Better Call Saul, “Chicanery” – Thoughts on final scene

“You think this is bad, this – this chicanery?”

The events of this episode have been coming for a long time. When I first watched it, I thought it felt a little restrained, like they were gun-shy about letting it all out. After rewatch, I don’t think that’s true anymore.

Untimely and Late “Review”: Some thoughts about Better Call Saul – Mijo

Saul is a kind of post-modern Atticus Finch for the 21st century. In the first episode, his defense of the three boys showcased a kind of parody-slash-straw man of disingenuous lawyering. In that arena, an arena of largely functional judicial proceedings and decent folks, that type of lawyering seems greedy, depraved, and parasitic. Mijo shows us the other side: how invaluable that brand of lawyering is under unjust systems.

Review – Arrow: Midnight City

In a Laurel-centric episode, we get to see her expand her outings as the new Canary and learn an important lesson in regards to vigilantism: It ain’t easy.

REVIEW: Dexter – Make Your Own Kind of Music

Secrets are revealed in this past episode of Dexter’s final season, relationships are cemented and rekindled, but the most important remains: Are the writers aware they’re writing their two main characters into husks of what the premise of the show promised us?

Review: Hannibal – Roti

Whenever I finish watching an episode of Hannibal, a cascade of thoughts and emotions run through my head, at the forefront, usually, “Holy crap, I really want to talk about what I just saw.” The runner-up is then always, “Holy crap, I feel really unqualified to talk about what I just saw.”

But if I stopped dead in my tracks at everything I was unqualified for, well, I imagine I wouldn’t do much.

“Roti” served up tons of great insanity imagery, real-life Colombian neckties, and a form of punishment I’ve literally only read in the pages of Punisher.

REVIEW: Secretariat

My favorite shot in Disney’s Secretariat is when Secretariat sees his rival, Sham. The 300-piece string orchestra is in full bloom. They zoom in on Secretariat’s eyes. Slow-motion. Then they switch to Sham. Sham, the Disney-designated evil horse, is of course black. They zoom in on Sham’s eyes.

Well, horses’ eyes don’t look forward. They look sideways. So when the camera zooms in, the horses have these retarded sideways glances, like chameleons, looking stupidly off to both sides simultaneously, advertising their inbred lineage. They might as well have had tongues hanging from their side of their drool-drenched lips.

After that, all I could think about was Jerry Seinfeld’s, “Oat-bag, I get my oat-bag now,” and whatever fig leaf I was willing to lend the movie for its own shame disappeared.

You know what this movie could have used? The scene: A barn. Some horse doctor is jerking off Secretariat distractedly. He glances up at the clock. Shlick shlick shlick shlick. A long sigh as the seconds tick by. The camera slowly zooms in on Secretariat. Secretariat winks at the camera.

Bam! Secretariat rears up on his hind legs, whinnying majestically. Slow-motion. The doctor, surprised, loses his grip, and Secretariat splooges all over the poor bastard. This goes on for about a minute, sometimes repeatedly playing the first splooge hitting the doctor. Secretariat wanders around the barn (still slow-motion, still on hind legs) whinnying relentlessly, as the unbroken rope of horsejizz slaps every face in attendance. Cut to outside the barn – whinny, and the whinny echoes.

Cut to the Preakness. Horses lined up. Tense. The gates open. Every horse snaps out like a rubber band.

Bam! Out comes Secretariat, still on hind legs, still whinnying, the ejaculate spraying into the stands as we cut to slow-motion and repeated shots of Secretariat winking at the camera. Later he eats two bales of hay by himself and has an 18-hour nap.

I’d probably have enjoyed that a bit more than what I actually saw.

REVIEW: Breaking Bad 3×05 “Mas”

I think it’s safe to say this was the episode we’ve been waiting for since the premiere, No Mas. This episode bookends that one nicely, I think, and almost acts as a sister episode. There, we saw Walt adamantly refuse to get back into the cooking game to save his family. Here, we see him get back into the game FOR his family, almost even to spite them, thanks to Gus’ very, very convincing mini-speech on what it means to be a man.

The show opened by answering the burning question that had plagued fans since literally the beginning of the series: Just how the hell did Jesse get a freaking RV? Well. . . maybe it wasn’t really a question we needed answered, but we still got it. I loved seeing Aaron Paul play old Jesse again. He just slipped that character on like a glove. The arrogant cockiness, the “yo”s after every sentence and the red clothing color scheme. The scene served to nicely explain why Hank wouldn’t and also would be able to find the RV later on in the episode.

