One thing I really like about this show is that it rarely deals in clichés, in characters or story. Well, this episode presents a relatively clichéd story turn, but the way it’s tackled cleverly turns this familiar plotline on its ear (speaking of clichés…).
The cliché I’m talking about is how a character in a show gets presented with a dream job, but must choose between taking it or staying with their family and friends. This plot device has been used on TV many times, both in comedies and dramas.
For Walt (Bryan Cranston), that dream job is Gus’ (Giancarlo Esposito) offer to cook meth in a state-of-the-art laboratory. The choice part of the cliché doesn’t really present itself, though, as Walt’s already driven his family away. He tells himself that he can’t take the job at first because of his family, but we all know the choice is an easy one for him to make. Since Walt the teacher’s life is seemingly gone for good, why not give in to Heisenberg? He does just that, burying any ambiguity about why he’s still in this business.
As for Hank (Dean Norris), he rejected his chance at the dream job in El Paso, but he didn’t have to choose between family and career; he had support from his family and colleagues, and yet still turned it down. He says outwardly this is because his work isn’t finished in Albuquerque, but I’m not sure he believes this. He’s really just afraid to go back to the front line of the drug war, and is just hoping that he finds a lead to delay going back as long as he can. It’s purely by chance that he gets a solid lead following the RV.
See what they did there (okay, I’ll stop with the intentional clichés)? The show used story archetypes we’re familiar with, but instead of just following them predictably, they tweaked them to reveal more about the characters. For, Hank it shows that he’s still out of his league in the war of meth. For Walt, it shows without a doubt that he’s changed from a morally ambiguous antihero to an actual bad guy.
Yeah, I think it’s fair to say Walt’s a bad guy now, if not just for the sheer amount of bad things he’s done, then because he blatantly admits he’s fully embraced the criminal life. From here on, the show’s not so much an exploration of his moral conundrum as a chronicle of how deep he falls into the abyss. But it’s still a fantastically compelling ride to the bottom.
Breaking Bad DVD is an amzing show,adventure,crime,black comedy... Bryan Cranston won three consecutive emmy awards for his role as Walt. Aaron Paul (Jesse) has also won an emmy for his performance...You'd better start to watch it from begining and you will find out how Walt got started how he met jesse how they got involved with gus.
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