Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 1 Review

Although there are many movies dominating the big screens this summer such as The Dark Knight Rises, the most talked about and interesting piece of visual hitting the small screen, is AMC's Breaking Bad.

 **WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

The world has just got a whole lot better with Walter White walking into our screens. Last year, BB (Breaking Bad) set an extremely high bar for television and was one of he most satisfying season finales any series has ever given.

To Recap: Gus, who was the meth-kingpin of Albuquerque, was killed by Walter and presumably it is Walt who claims the right to meth throne. We see our hero take the dark road and turn into a super villain, as it was revealed that he held no bones about poisoning a child to get himself to safety.

His cancer is a ever growing threat and as his fate reaches further out of his grasp, he is now taking control. The big question for Season 5 is where will Vince Gilligan and his amazing team of writers take us? Will Walt turn into Gus 2.0? Will the cancer make a more violent return? What will Skyler do, now knowing what her husband is capable of?

Creator Vince Gilligan – who also wrote the premiere – starts the show by a familiar break in chronology. This was previously used with glimpses of a stuffed animal floating in a pool which eventually revealed a catastrophic aviation accident. 

Gilligan reveals what we can only assume is nearly the end of the road. We see Walt, complete with beard and thick-rimmed glasses, sits alone in a Denny’s restaurant, playing with his food by arranging pieces of bacon into the shape of a fifty-two – the age he has turned on this day. He’s there to meet up with Lawson, the weapons dealer, and purchase a rather large machine gun nestled in the trunk of a car, which Lawson also provided.

This brief scene is answering a few questions and raising a few more. For those keeping score, Breaking Bad began on Walter White’s 50th birthday – this was an illustration of the amount of time its has been from the beginning to the scene. While Walt is making the purchase, Lawson demands the artillery not cross the border, to which Walt replies it’s not even going to leave town. Which could only mean that someone is likely about to be on the receiving end of the machine gun. After Lawson leaves, Walt dry swallows a prescription pill of some kind, which will undoubtedly leave viewers questioning whether or not his cancer has come back.

Finally, as he’s exiting the restaurant, leaving a $100 note under his untouched plate, the waitress addresses Walt as Mr. Lambert – the maiden name of his wife, Skyler. The audience is asked to take in Walt’s choice of alias, which presents a whole slew of questions on its own.

Back to the present day, news are reporting of Gus's death and it seems, all including, Walt Jr., are signifying Gustavo 'Gus' Fring as the meth-drug lord who set a hit on Hank.

Walter White is on top of the world, but is finding it a lonely place. Skyler readily admits she’s now frightened of the man her husband has become. In fact, when he’s at home, Walt’s forced to toast himself in the mirror and enjoy a congratulatory drink by his lonesome. Perhaps that is why, even when facing down the gun of an angry Mike Ehrmantraut, he doesn’t even flinch. Despite Mike’s eagerness to kill him – and with Jesse professing his allegiance – it’s only in that company that Walt feels he’s truly amongst people who understand him.

The marketing campaign of “All Hail the King“ is incredibly accurate. Walter White has in fact ascended to the throne. He displays the kind of self-assuredness that comes when one believes he is truly predestined to the role he’s taken.

When Walt orchestrates the destruction of Gus’ laptop by buying a giant magnet from Old Joe (Larry Hankin) and using it through the wall of a police evidence room, Mike asks if he’s supposed to accept that the mission was a success on faith. Walt simply tells him it worked because he says it did. It’s the kind of answer one gives to a person one deems to be beneath them. A thing is because the king says it is.

However, it’s not until the episode’s end that Walt truly understands, or perhaps accepts, his place in the new power structure he’s created. And what an embrace it is. After threatening Saul Goodman that his lawyerly work will still be required under this new regime, Walt comes home to Skyler, making her aware that he’s been completely briefed on the Ted Beneke situation. With fearsome deliberation, Walt holds his wife close and tells her she is forgiven.

Below is a clip/trailer for the next episode. We cant wait for it, hope you enjoyed this review, please share.

Breaking Bad Recap: Season Premiere Shows Walter White's Heisenberg Side by Buzz60

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