It was pretty funny to see Hank and Steve Gomez stake out the RV in the RV park. Hank has been able to just cover up how obsessed he is with the Heisenberg case, and make no mistake: it is obsession. He needs to solve it. I think that he feels if he can solve this, then it will prove to his peers he still has it after his embarrassing turn in El Paso, and at the same time fill the hole that El Paso put in him. Just an aside, I was wondering how the people in the RV didn’t feel the entire vehicle shift over as Hank climbed it, but I let that slide. Seeing Hank have to use his DEA credentials to get out of a peeping tom charge also seemed like a story that would be classic Hank Schrader. However, at the end of the stake out, Gomez tells him he’s going to El Paso. That hurts. It’s a stab in the back, I think, but for Gomez, he also needs to think about his career. I also doubt we’ll be seeing poor Steve Gomez come back from El Paso. That’s just me, though.

I absolutely loved Walt’s meeting with Gus at the restaurant. He just threw Jesse under the bus by saying that Jesse wasn’t capable of running his own operation. When Gus threw Walt’s words back at him, that Walt himself vouched for Jesse, Walt’s assertion that he worked well under “his supervision” was the ultimate put down, I think, but not an untrue one. About halfway through this scene, I noticed that Bryan Cranston was again wearing a green shirt, the color scheme he seemed to wear at the beginning of the series when he was first cooking. I thought that was a nice touch.

Also, when Gus Frings tells you to take a ride with him, you obviously do it, but if it were me, I’m thinking that’s going to be the last car ride I ever take. Thankfully for Walt, it wasn’t, which led us to what was probably one of my favorite scenes of the series. Gus taking Walt on a tour of his meth-making laundromat operation. A secret hideout? A button to a secret hideout? Holy crap, how could that possibly get better? If Gus had called Walt “old chum,” that would probably be overdoing it, but definitely still in the right direction. And how about that weird music playing in the scene. I got a Tim Burton vibe from it, and not a bad one. I got a kick out of Gus explaining that the only exhaust from the meth lab was an odorless smoke, exactly like the kind that would come from a laundromat. Gus is getting pretty close to mad scientist level, or whatever the hell a meth equivalent of that would be.

During this entire part, Walt was getting exactly what Walt wants to get: the feeling of being needed. He wants to be appreciated for his talent, for what he can do. He wants to be wanted. The sad thing is that Gus doesn’t give a shit about Walt the person. He only cares about Walt the meth producer. Walt is an investment to Gus. He’s not a person. If someone came around that could make better meth than Walt, he’d get dumped just as fast as Saul dumps Jesse at the end of this episode. Gus is just feeding Walt everything he needs to hear to get back into the game. For all of his quiet and unassuming demeanor, Gus is coming at Walt with the same methods of a child predator. It’s so disturbing to watch Walt just fall for everything, but he’s at his best when he cooks, so we desperately want him back in that role.

And while we’re still on the topic, I just can’t believe that Walt still initially turned down the offer. Everything was in line for him, and he still said, “No.” I was just floored. This is Walt acknowledging that even some of what he’s done has been a detriment to his family. Before it was just under the auspices of being misunderstood. But here, he finally took responsibility for it. That’s a big step. Too bad he shat all over that by grabbing the metaphorical apron again.

Cue to Skyler, who, at this point, really likes sleeping with Ted, as she tells her attorney, but she also hates it. She knows it’s not going anywhere. She’s leading poor Ted on, who thinks he can actually make a relationship out of this arrangement. This is more in line with how I thought this romance would be back at the end of I.F.T. At some point, Ted is going to realize he was just a revenge fuck, and that probably won’t do wonders for Skyler’s upcoming job performance review.

Hank missing out on Gomez’s party, I thought, was kind of a douche move. We all get that Hank needs to be wrapped up in the Heisenberg case, and even when he went out and said his good-byes, I thought they were rather pathetic. Gomez used to look up to Hank as a respected supervisor and friend. Then in the last few weeks, that’s all gone right out the window. I think the look he gives Hank is one of pity, and that’s definitely the worst look someone can get. On a lighter note, how about that cake? That was a “lol” moment for me, if there ever was one.

