**SPOILERS HEREIN!**
I wasn’t a huge fan of this episode. I guess I should have
known it probably wouldn’t measure up to last week’s (I mean, how do you follow
up arguably the most intense episode of the whole series?), but I didn’t
expect to be disappointed.
It’s not because this one was more about setting up every loose end for the final episode than advancing the story, at least for every character besides Walt (Bryan Cranston). I understand they want to make the finale memorable, and they’re setting up all the pins to be knocked down next week. So we only see enough of Skyler (Anna Gunn), Jesse (Aaron Paul), Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), Marie (Betsy Brandt), Saul (Bob Odenkirk), and the Nazis to know where they stand (except for Saul; don’t know where he went), but none of their stories move forward much (though I have a small possible theory about Skyler that I’ll get to later). And no, I’m not overlooking the death of Andrea (Emily Rios). It’s a devastating scene, all the more so because it’s so quick, quiet, and inconsequential, but the whole point of this plot turn is to cement the fact that Jesse’s at the absolute mercy of Todd (Jesse Plemons) and the Nazis.
I don't have a problem with any of this. What I didn’t like was the route the story takes with Walt.
I loved his first scene, in the basement of Saul’s “vacuum guy” (Robert Forster), coughing up a storm while planning some endgame that in no way sounds feasible. It’s a great moment of Cranston channeling raw desperation and arrogance, the only shreds of his psyche left in the wake of last episode’s epic breakdown. I love how they directly referenced the exchange between him and Saul at the very start of the season (the first half). Then, Walt easily intimidated Saul. Now, exposed, on the run, and dying, Walt is not intimidating at all for the first time in a long time. Saul fearlessly talks him down, instead of warily offering advice without pressing too hard as usual.
After that, and after relocating to rural New Hampshire (whose nickname is the episode’s title), Walt seems more resigned to a fate of withering away alone in the wilderness. And the depiction of his lonely, empty last days almost strikes a tone of sympathy, like we’re supposed to feel sorry for him. And that’s what I hate about the episode.
Walt long ago ceased to be a morally grey antihero who’s cooking meth with noble intentions. As shocking and horrifying as it was, the reason I think last week’s knife-wielding breakup of the White family was so great is because it was a hard, brutal fall completely befitting Walt’s horrible deeds. Now, the show wants to return to the early moral ambiguity and have us empathize with Walt. I can’t do that. Walter Jr. (now going by “Flynn” again) rebuking his father’s last attempt to do right over the phone was my favorite scene because it put my feelings—that Walt’s done too much evil to ever make up for—into words.
Well, maybe second favorite. My favorite might be the final scene, which pulls out an old card I never would have expected: the Schwartzes (Adam Godley and Jessica Hecht). In a dive bar near his new home, Walt sees his billionaire former colleagues on TV talking to Charlie Rose about him, and minimizing his role in founding their company. And then, from underneath that bushy beard, Heisenberg starts to seethe through as the ominous theme music starts playing.
After last week’s events, I thought the machine gun we know Walt’s packing was meant for the Nazis (though part of me felt that would be a little too obvious). Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe Walt’s gunning for the Schwartzes; having brought everyone else in his life down with him, he can’t let them stay standing. Or maybe that’s too obvious, too, and he has something else planned entirely.
Whatever his intent, Walt leaving the bar (presumably heading back to Albuquerque) was the last pin. And though I didn’t like how the episode practically begged a little more sympathy toward Walt out of us, all those pins going up more than sufficiently readies viewers for the final episode.
Before then, though, I’ll point out one thing regarding Skyler, specifically the scene where she’s being interrogated by the feds. The way it shows her spacing out as she’s being briefed on her situation, with a mild din drowning out the words spoken her way, was very similar to the scene in the series’ first episode where Walt is told he has cancer. Not sure if this means anything, but remember Walt took an extreme measure after learning of his illness. Perhaps even though Skyler looks licked, she’ll too try something drastic to escape her predicament.
Emmy News:
The first half of this season received eight Emmy nominations, and the Ceremony was held as this episode aired. The show won two awards: Best Drama Series, and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for Anna Gunn. Congratulations to Ms. Gunn and the show for the well-deserved accolades. And for all the Skyler White haters out there, here's a little something for you.
