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09-16-2013 All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts. "As You Like It" -Shakespeare There have been precious few moments when I've had to sit and ask myself, "Tony, why do you put yourself through this?" 'This' being the emotional distress of simply watching a TV show, which one wouldn't normally conclude to be a painful process at all. Sometimes though... sometimes it is. I'm most recently reminded of two moments from Mad Men - Joanie succumbing to the carnal desires of a disgusting Jaguar executive to 'earn' herself a partnership in the firm, and then Layne's prideful suicide - as lows that left me dazed on my couch, wondering why I get emotionally invested into fictional characters beamed into my living room via satellite. I even mock myself and search for the "how" in that equation, ignoring the "why." But the 'how' is the key. It is the creative brilliance that gives words on paper the power to grip you. It is the ability for another human to turn those lines and stage directions into something an audience connects to. The culmination of those two elements empowers something that is fiction to overstep its boundries and encroach upon our reality. What the team of Breaking Bad actors and writers have done is integrate enough reality into their show to achieve within their audience the elusive 'suspension of disbelief.' Let me be the 10,000th person to say that Breaking Bad showcases change and chemistry. And it does so in a real-life way, where humans don't always act in predictable ways. Oh, how much easier that would be, and how we often not just hope that would be true, but often react with great confusion and distress when it isn't true. For instance, let's say you like to grab some coffee first thing when you check in to work in the morning. One day, you may spill a few drops on your shoe and brush it off like nothing, or even laugh about. Another day, you may react to the same spill by dropping a few f-bombs and carrying around a feeling of embarrassment or disgust for hours. What's the difference between those two reactions? Any variety of things. Maybe the poor reaction comes on the heels of not getting enough sleep or being cut off in traffic or not getting the parking space you wanted. The good reaction could be due to your favorite sports team or Dancing With The Stars contestant doing well, or simply hearing a song you like on the radio. These things are so small we may not realize them ourselves, much less someone else trying to figure out what makes us tick. But with good writing and explanation, we see into the characters in books, plays, movies, TV shows. We can relate to their decisions - good and bad. Though often flawed, the flaws in characters that mirror our own make us sympathetic to their struggles. Even if we don't agree with their actions, we understand their motivations. Chalk it up to the Butterfly Effect or Choas Theory, but humans are indeed human thanks to our fluid environments. You may think your 200 commutes to work each year are exactly the same (boring, usually), but they aren't. Temperature, traffic, car trouble, forgotten keys, drink spills, accidents... the chemistry of interacting with the other darn humans that inhabit this planet can really throw you some curveballs. As this third-to-last-episode aired, we are already shoulder-high into the changes in these characters. And we've seen the chemistry between them evolve like crazy. We start off seeing a jarringly happy and unsuspicious Walt and Skyler interact on the phone. Walt going to the trouble of over-concocting a lie that he doesn't even need to put into play. But those days literally fade from the scene and are replaced by the ominous sound of gunfire from the previous episode, where we all suspected some of those bullets were going to have show-altering consequences. And they did... R.I.P. Hank (a.k.a. SuperCop [to me] and "ASAC Schrader...and you can go fuck yourself" [to him]). How Hank changed over the seasons. From a sort of annoying, possibly racist, jokester hard-ass of a cop/home-brewmeister to a moral, driven, intense pseudo-vigilante. As far as wrap-ups go, which we all know are coming, I think everyone can at least find it fitting the way ASAC Schrader went out. Uncompromising, and able to unleash one final f-bomb to a man responsible for killing not just his partner and himself, but (likely unknown to Hank) his case against Walt via the 2-minute prison murder spree several episodes ago. Too bad Belushi isn't still around. I could go for a "I hate New Mexico Nazis" right about now. Ironically, Hank's corpse then trades places with the money Walt foolishly tried to trade for Hank's life. The chemistry of Hank was rather complex. His last two episodes each featured moments that were quite insightful. Even though Breaking Bad fans probably all figured the extended time dedicated to his phone call with Marie during the last episode meant his end was near, I liked how it shed light into their relationship. Hank and Marie both have shown a tough, sometimes unreachable core, especially when stressed. Hank had a way of lashing out when wounded - physically or emotionally - mostly at Marie. Marie, as she showed with Skyler, has a way of being over wordy, self-centered, and self-righteous when she is in the right, and conversely silent when she is in the wrong. But Hank and Marie - through their spats - were each other's biggest fans. They helped each other. And I have no doubt that Hank's celebratory phone call to Marie had played out many many times before for other criminals Hank had busted. We viewers just didn't have the pleasure - or the need - to see those calls take place. I'm sure they shared many close moments on their balcony under the stars sharing each other's successes. Hank stood by Marie's shoplifting, and kept it secret from the rest of the family. Marie, upon finding out her man's injury, recovery, and limp could have possibly been prevented by knowledge that Skyler had, had zero hesitation in smacking her own sister right across the face. That's love, damn it. Smacking your own flesh and blood - housing a criminal junkie and fixing him coffee (be it in a DEA mug) and lasagna? That's teamwork, and love. Bless her purple heart. Quick hitter on Hank. Dean Norris divulged on Talking Bad that he was allowed to ditch some of his comedy schtick once Saul Goodman/Bob Odenkirk joined the cast. But it didn't stop him from unleashing a great tweet before the "Final 8" episodes aired: 
