Breaking Bad: Buried, Review

This week on Breaking Bad we got to see the aftermath of Walt and Hank’s big confrontation and it did not disappoint. While it wasn’t quite as explosive as last week’s premiere, we gained back an element that was missing from the first half of season five, and that’s urgency. I’m not saying that the first half lacked urgency all together, but certainly Walt’s pulse moved much slower as the heat was mostly on Mike. Mike was under the radar of Hank and it was on him to keep his guys quiet and happy while Walt flippantly morphed into empire mode. But now, Hank’s gaze falls firmly on Walt, and finally we are back to Walt having his back against the wall, running around in pure terror. Hank has found him out, and he spends no time getting the whole family involved.

The White/Schrader clan has become completely divided. Surprisingly, Skylar decides not to cave right away when Hank begins questioning, fawning sympathy and telling Skylar that she’s “done being his victim.” Skylar stubbornly refuses to state anything concrete, causing a rift between her and a plotting Marie. It’s interesting to see just how badly Marie wants Walt to go down, and you can see a burning “Lady Macbeth” intensity in her eyes as she urges her husband to press forward.

Most of these scenes were mainly dialogue driven, but we did see, or should I say hear, a bit more action when Lydia decided to check up on her suppliers to see how the other meth kingpin lives. What she discovers is that he lives meagerly, and then shortly, not at all, as Todd and his prison-connected Aryan Uncle mow down Declan and his gang of thugs. Obviously this shows that Todd is still very much a part of the gang, and something tells me that the big gun in Walt’s trunk that has been shown in the flash-forward might be meant for Todd and his brood.

Last week I predicted that Hank would go after Jesse while he contemplated exactly how to handle the Walt situation, but Hank didn’t even have to go to Jesse…Jesse came to him. Jesse gets popped by the cops for his little Robin Hood cash delivery. The despondent Jesse stares dead-eyed at his two Albuquerque detective buddies that he always seems to be questioned by, but surely Jesse will come to life when his old pal Hank blows into the holding room. We’ll have to wait till next week to see how their chat goes, but something tells me that guilt-ridden Jesse may be willing to help his old nemesis out.

It’s weird to think that the second half of this season is already a quarter way through, and that the conclusion to this grim saga is barreling at us faster than we can name the first eight elements on the periodic table, but just like every season that’s preceded it, Breaking Bad has me completely glued to my television.

The Best of The Rest

– In another one of the show’s terrific cold opens, a lucky ABQ native finds several of Jesse’s little gifts. Like Christmas morning.

– CAT FIGHT! Who would have thought Marie would beat Skylar in a slap fight?!?

– So Huell and Bill Burr’s Kuby are going to be in that Saul spin-off right? Their presence is always appreciated.

– “I gotta do it, man.” – Huell, as he lays upon Walt’s big pile of cash.

– Dean Norris has always been great, but his acting in these past two episodes has been superb.

– The camera trick with Walt’s spinning barrel of cash was just a classic Breaking Bad special touch.

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