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| Jonathan Banks |
Are you tired of long, tedious accounts of Breaking Bad episode recaps? Then look no further than Breaking Half: a weekly column that takes the good and bad from each week's episode of Breaking Bad and dilutes it down to the core necessities. Each Monday, Breaking Half will attempt to take a few key moments from the episode and boil it down to one juicy paragraph.
Season 4, Episode 4
"Bullet Points"
*Note: This is the full video for a song that was featured in the episode and is available on the DVD extras.
"For a fired school teacher who cooks crystal meth,
I say you're coming out pretty much ahead."
-Skyler (Anna Gunn)
It is time to face up to the family and tell them why they bought the car wash. Skyler (Anna Gunn) decides to teach Walter (Bryan Cranston) how to gamble and get his story straight, if just to please Hank (Dean Norris) and keep him off the trail. Walter isn't quite buying it, but goes along just to please her. Jesse (Aaron Paul) is continuing to do his house parties with little care for money or hygiene. At the family get together, Hank pulls over Walter and Walt Jr. (R.J. Mitte) to share some evidence that he has on the case. He thinks that he has found his Heisenberg: Gale (David Costabile), who also recorded a ridiculous karaoke video. He even consults Walter on the lab notes, which leads to some fascinating reveals, but never that Walter is the villain. Walter later goes to pay Jesse a visit, and figures that he is turning into a risk. He tries to confront Saul (Bob Odenkirk) on the issue, thinking that he is the only businessman in the group. However, he is of no use. It isn't until Mike (Jonathan Banks) is told by Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) that Jesse is becoming a hazard. The episode ends withh Mike and Jesse driving into the desert to an undisclosed location.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Bryan Cranston |
Whether or not that you agree that Walter is the only businessman left in his group, this is one of his episodes that argues in favor. With everyone fall apart around him, he manages to pull the most successful con in the series. He has practically found the moment to walk away from the Heisenberg case without being caught. With the help of Skyler, he has an alibi that is totally in his wheelhouse and he carries it with such ease. Even as Jesse falls apart, he tries to pull him back together, concerned for his partner with hopes of making more money. Even if this all only makes sense to him, this is a fascinating episode that sees the sly side of him take over in a powerful, slimy manner.
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| Left to right: Cranston, R.J. Mitte, and Dean Norris |
Best scene: It almost comes as a comical sigh of relief and tension. As Hank pops on Gale's karaoke video, everyone is laughing but Walter. Maybe it is because his achievements are now being honored to a dweeb who was going to replace him. Maybe it his ego and desire to take credit. It was all in his face. The tension rising as this comical video played. This is one of those perfect moments in Breaking Bad where they mix light and dark so perfectly that even though this is Walter's get out of jail free card, he is probably going to screw himself over somehow.
Come back tomorrow when we recap "Shotgun"
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