Skyler getting back from her lawyer/therapist, finally deciding to try and salvage her marriage, only to see a cleared out room and signed divorce papers probably cut her pretty deep. She even looked to see if some of that money in that massive duffel bag was still there. Of course, it wasn’t. As an aside, when she was looking at it, the thought occurred to me that none of us will ever, EVER see or hold that much money in our entire lives. Just imagine that for a second. You have that duffel bag in front of you. That was a TON of money. That was enough money for everything Walt told her it would cover. That was just crazy.

The confrontation at Saul’s office was tremendous. Such a great scene. Each week, I ponder how the writers can make Saul more of a sleazebag without being an open parody, and each week they surprise me. Saul talking fondly of his massages with happy endings was both eloquent and just disgusting. After Walt showed up, (“Escalating!”) I actually felt for Jesse after he realized he was just a pawn of Gus’ to get Walt back into the game. Finally, he had a sense of accomplishment in his life, something he was good at, and suddenly he was openly shamed and mocked. That passes embarrassment and goes straight into humiliation territory. If you think about it all, him just smashing Walt’s windshield is almost that car getting off light.

The episode ended with Hank at Combo’s house going through his room. And suddenly, the episode comes full circle, and we’re left with Hank looking at a picture of Combo and Jesse, and now Jesse’s back on the radar of an obsessed Hank Schrader.

“Escalating!”

Breaking Bad 3×04 – Green Light

When I first heard this episode was titled “Green Light,” I immediately went to the traditional gang/cartel terminology, but I was only half right (which is also half wrong, technically). I thought we’d see some movement between Gus and the Cousins regarding their much-wanted project which revolves around rearranging Walter’s face with their ax. Instead, we got another “green light” for a project/deal and then a very literal green light at the very end of the episode.

This opened with the magnificent scene of Jesse at the gas station. After realizing he was light on cash (or was this the plan the whole time?), he attempts to sling some meth to the poor girl behind the counter. This is not the stuttering, unsure-of-himself Jesse anymore. This was a sly Jesse. Cold. While watching this scene, I thought to myself, “If the Devil were selling crystal meth, this is EXACTLY how he’d be doing it.” And good God, with that cop right behind him at the end, too. Vince Gilligan and Co., if you wanted to show us that we’re dealing with a brand new Jesse, mission accomplished, good sir.

Watching Saul fit that guy in his office with the various neck braces was just great to watch. Up until now, the all time great shyster lawyer was Lionel Hutz (RIP Phil Hartman). This has been the ambulance chasing, sleazy lawyer stereotype for my generation. Would anyone mind if I submit Saul Goodman as the new standard bearer? Sweet Jesus, this man is a sleaze bag, but you love every minute of it. Every terrible, amoral minute of it.

Listening to the Walt/Skyler fight over the tape recorder was definitely a different way of hearing that scene play out, but I’m glad for the choice. Many other shows would’ve shown us that scene play out in full, then show Saul and Mike the Cleaner listen to it, which an exterior shot or a time-fading clock to indicate that they’ve listened to it in full. I much preferred this way. Plus, when Saul says something’s bad, you know it’s bad.

Walt’s assault on Beneke Fabrications was so realistically anti-climactic, I promise you that literally no other show on TV right now would’ve played it out that way. If this were on FOX or ABC, etc., Walt and Ted would’ve had a good ol’ fight. But no. This is reality. Ted was hiding away in his office, peeking through the blinds like an ashamed coward. Walt being unable to pick up that potter, let alone crash it through the glass was equally well-played. The realistic nature of this entire scene was much appreciated, because I’m sure it was tempting in the writers’ room to have Walt let Ted have it. For Walt to be kicked out of the building like a bar at 3 am, only then to be picked up by Mike the Cleaner was such a smooth transition. This guy is good at his job. And apparently he likes it. He likes it more than he likes Walt, I guess, or else he would’ve told Walt about the chalk-drawn scythe in front of his house. Goddamn, that was creepy. Walt isn’t safe in his own home anymore, and the poor bastard doesn’t even realize it.

Then watching Walt just completely lose it at school. . . wow. I didn’t understand the motivation for this character during this entire ordeal until I got the gist of it: He has no motivation. I didn’t understand that this is how far Walt has fallen. He’s nothing anymore. His entire creative output to mankind right now is carbon dioxide. In the scene with the principal (or the counselor, whoever the hell what woman was), when Walt got up to ask about her dog, I thought to myself, “I’m glad this is Breaking Bad, because some other show right now would have Walt make a move on this woman.” Well, damn. Then he got his ass fired.

