When you look back at history and the downfall of powerful men, it is almost always one of three things that are the catalyst: Women, Pride, or Bookkeeping. In this case, Mr. White, two out of three is REALLY bad.
The latest episode of Breaking Bad, ‘Shotgun’ is a well thought out piece of entertainment. It completely serves the purpose of a mid-arc episode which is to keep the current plot threads going, add in little pieces here and there, and set up the roller coaster to come.
I honestly did think Jesse might be in for some trouble when we last left him. Watching him sit as Mike’s silent watchdog was just as dramatic and intriguing than if Mike had pulled out a shovel and told him to dig a grave. While it does seem that Jesse’s pairing up with Mike is all part of some grand plan, Jonathan Banks plays each scene with this subtle hint of looking at Jesse as the guy that is going to replace him.
Walt starts ‘Shotgun’ as a hot mess speeding down the road. His more rational mind ultimately prevails, something that almost always serves him really well in the show.
Later, however, that side of Walt seems to disappear and not just to his detriment, but to Skyler’s as well. This is well played as I was starting to get bored with Hank and him mulling over a case that was ostensibly closed. Then, with one little sentence from Walt, Hank suddenly becomes an interesting character again and back to a potentially formidable antagonist to Walt.
The crazily frantic editing of time progression is really well done in ‘Shotgun’ despite my worries that it was going to take away from the pacing of the remainder of the episode. Instead, it ends at just the right time.
Overall, ‘Shotgun’ is a fantastic episode in this season. Jesse and Walt’s relationship becomes even more layered and complicated with Jesse’s new role and Walt’s increasingly unhinged and stressed mind. Hank decides to take a second look at a case that was all but closed, and Gus seems to be setting chess pieces in place with Jesse at the forefront, but possibly to Mike’s detriment.
– James Zappie
