It's almost overwhelming to think about just how unbelievable this show is. Week after week, I ask myself how on earth Gilligan and Co. plan to top themselves, and week after week (seemingly effortlessly) they do just that. Even at this show's "worst" (if we can even call it that) it's incredible, and to put into words how this show makes you think and feel and what that means is almost difficult (I myself have resorted to wild hand gestures and a string of "gahs" when trying to describe it to people).
"Dead Freight" is a perfect example of that. How many of you were speechless after last night's episode? Anyone else pick their jaw up off the floor? Because I know I was, and I know I did. In fact, I'm pretty sure I breathed a sigh of relief, laughed, gasped, panicked (yet again), and yelled "NO!" at my TV all in less than a minute. And now here I am, trying to write this review, asking myself what in God's name I'm supposed to say other than my go-to "GAH!" (I suppose I could just borrow from our very own Mr. Martens who, at approximately 10:07 last night, sent me a text that simply, yet eloquently, read, "FFFFUUUUCCCKKKK!!!!" Really, that's probably the best method of summing it all up, anyway.)
I feel like this episode, and specifically its monumental Great Train Robbery heist, is bound to be one of those that instantly comes to mind when we later become nostalgic about Breaking Bad, and not just for its shock value (although, goodness knows there's a healthy dose of that), but for its status as "game-changer." In what's probably one of the most wonderfully agonizing sequences this show has ever seen, our favorite misfits carry out a plan to (illegally, of course) obtain the methylamine much needed for their business. Devised, surprisingly, by Jesse and inspired by crazy Lydia, the plan leaves the men draining a train tank of some of its methylamine and replacing it with a similar amount of water ("It's all about the weight, yo."). Ultimately, the men hope to obtain the precious chemical without anyone realizing a robbery even occurred (the watered-down batch of methylamine they're to leave behind is to be blamed on China); and unbelievably they succeed. With Mike as lookout and Saul's henchman, Kuby (Bill Burr), as a rather amusing diversion, Walt, Jesse, and the newly adopted Todd (Jesse Plemons), who first looks out for the team by warning of a nanny-cam in "Hazard Pay," climb aboard the train and extract the chemical just as rehearsed. And although a good Samaritan nearly exposes the entire operation when he offers to give Kuby's "dead truck" a pull off the train tracks, and Walt's refusal to settle for anything other than complete victory threatens to give us some serious heart attacks, the plan finally goes off without a hitch.
Or so they think. Unfortunately, Jesse's perfectly timed "Yeah, bitch!" is short-lived as they notice the little boy on the dirt bike introduced to us in this episode's opening sequence has witnessed the entire thing. After waving a sad hello (or perhaps it was, more appropriately, a wave goodbye), Todd aims a gun at the child, and despite Jesse's wails of protest, shoots him without hesitation. In a heart-pounding, gut-wrenching moment, it's clear that Todd has taken the warnings that absolutely no one was to know about the robbery to heart, and, in a surprisingly despicable manner, has proved his loyalty to Walt.
But what does that mean for Jesse? Apart from Walt's, it's his character's evolution that has surprised me the most on this show, especially this season. We first came to know Jesse as a punk, just another drug-dealing knucklehead whose main purpose, with his "yos" and tacked- on "bitches," was to provide comedic relief. But he's grown to be so much more than that (which is interesting considering Gilligan had reported his plan to kill Jesse off at the end of season one)—he's now important, and reliable, and an intelligent planner, even (first magnets, now this). And what's more, he actually cares; he's emotional. And despite the fact that he's committed his fair share of crimes, and has, just as the others, murdered, he still remains very much in touch with his moral center, and I find that to be quite the fascinating aspect of his character; it even makes him sympathetic! (And really, how many murdering drug-dealers can you say that about?)
We know that the death of an innocent child hits close to home for Jesse—there's no forgetting his confrontation with Walt last season any time soon—so the revelation that his team has sunk to the level of cruelly carrying out unprovoked murder is bound to send him in a different direction, both mentally and emotionally (his reaction next episode is one I'm already looking forward to as Aaron Paul, especially as of late, has proved himself to be quite the actor). We've already witnessed this season that Jesse finds himself caught between Mike and Walt (there's a nice little shot this episode that lends to the visual depiction of just that, too) so will he finally find himself forced to make a life-changing decision? And if he decides to walk out, who's to replace him? Todd? Who's to keep the team in check with votes?
