Breaking Bad: Rabid Dog Rewatch

January 30, 2015 8:04 AM - Season 5, Episode 12

An unusual strategy starts to bear fruit, while plans are set in motion that could change everything.

"Mr. White? He's the Devil. He is smarter than you. He is luckier than you. Whatever you think is supposed to happen, I'm telling you, the exact reverse opposite is going to happen."

Andy Greenwald, Grantland:

It was chilling, the numbness in Jesse’s voice as he stared into the camera and confessed that Walter White, the scourge of New Mexico, “was my teacher.” All of the terrible things that Jesse did, from shooting a man in the face to giving up a chance at having a family of his own, were all in the hopes of gaining the approval of this toxic father figure. It’s the betrayal of getting kicked in the teeth again that stings him, yes, but his rage and fury are mostly at himself for offering up his face in the first place.

James Poniewozik, TIME:

In this psycho-horror landscape, Jesse is a tiny, tiny boy, and Mr. White is God, Mr. White is the Devil, Mr. White is the universe itself. Other people may tell you they can save you from Mr. White, but they don’t know, they don’t know Mr. White, they don’t realize that he is everywhere and he knows everything. Jesse is a grown adult now, but in a way, Breaking Bad has been TV’s most sustained and horrifying depiction of long-term abuse.

Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture

What's fascinating, though — in this episode as well as the previous three — is Walt's waffling. We're seeing Walter White in most of these scenes, not Heisenberg. Heisenberg wouldn't spare Hank or Jesse, or perhaps even think about it, unless there were good strategic reason. But Walt wants to. During most of season four and the first half of season five, Walt seemed to shed most of his illusions about himself as a snake sheds scales. But now bits and pieces of Walt are back, and they're dictating how he reacts to threats.

Writer and first-time director Sam Catlin interviewed at The Hollywood Reporter; at The Atlantic; at Vulture:

I think that Jesse is an Achilles' heel for Walt. Heisenberg, pure Heisenberg, would have had Jesse killed a long time ago. He’s erratic, he’s emotional, he’s not entirely reliable. But for whatever reason, Walt has an affection for Jesse. He’s acted against his own best business interests time and again in order to protect the person who has become sort of a second son. It’s funny, in the beginning, they were such a fun odd couple that we really worked hard to not make them be too cutesy-cutesy together. We never saw them as friends. Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, nothing like that. We really wanted to keep the tension between them.

posted by We had a deal, Kyle (3 comments total)

Skyler: "How's Saul doing?"
[Walt lies about it; Skyler calls his bluff. ]
Walt: "I'm sorry. Were you spying on me?"
Skyler: "Yes. And I feel just awful about it, too."

That's an interesting turn from Skyler, shortly after, where she basically orders Walt to kill Jesse (or have him killed). It surprised me--as it seems to have surprised Walt--but it seems natural given the point they've reached in the story, given the things she's done in service of Walt's criminality. Still, it made me wonder just how many murders she knew about. Did Hank tell her about the prison murders? I can't remember.

Also, for the first time I wondered why Walt's neighbors never seem to see the various crazy shit going on at the White house--the several times Walt's broken in, the assassins lurking about, Jesse leaving the car diagonally across the front yard, driver's side door open....

This is also the first time I noticed that Jesse's change in plans was partly responsible for Hank getting killed. I'm having a hard time imagining him getting over all his trauma and eventually leading a normal life.
posted by johnofjack at 5:54 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also, for the first time I wondered why Walt's neighbors never seem to see the various crazy shit going on at the White house--the several times Walt's broken in, the assassins lurking about, Jesse leaving the car diagonally across the front yard, driver's side door open....

One thing that has been pointed out in my household is that this is the ne plus ultra of the antisocial suburban neighborhood that would have left Jane Jacobs gnashing her teeth to stubs: there is never, ever anybody outside on the street, they barely know their neighbors, and all socializing happens strictly in the backyard or in rooms facing it.
posted by psoas at 10:51 AM on February 2, 2015

Up until this whole half of season 5, I'd been rooting for Hank. It's the final episodes, Walt has to get his commuppence and Hank is right there ready for a win. And then we see how he really feels about Jesse and realize he is just as bad as Walt in motive (of course not in actions though). He just wants to win and doesn't care what happens in his wake (save Marie, and Holly and Flynn).
posted by LizBoBiz at 3:13 PM on February 2, 2015 [1 favorite]