Towards the end of “Felina,” Walter White scrabbles on the floor with his car keys, pressing the button again and again. We know – or can guess – that it’s about to unleash death upon Walt’s enemies. But for a few seconds, it doesn’t. Nothing happens. In another universe, Breaking Bad ends there. Walt’s final…
This final half-season of Breaking Bad has been like a game of ten-pin bowling at times. That may seem like an odd metaphor, but bear with me: there’s so many pins to knock over in this final stretch that we need to have a break every couple of episodes to line them up again –…
I’d like to say that my extremely late write-up of this phenomenal episode of Breaking Bad was caused by emotional shellshock – the episode did reduce my partner to gasping sobs as Skyler collapsed in the middle of Negra Arroyo Lane. The real explanation is less poetic; I simply had a tonne of exams to…
“To’hajiilee” is an example of how Breaking Bad plays its audience like a musical instrument. The bulk of the episode stretches its viewers taut like a finely-tuned violin, ratcheting up the tension inexorably, whether it’s subtle bits of (potential) foreshadowing like Saul wearing pink (and a bullet-proof vest), Pinkman enacting a fugazi portrait of death…
“Rabid Dog” sets the table for the final four episodes, pairing Jesse and Hank to tamp the flames of the former’s fury and give direction to the latter’s thirst for justice. This partnership may have a short lifespan (and some narrative holes – why aren’t Hank and Steve following procedure, if Hank’s so worried about…
Breaking Bad is a series unafraid to mine its past, delving into earlier seasons for images and icons and details. Small moments pulsate with added emotion, layers of meaning conveyed through a tarantula creeping its way across the desert floor, or a pack of cigarettes distorting within a clenched fist. Even a half-glimpsed Hello Kitty…
There’s an ever-present sense of tension in the final season of a good drama, and it’s not necessarily related to fear over the plight of the show’s protagonists. The tension is born of fear that an otherwise great show might not stick the landing; that it might fumble important storylines, or simply run out of…
“Then, maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.” Man. That was satisfying. Breaking Bad has always been primarily about plot, with some compelling characterisation carried along in the wake of amazing storytelling. And the strength of that storytelling is on display in a taut, tense premiere that’s a welcome return to Albuquerque. Perhaps…
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