To read the rest of the review/recap (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/breaking-bad-5-5-dead-freight/
"Dead Freight" is a perfect example of that. How many of you were speechless after last night's episode? Anyone else pick their jaw up off the floor? Because I know I was, and I know I did. In fact, I'm pretty sure I breathed a sigh of relief, laughed, gasped, panicked (yet again), and yelled "NO!" at my TV all in less than a minute. And now here I am, trying to write this review, asking myself what in God's name I'm supposed to say other than my go-to "GAH!" (I suppose I could just borrow from our very own Mr. Martens who, at approximately 10:07 last night, sent me a text that simply, yet eloquently, read, "FFFFUUUUCCCKKKK!!!!" Really, that's probably the best method of summing it all up, anyway.)
I feel like this episode, and specifically its monumental Great Train Robbery heist, is bound to be one of those that instantly comes to mind when we later become nostalgic about Breaking Bad, and not just for its shock value (although, goodness knows there's a healthy dose of that), but for its status as "game-changer." In what's probably one of the most wonderfully agonizing sequences this show has ever seen, our favorite misfits carry out a plan to (illegally, of course) obtain the methylamine much needed for their business. Devised, surprisingly, by Jesse and inspired by crazy Lydia, the plan leaves the men draining a train tank of some of its methylamine and replacing it with a similar amount of water ("It's all about the weight, yo."). Ultimately, the men hope to obtain the precious chemical without anyone realizing a robbery even occurred (the watered-down batch of methylamine they're to leave behind is to be blamed on China); and unbelievably they succeed. With Mike as lookout and Saul's henchman, Kuby (Bill Burr), as a rather amusing diversion, Walt, Jesse, and the newly adopted Todd (Jesse Plemons), who first looks out for the team by warning of a nanny-cam in "Hazard Pay," climb aboard the train and extract the chemical just as rehearsed. And although a good Samaritan nearly exposes the entire operation when he offers to give Kuby's "dead truck" a pull off the train tracks, and Walt's refusal to settle for anything other than complete victory threatens to give us some serious heart attacks, the plan finally goes off without a hitch.
Or so they think. Unfortunately, Jesse's perfectly timed "Yeah, bitch!" is short-lived as they notice the little boy on the dirt bike introduced to us in this episode's opening sequence has witnessed the entire thing. After waving a sad hello (or perhaps it was, more appropriately, a wave goodbye), Todd aims a gun at the child, and despite Jesse's wails of protest, shoots him without hesitation. In a heart-pounding, gut-wrenching moment, it's clear that Todd has taken the warnings that absolutely no one was to know about the robbery to heart, and, in a surprisingly despicable manner, has proved his loyalty to Walt.
But what does that mean for Jesse? Apart from Walt's, it's his character's evolution that has surprised me the most on this show, especially this season. We first came to know Jesse as a punk, just another drug-dealing knucklehead whose main purpose, with his "yos" and tacked- on "bitches," was to provide comedic relief. But he's grown to be so much more than that (which is interesting considering Gilligan had reported his plan to kill Jesse off at the end of season one)—he's now important, and reliable, and an intelligent planner, even (first magnets, now this). And what's more, he actually cares; he's emotional. And despite the fact that he's committed his fair share of crimes, and has, just as the others, murdered, he still remains very much in touch with his moral center, and I find that to be quite the fascinating aspect of his character; it even makes him sympathetic! (And really, how many murdering drug-dealers can you say that about?)
We know that the death of an innocent child hits close to home for Jesse—there's no forgetting his confrontation with Walt last season any time soon—so the revelation that his team has sunk to the level of cruelly carrying out unprovoked murder is bound to send him in a different direction, both mentally and emotionally (his reaction next episode is one I'm already looking forward to as Aaron Paul, especially as of late, has proved himself to be quite the actor). We've already witnessed this season that Jesse finds himself caught between Mike and Walt (there's a nice little shot this episode that lends to the visual depiction of just that, too) so will he finally find himself forced to make a life-changing decision? And if he decides to walk out, who's to replace him? Todd? Who's to keep the team in check with votes?
To read the rest of the review/recap (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/breaking-bad-5-5-dead-freight/