The hype surrounding Breaking Bad has reached a fever pitch that would be insufferable if this were any other show, but watching "Blood Money", it didn't take very long for me to be reminded of how justified the hype is in this particular case. Breaking Bad may be ending, but it is still very much at the peak of its powers. Personally, Game of Thrones has become my current favorite hour-long drama, but GoT remains somewhat of a guilty pleasure. I love it in spite of how silly it is. Breaking Bad by comparison is Shakespeare. The themes, the cinematography, the performances. This show really represents the best of television drama, and I will be sad to see it go. That said, if "Blood Money" is any indication of the quality of this second leg of season five, it will be a fitting end.
Several long-awaited moments finally come to fruition in this episode. We learn that Walt's cancer has returned. Jesse reveals that he has surmised the ultimate fate of Mike. Walt realizes that Hank has uncovered his identity as Heisenberg. And Walt and Hank have their showdown. That is a lot to take in, but luckily, each of these vital moments is afforded the gravity they deserve, thanks in no small part to the always stellar cast of Breaking Bad. Every actor on this show is so good that picking an MVP each week starts to feel pointlesss (not to mention that Bryan Cranston is on screen so much, and so consistently amazing every second he is on the screen, that he should be probably de facto MVP every week).
But nonetheless, these fine actors deserve credit for their standout work, and this week Aaron Paul and Dean Norris earn special recognition. They are both simply phenomenal in this episode. The haunted look on his Jesse's during his conversation with Walt is unforgettable. And after Walt lies to his face ("I need you to believe me") about not having killed Mike, Paul doesn't need to say a word for his face to communicate his distrust of Walter, as well as the sorrow he feels for Mike, his family, and all the other lives Walt (and by extension, Jesse himself) has ruined. Norris is similarly effective in the scenes near the beginning of the episode when he learns the truth about Walt, and in their final encounter in the garage, when he gives Walt the sort of verbal dressing down everyone in the audience has sought to deliver themselves for five seasons.
"Blood Money" could not have offered much more for Breaking Bad fans after a long layoff. It feels like a season premiere, but is actually the conclusion of a mid-season cliffhanger, which meant the pacing was at a fever pitch from the beginning, We got lots of callbacks to previous, memorable events in the series and lots of Walt/Jesse and Walt/Hank. When a show with a massive pop culture footprint like Breaking Bad comes to an end, the results tend to be disappointing (see Lost, The Sopranos). But the high quality of season five (continuing with this episode) gives high hopes that Breaking Bad will be one of the few shows of this caliber that manages to defy the odds and deliver a satisfying ending. I certainly hope that proves to be the case. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye Walter and co., but I certainly do hope they get the sendoff they deserve.
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