We're not yet halfway through, but already this season is (almost unbearably) remarkable, and last night's "Buyout" was yet another beautiful construction of an episode, one that offered up even more for us to mull over and became one that nearly slipped into the top spot of my favorites so far this season (after a small, internal debate, I couldn't yet let "Fifty-One" renounce its title—it was close, though).
It's probably no secret at this point that my favorite episodes of this show are the quieter ones, the ones that offer us a few more offbeat conversations and allow us time to pick up and focus on all those little nuances we know are bound to culminate into something, well, bigger; and this week's episode was nothing short of just that. In fact, it only further reconfirmed why it is I love this show so much to begin with.
From its gorgeously shot, yet heart-wrenching open, right to its chilling final line of "Everyone wins" (I swear this show will be the cause of my anxiety), "Buyout" succeeds in further preparing us for that tension-filled push we're waiting for, the one that'll ultimately send us spiraling (perhaps somewhat reluctantly) to this show's epic conclusion. Because this episode gave us a lot to chew on in terms of character development—there were some incredible little insights last night I was simply crazy about—I've decided to approach this week's review a bit differently. Rather than attempt to examine the episode scene by scene, I'm instead going to focus on last night's main players, as a) I can never get enough of characterization (it's really my favorite component of any good work of fiction), and b) again, this episode provided us with so many beautiful revealing nuggets, it would be wrong not to comment on them.
I suppose I should mention the bigger events of last night's episode, though I'm hoping you don't really need me to. I assume that if you're reading this review, you've watched the episode, and if you haven't, well then, stop reading immediately, and get on it. But just so that we have a point of reference, some of "Buyout's" more important plot points included: the group's decision to keep Todd on the payroll, Mike's realization that the DEA is tailing him (and ultimately them), Mike and Jesse's decision to sell their share of the methylamine for $5 million apiece (to a distributor who wants Heisenberg's blue meth off the market) and walk, and, of course, Walt's refusal to let them do so.
And, now, without further ado— Todd: I'm keeping my eye on him. One, because he's a slimy little sucker who still has me reeling from his selfish crime in last week's episode, and two, because he's making an awfully strong argument about why he should be a part of the group's meth business (there is a "three" that includes how I think he resembles a strange Matt Damon, but somehow I don't think that's relevant). Now, at this point I know not to read any character's presence in this show as meaningless, so I know Todd serves a purpose—I'm just not quite sure what that purpose is just yet. Sure, so far he's served as the catalyst that forces Jesse to reexamine his own motivations for wanting to continue cooking with Walt, but I feel like he's there for something more. Is he to become yet another character that's to lead to Walt's demise? So far, it seems as though he wants nothing more than to be trusted by the team, Walt especially, and even seems to be vying for Jesse's very role within the team (notice how he refers to Walt as "Mr. White"?), not just as "right hand man"/assistant, but also as a sort of stand-in son. After all, with a recently uncertain Jesse, who better than Todd, who brags about his prison connections and spouts lines like "At the end of the day I chose us. And I'd do it again." I mean, doesn't that sound exactly like something Walt would have said only a season or two back? Todd's already crossed off "murder an innocent child" off his list of lengths to which he'll go to be considered a serious business partner—what else is he capable of? For the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/breaking-bad-5-6-buyout/
It's probably no secret at this point that my favorite episodes of this show are the quieter ones, the ones that offer us a few more offbeat conversations and allow us time to pick up and focus on all those little nuances we know are bound to culminate into something, well, bigger; and this week's episode was nothing short of just that. In fact, it only further reconfirmed why it is I love this show so much to begin with.
From its gorgeously shot, yet heart-wrenching open, right to its chilling final line of "Everyone wins" (I swear this show will be the cause of my anxiety), "Buyout" succeeds in further preparing us for that tension-filled push we're waiting for, the one that'll ultimately send us spiraling (perhaps somewhat reluctantly) to this show's epic conclusion. Because this episode gave us a lot to chew on in terms of character development—there were some incredible little insights last night I was simply crazy about—I've decided to approach this week's review a bit differently. Rather than attempt to examine the episode scene by scene, I'm instead going to focus on last night's main players, as a) I can never get enough of characterization (it's really my favorite component of any good work of fiction), and b) again, this episode provided us with so many beautiful revealing nuggets, it would be wrong not to comment on them.
I suppose I should mention the bigger events of last night's episode, though I'm hoping you don't really need me to. I assume that if you're reading this review, you've watched the episode, and if you haven't, well then, stop reading immediately, and get on it. But just so that we have a point of reference, some of "Buyout's" more important plot points included: the group's decision to keep Todd on the payroll, Mike's realization that the DEA is tailing him (and ultimately them), Mike and Jesse's decision to sell their share of the methylamine for $5 million apiece (to a distributor who wants Heisenberg's blue meth off the market) and walk, and, of course, Walt's refusal to let them do so.
And, now, without further ado— Todd: I'm keeping my eye on him. One, because he's a slimy little sucker who still has me reeling from his selfish crime in last week's episode, and two, because he's making an awfully strong argument about why he should be a part of the group's meth business (there is a "three" that includes how I think he resembles a strange Matt Damon, but somehow I don't think that's relevant). Now, at this point I know not to read any character's presence in this show as meaningless, so I know Todd serves a purpose—I'm just not quite sure what that purpose is just yet. Sure, so far he's served as the catalyst that forces Jesse to reexamine his own motivations for wanting to continue cooking with Walt, but I feel like he's there for something more. Is he to become yet another character that's to lead to Walt's demise? So far, it seems as though he wants nothing more than to be trusted by the team, Walt especially, and even seems to be vying for Jesse's very role within the team (notice how he refers to Walt as "Mr. White"?), not just as "right hand man"/assistant, but also as a sort of stand-in son. After all, with a recently uncertain Jesse, who better than Todd, who brags about his prison connections and spouts lines like "At the end of the day I chose us. And I'd do it again." I mean, doesn't that sound exactly like something Walt would have said only a season or two back? Todd's already crossed off "murder an innocent child" off his list of lengths to which he'll go to be considered a serious business partner—what else is he capable of? For the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/breaking-bad-5-6-buyout/