The Meat
How couldn’t I have had high expectations? Breaking Bad had already proven itself as the most
compelling show on TV before everyone’s favorite high-school-science-teacher-turned-meth-manufacturer, Walter White, became a truly bad motherf*cker last season. You all
remember what happened to Gus. Where do you go from there?
Breaking Bad
is smart. There’s no need to get more violent, to go beyond what we've seen before. The show’s most brutal violence
takes place in conversation, is manifested in cold stares and sharp words. The show will take
it slow, pile on the tension. No need for blood and guts to take things one
step further.
The again, Walt got an M-60.
The first episode of the final season, "Live Free or Die," opened with a future
Walter White celebrating his 52nd birthday at, where else, a Denny’s.
He’s disheveled, his hair grown out, he's sporting an unkempt beard and a New
Hampshire ID. A man enters the restaurant, catching Walt’s eye. Walt follows
him to the bathroom. Money and car keys are exchanged. Walt asked if there’s a
manual. The man replies that he’s printed something off of the internet. “Good
luck, I guess” the man tells Walt.
Walt’s just bought a car with an M-60 in the trunk. This is
going to be a good season.
But, that’s the future. The show quickly jumps back to the
immediate aftermath of Gus’s death. Mike is pissed, Skyler is scared, Jesse is loyal, and Walt…well,
Walt’s bad. Not all bad, but bad enough. But he’s not only bad, he’s convinced
himself that he. Killing Gus and scaring Skyler has made the man confident.
Much more confident than future Walt sitting alone at Denny’s. My guess is that this confidence will not serve Walt well.
I hate to say it, but "Live Free or Die" was a bit of a disappointment. Just a bit, though. Much of the episode felt more appropriate as a mid-season throwaway than as the opener. There was a lot of logistical work, i.e. the magnets, which
didn’t really feel all that dramatic. Yes, Walter, Jesse, and Mike would’ve been
sent up the river had their magnet trick not worked. But, compared with taking
out Gus in last season’s finale, it seemed a little thin.
Don't get me wrong, it was still cool.
The strength of this episode -- as of
the show itself -- lies the acting. In particular, Anna Gunn as Skyler White shined in the
opener. Her interaction with Ted Beneke, whom we assumed had been killed after
being visited by hired goons last season, was brilliant in its subtlety. Skyler
had spent most of the episode afraid -- afraid of Walt, afraid of Ted telling
the cops about how he ended up in the hospital. But, when it becomes apparent that it's Ted who is afraid of Skyler, she gets a taste of the power that has
pushed her husband to the dark side. If Skyler continues on this path, the
series would certainly be throwing us a curve ball -- which is why we love Breaking Bad in the first place.
But I come back in the end to the beginning: What’s Walt
doing with an M-60? Who’s he going to war with? Because this is a weapon for
war. If he needs to take out Mike or Jesse -- or even Saul -- a simple handgun
would suffice. But Walt is clearly intending to do some real, Frank Castle damage. The season
opener gave us no real hints concerning whom or what Walt needs to shoot, but this is
one of the strengths of the show: it revels in screwing with its audience, with taking turns we don't expect. There’s no reason to guess, to hypothesize.
This isn’t Lost. This is the best
show on TV, despite the relatively weak opener.
That’s right, I said it. The best show on TV. Ever. Better
than The Wire. I’ve committed white
liberal academic blasphemy by making this statement. But I tell it like it is,
kids. Best show ever.
The Math
Objective Score: 6/10
Bonuses: +1 for the M-60 in the trunk; +1 for the science references (string theory, the God particle, magnets!)
Penalties: -1 for the caper-centric plot as an opener
Nerd Coefficient: 7/10
