Look how far this show has come. Five episodes into the shortened fifth season and we are still astounded. The beginning set the tone: a little boy on his motorbike enjoying his hobby of picking up spiders . . . then we hear the train whistle blow in the background . . . and then the opening credits role. This is what Breaking Bad does so well. Every once and a while, for the opening scene, they will show a scene that happens towards the end of the episode and we have to figure out how it gets to that point or what happens after that scene.
That scene probably wasn't really paid close attention to most of the viewers - and I guarantee you that most of us went "Holy Sh*t" when we saw that little boy watch Walt, Jesse and Todd steal the methyl-mine from the train. And then, just when we thought something bad was going to happen, it did. Todd pulls out his gun and shoots the boy dead as Jesse screams out "No!" in the background. Walt, the man we once knew was full of good and love, stood there and watched - didn't even flinch.
Murder has always been taken very seriously for a show that has a large body count as of right now. Deaths are never funny or dumb to watch. Each death is taken with the utmost respect - each character's death hits the viewers. The death of Jane in season 2 as Walt watches on as she chokes on her own vomit, Hank taking down the Tuco's cousins in the grocery store parking lot in season 3, and even Gus Fring's death in the season 4 finale - every death was full of suspense and seriousness. This is what Vince Gilligan and his writers do so well - they make death/murder hard to watch. They through no punches that aren't necessary.
The boy's death will lead to the fifth season's end (even with 3 more episodes so watch). Jesse was hit hard when Todd shot the kid - he'll question if he should remain in the meth business with his old chemistry teacher. Mike will not be happy with Todd - shooting a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only person who will want to continue with the business will be Walt who, quite frankly, does give a damn. He will want to continue to cook as his lust for power turns him fully into Heisenberg - the drug lord Hank has been looking for since season 1.
Now with the ending aside, this episode was still masterful. The scene in Hank's office where Walt breaks down in front of his brother-in-law DEA agent was tremendous. Again, Bryan Cranston shows how easily he can shed tears and then become serious and bug Hank's office with a microphone and a tracker on his computer. It was great to see how Walt smoothly transitioned from heart broken family member to law breaking Heisenberg in a matter of seconds.
And it turned out Lydia didn't plant the tracker on the bottom of the meth barrels. Now, I wasn't too fond about this new character when I first saw her, but perhaps this show needs a Lydia after all. While she can be mentally unstable under the threat of DEA watching her moves but it's still pretty cool to watch as she helps out Mike, Walt and Jesse with the train situation.
The train heist was another great scene. We've seen another heist happen in the first episode of this season but the train scene was absolutely spectacular to watch. You had Todd and Jesse stealing the methyl-mine as guest actor Bill Burr plays around on the tracks with the engineers driving the train. And even though Jesse was nearly run over by the train and we had to watch Todd kill the only witness, it was still a great scene.
Breaking Bad continues to amaze with each passing episode. I am thoroughly enjoying this season. Though I am upset only three episodes remain and then the final eight air next year, but I know this show will continue to amaze until the final credits role next year. "Dread Freight" is a masterpiece and shows us that even five seasons in, Breaking Bad can still leave the audiences in shock and make us want more. Bravo.
That scene probably wasn't really paid close attention to most of the viewers - and I guarantee you that most of us went "Holy Sh*t" when we saw that little boy watch Walt, Jesse and Todd steal the methyl-mine from the train. And then, just when we thought something bad was going to happen, it did. Todd pulls out his gun and shoots the boy dead as Jesse screams out "No!" in the background. Walt, the man we once knew was full of good and love, stood there and watched - didn't even flinch.
Murder has always been taken very seriously for a show that has a large body count as of right now. Deaths are never funny or dumb to watch. Each death is taken with the utmost respect - each character's death hits the viewers. The death of Jane in season 2 as Walt watches on as she chokes on her own vomit, Hank taking down the Tuco's cousins in the grocery store parking lot in season 3, and even Gus Fring's death in the season 4 finale - every death was full of suspense and seriousness. This is what Vince Gilligan and his writers do so well - they make death/murder hard to watch. They through no punches that aren't necessary.
The boy's death will lead to the fifth season's end (even with 3 more episodes so watch). Jesse was hit hard when Todd shot the kid - he'll question if he should remain in the meth business with his old chemistry teacher. Mike will not be happy with Todd - shooting a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only person who will want to continue with the business will be Walt who, quite frankly, does give a damn. He will want to continue to cook as his lust for power turns him fully into Heisenberg - the drug lord Hank has been looking for since season 1.
Now with the ending aside, this episode was still masterful. The scene in Hank's office where Walt breaks down in front of his brother-in-law DEA agent was tremendous. Again, Bryan Cranston shows how easily he can shed tears and then become serious and bug Hank's office with a microphone and a tracker on his computer. It was great to see how Walt smoothly transitioned from heart broken family member to law breaking Heisenberg in a matter of seconds.
And it turned out Lydia didn't plant the tracker on the bottom of the meth barrels. Now, I wasn't too fond about this new character when I first saw her, but perhaps this show needs a Lydia after all. While she can be mentally unstable under the threat of DEA watching her moves but it's still pretty cool to watch as she helps out Mike, Walt and Jesse with the train situation.
The train heist was another great scene. We've seen another heist happen in the first episode of this season but the train scene was absolutely spectacular to watch. You had Todd and Jesse stealing the methyl-mine as guest actor Bill Burr plays around on the tracks with the engineers driving the train. And even though Jesse was nearly run over by the train and we had to watch Todd kill the only witness, it was still a great scene.
Breaking Bad continues to amaze with each passing episode. I am thoroughly enjoying this season. Though I am upset only three episodes remain and then the final eight air next year, but I know this show will continue to amaze until the final credits role next year. "Dread Freight" is a masterpiece and shows us that even five seasons in, Breaking Bad can still leave the audiences in shock and make us want more. Bravo.