This has to be the most compelling episode of this season yet because of the way the writers of Breaking Bad have engineered a Skyler vs. Walt scenario in an hour of explosive television without the use of guns or pyrotechnics.
To start off, Walt is done with any subtlety regarding his wealth as he shows off his bombastic side to the tune of dubstep in an intense scene that looks straight out of a 'Fast and Furious' movie.
Meanwhile, Lydia gives us a glimpse of her calculating side at a Madrigal warehouse sequence with Jesse. She is really uptight and leaves us wondering at the end about what really happened to that barrel of Methamphetamine. Is Mike right or Jesse?
On the other hand, Skyler and Walter are getting increasingly distanced from each other. Skyler remains restrained and fearful throughout most of this episode but in the end she finally unwinds. The pool scene is very powerful, Skyler literally 'shows her back' to Walter's concocted cocktail of truth and lies as if to say that she can't take it anymore, she can't make up a complimenting guise anymore.
The animosity between Skyler and Walt is further heightened when the former says that "she can't wait for his cancer to come back". This hurts Walter but not as much as the notion of being away from his children. This ramps up to another emotionally piercing scene.
All in all, this episode is great because it focuses on the struggling Walt-Skyler relationship which has been relegated to the background in recent times. Effectively, adding another variable to Walt's fate.
On another note, the ending scene (unlike the previous episode) is great. It shows a wristwatch (a birthday present from Jesse) ticking away. Is it Walt's run as a self-proclaimed drug lord that is close to an end or is it the Walt-Jesse relationship that might get strained to a breaking point in the near future?
P.S: And Breaking Bad time is really slow. You will find out.
To start off, Walt is done with any subtlety regarding his wealth as he shows off his bombastic side to the tune of dubstep in an intense scene that looks straight out of a 'Fast and Furious' movie.
Meanwhile, Lydia gives us a glimpse of her calculating side at a Madrigal warehouse sequence with Jesse. She is really uptight and leaves us wondering at the end about what really happened to that barrel of Methamphetamine. Is Mike right or Jesse?
On the other hand, Skyler and Walter are getting increasingly distanced from each other. Skyler remains restrained and fearful throughout most of this episode but in the end she finally unwinds. The pool scene is very powerful, Skyler literally 'shows her back' to Walter's concocted cocktail of truth and lies as if to say that she can't take it anymore, she can't make up a complimenting guise anymore.
The animosity between Skyler and Walt is further heightened when the former says that "she can't wait for his cancer to come back". This hurts Walter but not as much as the notion of being away from his children. This ramps up to another emotionally piercing scene.
All in all, this episode is great because it focuses on the struggling Walt-Skyler relationship which has been relegated to the background in recent times. Effectively, adding another variable to Walt's fate.
On another note, the ending scene (unlike the previous episode) is great. It shows a wristwatch (a birthday present from Jesse) ticking away. Is it Walt's run as a self-proclaimed drug lord that is close to an end or is it the Walt-Jesse relationship that might get strained to a breaking point in the near future?
P.S: And Breaking Bad time is really slow. You will find out.