"You're not in Chile any more...."
Breaking Bad doesn't have bad episodes. It doesn't really have good episodes either; just variations on excellent. This is one of the better variations, ans something new, something we've been waiting to see: a character study focusing on Gus.
That's not to say it's all Gus, of course. We get to see a tenacious and rejuvenated Hank and a fascinatingly jittery and stressed out Walt who must surely be close to a breakdown with the need tourgently off Gus while Hank is prowling around... all while Jesse, under similar pressures, is as calm as a cucumber. We also learn that Jesse is giving money to his ex and her son but refusing to do the emotional labour of seeing them as that would mean having actual feelings.
Just as fascinatingly, Walt's panicking is preceded by a scene of him talking to another cancer patient and warning him against passive fatalism and letting go: Walt knows very well that he's mortal, but his life is bleeding well his for as long as he has it.
But, yes, Gus. Giancarlo Esposito owns this episode, with the slight variation of a blank facial expression being the key moment in several gripping scenes here. We get to see him handle a police interview with rehearsed aplomb, and how he can make Walt squirm with a look. And then, through a brief dreamlike shot of some water, we move towards an incredibly filmed, red and yellow tinted, glimpse into the past of the enigmatic Chilean. He's a compelling character, compellingly acted. And it's quite clear how, and why, he hates old Hector.
This is, yet again, extraordinary television.
No comments:
Post a Comment