Breaking Bad: It's Magic

  Walt begins "Sunset" living out some sort of meth production fantasy. All the sordid, pathetic aspects of his old cooking career -- stripping to his underwear, the RV in the middle of nowhere, a dimwitted assistant -- have vanished.

 Now it's like a 9 to 5 job, one where Walt can put on a dress shirt, pack himself a lunch, and head to Gus' shiny new lab. Instead of Jesse, he's working with an assistant with actual background in chemistry, one who shares his love of science and hatred of academic politics.

 So there they are, Walt and Gale, two modern Merlins doing their magic, drinking coffee so good Walt jokingly wonders "why the hell are we making meth?"

 The way real life intrudes into this bubble is what makes "Sunset" the best episode Breaking Bad has had this season. Walt learns that his RV days aren't that easy to escape, and we see -- again -- two things that Walt and Jesse need to pick up on soon. First: they still, as Saul put it, "suck at peddling meth." Secondly: they're dealing with people far more dangerous than they realize. The domestic drama that dominated the first half of the season gets pushed aside this week, and instead we focus on the basic thrill of watching two inept criminals try not to get caught.

 
Things are going fairly good for Walt at the start of the episode. Like I said, he has this nifty new job, along with a new apartment that he's gotten through sheer force of will. He's even got the upper hand in the divorce proceedings with Skyler, reminding her that their house has been running on meth money for several months.
 
After his first day on the job, he's at home, reading poems by Walt Whitman, whom Gale had quoted earlier in the episode. The poem is "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," and it's about the conflict between romantic and scientific views of nature, but also about a character experiencing the world in isolation.
 
 Walt's reading is interrupted by a call from Hank, who wants to know about Jesse's RV. Walt panics. Better call Saul. The attorney points out -- quite rightly -- that this is something Walt should've been prepared for, and advises him to get rid of the RV.
 
 "Where do I go to make an RV disappear?" Walt snaps. "I'm not David Copperfield!"

  Nice touch, that line. Walt may be practicing magic with Gale in his lair, but out in the real world, he's helpless. 

 And reckless. He goes to Clovis' lot, threatens him -- trust me Walt, if you go down, they won't care about the guy who fixed your methmobile -- allows Badger to publicly ID him as "Heisenberg," and doesn't realize that letting Badger tip off Jesse is the quickest way to get Hank on their trail.

  When Hank does show up, it's an amazingly tense scene. All three men -- Walt, Jesse and Hank -- are desperate. Jesse's finished if he's arrested; Walt's finished just by being inside the RV; Hank needs this arrest, the only thing keeping his career from being a complete joke.

 It's only the intervention of people more experienced in dealing with this type of situation -- the junkyard owner with a grasp of the fourth amendment, and Saul* -- that keeps Walt and Jesse from getting caught.

  *I got the sense that Saul's secretary had been pressed into making similar calls to the "Your wife's been in an accident" notification she gives to Hank.

 It seemed like Walt struggled with his decision to trick Hank. Gus, meanwhile, has no problems giving the Cousins Hank's name, or his blessing to kill him. The episode opened with them dispatching a police officer; is that much of a stretch for them to go after a DEA agent?

 Other thoughts:

•  The first scene with the Cousins was yet another amazing opening for Breaking Bad. This one played out like a horror movie, complete with a dead body, a "did I just see that?" flash as one of the Cousins moved in front of the window inside the house, and an awful, extended "He's behind you!" moment just before the cop met his end. And notice the camera pulls off the cop and the Cousin in the background and moves into the foreground, yet it still seems like we see his death in full view. It reminded me of Psycho, and the way we think we see the knife connect with Janet Leigh, even though it never happens.
• More on that opening scene: it had a lot of nice details, including the "Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism Since 1492" air freshener, our first suggestion that this was a cop on an Indian reservation; the shots of Santa Muerte and the Heisenberg sketch inside poor Mrs. Peckateewa's house; and the Cousins' black shirts on the clothesline, blotting out the sun.
• The Cousins haven't gotten any less scary, have they? In addition to the opening and closing scenes of the episode, we're treated to their visit to Gus' restaurant, where they sit in a booth -- both of them on the same side -- silently waiting for the owner to talk to them.
• Best shot of the episode: Hank peeling the duct tape from the bullet holes on the RV's doors, and the corresponding shafts of sunlight falling on Walt's shirt.
• Gale is played by David Costabile, a character actor who's been everywhere: earlier this season in that annoying clips episode of The Office; a weaselly Baltimore Sun editor on The Wire; the corrupt cop Rick Messer on Damages; Mel's sad sack husband on Flight of the Conchords. You might've even seen him on a cell-phone commercial awhile back, where he played a single dad whose daughters were trying to fix him up with their friend's grandmother.
• So, does this bring Jesse and Walt back together, or drive them further apart?
• It's nice to see Jesse learn from his mistakes; he tells Badger to make sure Clovis fixes the "buzzer thing," so there won't be a repeat of what happened last season in "Four Days Out."
• RIP, RV. May you enjoy your new life as "patio furniture in China."
• Also, why is Clovis agreeing to work with Jesse again? I guess it's like Walt says: there's nothing that's not negotiable.

 Tom Coombe

Comments

[Adam]

This was definitely the best episode of the season. I was glad to get back to the drugs and away from the family issues. I'd like to see some sort of peace agreement between Walt and Jesse after all they've been through together.

[Tom]

I think Walt still has some level of fondness towards his time with Jesse (check out his face when he's in the RV, sees those "Funyons" that Jesse brought as sustenance for their trip). One of the great things about this show is its unpredictability; Jesse and Walt seemed over with last week, now fate has tossed them together again.