Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 12 "Rabid Dog"

Shed a tear for the relationship of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.  We all knew that eventually Jesse would wake up and recognize Walter for the monster that he is.  Many more of us rooted for that day.  I, for one, while recognizing the inevitably of such an event, can't say I was looking forward to it.  Like Tony Soprano and Stringer Bell before him, Walter is one hell of anti-hero.  Many people hate him.  I love to hate him.  

Despite all his terrible deeds, I've developed quite an attraction to Walter over the years, and despite all that I know about his personality and the terrible things he has done, I still find find myself rooting for him intermittently.  Especially when he hatches one of his ingenious plans, or is just charmingly ridiculous (as in the scene in "Rabid Dog" which features a cameo from the famous Walter White tighty-whities).

For that reason, I always secretly hoped that the bromance (or broprenticeship?) between Jesse and Walt could be salvaged.  Unfortunately for that sentiment, as we see in "Rabid Dog", things between the two are officially beyond the point of no return.  Jesse was entirely ready to burn down the White household before Hank intervened, and Walt ends this episode seemingly just as ready to order a hit on Jesse via Todd's deranged Uncle.  

"Rabid Dog" is tense even by Breaking Bad standards, and the format of the episode is clever and appropriate.  The opening scenes (Walter stalking through his house with a handgun, Jesse seemingly lurking in the shadows) was really effective, and felt like something straight out of a Halloween movie, with Walter stepping in for Jamie Lee Curtis.  The tension stays high throughout the Walt-centric first half of the episode since we never know where Jesse is, and what he is planning (if anything).  

Midway through "Rabid Dog", though, the episode switches course and we see events through the eyes of Mr. Pinkman.  In his scenes, Jesse suddenly finds a new surrogate father in Hank, but unfortunately one interested in him for reasons just as selfish as Walter.  And as always, Breaking Bad takes cares to establish that there are no true heroes (and only gray areas) when Hank makes it clear to Gomez that he wouldn't mind Jesse getting killed one bit if it meant he could take down Walter.  

The episode ends with further development in the character arc of Jesse.  We saw him take action for the first time in seemingly forever in "Confessions", and at the end of "Rabid Dog" he appears positively Walter-esque while revealing to Hank that he has hatched a scheme to perhaps take down his mentor once and for all.  I, for one, can't wait to see what it is.