A final wrap-up on Hank's death. Obviously I'm saddened to see him go, but one reason I'm OK with his death is because of how it was written. He went out like a pro. Cops and criminals live closer lifestyles to each other than the rest of the population understands. They may not like each other; they may be out to kill each other. But they understand the code the other group lives by. They respect each other like soldiers on opposite sides of a battlefield. And that was evident when Hank died. Walt begged for Hank's life. Jesse hid under a car. Walt offered up money out of desperation. Hank proved that in this situation, he was still smarter than Walt. He knew who he was dealing with, what was going to happen, and he took it like a man. Jack, his criminal counterpart, I thought rather did him a favor by putting him out of his misery with no delay. Horrific in normal life, but a courtesy on the battlefield. As a mere spectator in the process, Walt was exposed as Mr. White - not Heisenberg. Just a schoolteacher in a criminal's world. Not a man three steps ahead, not "the danger," not "you know what my name is." Just a man watching his world get closed in on, his money uprooted, his brother-in-law killed, and all he can do is lay motionless and speechless on the dirt floor of the desert. Chemistry. Now a schoolteacher beaten down, all Walt can do is unleash all the fury he has left on his pseudo-son and familiar puppet/whipping boy, Jesse. Probably Jesse's biggest "crime" in this show was flipping side and joining forces with Hank. Tugged between a horribly uncomfortable no man's land between morality and all the deaths and lives negatively affected by dealing meth, Jesse gave in to his morals and caught both barrels of Walt's depraved sense of revenge. After a chillingly subtle nod from Walt signed Jesse's death sentence, another gave the green light for Big Head Todd and the Monsters to extract - by what would obviously be brutal methods - whatever information he had shared with the DEA. As if that physical punishment wouldn't be enough, Walt goes for the emotional disembowelment by ending his silent observation of the scene to calmly explain with detail how he witnessed Jane's death, even attempting to take more responsibility for it than he was rightly entitled to. As dark as this show has been, I still wasn't 100% sure that piece of information would ever be known to Jesse. We have seen Jesse take an Evel Knieval-esque amount of punishment over five seasons, but that took the cake. As I mentioned with pepole unclear and sometimes seemingly inconsistent motivations in real life, Walt's "dedication" to his family has wavered for me over the course of the series. He has put them all in danger, embarrassed the hell out of Skyler, lied lied lied to everyone, and yet does it all supposedly to protect them and ensure their well-being after he's gone. Despite an affair and keeping his kids away from him, he blindly trudges after this idea of "family" like a zombie single-mindly tries to shuffle after brains. Never is this more apparent than when he exclaims, "We're a family" to the backdrop of Holly crying, his hand dripping with blood from the gash Skyler's knife-wielding swing gave him, and Walt Jr trying to shield Skyler while both are cowering from him on a carpet that surely still smells of gasoline. It is a moment the show takes a beat to linger on, and rightfully so. The chemist has acted, and his "family" has reacted. Question his actions, question his motivations, but the fire inside Walt that believes his family can saved still burns. He knows Skyler's ability to play a victim. So when he knows he has the police force as an audience when calling his house, he tearfully summons another act from Heisenberg in an attempt to get Skyler off the hook and thus protect his family. He finds a proxy to reunite mother and daughter, and then rides off to what we know will be a new identity. Who's gonna dun it? We're all 98+% sure that Walt is going to die, but who or what will ultimately end him? I think Vegas should be posting odds on this. Fortunately, when they don't, you have me to happily step in and provide lines: 5-1: Jesse. The world's favorite pick. However, it's not likely he'll outlive Walt, right? 3-1: Todd (or Uncle Jack or another Nazi). Seems like this gang might be the target for Walt's large gun purchase. 3-1: Cancer. Not sexy. Not satisfying for viewers. But it is lurking out there. 5-1: Random Albuquerque police officer. Wherever big trouble goes down, they're gonna respond and could be hanging in the shadows when Walt tries to flee the scene. One of many options that wouldn't be extremely satisfying, but could happen from a logical perspective. 90:1: Brock or Alicia. Long shot that would be wickedly satisfying for fans. 5-2: Skyler. We know she's pissed. Despite Walt's performance on the phone to hopefully solidify her innocence, she's got the motivation and who knows what changes will happen in her life by the time she sees Walt next (assuming she does see him when he comes back around). 30-1: Flynn. Another long-shot. We haven't seen much in the way of balls from this kid, but he's gotta be ramped up after what he just learned and witnessed. 200-1: Joe, the junkyard dude. Just in case the RV or U-haul get sniffed back to his location. 500-1: Hugo, the janitor. One of Walt's original "victims" (and one who didn't get killed!). 15-1: Lydia. She's jumpy. She has a history of ordering hits. She's a real wild card in this end-game. 5-1: FIELD. Includes some good ones: Saul, Huell, new friends that help with flushing identities, Gus Fring's ghost or family or old business associates, Skinny Pete and Badger... The favorite at 2-1: Marie. The widow of ASAC Schrader has serious motive (neck-and-neck with Jesse in that department), connections at the DEA and PD that would never allow her to do time for the crime. Hank may have shown her how to use a gun. And if there are no extra weapons hanging around the house, she can just go shoplift one. She probably wants to see to the safety of her sister, or at least her neice and nephew. She's also not currently on the run from anyone, unless Jesse sends Todd and his uncle to her place, so she'll have plenty of time to plot. Have fun, -Tony |
Inside My Brain