In the short scene of Hank getting dropped off at the airport by Marie, was it just me or was this the first scene that you didn’t want to just hit Marie upside the head with a 2×4? I’m pretty sure this is the first time in the ENTIRE SERIES that we’ve seen Marie actually care about another person besides herself. I didn’t mind that at all.

While Walt was leaving the school with his box o’ shame, Jesse honks him over. For some reason, I loved the way that they shot Bryan Cranston crossing the street. There was nothing important about it; just mundane. There are no dramatic or stylish cuts. Just a broken man crossing the street. That struck me as genuine. And then in the car, we have a temporary role reversal. Jesse wants to talk about the meth, but not in public, while Walter just doesn’t care anymore. Suddenly, Jesse’s the responsible one with his head in the game, rather than with it shoved firmly up his own ass. Then Walt gets pissy with Jesse that someone else is making “his” product. Sure, it was his recipe, but he wasn’t using it. He shits all over Jesse and the recipe, but Jesse’s doing things right now. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s not putting chili powder in his mix anymore. And Walt just can’t stand that someone doesn’t need him; doesn’t absolutely depend on him. Jesse was the last person in the world who needed Walt for something he was actually good at, and now Jesse doesn’t need him. So Walt started making up excuses not to like Jesse’s mix. I have no idea if they were legitimate, but I’d wager a guess that Jesse did it just fine.

So. . . how about that Skyler sex scene? Yeah. Moving on.

The interrogation scene between the meth head, Hank and partner Whatever Racist Name Hank Calls Him was great to watch. It went on for several minutes, and by the end, Hank’s stuck looking for a dealer that begins with a “Muh” sound. He had shit to go on, and we all knew it. But he sure as hell doesn’t want to go back to El Paso right now. I think that while he genuinely does want to solve the Heisenberg case, he’s also over-inflating it not just to his superiors, but also to himself.

I like that our careful meth dealer/distributor drives a Volvo. It fits Gus to a “T”. I think this is where the subtle “green light” comes into play. The case could be made that Hank got the “green light” on the Heisenberg case, but this is where I felt it really meant something. Gus green lighting the buy of Jesse’s product, whether it was actually inferior or not, was a play to make Walt jealous and get him back in the game. Once he’s back, Gus can start making some money, and Walt can get back to not being hacked to death once he gets out of the shower. Mutual interests all around.

Which brings us to Hank at the gas station. While I absolutely loved, LOVED watching him take down that crying cashier girl about the meth, what really did it for me was once he walked outside. I will never, ever be able to get enough of Hank actually being a goddamned detective. In the first season, we only ever saw him as basically a frat boy with a badge. Even going into Season 2, we saw him like that, until his shootout with Tuco. That’s the only thing that ever bothered me about the show, was that there was no way in the world this frat boy moron would get to a supervisory position in the freaking DEA. But then he noticed the ATM camera. And then he noticed that the RV was riding high. Why? Because it’s a mobile meth lab, that’s why. This is why this frat boy hot shot is with the DEA and why El Paso wants him so badly. Because when he’s not chortling away at racist things to say to his partner, he’s a bona fide drug cop.

The literal green light of this episode came at the very end. I was expecting some kind of hit order being the green light, but since all the episodes have had double meanings, I also sort of expecting something to actually happen at a green light. I thought it’d be something Sonny Corleone-style. While I’m glad that Walt is still alive, and while *whistle* “Your half,” wasn’t bad, I still didn’t think it was very good, either. I kind of thought it was the showrunners banging something over our heads, saying, “Green light! Green light! Get it? That’s the episode title?” Normally Breaking Bad does these double meanings beautifully, while also shockingly. Before I.F.T., you’re wondering, “What’s that stand for?” Then at the end of that episode, you’re thinking, “Damn, that was right in front of me the whole time.” That’s what a good episode title for Breaking Bad does. It tells us something about the episode, but we don’t fully get the meaning until after we’ve seen the episode.

All in all, I thought it was a very, very good episode. It was really a set-up episode, but so has the last few episodes. I enjoy these little lulls in the action, but everyone knows by the end of this season, Walt and Jesse will be back to cooking. I for one, while willing to wait, absolutely welcome that.