"I have the talking pillow".
This is yet another first class bit of telly from Breaking Bad. It has a very good reputation, but seems not only to be living up to it but improving with each episode as the situation becomes more established.
There are two parallel storylines here. The B plot concerns Jesse, who attempts to go straight but comes up against the reality of demeaning minimum wage jobs for anyone without a uni degree- not only is there obvious social commentary here, but it's emphasised just how attractive the undeeground economy can be for someone whose only alternative is this sort of job.
It's no surprise to see him return to cooking meth with a new, thicker partner, Laurel to his Hardy. Yet it's revealing, as well as funny, to see how he eagerly adopts the methods, views and mannerisms of Walter White- who, to return to a theme tht continues in this episode, is an alpha male in this context, even though he doesn't know it. It's a nicely subtle bit of acting from Aaron Paul at the end as a slight facial twitch tells us how pleased he is to see Walt.
As to how Walt gets to cooking Walt again... its brilliant, complex drama yet at the same time so simple and watchable. Yes, Walt and Skyler go to the birthday party of a super rich old friend who offers to pay for Walt's treatment, but there's more to it than that. There are hints that Elliott ended up married to Walt's ex, and that Walt made a huge contribution to the company that gave Elliott his riches. I'm sure we will learn more, but Walt refusing help out of pride (in his position I'd have bitten Elliott's arm off), hints at the darker, evolving alpha male side that we've seen in previous episodes.
The family conference s a fabulous character scene. Hank is there as the macho comic relief, and both Skyler and Walt Jr try to articulte their powerless anger that Walt is terminally ill- and seems uwnilling to "fight" it. Yet his eventual monologue is both wise and powerful. Who would wish to spend their last months in humiliating suffering for the sake of a little extra time?
Walt tells us, eloquently, that he feels that he hasn't made a decision about the course of his life, ever. This one time, he wants agency, to make his own decisions.
And yet... he concedes to Skyler in the end. He doesn't even have that decision.
This is very good indeed. It reminds me more of theatre (Terence Rattigan and Arthur Miller, oddly, not that they are exactly similar) than of other quality episodic telly. But this is sooo bloody good.
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