Breaking Bad 5x07
Aug. 27th, 2012 02:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniA much more detailed review of "Say My Name".
The opening scene first. I found it a bit weird that Declan said (or pretended?) not knowing who Walter was? But I loved how he kept trying to address Mike, calling him Mike, which probably pissed Walter off, hence his insisting on Declan to say his name. It pretty much established the fact that Walter will take it back from Mike in this episode.
In a way the scene called to season 1, when Walt played the Heisenberg part, in front of Tuco's crew. He is totally in charcater now, and in boasting mode "I'm the man who killed Gus Fring". If there was any doubt left that recognitation is what Walter wants this scene should erase it.
Also as I said, Walter telling Declan's crew that they were two cooks, and therefore indicating that Jesse was the second cook, was an important element that is going to bite Jesse in the ass later. I don't think Walt realised his mistake there. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to endanger Jesse, – and certainly not his own position as master chef –, simply tried to appeal to Jesse's pride, to give him the validation his pupil had always craved (He did it again when telling him later he was just as good as him). He simply forgot that you don't give that bit of information to competitors whose cook is less skilled and who are supposed to need you.
But perhaps Walter just doesn't see Jesse as a separate being anymore, as if the cooking pair formed a cook with two heads. He was so in denial about Jesse leaving him that he made that mistake.
Anyway, Mr 99,1% should be his name, instead of Heisenberg.
As for his selling pitch, or speech, I enjoyed it. I'm French but I wouldn't live in a world without coca cola. Yeah I have a bit of an addiction. And for the record I I hate pepsi or any other cola or even flavoured coke (it's a pure heresy in my book) . I'm a classic coke kind of girl. There's no cheap replacement for the real thing.
Speaking of food, sort of, banana bacon cookies, really? Ewwwww
So Skyler hid the methylamine for Walter at the carwash. It's weird that Mike didn't think of looking for it there, but, he probably thought that Walt's lives were still separated.
Jesse and Skyler met again, and looks like Jesse felt sorry for Skyler. "Vamonos" /"I wish I could". There is no way out for Mrs White and Jesse just realised it. This might pay off later.
Walt had a point when he talked about "the blood money" Jesse shouldn't want if he were a good man. The conversation about Jesse's options recalled the usual Walt talk when he wants to show his adversary that there's nothing they can do (the same he used on Skyler in "51")but in that Walt/Jesse scene a lot of truths were said.
Walt no longer felt the need to "a "rationalize" and "excuse" what they did, he totally acknowledged that they were bad men and killers, that they have been for a while, since season 1, and I'm pretty sure he had Jane on his mind when he delivered that speech about them being no better than Todd. It's significant that he said "we" all the time. Gale's murder was on him as well as on Jesse. But it wasn't only a matter of accepting responsability, it was also holding on the notion that they were parts of one thing.
I almost expected Jesse to say "there is no we anymore!", but it might have sounded too much like a response from one former lover to another. And yet...
Walter's final "Jesse!!!!!!!!!!!" sounded like a helpless cry, especially given that Jesse was already out of sight.
The meal scene with Skyler. How sad, how telling. Were they eaten microwaved lasagna?
Saul and his many cell phones always cracks me up. And calling Mike's lawyer a clown! BTW wasn't there a clown among the faced-sweets (or cookies) the lawyer gave the bank woman? Gilligan's genius lie sin the details.
The theme of (bad) replacement was there again. Don't go for a lower product, don't hire a clown lawyer. Better call Saul! Saul is the coca cola of lawyers!
BTW even though Walt didn't cook on his own, I think that Walt knew very well that Todd couldn't replace Jesse. He settled for Todd as a rebound partner because he didn't have any other options, and he went into teaching mode with the eager-to-please pupil but you could tell that his heart wasn't in it. After all, Todd didn't take chemistry class in school!
There's only one partner Walt wants. Even the over-qualified and nice Gale couldn't fit in.
