"Ricin. It's an extremely effective poison. It's toxic in small doses, also fairly easy to overlook during an autopsy."
The first season of Breaking Bad was nothing short of excellent. It may not go down as one of the most accomplished debut seasons of television ever, but it did its job in that it left us wanting more. In the season 2 premiere, after a mysterious opening involving a partly destroyed teddy bear, we pick up where we left off. In fact, we pick up just before we left off as we relive the horrifying scenes as Tuco beats the hell out of his man, No-Doze. As it turns out, No-Doze is dead and this begins what is essentially a game of cat and mouse that dominates this episode.
Jesse is convinced that Tuco will want to tie up loose ends and get rid of witnesses. At first, Walt seems fairly calm about this, but soon starts to panic himself. It's the most desperate we have seen Walt so far, as he fears for the safety of his family.
The shot of Walt in his Heisenberg hat flicking through the television channels is a powerful one. It says so much about the transformation that Walt has already undergone - this is now a man who will quite literally kill to protect himself and his family. He suggests poisoning Tuco with ricin, which Jesse hilariously responds to with "rice n' beans?". Jesse is, however, impressed and they formulate a plan to poison Tuco - nobody will ever know it happened.
Things do not go as planned though and Walt ends the episode by climbing into the car with Jesse and Tuco, being held at gunpoint by the latter. It's quite a cliffhanger to begin the season. One of the best things about this show is the way that even when it is building to a climax, it never feels like boring set-up.
The hardest scene to watch here was when Walt attempted to have sex with his heavily pregnant wife in the kitchen, having to be told no several times before he finally stopped. He is not himself and Skyler knows something is up.
Skyler's issues with Marie are not resolved, as she ignores her sister's calls because of the stolen tiara. The best scene of this storyline comes from Hank's visit to Skyler, where it is revealed that Hank is well aware of Marie's problem. Their hug is up there with the most awkward television hugs of all time.
I haven't written much about the opening, but that is because it has not really told us anything so far.
As in season 1, this episode blends comedy and drama superbly and gets the second season off to a great start.
8.8/10
The first season of Breaking Bad was nothing short of excellent. It may not go down as one of the most accomplished debut seasons of television ever, but it did its job in that it left us wanting more. In the season 2 premiere, after a mysterious opening involving a partly destroyed teddy bear, we pick up where we left off. In fact, we pick up just before we left off as we relive the horrifying scenes as Tuco beats the hell out of his man, No-Doze. As it turns out, No-Doze is dead and this begins what is essentially a game of cat and mouse that dominates this episode.
Jesse is convinced that Tuco will want to tie up loose ends and get rid of witnesses. At first, Walt seems fairly calm about this, but soon starts to panic himself. It's the most desperate we have seen Walt so far, as he fears for the safety of his family.
The shot of Walt in his Heisenberg hat flicking through the television channels is a powerful one. It says so much about the transformation that Walt has already undergone - this is now a man who will quite literally kill to protect himself and his family. He suggests poisoning Tuco with ricin, which Jesse hilariously responds to with "rice n' beans?". Jesse is, however, impressed and they formulate a plan to poison Tuco - nobody will ever know it happened.
Things do not go as planned though and Walt ends the episode by climbing into the car with Jesse and Tuco, being held at gunpoint by the latter. It's quite a cliffhanger to begin the season. One of the best things about this show is the way that even when it is building to a climax, it never feels like boring set-up.
The hardest scene to watch here was when Walt attempted to have sex with his heavily pregnant wife in the kitchen, having to be told no several times before he finally stopped. He is not himself and Skyler knows something is up.
Skyler's issues with Marie are not resolved, as she ignores her sister's calls because of the stolen tiara. The best scene of this storyline comes from Hank's visit to Skyler, where it is revealed that Hank is well aware of Marie's problem. Their hug is up there with the most awkward television hugs of all time.
I haven't written much about the opening, but that is because it has not really told us anything so far.
As in season 1, this episode blends comedy and drama superbly and gets the second season off to a great start.
8.8/10