I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable. I sound my barbaric YAWP over the rooftops of the world. --
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
That's Whitman's second appearance this year on Breaking Bad.
He first showed up in the episode "Sunset," when Walt's former lab partner Gale quoted "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." He was illustrating his antipathy for academia -- something he shared with Walt -- and comparing what they were doing for Gus to a kind of alchemy.
And during that brief period, Walt could fool himself into thinking he'd entered a magical world, where cooking an addictive poison supplied by a ruthless drug lord was reduced to a matter a pure science.
This week, Whitman appeared as a clue when Walt and his son watch Jeopardy! and the phrase "barbaric YAWP" reminds Walt of his current, frequently untamed lab partner, and the serious trouble he's in as the episode comes to a close. Of course, saving Jesse from himself means Walt needs to run wild himself, to "break bad" in a way he never has before, in a scene that -- like the ending of "One Minute" a few weeks back -- leaves us shaken.
In "One Minute," we knew the Cousins were gunning for Hank, but we really only had as much warning as he did that their showdown was going to happen NOW.
Here, we spend the whole episode -- or at least from the time Jesse mentions his plan to poison the dealers -- knowing something bad is going to happen by the end, just not what or how or to who. We know Gus doesn't want his employees killing each other or committing high profile crimes. We know Jesse is dumb and angry enough not to care. (Note that Gus only makes Jesse, and not the glower twins, promise to "keep the peace.")
So once Tomas is murdered, it's only a matter of time before Jesse does something wreckless. Giving himself some crystal courage -- goodbye sobriety -- he walks into an armed show-down with the two dealers...
...and then Walt swoops in and kills them both, one with his SUV, the other with a bullet to the head, before leaving Jesse -- and us -- with a one word warning: "Run."
It was amazing how the episode staged these final moments: the slowly-dawning look of horror on Walt's face as he realized what Jesse's next move would be; the way the camera kept cutting closer, closer, closer to his face, and to Jesse's as he walked to his showdown; the eerie background music, similar to what we heard during the "One Minute" climax.
Walt certainly feels a sort of paternalistic loyalty to Jesse, and I'm sure he can tell himself he did what he did to keep him from becoming a murderer (or, given that the two dealers were clearly more used to firearms than Jesse, to keep him from being shot to pieces).
But by stepping in and killing the two men, he's asserting some independence from Gus, after spending much of the episode terrified of the man.
"No more half-measures," Mike had warned earlier, and Walt is a guy who thrives on them. (Note how he relents on Walter Jr.'s both feet method of driving from last season
Walt's gone all the way in now, only he's up against men who have been playing this game for a long, long time. As the season wraps up next week, look for things to get very, very messy.
Other thoughts:
- Aside from the shocking final minutes, my favorite part of this episode was Mike's monologue about his days as a cop. He's like what Vic Mackey might have been if Vic had gotten away completely unscathed.
- Whatever forces govern the universe just don't Walt to have an unbroken windshield, do they? Hope he can get it fixed in time for Walter Jr.'s test.
- Another great opening scene: Several days in the life of Wendy the prostitute, scored to The Association's "Windy."
- The scene between Walt and Jesse at the bar might have been the longest whispered conversation I've ever seen on TV.
- Interesting that the words "You have one minute" heralded the beginning of Hank's hospital stay and his abrupt exit. A very funny scene.
- Also funny: Walt's plan to keep Jesse off the streets, which involved him somehow being arrested but not really going to jail. Walt: "I'm talking about one of those situations where you're in an orange jumpsuit, picking up trash on the highway." Saul: "That's jail."
- Anyone else think of Office Space when Skyler went to Wikipedia to look up "money laundering"?
- How did Walt tell Jesse "Your actions...they affect other people" and not get struck by lightning?
- Next week: the season finale -- which is 107 minutes, according to TV Guide -- and the return of Heisenberg.
Tom Coombe
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