When Breaking Bad started, Walter White was a sad sack in a crappy situation who made a desperate choice to provide for his family before he succumbed to terminal cancer. After ‘Say My Name,’ that Walter White no longer exists. In fact, this current Walter White would have that Walter White shot, robbed, and buried in the desert.
The trio is now split. Mike has “retired” and tries to live a normal old man type of life while taking his share of the money that Walter finagled for him and paying off his guys as well as providing a nice nest egg for his granddaughter. Jesse wants out. He tells Walt this over and over, but Walt seems to refuse to accept this. Walt has been playing the part of Uncle Owen to Jesse’s Luke Skywalker, “just one more harvest, then you can go off.” Only Jesse doesn’t wait around for fate to push him into action. He leaves Walt, much to Walt’s chagrin, but what happened to the little boy in last week’s episode was probably too much for Jesse to deal with.
Besides, Walt has bigger issues, starting with getting the bug out of the DEA. He offers his brother-in-law a tear jerking sad sack story making him so uncomfortable that the first chance he gets to bolt out of the room, he does, which gives Walt plenty of time to clear house. All for naught though, because Mike’s lawyer who has been putting money in safe deposit boxes for the families of his guys to pick up, has been followed and busted by the DEA. He turns, of course, because while he’s a lawyer working for the criminal underworld, he isn’t Saul.
Mike bolts, but he can’t get his “Go Bag” for fear of getting busted, leaving Walt to go get it for him. We now get the confrontation that has been building since Mike gave Walt a bully beat down last season. Walt demands the names of Mike’s guys, which Mike of course refuses to give. He doesn’t see Walt as a threat so he tells him off and turns his back on him.
That was a big mistake on Mike’s part. In that “Go Bag” was a pistol. When Mike opens the bag in his car there’s no gun inside, but Walt brings it to him anyway. After shooting Mike and finally tracking him down to the river, Walt has a moment of clarity and the logical Walt pops back into reality.
I loved this episode. Walt’s character journey has been one of ups and downs in both development and the writing of the show, but this latest incarnation is the best yet. Seeing Jesse finally stick to his guns about leaving the business was nice to see, but you can just tell things aren’t going to end all that easily for him. I was sad to see Mike go out, but he did have a well written death. I am left wondering if his granddaughter still got that money, or if it was included in the DEA bust.
– James Zappie
