At this point Walt is the indentured servant of the redneck cartel. I think they give him a furlough to see his family at some point. As he comes back he picks of the M60 and the ricin to extricate himself from his indentured servitude position.
great points. i wouldn’t mind the twist, but i thought walt’s’car took front end hits through the driver quarter panels. gotta wonder if it will have problems from that.
Huell and Kuby took some of Walt's money when they packed it into the van. They knew it, and Walt knew it, and they knew Walt knew it. That's why Walt said "close enough" when he checked the barrels, and why Huell and Kuby gave each other anxious looks when he said it.
I am going to watch it again, but I am already certain that the Chrysler has not been shot at yet. Even if it had, everybody there is such a bad shot that it could easily not have been hit.
Seriously, all that lead flying and nobody dead yet? Or even wounded? But I am perfectly willing to suspend disbelief for a good rescue scene.
Walt already almost slipped Lydia the ricin in her tea once.
yeah, i thought after they took out declan’s guys two guys initially in the open would be fairly easy to wing. i believe walt’s car gets some’gunfire.
I think that’s entirely plausible...although with only 3 episodes left, that still leaves a lot of loose ends with Hank and Jesse towards Walt.
>> Walt had a NH driver license and a Volvo with NH license plates.<<
And used Lambert as a last name - Skylars maiden name...which I thought was pretty cool.
As far as Hank and Jesse getting at Walt, he's going to be the captive of the redneck cartel, out of their reach.
No YOU crack me up
A couple of the rednecks are using fully-automatic 12-gauge shotguns. I guess they must be using slugs. If they were using buckshot Walt and and Hank and Gomie would all be hamburger by now.
watching it was cold, but there was really nothing he could do at that point- once somebody aspirates their own vomit into their lungs its pretty much over for them
but it was a turning point for him
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
