Breaking Bad - "Full Measures"

“Don’t do it Jesse. Don’t do it…oh my God.” I’ve only talked out loud to fictional characters two other times in my life and they were both on Lost. Tonight added a third as I begged Jesse not to kill Gale. But let’s back up…

The teaser this week on BB was a pretty cruel irony. It depicted a flashback of Walt (Hey look! It’s the dad from Malcolm in the Middle!) and Skyler taking a tour of the house they currently live in. We see that, even then, Walt always believed he was entitled to more. He talks to Skyler about how they should dream big and stretch their budget. “For us, there’s nowhere to go but up.” I’m always amazed at how skillfully crafted each episode on this show really is. Of course we all know that these characters can only go further down into the depths of a world they never saw themselves being a part of. Walt seems to realize it himself. “It’s all contaminated,” he said, a few weeks back in “Fly”.

One could argue, however, that last week when Walt looked a man in the face and then shot him in that same face, he was hitting rock bottom. He was no longer breaking bad, but had officially baptized himself by fire and been reborn into a new world. That was his turning point. So you could say he can only go up from there, but the ladder he’s climbing is a lot different than the one he fell down. If he keeps going on that path, it’s only a matter of time before he’s just another Mike the cleaner.

Mike is a very interesting character, and in these last two weeks we’ve learned more about him than we have in the entire series. We’ve known about his granddaughter since season two, but tonight we got to see just how different his two lives are. A great moment when he gives his granddaughter three aluminum balloons, saying that he needs the other 10; smash cut to him using the balloons to kill the power at a warehouse and going all Jason Bourne on the asses of some new cartel people that are inside. This guy isn’t just a cleaner; he also knows how to make a goddamned mess.

The scene served a nice purpose…it showed us exactly who Walt is dealing with now that he has royally pissed off Gus and his men. Surely Walt is in way over his head…right? Oh ho ho, but he has a few tricks up his sleeve. I loved how this episode had us viewing Walt from Mike’s perspective for the first half hour or so. We didn’t know anything about what was really going on because we were on the outside looking in. I thought Saul really did give Jesse up that easily. I thought Walt really believed he had solved the problem with his “Option A, Option B” speech. And I thought he was really oblivious to Gale’s new agenda to learn the trade secrets before Gus gives the order. But that would’ve been what to expect from “pre-face-shooting-Walt”. This new, full measure Walt is the man with the plan. In that awesome scene in the arcade, we learn that Saul is far more loyal to the boys than I ever thought was possible for him and that Walt realizes he needs job security BIG TIME. His plan is to kill Gale so that he will still be the only one that knows the 11 herbs and spices required to make Kentucky Fried Blue Meth. Jesse doesn’t like it, but all he has to do is find out where Gale lives. Walt will pull the trigger.

So Jesse does find out, but a little too late. Victor shows up at Walt’s house before he can go do the deed and takes him to the laundry where Mike is waiting. Walt suddenly goes into little bitch mode and begs for his life. Note the disgusted look in Mike’s eyes when Walt offers to give up Jesse. When he calls Jesse to “set up meet” as he tells Mike, he pulls a 180 and tells Jesse “it has to be you. They’re going to kill me”. Mike demands to know what he just did, and Walt simply gives Gale’s address. Note the shocked, “oh shit, but kind of impressed” look in Mike’s eyes when he puts together what Walt has ordered Jesse to do. Victor takes off to try and protect Gale.

Poor Gale. He doesn’t belong in this world. He’s an incorruptible man working in the most corrupt of businesses. He sings opera to his plants, he dances alone in his apartment, he knows exactly what temperature his tea should be (and finds out with his doofy laser-thermometer). So when Jesse shows up with a gun in his hand, he doesn’t even understand what is going on. He pleads for Jesse not to kill him in a quiet heartbreaking voice. Jesse’s eyes are red and misty as the barrel of the gun comes into focus. “Don’t do it Jesse. Don’t do it…oh my God”. And the episode ends with a gunshot.

Last week, I think I made the mistake of believing that Walt killed those two dealers in order to A.) stop Jesse from getting killed and B.) stop him from becoming a killer. I realize now, that part B wasn’t really his intent at all if he was so willing was to just have Jesse step in and take care of the Gale situation. “There’s got to be another way,” Jesse said in the arcade. He wanted no part of Gale’s murder and ended up pulling the trigger. “We’re not killers,” he said last week. Oops. Now you both are. I know this may sound ridiculous but Walt’s murder and Jesse’s murder were totally different. To protect Jesse, Walt killed two dealers that had murdered Combo and an 11-year-old boy. To protect Walt, Jesse killed a lonely, incorruptible man, who was only doing his job. Walt used Jesse to save himself. Jesse never asked Walt to save him. I have a feeling Jesse is going to be a little bitter when we see him next.

So there it is. What a season from Mr. Gilligan. Leave some comments with your own opinions below. I’ll end this with some other stray thoughts.

Hope you care,

Danny

-We as viewers should keep in mind for season 4 (oh how far away it seems) that the cartel is not dead and they are trying to move back in on Gus’s turf. Is it just me or does Gus seem to have less and less control over his business?

-Other than that teaser, no Skyler or any other “non-meth” characters this week. Of course, on Breaking Bad every decision has real consequences…can’t wait to see how the proceedings of the last two eps affect Walt’s loved ones.

-I wish Mike were my grandpa. Loved the “Do you have anything you want to tell me?” line.

-Ok so Walt has ensured that he will be kept alive for a little longer, but there are things worse than death. Like torture. Torture kind of sucks. So that has me worried. I think that might be the part of his plan that he’s overlooked.

-Interesting how the episode is called “Full Measures” but killing Gale seems to me like a pretty temporary solution to very non-temporary problem. Extreme? Yes. Full? Not quite. “There has to be another way.”

-Hurry back Breaking Bad. I miss you already.