Both Jesse, and Walt’s house, survive another day before the end of this episode of Breaking Bad, though Jesse still seems like a rabid dog in his promise to hit Walt where he lives (and Walt’s house is going to need all new carpets; yikes). That threat, and the fact that he’s now working (admittedly uneasily) with Hank to take down Walter White, only makes my belief that Jesse is running out of time on this world even stronger. After some urging from Skyler (who, wow, certainly has fallen off her moral pedestal recently) and Jesse’s threatening phone call, Walt has finally decided to move his protegee off his “family protection” list and onto the “problems best solved by hired Neo-Nazi’s” list.
Overall, this was a much slower Breaking Bad episode than the last two, but it was still very good, especially considering the insight we gained to Jesse’s abused conscience; he’s been so emotionally and mentally battered and beaten by Walter over the last few years that he thinks the man is magic and thinks that he has all potential outcomes already thought out, which only makes Jesse extra jumpy and anxious as he goes to meet Walt in the plaza. Of course, most of this is all just in his head, and the scary looking bald man that caused Jesse to bail on the plan was really just a father waiting for his daughter to arrive, but it sends Jesse on the offensive. Instead of meeting with Walt, getting him on tape, and possibly getting him in handcuffs minutes or hours later, Jesse ups the stakes with his threat, and Walt raises them again with his phone call. The fateful call will bring loose-cannon Todd and his fascist family members into the fray in a way that I’m sure will introduce maximum mayhem and chaos. As a wise Irishman once said, “things fall apart / the center cannot hold.” I think this phone call will set up a final bloody spiral down to the bitter end.
Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 12 Recap (Spoilers):
I’m still not sure what lies exactly on the path between the Walter of “now” and the “Mr. Lambert” fake identity from the pilot who we see driving around a jalopy with a machine gun in the trunk. I can’t help but wonder if the machine gun is for the Nazi’s, but who is the ricin for? I don’t expect Jesse to live that long, so not him. Lidia? Hank? Skyer? It’s still an open question.
On another note, I have to say that I feel especially bad for Walt Jr., who still loves his parents (and adores his father particularly) so much that he still believes all the lies and manipulations. He’s going to be utterly shattered when he finds out what Walt’s been up to, and he’ll likely have no one left to turn to because Skyler is now nearly as guilty, and in all likelihood, Hank will have been the one responsible for bringing all these horrible deeds to life. The kid’s got a tough road ahead, and I hope the show lets us see his reaction when he finds out the truth.