AMC delivered another good episode from Breaking Bad this week, but not nearly up to the level that I’ve become accustomed to this season. There seems to be a conscious continuation of the main arc’s themes, but I found the pacing is vastly different which made the denouement fall flat.
In this episode titled ‘Cornered,’ some interesting cracks present themselves in some characters’ facades, most notably Gus. He’s normally been a cool, calm, and collective character… always three steps ahead of the game. For the first time he genuinely seems a little shaken.
Speaking of Gus, the opening scene which leads to the message Mike delivers to him toward the end is a brilliant scene. Watching the two gunmen inside the back of the truck, I was reminded of Mike a few episodes ago, but this time it was a vastly different outcome.
Walt’s speech to Skylar is fantastic. I can see “I am the one who knocks!” on a t-shirt and bumper stickers by year’s end. I also found the camera angle of the following shot with Walt in the shower to be a great creative choice. Walt’s trying to remain in control, but he’s starting to feel the walls coming in on him and things start to unravel.
Walt Jr. is on the verge of forcing me into tears as he so wants his family back together and can see, at least from his perspective, how fractured his parents are. He’s almost like a small child who sees things in a simplistic way and can’t understand why the problems of life aren’t just solved in a similarly straightforward and easy manner.
At this point in the season I’m getting a little tired of the wedge between Jesse and Walt. Something needs to happen to progress this part of the story arc or it needs to be pushed aside. It’s the same argument over and over: Jesse wants respect. Walt thinks it’s all about him. Rinse and repeat.
What I did enjoy was seeing another act of defiance on Walt’s part. Those poor foreign cleaning women can’t catch a break. I really thought they were going to get shot right then and there, but that just shows you should always expect the unexpected with Breaking Bad.
While ‘Cornered’ falls into the “good” category and has moments that peak at “great,” you have to look at the whole body of work this season when assigning it a value. This was, by far, the weakest episode offered to date.
With only one more season after this one until Breaking Bad is no more, the writers are really going to have to amp up the intensity and plot progression while there’s still time left. Otherwise, they risk leaving behind a very disappointed fan base. It’s crap or get off the pot time.
– James Zappie
