The Pro Basketball Talk - Breaking Out: Potential All-Stars for 2014

http://www.theprobasketballtalk.com/2013/09/breaking-out-potential-all-stars-for.html

Good Point - Attitude Check: When Athletes Make Mistakes

http://thegoodpoint.com/nba-athlete-mistakes/

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 13 "To'hajiilee"

To say that Breaking Bad is on a roll is an understatement.  Most televisions shows sort of fizzle out, coming to an end well after their critical and commercial peak.  Breaking Bad on the other hand, with only a handful of episodes remaining, is enjoying it's highest ratings ever, and season five has been one of the most critically acclaimed of a series that has enjoyed immense critical success from the very beginning.  But just when it seems like things can't get much better for the show that must already be regarded as a contemporary classic, an episode like "To'hajiilee" comes along and takes its place alongside "Fly", "4 Days Out", "Full Measures", and other classic episodes of the series.  

Breaking Bad is a show that is to tension building as Mariano Rivera is to closing baseball games:  It's simply one of the best ever, and every episode is typically a master class.  That said, "To'hajiilee" is arguably the most tense episode of Breaking Bad ever.  There is a sense of foreboding that is simply inescapable throughout the episode.  The reason this tension is so effective is because of how masterful Vince Gilligan and company have been in building towards the events of this final season since day one.  In modern dramas with complicated plots and sprawling casts, maintaining a sense of continuity often proves extremely difficult (unless you're The Wire, which managed to accomplish the feat despite changing casts and settings nearly every season).

In the chase of most long-running dramas, storylines sometimes go nowhere, or are dropped altogether.  Characters come and go, often because of commitments to other projects or some other dispute unrelated to the storyline they are involved in.  But Breaking Bad does not suffer from this phenomenon one bit.  It is a show stunningly free of fat.  Nearly every character, every story fragment, every scene has some payoff in the world of Walter White.  Throughout the entire series, this show has been building the most impossibly dense and tall Jenga tower the world has ever seen, and we the spectators are simply left waiting with bated breath for it to come toppling over.

Breaking Bad uses this tension to great effectiveness (as always) in "To'hajiilee".  We know something terrible is going to happen, we just don't know when and to who.  In the final moments of the episode, we finally get our answer.  I've wondered each episode just and how when the ongoing story line of Todd and Uncle Jack would converge with that of Walter, Hank, Jesse, etc. and I finally got my answer here.  As many people have noted online elsewhere, "To'hajiilee" feels very much like a "Red Wedding"-type episode, with Jack and his crew serving the Lannister/Walder Frey role.  Unlike Game of Thrones though, Breaking Bad has the balls to end the episode at the peak of the slaughter, before we even know who lives or dies.

If this were any other show, the cliffhanger approach might have seemed tacky, but Breaking Bad has actually made relatively little of that particular tool during it's run, so it feels earned.  As to who will live or die, this show is very smart, and so I tend to think that Hank's emotional phone call to Marie is too big of a hint at Hank's demise to be anything other than a red herring.  However, many people do seem to think that Gomez is a goner, and I would be hard pressed to disagree with that prediction.  

With some very major characters apparently ready to bite the bullet, the rapidly approaching end of Breaking Bad feels more real than ever. That fact is saddening for a variety of reasons, but right now I'm simply too caught up in the rush of it all to look at it that way.  Right now, I'm a full-fledged Breaking Bad junkie, and I just want to devour these final (no doubt excellent) episodes, and save the inevitable feeling of emptiness that will follow for much later.

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.

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 11 "Confessions"

Aaron Paul fans rejoice, Jesse Pinkman is back in the thick of things on Breaking Bad.  Of course, even in limited screen time thus far in the second leg of season five, Paul has been fantastic.  But the show had become much more of a story about Hank and Walt over the last few episodes.  Against all odds, though, the constant machinations of Walt have managed to actually put him in a position of power over Hank, and so Dean Norris has to take a bit of a backseat in "Confessions".

