Breaking Half: "Gliding Over All"

Left to right: Anna Gunn and 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. 

*Originally published on September 3, 2012

Season 5, Episode 8

"Gliding Over All"

*Note: This is a parody video done on The Simpsons featuring the song "Crystal Blue Persuasion," which includes cameos from Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston.

“I should have enjoyed it more … 

tagging trees is a lot better than chasing monsters.”

-Hank (Dean Norris)

For those expecting an epic shoot-out to match the likes of last season's "Face Off," prepare to be disappointed. Everything was building up against Walter (Bryan Cranston), but he managed to be true to his word. When he said "I'm done when I say we're done" a few episodes back, he was pretty accurate. He may have not had the smarts of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), but he finally had the gall to stop. After telling Todd (Jesse Plemons) to crush Mike's (Jonathan Banks) car at the dump, he tells Jesse (Aaron Paul) that he will handle cleaning up the loose ends. He first consults Lydia (Laura Fraser), who eventually gives him the names and creates a distribution deal with the Czech Republic that creates a larger profit. He also eliminates the prison inmates on Gus' pay roll by having friends of Todd's brother lynch them. With exception to the lawyer, they are all dead. Skyler (Anna Gunn) confesses that she has been collecting enough money to pay for ten lifetimes and has been putting it in a storage warehouse. Walter pays off Jesse and finally retires the Heisenberg moniker. He is treated for cancer, but we know little besides that he punched a towel dispenser, similar to a reaction he had in the first season. Many months have past and Walter is celebrating by having his children, including Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) return to the White residence. Hank (Dean Norris) steps out to go to the bathroom. As he finds some reading, it is discovered that Gale Boetticher (David Costabile) gave Walter a copy of "Leaves of Grass" with a little message to a "W.W." Hank is finally aware of who Heisenberg could be.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Dean Norris

MVP: Hank (Dean Norris)

The cat and mouse game is finally reaching an interesting turn. The long gullible D.E.A. agent Hank Schrader finally realizes that his brother-in-law is Heisenberg. After countless episodes of trust, it is revealed, and we can finally take to the next step of our journey. We realize that Hank may be the hero in this tale, and all of the hard work will pay off. It will be tragic, as Walter and Hank had such good chemistry, but it needed to happen. Who knows what will happen now. All we know is Walter is not nearly as thorough as he thought he was, especially if he ever considered reading "Leaves of Grass" in his bathroom.

Aaron Paul

Best scene: You know what this season has been missing? Kick-ass montages. This is usually my favorite part of every season. It is true that we had a few, but none really had the luster to cover more than two minutes. This episode had two. There was one that featured a group of Aryans killing off Gus' payroll. As disturbing it was to listen to that scene (oh, the stabbing sounds), the real winner of best montage goes to the meth cooking one set to the tune of Tommy James and the Shondell's "Crystal Blue Persuasion," which may seem too on the nose, but still hits all of the right beats. The montage covers what is essentially the final meth cooking with Walter and Todd and the distribution to Czech Republic. It is effective and helps to move the story faster than it has all season. Also, the song just rocks.

It has been fun giving you recaps to essentially one of the best shows currently on TV. I will hopefully see you soon for possibly a catch-up on the missing pieces in my Breaking Half series. If not then, I will see you when the final eight finally premiere. I cannot wait. Until then, keep making fan videos and making wacky conspiracies of how it will all end.

Come back on Monday at midnight when we start the final stretch with the premiere of "Blood Money." Also, thanks to everyone who has read my recaps. Hopefully you got plenty to enjoy out of them.