Wednesday, July 27, 2011

What I’m Watching: Breaking Bad


Breaking Bad: Season 4, Episode 2 “Thirty-Eight Snub” (B)

While this show continues to be one of the most intense and harrowing on television, there’s no denying that this episode proceeds at an almost unmoving pace without accomplishing all that much of anything. It still serves a decent purpose; it just can’t hope to compare to some of last season’s more mesmerizing episodes. Walt buying a gun before the opening credits means that he’s getting serious, and you know that’s true when even the guy selling the gun seems hesitant about it. The rest of the episode took Walt down a peg, as Gus, whom he had been told he would never be seeing again, called him as he was about to barge into his home to settle things, and then Mike kicked the hell out of him after having a friendly drink while Walt talked for far too long. Jesse’s insane party was well-photographed to indicate just how lost in all the craziness he had become, so desperate to numb himself after committing a murder. It’s good to see Skyler taking things into her own hands, skewering the car wash owner by explaining each detail of her estimate, only to have her husband’s attitude thrown back in her face. Hank’s physical condition may be getting slightly better, but his disdain for Marie is growing ever exponentially. His obsession with minerals, not rocks, and his cruel reply to Marie that there are other bedrooms in the house represent a continued distancing from this show’s most obnoxious wife, who is now at her most sympathetic just trying to cheer on her ailing husband.

1 comment:

Greg Boyd said...

If you read my review, you know I completely disagree with this. While it's true tgat nothing much really happens in the classic sense, there's plenty of subtle character development (not to mention some insanely tense and well-shot sequences, which have become a trademark of this show). Last week's premiere contained far more in the way of dull scenes, I thought. Just my opinion, though.