Welcome back to another review for another solid episode of the fantastic series, Breaking Bad. This fifth episode is once again entertaining and very fun to watch, but we actually get a little historical background. We know Walt as the man who works as a teacher and at a car wash, but we get to delve deeper into his past and what kind of career he had going for him. It was all very insightful. Not only did I like learning about the past, I also like how Jesse is putting the drugs behind him and attempting to find a job. Is he successful? No, not really. But at least he tried. The episode features several fine comedic moments. Two scenes that stand out are 1. When Jesse is interviewing for a job, his buddy Badger runs across the street wearing an overlarge chicken suit. Damn funny it what is. 2. When Walt is at a dinner party at an old friend’s place, he and some people are talking about their careers. When Walt talks about moving into education, his peers ask about what college he teaches at. Humiliation at its finest. These are the two scenes that stick out in the many classic scenes there are.

In this episode, Jesse is trying to go down the right path and find himself a real job. But he realizes he may not have the right qualifications for many jobs, so he recruits Badger to continue making meth. But their batches don’t come nearly as good as the ones he made with Walt. Walt is invited to a dinner party with his rich old friends Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz hosting. It is later learned that Walt and Elliott started a company together focusing on science. Elliott offered to pay for the cancer treatment, but a humiliated Walt declines. Finally, Walter Jr. is caught trying to buy beer underage from an undercover cop. Skylar had enough and she stages a family intervention, where Hank finally learns that it was Walter who was the one trying to buy the marijuana.

Overall, this was a somewhat slow episode but it was a very entertaining one. There is a heavy momentum forward plot-wise and I’m looking forward to see what happens next. I loved that we got clues on the past of Walter’s, and that lends credence to the story. The acting continues to be phenomenal, especially from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. However, shoutouts must go out to Adam Godley and Jessica Hecht in their guest roles as the Schwartz family. They did a solid job. Another fine episode, and you all should eagerly anticipate what happens next.

My Grade: A-

Well, we finally go back down to earth in this fourth episode of Breaking Bad. The first three episodes were crazy, non-stop fun but now we need a quieter episode that will set up the building blocks for future episodes. Mostly, this reflective episode succeeds. Although it’s an episode based on the future, it’s still plenty of fun to watch. There are several cool one-liners (mainly by Jesse). “Check out these mad Pop-tarts. They’re mad tight.” See, isn’t that awesome? But this episode does have moments of sadness. After all, this is where Walt finally tells his family about his cancer. He tells Skylar at first, but her breakdown at a family dinner forces him to let Hank and his wife, Marie as well as Walter Jr. in the scoop. It was interesting to see how his family make up ways for him to get treatment although Walt does not believe it’s the right thing to do.

In this episode, Walt finally tells Skylar about his cancer. After she breaks down at a barbecue, he is forced to tell the rest of his family. His family sets about on finding the best oncologist available and they are ready to pay the money required for treatment. However, Walt is worried about putting financial debt on his family especially if the treatment is proven to be unsuccessful. The DEA discovers the car of Krazy-8 that still has some meth in it, and Hank agrees that there is a new drug lord in town. Jesse returns to his estranged parent’s house but is immediately in conflict with his parents because of a marijuana joint. Finally, Walt reconsiders working with Jesse in cooking more meth when he receives his money from the first batch.

Overall, this is a somber but still entertaining episode of Breaking Bad. There is nothing incredibly special about the episode, as its concerned about moving pieces for the next big event. This is a necessary episode, however. It’s important that Walter finally discloses the cancer information, because it will have a profound impact on what happens next. The acting remains impressive. Bryan Cranston collected himself a niche as Walter White. I was onboard with Cranston from Day 1, and he remains great as ever. Anna Gunn can improve on her dramatic acting, but this episode is a start. Aaron Paul as Jesse remains an ass as usual, but I do love the conflict that arises between him and his family. The ending of his storyline this episode is quite cool. I enjoyed this episode, but I know things will get crazy again soon.

My Grade: A