About one month ago I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy. They put me on some medicine and told me that I could have racing thoughts, rapid heart beat and might notice that I’m clenching my jaw a lot. I have in fact had all of these symptoms, but only on Sunday nights and the medicine is most definitely not the cause.
I volunteered to review the show every week and I’m not really sure why. With my other reviews, “Supernatural” and “American Horror Story,” I get to have a lot of fun/snark (respectively) and never have to worry about relaying how I feel about the episode to readers, because those reviews are about sparking discussion/fangirling/ripping a show a new a-hole. But “Breaking Bad”? My review each week – literally – could just be a video of me shrieking “AAAAAUGH IT’S SO GOOD.” I have watched and loved a lot of TV for a lot of years, and I truly believe this might be the greatest television drama that has ever aired. And my IRL friends know how I feel about the X-Files, soooo…
So instead of me recording a video that just showcases my disgusted noises and gestures growing inversely proportionate with my level of amazement at the writing and performances involved, let’s just have a recap and then talk about something that’s been perturbing me for a few seasons.
The show opened with an old man finding Jesse cash. He follows it like a trail of Oreos to a catatonic Pinkman, circling on a playground merry-go-round. After the insane garage confrontation of last week, Hank lets Walter waltz out of the garage. Unfortunately, Hank also gets to Skylar first. The family is wrecked as Marie finds out what has been going on all along and meanwhile Walter is burying a go-gillion dollars in the middle of the desert (scene of the week – Huell pulling an Indecent Proposal on Walt’s mound o’ cash). But Skylar doesn’t narc. Her motives are as yet unclear – does she want no consequences for Walt? Is she more concerned about the money? But she clammed up and told Walt what Hank later admitted – there is no case. Not yet. There’s a missing piece.
So let’s talk about Skylar. If you’d like to witness some arbitrary internet vitriol, check out the Skylar hashtag on twitter. MAN people hate her! Like, wow! Do I think Skylar is a role model and one of the “good guys”? Aw hell nah. Has she been justified in most of her heinous actions? Yeah, pretty much. I do not understand the fan hate. It leads me to believe that a lot of viewers are watching to root for Heisenberg and therefor anyone who might sell him out is the enemy. And while I don’t judge their opinions, I feel really sad that they are missing all the questions and introspection that this show creates. Walter White is not your hero. Walter White is a monster who has dragged every adult he has touched down his spiral. And even beyond this Skylar issue, who do you root for? Do you, as a viewer and participant in this tale, do you want anyone to win?
Ah, see what I did there? Jesse’s opening spiral. The show occasionally utilizes camera metaphors, and tonight I caught two. The aforementioned merry-go-round, and later as Walter returns from his cash burial there was an assiduous shot of Walt in the bathroom mirror, right before he passed out. And PS – that shot of Walt hitting the bathroom floor made me feel like I had licked a battery. It was an amazing shot.
Tonight also featured Lydia and a visit to the meth operation she is currently funding. The product is sub-par, and ol’ Lydia arranges and execution that she can’t digest in order to hand over the Heisenberg mantle to – of all people – Todd. Fucking Todd, amirite?
Tonight really comes down to Hank, though. Through all the family dynamics, the sudden venom between Skylar and Marie, the tenderness of Skylar’s and Walter’s scene, Hank’s influence was there. When he first met Skylar at the restaurant for their confrontation my initial thought was “damn, Hank’s a supergenius.” He immediately embraced Skylar. He made himself the safe place and provided her an outlet to escape her monster of a husband. But he lost it and went nine kinds of Ahab and she didn’t bite. Not yet. And his confession to Marie was something I shamefully admit that I had not considered: When Hank brings Walter in, he ends his own career. It’s over. “Ten seconds after I tell them, I’m a civilian.” The shame of admitting he’s been blind to the man they’ve been chasing for over a year is equal only to the fervor with which he wants to catch him. If Hank is the one to hand in Heisenberg at least he can turn in his badge with a feeling of closure, maybe even accomplishment. But he is missing that one little piece that brings it all together.
Until he returns to work to find a silent Jesse Pinkman in holding, brought in for questioning after he was peppering Albuquerque with millions in cash.
And the seven day wait begins anew.
TL;DR – This show is a really good treatment for Narcolepsy.