Breaking Half: "Phoenix"

Bryan Cranston

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 2, Episode 12
"Phoenix"

*NOTE: This is a fan video compiling video of Jane (Krysten Ritter) and Jesse's (Aaron Paul) relationship over the course of season 2. The music is not from the actual show. It also features scenes from the final episode which reveal something crucial to the story. It also features footage from a future season, though it ruins none of the story in context.

"Do right by Jesse, or I'll burn you to the ground."

-Jane (Krysten Ritter)

Walter (Bryan Cranston) has single-handedly managed to make the biggest meth deal of his life while Skyler (Anna Gunn) gives birth to their daughter Holly. Ted (Christopher Cousins) drove her to the hospital, where Walter eventually meets her. They begin discussing finances and it is revealed that Walt Jr. (R.J. Mitte) has started a page called Save Walter White (it is a real page that can be found here) to raise money to pay for cancer treatment. Meanwhile, Walter is trying to figure out how to be able to spend his money without being conspicuous. He consults with Saul (Bob Odenkirk) who suggests a hacker friend that can bring in the money by creating several small donations from around the North American continent. Jesse, worried that someone stole the meth, tries to call Walter. However, Walter refuses to pay him until he decides to get clean and dump his junkie girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jane's father (John de Lancie) discovers that she took heroin and demands for her to go to rehab, or he'll call the cops. This inspires Jane to call Walter and demand him to pay Jesse his share of $480,000, or she'll call the cops. He pays up, but doesn't want him to spend it on heroin. With the money, the two imagine moving away, but only after getting clean. They decide to finish the heroin and they'll start treatment soon. The episode ends with Walter watching Jane vomit all over herself after sneaking in with intention of talking to Jesse, possibly about more work.


Rating: 4 out of 5

Left to right: Aaron Paul and Krysten Ritter

MVP: Jane (Krysten Ritter)

She hasn't been a prominent player in the past few episodes in terms of influence, but this episode is all about her power. She has had a luring presence over Jesse this whole season, even turning him into a heroin addict. In this episode alone, she becomes despised by Walter, turns her father against her, and tries to use Jesse's money as an excuse to have a better life. She is a mess and her way of solving it is to make due with Jesse. It is fascinating to watch her try and fight her battles which all become prevalent by the end of the episode, She may be independent, but with all of her big reveals, she has quickly risen to becoming one of the show's more fascinating supporting characters created so far. At very least, it seems to give center to Jesse and make for some interesting emotional story lines.

Best scene: While Walter introducing his daughter to a wall of money hidden in the crawl space is interesting, it may be a haunting parallel for the remaining series. How so? In a scene in which Jane's father walks in to discover his daughter is shooting heroin, he demands that she join rehab. The scene is emotional as Jane, desperate without anywhere to go, claims that she will start tomorrow after filing the right forms at her work. At very least, this shows the relationship between Jane and her father as well as why Krysten Ritter's performance is underrated. 

How does this great scene involving the realization that these two need to grow up impact the series? Later on, Walter runs into Jane's father at a bar and asks him for advice on how to raise a girl. Without knowing it, Jane's father talks about how Jane needs to grow up and Walter agrees. While it could be coincidence, this feels like set-up that Holly will somehow have a fate similar to that of Jane. Maybe not heroin, but I get the sense that the seeds were planted since day one that Holly is going to have some unfortunate parallels.


Come back tomorrow when we cover the season 2 finale episode "ABQ"