It’s not because this one was more about setting up every loose end for the final episode than advancing the story, at least for every character besides Walt (Bryan Cranston). I understand they want to make the finale memorable, and they’re setting up all the pins to be knocked down next week. So we only see enough of Skyler (Anna Gunn), Jesse (Aaron Paul), Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), Marie (Betsy Brandt), Saul (Bob Odenkirk), and the Nazis to know where they stand (except for Saul; don’t know where he went), but none of their stories move forward much (though I have a small possible theory about Skyler that I’ll get to later). And no, I’m not overlooking the death of Andrea (Emily Rios). It’s a devastating scene, all the more so because it’s so quick, quiet, and inconsequential, but the whole point of this plot turn is to cement the fact that Jesse’s at the absolute mercy of Todd (Jesse Plemons) and the Nazis.
I don't have a problem with any of this. What I didn’t like was the route the story takes with Walt.
I loved his first scene, in the basement of Saul’s “vacuum guy” (Robert Forster), coughing up a storm while planning some endgame that in no way sounds feasible. It’s a great moment of Cranston channeling raw desperation and arrogance, the only shreds of his psyche left in the wake of last episode’s epic breakdown. I love how they directly referenced the exchange between him and Saul at the very start of the season (the first half). Then, Walt easily intimidated Saul. Now, exposed, on the run, and dying, Walt is not intimidating at all for the first time in a long time. Saul fearlessly talks him down, instead of warily offering advice without pressing too hard as usual.
After that, and after relocating to rural New Hampshire (whose nickname is the episode’s title), Walt seems more resigned to a fate of withering away alone in the wilderness. And the depiction of his lonely, empty last days almost strikes a tone of sympathy, like we’re supposed to feel sorry for him. And that’s what I hate about the episode.
Walt long ago ceased to be a morally grey antihero who’s cooking meth with noble intentions. As shocking and horrifying as it was, the reason I think last week’s knife-wielding breakup of the White family was so great is because it was a hard, brutal fall completely befitting Walt’s horrible deeds. Now, the show wants to return to the early moral ambiguity and have us empathize with Walt. I can’t do that. Walter Jr. (now going by “Flynn” again) rebuking his father’s last attempt to do right over the phone was my favorite scene because it put my feelings—that Walt’s done too much evil to ever make up for—into words.
Well, maybe second favorite. My favorite might be the final scene, which pulls out an old card I never would have expected: the Schwartzes (Adam Godley and Jessica Hecht). In a dive bar near his new home, Walt sees his billionaire former colleagues on TV talking to Charlie Rose about him, and minimizing his role in founding their company. And then, from underneath that bushy beard, Heisenberg starts to seethe through as the ominous theme music starts playing.
After last week’s events, I thought the machine gun we know Walt’s packing was meant for the Nazis (though part of me felt that would be a little too obvious). Now, I’m not so sure. Maybe Walt’s gunning for the Schwartzes; having brought everyone else in his life down with him, he can’t let them stay standing. Or maybe that’s too obvious, too, and he has something else planned entirely.
Whatever his intent, Walt leaving the bar (presumably heading back to Albuquerque) was the last pin. And though I didn’t like how the episode practically begged a little more sympathy toward Walt out of us, all those pins going up more than sufficiently readies viewers for the final episode.
Before then, though, I’ll point out one thing regarding Skyler, specifically the scene where she’s being interrogated by the feds. The way it shows her spacing out as she’s being briefed on her situation, with a mild din drowning out the words spoken her way, was very similar to the scene in the series’ first episode where Walt is told he has cancer. Not sure if this means anything, but remember Walt took an extreme measure after learning of his illness. Perhaps even though Skyler looks licked, she’ll too try something drastic to escape her predicament.
Emmy News:
The first half of this season received eight Emmy nominations, and the Ceremony was held as this episode aired. The show won two awards: Best Drama Series, and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for Anna Gunn. Congratulations to Ms. Gunn and the show for the well-deserved accolades. And for all the Skyler White haters out there, here's a little something for you.
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