As for Mike's death, I already said how idyllic a setting the location looked. As usual, the show was visually stunning. Also I wonder if there was some pun in the fact Mike died on a river bank. Anyway a much better death than the over-the-top Gus Fring's.
I didn't quite buy Walt's mistake, or rather his late realization that he could have gotten the list from Lydia which would have prevented the fatal showdown. Or rather I took it as a last attempt at rationalization, a last lie he told himself so he wouldn't have to face the fact that he killed Mike because he wanted him dead. The list was just a poor excuse and he clinged to it. For the first time he killed without the excuse of self-defense or of protecting Jesse. He had to admit that it was an "unnecessary" death.
It's fascinating that Walter was distraught and prefered to believe in a 'tragic mistake' (Heisenberg making a mistake!) instead of facing his true motives. As I said in my previous entry, it seems obvious that Walt went there with murder on his mind.
Since "the older guy" beat him in that bar (in season 4) Walt had nursed a grudge, and Mike threatened to kill him one too many times. Mike kept humiliated him over and over. The last words Mike threw to his face were the proverbial last straw but Walter had wanted Mike dead before that trigger that switched him into hot-blood killing.
Mike knew too much, and could no longer fulfill his promise about his guys keeping quiet. He was useless and a liability himself. If he got ever caught, which was a possibility, there was a risk that he could be flipped too, no matter what Jesse said. Walt was very aware of the problem, and so was Saul.
And of course Jesse's faith in Mike only infuriated Walt even more. After their last conversation he felt that he had lost Jesse's trust and respect while Mike obviously had them. The handshake he witnessed behind the window seemed like an echo of his own hand-shaking with Jesse at the end of season 4. Walt was simply jealous. Jesse never talked about wanting out before Mike said he was out. Ergo Mike was a bad influence on Jesse, like Jane. He had stolen the boy away. That was unforgivable.
The list of the 9 guys he wanted was a concern for sure, but mostly an excuse to cause a certain situation in which he could use the pistol. Because Walt is not a cold-blooded killer like Gus, he isn't a professional hitman like Mike. He needs a crisis and violent emotions to do so, always had, either with Emilio and Krazy-8, or the henchmen who were about to kill Jesse at the end of "Half-Measures".
As for what Mike told him? There was some truth of course, concerning Walter's huge ego, but Mike's memory was also a bit selective and distorded. Walt's ego didn't ruin his work for Gus. Walter White is who he is but things were far from being nice and smooth before he killed Fring. Gus was originally pissed off because Walt killed his men saving Jesse, and Mike, who wanted to get rid of that Pinkman junkie in "Half-Measures", was supposed to kill Walt in "Full Measures"! It wasn't a matter of pride then, but of survival!
It's only because Jesse killed Gale that Walt survived, and after that Walt was reduced to be a slave-cook. Had Walt been willing to sacrifice Jesse when he was advised to, maybe Mike's tale about how good the thing they had with Gus was would have worked, but it didn't happen that way. Mike conveniently forgot about how everything began or that his perfect scenario would have implied Walt not having Jesse's back. Looks like he wasn't stranger to lying to himself either.
No wonder Walter was mad!
Mike was pissed because his own comfy spot in Gus' organization as an enforcer was ruined when Walt&Jesse brought chaos in, and from there it went to hell for him, but he made his bed when he started working for a drug lord. He kept underestimating Walt's fighting spirit and determination, and had it coming.
Speaking of determination, Hank's is a treat, even though Walt got to fool him again (Dean Norris was better than Cranston in that scene IMO). And I loved that shot of Gomie when he cornered the lawyer. Hank is getting closer.
I guess that in the next episode Walt will want to deal with the 9 names. Mike said he wouldn't pay them. If Walt put out a hit on them...Now that would be the real step ahead in term of breaking bad, ordering people's death like a godfather (like in the mafia, as Jesse would say) isn't nothing like what Walt did before. The Gale thing was different, for it was "a kill or be killed" situation. Mike's murder was a crime of passion, in a way.
