Breaking Bad Review: “Problem Dog”
Well Walter White might be an idiot, but at least the rest of this show has a few other smart people to rely on.
I spent most of last week’s review lamenting about Walt’s foolishness between buying sports cars and trusting cleaning ladies, as his decision making process is going increasingly downhill.
But what’s worse than buying a super flashy sports car? How about blowing it up a few days later? Yes, Saul was able to sweep it under the rug, but how could Walter know that there would be no consequences from that? He’s getting increasingly erratic, and I think is losing both likability and realism that has made him a good lead all this time.
Rather, the far more compelling story is now Jesse, who despite being in a more fragile emotional state, at least appears to be thinking through things before acting on impulse. It was a really powerful episode for his character as he finds himself torn between Walt, his longtime uneasy ally, and Gus and Mike, who are apparently trying to kill him with kindness by making him part of the crew.
“Yo, why you being so nice to me?”
Mike’s loyalty line was particularly notable, and you could tell it got Jesse thinking about if he was really betting on the right horse. Should he murder the kingpin who is trying to groom him for something greater? Or stick with the man who has almost gotten him killed on numerous occasions, and forced him to kill an “innocent” himself?
Also using his brain is Hank, who is back in full force this week, both mentally and physically. He’s walking with only a cane to aid him, and he spent the last minutes of the episode detailing his elaborate research into the blue meth/Gail case, which has all happened offscreen. I was worried for a moment that they were going to pull the whole “it’s too crazy, go home and rest” card, which they did, but then Hank busted out his final trick, his swiped fingerprint from Gus which matched ones found at Gail’s apartment. He’s put this whole thing together while we haven’t even been watching.
Walt and Skyler both now just seem lost and aimless. Skyler had purpose for a while there, fully embracing the whole “mob wife” thing by crafting an elaborate plan to launder Walt’s money. But seriously, you spent $800K on a car wash to do so and you didn’t even think to ask how much money Walt actually MADE? And he didn’t even think to tell you? You’ve got to be kidding me. So now they’re stuck with the same problems they had before, but now they have a damn car wash to run too.
More money more problems.
The action is starting to pick up, but it’s unclear how exactly things are going to play out. Despite Walt’s insistence and Jesse’s initial promise, I don’t see him actually killing Gus with poison, a gun, or any other weapon. I think at least in the coming episodes he’ll embrace his role as enforcer until he has a reason to do otherwise. Yeah, he could get revenge for the kid dying, but he’s safe now, tight in the inner circle. He has the best of both worlds by being essential to Walt and embraced by Gus and Mike. Why would he mess that up?
Walt just needs to get his shit together, and more importantly, figure out what he wants, because I sure as hell don’t know what his endgame is. He’s making $7.5M a year and seems bored with it, probably because he can’t even spend the cash freely. So what does he want? I suppose he wants peace of mind by not having Gus with a murderous grudge against him, but if Gus goes, so does that paycheck. His rash actions make it seem like he almost wants to get caught, or is he going to try to disappear like he talked about with Saul briefly a few episodes ago? I guess priority one is kill Gus and we’ll figure things out from there.
“Hello police? Come arrest me for being a dumbass.”
What did the Cartel demand from Gus? What would possibly be worth more than $50M? I only have one guess, and that would be Gus’ secret chemical weapon, Walt, and his blue meth recipe. It would appear Gus turned them down, so shit is likely about to get very real.
A good episode, as it was nice to see Hank and Jesse shine, but Walt is becoming dislikable past the point of redemption, and his motivations are increasingly unclear.
Agreed. I knew that once Hank got back in the mix that things would start to get good, and I was right. Good to see Jesse doing more than just getting high too. But Walt and Skyler? WTF. This whole show is about them and the writers havent done shit with them all season. And yeah, Walt’s kind of a dick now. Maybe Gus wants Walt to destroy himself , if so then its working. At any rate, I’m rooting more for Jesse at this point. He and Hank have been driving this whole season IMO and they’re gonna make some big moves here soon.
I don’t see Gus surviving the season. Walt wants him dead, the cartel doesn’t eff around, and now the DEA is pointed in his direction.
I’m surprised Paul had no comments about the opening segment of this week’s episode. Thought it was a little over the top for Jesse to have such visceral experience playing RAGE (interesting product placement btw) and thought it was another cheap shot at violence in video games. For once I’d like to see a movie or show use a first person shooter as a way of having fun, not a murder simulator.
