Few shoes do awkward or eerie as well as Breaking Bad, and that was on full display in this awesome episode. We got eerie first with the cold opening. Watching Walter and the crew deal with the aftermath of the Todd incident was among the most bone-chilling moments the show has had to offer thus far. Later, the show gave us awkward with the dinner table scene at the White household. And boy, was it awkward. I have been consistently blown away by Aaron Paul this season, and he was just phenomenal again in that scene, alternately hilarious and heartbreaking within the span of 10 minutes. When Skyler drops the bombshell about her affair, Jesse's facial reaction as he sips from his glass gave me my first true belly laugh of the season thus far.
Overall, Paul had a fantastic opportunity to display his range as an actor in this episode. His performance when he pleads with Walt and Mike to banish Todd was typically impressive, as was his encounter with Todd during their smoke break. Later, I cheered for Jesse when he revealed his "retirement" to Walt, although I knew it would never last. Unfortunately for Jesse, he can never escape Mr. White, the father figure he seeks so desperately to impress (despite everything he knows about Walt's true character).
And would-be father figure Walt does a world-class job of guilt-tripping Jesse in this episode. We know how proud Walt is, and how personally he takes even the most insignificant perceived slight. His story about Grey Matter provided some insight into what may have been the genesis of his inferiority complex. Later, when Skyler walks out on dinner, Walt, who is entirely responsible for the degeneration of his marriage, begins pointing the finger at Jesse, who wants to "take his business" away from him. Walt opines that the business is all that he has left, never stopping to consider that he can salvage his life and potentially his marriage by simply taking the $5 million offered to him and beginning his anew. Of course, he never considers that course because Walter is in the business of "building empires" now.
This was a very good episode. We got a classic (and very cool) "Walt using his wits to triumph"scene, we had great scenes involving Mike and Saul, and we appear on the verge of another intriguing Walt scheme, all while nicely advancing the story-lines involving both Hank and Skyler. Not too shabby. I also get the feeling we haven't seen the last of ol' Todd (what was the deal with him keeping the tarantula jar anyway?). Next episode should be an exciting one.
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