Breaking Bad: 4 Days Out
By fred | May 11, 2009
(S02E09) Running late in my TV viewing I didn’t get a chance to catch this episode until now, but the good thing about that is that unlike you I don’t have to wait one week to see what happens next, only a few hours and I get a second dose of what is, without a doubt, the best show on the air. There are a few shows I love out there, there’s no question Lost has been on a roll lately delivering two of its best seasons to date, but Breaking Bad is just grand.
It is what quality television should be and more, and every time I watch this show I find myself amazed at the quality of what I’m watching, in the writing, the acting, everything. Probably just a final proof that for the most part, great television isn’t found on the big networks anymore, and to anyone out there not watching this show: you’re missing on the best thing on TV right now, plain & simple.
Another thing that is so great with this show, is that it might leave you each week with the same feeling that you just watch the best episode of the series yet. Because while every other episodes of this season has been brilliant, this one was once again a masterpiece. And if the show has had some great opening sequences in the past, here it was almost the entire episode, the whole time we saw Walt & Jesse cook, get some rest and fresh air, enjoy the gorgeous beauty of the desert and they were standing there in the middle of nowhere… It was simply stunning, reinforced by a brilliant cinematography.
Walt is sick, and he was feeling worse of late. Adding to that his own (and way off) interpretation of the PET-CT scan, and he was fairly sure not to have more than a few weeks left, at best. That made him decide that he needed to cook, a lot, before it was too late. And so he and Jesse went out for a few days of non-stop cooking. The only thing I wished we got to see before that, somehow, was how Jesse explained it all to the lovely Jane, and whether or not she saw the pizza box.
It’s been established before, Jesse is a good guy, he’s nice and he has a good heart, but he also has the worst luck ever. Doesn’t always look that way, see the girl next to him at the beginning of the episode, but it always ends badly. I’m not sure exactly how Jane will fit in his future mess, whether she’ll provoke it or be a casualty, but it won’t be good, unfortunately.
For now, Jesse ditch the whole Santa Fe trip and he and Walter went cooking. As soon as Walter complained about the keys and we saw Jesse move them, you knew it was going to be trouble. It’s just how things go for Jesse, and sometimes it’s funny. However, when he actually thought Walter would be making them a robot to save them, I’m not sure that wasn’t pushing things a little too much. I know he’s not the brightest, but that was funnily stupid. I liked a lot more when, while making a new battery, Walter was having fun enjoying being a teacher again, only to be disappointed when Jesse thought the element was “wire” and not copper.
Anyways, at first it all was going fine, they were cooking good, so good that they have for more than one million dollar worth of meth! It’s impressive (and I wonder where they keep it, security wise), and it should make them be fine for a while, unless the Cartel starts hearing about it of course. But you could sense Walt’s sense of despair, and how much he didn’t expect to live much longer, when even after that much he still wanted to cook more.
But they did not, instead they found themselves trapped in the middle of nowhere, with no way to leave, not much to eat and and no water. Death might be coming even sooner than Walt had imagined, and he wouldn’t even leave anything to his family as Jesse would be dying here as well. Walt is usually so caught up in all his lies and his eagerness to do more, bigger and faster, than he never takes a moment to look back. Lying there, ready to die and accepting his fate, Walter realized what he was really doing, all the lies he told and how much it was hurting the ones he loves. Also, that ended more in self-pity than anything else…
If I have one complaint about this, though, it’s about the phone. Walt phone died, battery was out, so then why didn’t they just switch SIM cards?? Jesse’s phone was still there, and chances are he didn’t get any reception because they don’t use the same services, but its battery wasn’t dead and with Walt’s SIM card he could have called again for some help — not that it would have actually changed anything in the end.
Eventually they made it out, and by the end you could see how it brought them “closer” somehow, reminding both of them that the premise of their partnership was that Walter wouldn’t be around for long. It’s the reason he started this whole thing, because he was doomed and would be dead in a few weeks. As he (and Jesse) saw he was coughing blood now, everyone (including me) assumed things were getting worse for Walter.
But, as it turned out, it wasn’t the case at all. In fact it’s quite the opposite, the treatment is working and Walt could even have a chance to beat the cancer! The tumor shrunk by 80%, which is somewhat amazing, it was the best news they could ever get and provided everyone a great sense of relief. Everyone but Walter of course. Because he had accepted the idea that he was done, and he used that to justify what he was doing these days, all the lies and all the meths.
What if he’s around for more than a few weeks? What if he has years ahead of him? How will he get out of this mess? He never worried about getting out of this crazy business, his plan was to die and let Jesse deal with everything, never having to faces consequences or even face his family, who would never find out about what he’s done, at least not while he was alive.
While everyone was relieved and happy to hear about Walter’s condition, he himself wasn’t too happy. It was, ironically, the worst news he could have gotten. Because he was so sure he was close to the end, and accepted it, that he had fully embraced his decisions. Walter never felt more alive and happy than cooking during those four days, cooking meth in the middle of nowhere. He knew he didn’t had much time left, and that is how he had chosen to spend it. But the prospect of having more time, and how it reflected on his decision and the path he took, that wasn’t good news, it frustrated him so much that he ended up pushing his own reflection until it became as distorted and unrecognizable as he has become, far from the simple high school teacher and loving father/husband he used to be.
Another brilliant episode, with great cinematography and once again amazing performances by both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. As I said, this is the best thing on TV right now.
What did everybody else think?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Breaking Bad
