What I’m Watching: Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad: Season 3, Episode 9 “Kafkaesque” (B+)

To me, there’s little more fascinating than the opening sequences for this show. This one was considerably less intense than usual, and the montage set to music to explain how the whole operation works proved to be very interesting. It’s not as if this was a light episode, however, since all of the hospital scenes were uber-serious. Walt’s face when Hank said that someone called to warn him said so much, and it was amazing how the camera just stayed zoomed in on his face the whole time Hank was talking. Walt going to Gus was a bold move and made for an incredible scene. It’s very noticeable that Gus always sits at a table so far away from the person he’s talking to, which gives him a sense of power from being so removed. Walt succinctly summed up Gus’ whole operation so brilliantly, and it was only at the end that Walt explicitly stated that he knew that Gus was the man to whom he was referring. It’s scenes like this that win Bryan Cranston Emmys, and I’m counting on him to repeat again this year unless Michael C. Hall can snatch it away. Walt accelerating and trying to get into an accident was a truly breathless scene. Skyler also had some great moments in this episode, asking Walt if they’re safe and then following up to ask him if Walt is safe. Her stepping in to back Marie up when she was yelling at the insurance representative while talking to the doctor was an intriguing scene, but nothing was more powerful than her speech about Walt’s gambling and the way that she told him that she wouldn’t forget that Hank’s condition was likely Walt’s fault. Jesse’s line of “what’s more important than money” was also memorable, as was Saul’s presentation to Jesse about the importance of money laundering, complete with props.