In other words, Walter White isn't at his worst yet.
The opening scene first. I found it a bit weird that Declan said (or pretended?) not knowing who Walter was? But I loved how he kept trying to address Mike, calling him Mike, which probably pissed Walter off, hence his insisting on Declan to say his name. It pretty much established the fact that Walter will take it back from Mike in this episode.
In a way the scene called to season 1, when Walt played the Heisenberg part, in front of Tuco's crew. He is totally in charcater now, and in boasting mode "I'm the man who killed Gus Fring". If there was any doubt left that recognitation is what Walter wants this scene should erase it.
Also as I said, Walter telling Declan's crew that they were two cooks, and therefore indicating that Jesse was the second cook, was an important element that is going to bite Jesse in the ass later. I don't think Walt realised his mistake there. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to endanger Jesse, – and certainly not his own position as master chef –, simply tried to appeal to Jesse's pride, to give him the validation his pupil had always craved (He did it again when telling him later he was just as good as him). He simply forgot that you don't give that bit of information to competitors whose cook is less skilled and who are supposed to need you.
But perhaps Walter just doesn't see Jesse as a separate being anymore, as if the cooking pair formed a cook with two heads. He was so in denial about Jesse leaving him that he made that mistake.
Anyway, Mr 99,1% should be his name, instead of Heisenberg.
As for his selling pitch, or speech, I enjoyed it. I'm French but I wouldn't live in a world without coca cola. Yeah I have a bit of an addiction. And for the record I I hate pepsi or any other cola or even flavoured coke (it's a pure heresy in my book) . I'm a classic coke kind of girl. There's no cheap replacement for the real thing.
Speaking of food, sort of, banana bacon cookies, really? Ewwwww
So Skyler hid the methylamine for Walter at the carwash. It's weird that Mike didn't think of looking for it there, but, he probably thought that Walt's lives were still separated.
Jesse and Skyler met again, and looks like Jesse felt sorry for Skyler. "Vamonos" /"I wish I could". There is no way out for Mrs White and Jesse just realised it. This might pay off later.
Walt had a point when he talked about "the blood money" Jesse shouldn't want if he were a good man. The conversation about Jesse's options recalled the usual Walt talk when he wants to show his adversary that there's nothing they can do (the same he used on Skyler in "51")but in that Walt/Jesse scene a lot of truths were said.
Walt no longer felt the need to "a "rationalize" and "excuse" what they did, he totally acknowledged that they were bad men and killers, that they have been for a while, since season 1, and I'm pretty sure he had Jane on his mind when he delivered that speech about them being no better than Todd. It's significant that he said "we" all the time. Gale's murder was on him as well as on Jesse. But it wasn't only a matter of accepting responsability, it was also holding on the notion that they were parts of one thing.
I almost expected Jesse to say "there is no we anymore!", but it might have sounded too much like a response from one former lover to another. And yet...
Walter's final "Jesse!!!!!!!!!!!" sounded like a helpless cry, especially given that Jesse was already out of sight.
The meal scene with Skyler. How sad, how telling. Were they eaten microwaved lasagna?
Saul and his many cell phones always cracks me up. And calling Mike's lawyer a clown! BTW wasn't there a clown among the faced-sweets (or cookies) the lawyer gave the bank woman? Gilligan's genius lie sin the details.
The theme of (bad) replacement was there again. Don't go for a lower product, don't hire a clown lawyer. Better call Saul! Saul is the coca cola of lawyers!
BTW even though Walt didn't cook on his own, I think that Walt knew very well that Todd couldn't replace Jesse. He settled for Todd as a rebound partner because he didn't have any other options, and he went into teaching mode with the eager-to-please pupil but you could tell that his heart wasn't in it. After all, Todd didn't take chemistry class in school!
There's only one partner Walt wants. Even the over-qualified and nice Gale couldn't fit in.