All I have to say is “DAMN!” seriously, when Hank broke out the finger prints I was like “Sh*t just got REAL!”
Walt’s problem is named Skyler. Ugh.
Methinks Mike may take over a bit if Gus gets his comeuppance, which I expect in the season finale.
The question is: Will it be the DEA, and therefore mean that Walt is up to ass in alligators, or will it be the cartel, which means Walt will be up to his ass in alligators?
Walt is pi&*ing me off with his dumbassery, Skylar by just drawing breath…. (Dang she just irks me!)
Jesse is coming around…hope he finds his bones…
Mike is my fave in this series now… I’m hoping he and Jesse takes it to Gus…but… don’t forget that Saul is very much in the line of fire, were I writing this script;)
Bryan Cranston and all the actors there know exactly what’s happening… so all of this is being played for effect, by them, and very well… I’d be surprised if they were being duped by the company into stupid motivations, so I’ll bet we have smart things coming…:)
Good review and great show!
Walter IS losing his mind. The cancer is coming back. His judgements are very clouded. Look back to the “Fly” episode from last season. That was the start.
I think the cartel is going to be the one to change things. Instead of anonymous guys running around getting shot we now have a face to put to the cartel with the “I am the guy!” introduction.
Now my synopsis will come in where Walt has a way out from under Gus and becomes the cartels cook, free from the stranglehold Gus has on him and if he wants, a better deal.
How does he meet up with the cartel? I dunno but it could be through Jesse who may learn enough under Mike to be able to look after that heavier side of things for Walt.
The dynamic duo haven’t been compromised yet!!
Also does everybody feel like I do that one more of Walt’s monologues to Jesse about him shooting Gale, and the other attrocities that he’s had to do in Walts lecturing style is going to end with Jesse blowing up, turning round and at the very least kneecapping Walt?
“What did the Cartel demand from Gus? What would possibly be worth more than $50M” This was explained in both season 2 and 3. The Mexican Cartel wants to kill Walt because he killed Tuco in Season 2. Remember in the beginning of Season 3 when the Mexican Cartel sent two hitmen to kill Walt, but Gus prevented this from happening, and gave up Hank (Walt’s brother-in-law) instead. Also, I believe Gus made a deal with the Cartel to give them Walt after 3 months. However, I believe this deal was made before Gus killed one of the main leaders within the Cartel during the middle/end of Season 3.
Anyway, my point is the Cartel wants Walt dead for revenge for Tuco.
There are a lot of read/watch “In Between The Lines” moments this season. One that comes to mind is the conversation between Walt and Skyler discussing how they were going to explain Walt’s gambling problem to Hank and Skyler’s sister. If you watch their body actions and how they speak to each other, then you would notice that they were not really rehearsing lines to feed to their family, but actually displaying the emotions they had built up inside them and did not share with each other. Another example, which has already been mentioned was Jesse playing the game Rage. This demonstrates the emotion he is feeling about his current situation (killing a man in cold blood, being stuck in the middle of the meth trade)
Finally, I was disappointed in that this season has started slower than I expected, moreso after the fast pace finish to season 3. For the first 2 seasons and up until season 3 when he killed 2 people, Walt’s actions could be justified within his own moral compass. He based his actions/decisions on the fact that he thought he was going to die, and he wanted to leave his family with some type of financial security.
In the past Walt has for the most part been in control of his emotions, but this season he is self destructing right in front of us. Why is this? The fact that he was almost killed, not to mention he killed 2 people in the end of season 3 so Jesse did not have to have blood on his hands. How about him regretting making the 3 month deal with Gus, and that he should have gotten out when he had the chance? Hank’s physical problems are a direct result of his actions, even though if he did not kill Tuco he probably would have died. Also, don’t forget that his marriage has been a rollercoaster, and now Skyler is involved in laundering the money.
Personally, I believe something bad is going to happen to Walt at the end of this season. Maybe nothing to him physically, but to one of his loved ones’. Maybe Skyler is arrested for money laundering, his son could be killed by Gus, or maybe Gus kills Hank because Hank gets too close.
How about Gus offering Walt Jr. a job? That was frightening to say the least.
If Walt Jr. takes a job under Gus I’d expect Walt to go even more crazy than he already is in his pursuit for Gus.
I think Gus and Skyler will eventually tell Walt about their love child, Jessie.