Luckily, Paul is there to pick up the slack.  His scene in the desert is as great as any Pinkman moment we've had in this series, and a testament to what a strong, nuanced character that Jesse has evolved into over the years.  In that scene, everything is laid bare between Walt and Jesse.  The latter knows that the former not only killed Mike (the man who had become his true father figure, rather than the false one that Walter represents), but has also been manipulating him from the start, yet still can't seem to break his bizarre dependence on the man.

Luckily, just as Jesse is about to literally give up his life for Walt, he has the second most awaited realization remaining in the series (after the true circumstances surrounding the death Jane, of course, which may never come out unless Walt reveals it himself at some point): that Walt poisoned Brock.  Breaking Bad has a history of well-timed realizations, but this is a TV show, and this particular realization led to a ridiculously climactic ending to "Confessions", so it's hard to complain too much.  We've been dealing with passive Jesse for a long time (and Paul has been great in portraying that aspect of the character), so it was doubly shocking to see him beating up Saul and kicking in the door of the White household (thank God Junior wasn't home!).

We've been assuming all season that Hank would be the one to bring down Heisenberg, but it would be ironic if Jesse was the one who ultimately did the deed (via legal or illegal means).  On the other, from the perspective of Walter, there is no going back now in his relationship with Jesse.  Walt has shown an unwavering ability to eliminate everyone in his way, but will he actually be able to kill Jesse should the need arise?  The evidence in this episode certainly seems to point to 'yes'.  Mr. White is at his evil, manipulative best (worst?) in "Confessions".  Whenever Walt is in danger of becoming too sympathetic a character, Breaking Bad has a way of making us hate him again and that is accomplished spectacularly in this episode when Walt records his despicable "confession" video for Hank and Marie.

Meanwhile, with all of this going on, the adventures of Todd and his desert meth gang continue to pop up.  I can't help but wonder when that storyline will convene with the main one, and just what it will mean for our main characters.  As it winds to a close, Breaking Bad still very much has its hooks in me, and I can't wait for more.

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 10 "Buried"

"Buried" is a bit of a transitional episode, largely dealing with the substantial fallout from the events of "Blood Money".  The episode is also significantly Skyler-centric, which has not been cause for great enthusiasm in past seasons of Breaking Bad.  Skyler has never been my favorite character, and while my opinion on that matter is unlikely to change this late in the run of the show, "Buried" doesn't suffer much for having her at the core of events this week.  

The scenes with Skyler are compelling mostly for their ambiguity.  At the start of the episode we, like Walt, don't know if Skyler has betrayed him.  Later, when she meets with Hank at the diner, Anna Gunn does a fine job of masking her character's true intentions.  I found myself wondering to what degree her reactions were a "performance", or legitimate, and whether she would remain loyal to Walt, or was on the verge of giving him up.  That sense of uncertainty lent a real sense of tension to the scenes involving Hank and Skyler that was textbook Breaking Bad.

The exchange between Skyler and Marie at the White household was arguably even better.  Whereas Hank (who obviously sees the value of Skyler to his case and doesn't want to risk offending her) was restrained in his exchange with Skyler, Marie is fiery and emotional.  The scene between the two sisters is the equivalent of the charged confrontation between Hank and Walt in "Blood Money", and Betsy Brandt simply does a fantastic job of letting Skyler have it.

Other than those two scenes, there is a lot of material here setting things into place for the final act of the series.  Todd, a character who has always intrigued me (I'm curious what his final role will be in the endgame of the show), reemerges.  Lydia pulls off a Walter-esque plot to improve her situation. Jesse is largely absent (but still looking not OK) outside of a glorious cliffhanger, and there is a sweet scene between Walter and Skyler at the end that serves to strengthen their relationship.

"Buried" finds Breaking Bad ease off the gas a bit, and perhaps hit cruise control.  Luckily, the show is well-scripted and acted enough to pull off the occasional episode in that vein. This breather may also serve us well in preparation for the surely climactic events soon to come.

Breaking Bad - Season 5, Episode 9 "Blood Money"

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.