"I went to a place to eat. It said 'breakfast at any time.' So I ordered french toast during the Renaissance". --Steven Wright ... If you are a devotee of time travel, check out this song...

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Breaking Bad 5.7: Exit Mike

A peaceful scene.  Mike sitting by the water.   Walter hurries over.  And the last thing we hear Mike say - to Walter - is "let me die in peace".

So is this it for Mike?  Probably so.  Bested by Walter, whom Mike has had diminishing contempt for over the years.   Out-thought, out-maneuvered by Walter in the end.   Mike was stronger than Walter, vastly better at physical intimation and gun play, but it didn't matter.  On Breaking Bad, the breaks go in there own twisted way to Walter. 

But the kicker?  There's always a kicker on Breaking Bad.  Walter realizes that he didn't have to have this confrontation with Mike after all.  Walter could have gotten the names which Mike had refused to divulge - from Lydia.  So there was no reason to shoot and presumably kill Mike.

And this is another prime example of the why the show is named and about breaking bad.   As brilliant as Walter is, things always go wrong, all too often very wrong, in the business he's in.  Or maybe this is characteristic of life in general, for which Breaking Bad is an indelible announcement. No matter how smart you are, how well you plan, the ball can take a bad bounce.  One week killing a kid in a heist that was meticulously planned so that there would be no killings, a few weeks later killing Mike when there was no reason.

So now it's back to Walter and Jesse, who is insistent on wanting out.  The Gus era is more fully gone, with just Lydia now, who wasn't even on the show until this year.  And Hank remains a threat to everything - in fact, an increasing threat, given his promotion and new power.  He was the one who forced Mike into a series of moves that put Mike in the way of Walter.

Next week is the semi-final-season finale.  I'm going to really miss this series when it's over, and savor every episode until then.  There's nothing like it on television.

See also Breaking Bad Season 5 Premiere: Riveting Entropy ... Breaking Bad 5.3: Deal with the Devil

And see also My Prediction about Breaking Bad ... Breaking Bad Season 4 Debuts ... Breaking Bad 4.2: Gun and Question ... Breaking Bad 4.11: Tightening Vice ... Breaking Bad 4.12: King vs. King ... Breaking Bad Season 4 Finale: Deceptive Flowers





"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review

No comments:

InfiniteRegress.tv