As for Mike's death, I already said how idyllic a setting the location looked. As usual, the show was visually stunning. Also I wonder if there was some pun in the fact Mike died on a river bank. Anyway a much better death than the over-the-top Gus Fring's.
I didn't quite buy Walt's mistake, or rather his late realization that he could have gotten the list from Lydia which would have prevented the fatal showdown. Or rather I took it as a last attempt at rationalization, a last lie he told himself so he wouldn't have to face the fact that he killed Mike because he wanted him dead. The list was just a poor excuse and he clinged to it. For the first time he killed without the excuse of self-defense or of protecting Jesse. He had to admit that it was an "unnecessary" death.
It's fascinating that Walter was distraught and prefered to believe in a 'tragic mistake' (Heisenberg making a mistake!) instead of facing his true motives. As I said in my previous entry, it seems obvious that Walt went there with murder on his mind.
Since "the older guy" beat him in that bar (in season 4) Walt had nursed a grudge, and Mike threatened to kill him one too many times. Mike kept humiliated him over and over. The last words Mike threw to his face were the proverbial last straw but Walter had wanted Mike dead before that trigger that switched him into hot-blood killing.
Mike knew too much, and could no longer fulfill his promise about his guys keeping quiet. He was useless and a liability himself. If he got ever caught, which was a possibility, there was a risk that he could be flipped too, no matter what Jesse said. Walt was very aware of the problem, and so was Saul.
And of course Jesse's faith in Mike only infuriated Walt even more. After their last conversation he felt that he had lost Jesse's trust and respect while Mike obviously had them. The handshake he witnessed behind the window seemed like an echo of his own hand-shaking with Jesse at the end of season 4. Walt was simply jealous. Jesse never talked about wanting out before Mike said he was out. Ergo Mike was a bad influence on Jesse, like Jane. He had stolen the boy away. That was unforgivable.
The list of the 9 guys he wanted was a concern for sure, but mostly an excuse to cause a certain situation in which he could use the pistol. Because Walt is not a cold-blooded killer like Gus, he isn't a professional hitman like Mike. He needs a crisis and violent emotions to do so, always had, either with Emilio and Krazy-8, or the henchmen who were about to kill Jesse at the end of "Half-Measures".
As for what Mike told him? There was some truth of course, concerning Walter's huge ego, but Mike's memory was also a bit selective and distorded. Walt's ego didn't ruin his work for Gus. Walter White is who he is but things were far from being nice and smooth before he killed Fring. Gus was originally pissed off because Walt killed his men saving Jesse, and Mike, who wanted to get rid of that Pinkman junkie in "Half-Measures", was supposed to kill Walt in "Full Measures"! It wasn't a matter of pride then, but of survival!
It's only because Jesse killed Gale that Walt survived, and after that Walt was reduced to be a slave-cook. Had Walt been willing to sacrifice Jesse when he was advised to, maybe Mike's tale about how good the thing they had with Gus was would have worked, but it didn't happen that way. Mike conveniently forgot about how everything began or that his perfect scenario would have implied Walt not having Jesse's back. Looks like he wasn't stranger to lying to himself either.
No wonder Walter was mad!
Mike was pissed because his own comfy spot in Gus' organization as an enforcer was ruined when Walt&Jesse brought chaos in, and from there it went to hell for him, but he made his bed when he started working for a drug lord. He kept underestimating Walt's fighting spirit and determination, and had it coming.
Speaking of determination, Hank's is a treat, even though Walt got to fool him again (Dean Norris was better than Cranston in that scene IMO). And I loved that shot of Gomie when he cornered the lawyer. Hank is getting closer.
I guess that in the next episode Walt will want to deal with the 9 names. Mike said he wouldn't pay them. If Walt put out a hit on them...Now that would be the real step ahead in term of breaking bad, ordering people's death like a godfather (like in the mafia, as Jesse would say) isn't nothing like what Walt did before. The Gale thing was different, for it was "a kill or be killed" situation. Mike's murder was a crime of passion, in a way.
In other words, Walter White isn't at his worst yet.